Dixie Lynn Dwyer (15 page)

He yanked her up by the ponytail.

“That is what you think, Susanna. One call, one fucking call to your uncles and you’re dead.”

Her eyes widened in shock. The bastard knew how terrible they were and how much she feared them just as she once feared him. She needed to be smart. She couldn’t lose her temper, and she couldn’t give in to his threats.

“If you do, then you’re giving me up anyway, so what does it matter? Either way I’m as good as dead.”

He grabbed her face between his hands and tilted her face up toward him. She cringed in pain. He pressed his thumbs against her cheeks and brought tears to her eyes, but she wouldn’t cry.

“You’ve been in my dreams every night since you left me, Susanna.”

“You’ve been in my nightmares.”

He raised his eyebrow at her then held her face firmly with one hand while he tugged her ponytail loose with the other.

“You’ve kept your hair long.”

He caressed her hair then gripped her throat. She swallowed hard against his firm hold. He lifted her and she had no choice but to follow the direction he pulled her in.

“Straddle my waist.” She did and now they were face-to-face.

“Kiss me, Susanna, like you used to do.”

She shook her head as he squeezed tighter, drawing her face closer to his. He stared at her mouth, and she struggled, but he was stronger. He always had been stronger than her.

His mouth touched hers, and he plunged his tongue inside. He released her neck to grab ahold of her hair and the back of her head so he could control her fight. His other hand came up and squeezed her breast hard. He pinched it as she tried to close her mouth and stop him, but her damn hands were tied too tight. She felt the thin rope pinch against her skin and tear the flesh.

She cried, and he pulled his mouth from hers. Then out of nowhere he struck her. He swung with his forearm, hitting her mouth and lower jaw, sending her tumbling backward. Her back hit the hard hump in the floor, and she slid, landing in an awkward position with her legs open wide.

He reached down, grabbed her ankle, and pulled her back up. With her hands tied, her shoulder blades crashed against the hard flooring making her cry out in pain. He struck her again across the mouth. She felt her lip split and the sharp sting of pain. “Stop!” she screamed, and he hit her again then turned her around and pulled her against his parted legs. She was between his thighs, and her arms were pinned beneath her and the leather seats.

Her head was against his right shoulder as he used his left hand to lift up her shirt and cup her breast. His other hand reached down into her shorts and she wiggled and screamed for him to stop. She lifted her head up just enough to tap his chin, and he banged his fist against her ribs. She gasped then coughed as his hand cupped her mound.

“Remain still, Susanna. You know I always win.”

She was out of breath and desperate to get away from him. Everything ached, and she cried as he held her to him. He didn’t move his hand from her breast or his other hand from her mound. He sat there in a show of possession and to let her know that he owned her and always would.

* * * *

“Your girlfriend is a witness to these alleged crimes?” the agent asked Monte and BJ.

“Our girlfriend has gathered enough evidence to put these pieces of shit away for life. You have agents in the field looking to nail this guy, and here’s your evidence right here, including pictures,” Monte stated. He looked at the other agents in the room. Some he knew personally, but he was getting a bad feeling. He was basically handing over enough evidence and proof to destroy this Casper guy as well as Susanna’s uncles. Her cousins Alexa and Sally were so worried about her and grateful they explained what they had gone through. They were willing to testify against their dad and uncles, too, but it wouldn’t be necessary. Susanna had covered all her bases, so every one of the women would be safe except for herself.

“That’s one hell of a woman you two landed yourselves. What do you say we go get her back for you?” one agent named Curtis stated, and Monte felt the relief as he looked at his brother and smiled.

“What do you say we all go get her?” Monte added, and they smiled then shook hands.

It had taken less than an hour to locate Casper. They had a feeling he was somewhere in downtown Dallas. It was late in the evening now, but everyone pulled their resources together and found the bastard. He was staying in a Presidential Suite at the Dallas Sheraton.

“I want a layout of the room. Notify hotel security of what we need,” Agent Curtis stated as his cell phone rang.

“Yes, sir. What’s that? I don’t think we can wait that long, sir. As we speak?” Curtis was talking into the phone then kept glancing at his watch. They were on the main floor of the hotel lobby in the security department. They currently were looking at a set of cameras on the floor where the Presidential Suite was located. Two men in dark suits sat outside of it in large, cushioned chairs. There were four others at both ends of the hallway and one stationed at the elevator.

“So our main accesses are through the staircase and the elevator, correct?” BJ asked.

“I’m not sure that’s the route to take. We’d cause quite a stir at once coming from either one, and we all can’t come out together. I was thinking more along the lines of splitting up in teams. If you look down the hallway to the right, there’s a set of stairs and an elevator there. We could easily come from that direction while the other teams come from the other four directions at the same time. We take out the armed men. Then the other team comes up the staircase there, directly across from the room, and enters. The others follow suit and we clear the hotel room and get to Susanna,” Monte explained, and the other men nodded. They were looking over the floor plan and their plan of attack. Next they decided on the groups and set their watches. They had to be sure to act as one at the same time or it could blow their plan away and risk danger to Susanna. Once Casper knew that federal agents were involved, he would panic and take Susanna with him.

“Hold that plan men, we have to wait,” Curtis stated, and they all looked annoyed.

“Wait on what?” BJ asked.

“We just got word that Carlos Mendez is on his way up.”

“The Carlos Mendez? The one we’ve been trying to snag for months?” Neiman, another agent, asked.

“That’s the one,” Curtis stated then looked at Monte.

“I’m sorry, man, but this guy is a huge catch. He’s responsible for murdering numerous innocent women and children in Cuba while running a drug lab. He also killed over a dozen agents. Your girlfriend should be fine for a while as they meet. We’ll see who he’s brought along with him and make a new plan. Sit tight. It will work out.”

