Wild Beast Mate(45)

“Crawl out of bed,” Doug said. “I know you ain’t sleeping.”

This was the day. I knew it and so did Hanna, and next to me on our shared bed, she started snoring. Under my closed eyelids, I rolled my eyes and scooted closer to her. Hanna didn’t know what was good for her. The snoring would only serve to piss him off. I kept my back to him but heard his heavy footsteps. He’d grown a belly in the past two weeks. Even the pants I’d expanded at the waist just last week didn’t button anymore. The gluttonous beast.

His palm hit the wall above us, and he leaned over our bed, his knees brushing my ass. The other hand threaded through Hanna’s red locks, and he bent over me to sniff a strand of her hair. “Clean and smelling like a lady. You know I gave you that expensive oil you’re using, so won’t you pay me some respect in return? I know you’re awake.”

He dropped the hair and continued at my ear, “If you don’t leave, I’ll take you instead. Get out.”

“I hear Hunters of Mayhem are close,” I said and turned to lie on my back, my eyes trained on his brown ones. “Is that why you never made it to Texas? You’re scared they’ll follow you, find your big safe house if they catch your trail? Or did your boss tell ya to hide out here?”

“Shut up, slut. You should mind your business.”

The men got so loud while drinking, everyone within a mile radius could have heard their story. Except we were the only people out here. “You want a taste of us before they raid this place and make sausages out of you, eh?” I wiggled my eyebrows. “’Cuz ya know they will. All y’all Men of Earth are dead when they ravage that big yellow tent you’re hiding in.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Men who drink, talk. They say your men went after Alpha Beast’s pair. They say he brought a savage from their home planet and let him loose. They say Mayhem’s ruthless, takes all the goods, takes all the women and kids, kills all else. No man left behind, but not in a good way. When he comes here, you gonna die.”

The back of his hand whacked across my cheek.

My head snapped to the side. Heat warmed my cheek, and it swelled. I smiled. I wouldn’t put myself in trouble for anyone else, but this young girl reminded me of myself when I first came here. Homeless and without any family. Ol’ Mike had been here for me, and I believed in paying forward. I felt a kinship with Hanna, even though I knew little about her. Besides, she was far too fragile to be raped. Me? Well, he could try. Still, my face throbbed, and I winced as Douglas lifted his hand again.

Next to me, Hanna whispered, “She doesn’t know what she’s saying, Doug. She’s a little dumb.”

“There you are, my sweet girl.” His raised hand found its way to her cheek, and he stroked it slowly. I almost gagged.

Hanna sat up and kissed the hand that had hit me. One spaghetti strap slipped down her shoulder, and she quickly fixed it while giving me a look. I knew what she meant. She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t want me to get in trouble either.

Under the pillow, I gripped a six-inch-long nail made for holding seven-foot steel swords to the wall. It was large, heavy, and rusty. If I couldn’t kill him, at least he’d die of an infection after I got him.

Hanna’s eyes found mine, and she begged me to do it and she begged me not to at the same time. “I’ll come with you, Doug,” she finally said.

“That’s a good girl. This one”—he jerked his head to me—“I’m gonna sell.”

“You don’t own me,” I said.

He didn’t want to kill me. How gallant of him.

He tugged Hanna’s hand and turned to leave.

I leapt out of bed and onto his back. Before he screamed and woke up the entire place, I jabbed the nail though the back of his head, then hung on his back with my hands over his mouth. We fell, my back hitting the floor with a thud. The big man on top of me struggled, but I kept my hands over his mouth. From the back of his neck, blood seeped onto my face and spread on the floor. He kept jerking, trying to get away, while I chastised myself for not jabbing him harder.

I couldn’t have even if I’d wanted to. They hadn’t fed us in three days, and I was skinny to begin with, so I gave it the best I had. Hanna rushed to us and placed her hands over mine, her eyes filled with horror. But she understood we had to do this. If they kept drinking and forgetting to bring us food and water while keeping us prisoners, we’d die.

Even with the nail in his neck and our hands over his mouth choking him, it felt like he took a year to die. With one last twitch, his body stilled.