I had to move around her to get to the door and she grabbed me, holding me in place. Sobbing into my neck, pummeling my arms and back and everything. I could see three loin-cloth-wearing whack jobs sneaking toward the cabin. If Cassie didn’t release me in a few seconds, they’d be inside. I flung her onto the couch and raced toward the door. The men outside froze when they saw me approach and actually retreated, which was an encouraging sign. Emboldened, I shouted, “Get the fuck out of here!” Trying to project my voice to the far side of earth. Then I slammed the door and threw the lock. Growling a bit myself, surprised to find my dick getting hard like it would at the apex of a crushing guitar solo. I’ll go feral if I have to. Raise the fucking dead.

Cassie was not dressed for a trail hike. Her rayon sundress only came down to mid-thigh, exposing legs – beautiful legs, I must admit, God it was good to see her – that were striped red with scrapes and abrasions. Naked arms smeared in mud with angry welts from insect bites. Dirt tracks lined her flushed and sweaty face. Black hair was tangled and littered with briars and twigs. She had never looked more beautiful to me. I fell to my knees before her.

“Jesus, what the fuck?” I said. A question, I guess, directed toward Christ and his maniac father. Then, “Where’s Rox?”

“She has him,” she said, still hysterical but trying to calm down. Slow her breathing, slow her racing heart. She lowered her head, shook it. Attempting, it seemed, to bring coherence back to a world that had turned insane. “He’s safe for now, I think. They sent me to come get you.”

Her hands were on my shoulders, mine on her ribcage. Her sundress was damp with sweat and she smelled like garden soil. A million questions fought for supremacy in my mind, leaving me speechless. Okay, keep it simple. “Where?” I said.

She swallowed heavily, her eyes closed. Almost back to baseline already. “A few miles from here,” she said. “Some abandoned town in the woods. I don’t know where. I was blindfolded coming out here.”

Those fucking monsters. It’s not enough to wreck my marriage, they had to terrorize my family, too. “He’s safe?”