Monte looked at Curtis and shook his head. This fucking sucked. God only knew what this asshole was doing to Susanna in there. They had learned through the files Susanna left in the safe that he had tortured her, whipped her, and beat her often. She was forced to be at his beck and call after he supposedly saved her from her uncles’ abuse as well. She in return stole from him, took money, and stashed it away in a plan to escape. Three years ago, she’d succeeded and along the way met other women who were being abused or enslaved, and she’d saved them. She was an amazing woman. All of her friends were, and together they’d overcome their pasts and built Dixie Chix.

He and BJ had been shocked when they read all these things. This was what she was afraid to reveal to them. Ava told them both that Susanna feared getting intimate with anyone and she had remained focused on the business and taking care of all of them. Well, that was going to change. Once they saved her from Casper, Susanna was going to learn that she was their woman to love and take care of.

* * * *

Susanna slowly opened her eyes to the sound of muffled voices. Blinking them opened and closed, she took in her surroundings as she tried to move. She panicked the moment she realized that she was tied to a bed wearing only her bra and panties. Her face hurt and her body ached. Her lips were so dry, and she could feel the deep slit. One eye she could hardly see out of. There wasn’t much slack in the rope. That was Casper. He never worried about causing permanent damage. He was only concerned with himself.

When they arrived in downtown Dallas, she recognized the multiple sets of hotels along the main highway. The limo pulled into a back parking lot, and Casper’s bodyguard escorted her inside. No one was around. It was late in the evening and they entered with a special keycard then headed into the elevators.

By the time they got her to the room, a presidential suite, of course, Casper had his hands all over her. As soon as he untied her hands, she made her move. She fought his advances and threw a right hook, hitting him in the jaw and splitting his lip. That felt incredible, but it cost her as his bodyguard held her and Casper struck her numerous times until she passed out.

God only knows what I look like.

She hoped he hadn’t raped her, but if he had, she figured she would be completely naked and sore. She took steady breaths and listened to her body and absorbed any odd sensations. Other than bruises on her skin, everything seemed okay. He wanted her to be conscious when he did her. She knew that, and that hang-up of his gave her more time.

She could see the city skyline through the large windows from where she lay. It was late evening by now, and she slowly turned her head toward the doorway. It was slightly ajar, probably so he could hear her when she awoke. She lay there in silence trying to understand the muffled voices. Was that Spanish?

As she took a deep breath, she felt the pain in her ribs. Surely they were bruised again, but the worst part was her mouth and cheek. They throbbed. She used what little saliva she had on her tongue to press against the cut on her lip. It hurt so bad she felt the tears in her eyes.

The door opened and there stood some huge guy. Was that another guard? He made his way inside and walked over to her.

She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep while he checked her pulse, as if she could possibly have died from Casper’s beating. Shit! She had been through worse than this with him, and then his hands roamed over her belly to her breast. The bastard was copping a feel. She remained motionless until he decided that feeling her breasts wasn’t enough and he inched his fingers over to her mound.

Her legs weren’t tied down, so she shoved her knee up hard, hitting him in the nose. His blood splattered everywhere as he yelled, stood up, then punched her in her thigh.

She cried out as Casper entered the room with three other men.

“What did you do?” one Hispanic man yelled.

“She kicked me in the nose.”

“He touched me,” she stated as her leg throbbed in pain.

“Get him the fuck out of here before I kill him,” Casper stated, but as the man began to walk by him, Casper slugged the guy in the stomach, making him fall to the rug. He kneed him then kicked him as he lay on the floor. Once he rid himself of his rage, Casper straightened out his shirt and stepped over the body. His guards carried out the other man, and she was now alone with Casper.

She could see the red mark on her thigh, and so could Casper as he gently ran the palm of his hand over it.

“I’m sorry he hurt you. I should have remembered how enticing you are to other men. You teased him with your body. A body that belongs to only me.” He squeezed her thigh where the man had punched her. She moaned in pain and she wished her hands weren’t tied to the ropes. She wished she could stop him or anyone else from touching her.

He ran his hand up her inner thigh as he scooted closer.

“Tell me where he touched you.”

When she hesitated he pinched her inner thigh, and she cried out.

“Where?” he asked again, and she tried to catch her breath only for him to pinch her again.

“Stop, please stop.”

“Then tell me. You’re out of practice, Susanna. You need retraining and discipline. Now tell me where he touched you.”

“First my breast then my belly and then over my mound,” she whispered.

His eyes held hers as he moved onto the bed and straddled her lower legs.

“Here?” he asked as he pressed his finger over the crevice between her breasts. She shook her head.

“Here?” He pressed his finger over the top of her bra that covered her nipple.

“Yes.”

He shook his head. He ran the palm of his hand over her belly to her mound.

“This all belongs to me, right, Susanna?”

She didn’t answer. He gripped her hips and squeezed as he lifted then pressed her hard to the bed.

“Answer me.”

“I hate you,” she stated, and he jumped up, stood above her on the bed, and pulled his belt from his pants. He rolled it over and slapped it lightly over the palm of his other hand.

“Not the right response, Susanna. Training starts right now.”

He slammed the belt down and it smacked hard across her belly.

She screamed.

* * * *

“They got Mendez downstairs. Move in on the count of three,” Curtis stated into his wrist mike. They were all set. The meeting with Mendez had lasted nearly an hour, and now they had him in their custody. The agents, along with BJ and Monte, moved in to assist and take down Casper and his men. They initiated the plan as discussed in the security room.