“I got her for you.” Sam sounded hurt. “And I told you no one saw.”

Above the gray rectangle, her eyes were round and bright with fear, but she was still struggling.

Women like that don’t want anything to do with the likes of us.

The thought of being with men like him or Sam was the end-of-the-world scenario to her. Rage rose in Mick’s chest. He deserved a woman like this. Clean. Classy. But they all thought they were so superior. There was only one way he’d ever get one. As usual, Mick would have to take what he wanted. It didn’t matter how much money he made, a woman like this brunette or the blond bitch could see through his new car and clothes to his dirty origins. He and Sam were garbage at the curb.

“We can’t keep her,” Mick said. “She’s too old.”

A woman like this would be useless to them. Men paid extra for young bodies. The demand was highest for underage girls, and the younger ones were easier to intimidate. Didn’t take much to control a teenager. Show them who’s boss, feed them some pills, and most of them were compliant. If they weren’t, there were profitable ways to dispose of them. This woman had to be near thirty, and she was anything but compliant.

“I wasn’t planning on keeping her for long.” Sam sat down on the chair by the bed to wait his turn.

Mick turned his attention to the woman. She twisted like a fish on a hook. High-pitched screams sounded behind the duct tape gag. God damn, she’s loud. “No dead bodies in my trunk.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.” Sam lit a cigarette. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his spread thighs. His posture was relaxed, but excitement danced in his dark eyes. “Want me to tie her feet down?”

“No. I’m in the mood for a fight.”

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

“Could you hurry up, please?” Hannah zipped her jacket to her chin to block the night air. Drizzle fell in a heavy mist and beaded on her nylon jacket.

AnnaBelle sniffed the grass. The dog pulled toward the rear of the property. Hannah let her sniff until they were twenty feet shy of the creek that separated the grassy yard from the woods beyond. Moonlight glistened on the shallow water tumbling across the rocky streambed. The musical trickle would have been soothing, if the temperature had been above freezing.

Hannah stomped her feet to move her blood. Inside her boots, her toes stung from the cold.

The retriever pulled toward the narrow wooden bridge spanning the shallow water. A trail led into the trees.

“Oh, no.” Hannah resisted. “We’re not going on a hike in the dark. Nighttime walks are backyard only. You should have done all your business when Brody walked you.”