Hunted (35 page)

But, Chase was ready for that move and shot out a hand, grabbing hold of her wrist in a crushing grip and jerking Lanie forward so that she was right up against him.

“Lanie!  What the hell did you do that for!” Chase snarled at her, the low light showing up the blood trickling down from his nose.

Chase had her right hand held firm, but her left hand was free and Lanie swung, letting her open palm crash into the side of his face, tearing another growl from him.  She took a quick step back in an effort to put some force behind the knee she was about to lift, when Chase suddenly used his grip on her wrist to jerk her sideways and whip her around so that her back was to him.  In just a split second, a hand was clamped down over her mouth and an arm was around her waist, crushing her as she was lifted off her feet.

And then Chase started forward, walking toward the back of the building and away from the kids in the parking lot.

A sharp shard of fear pierced Lanie’s chest as she swept forward through the darkness.  She had no idea just what Chase Wylie thought he was doing!  This boy was supposed to be her friend!  Their fathers were friends!  Did he honestly think she would let him get away with this!

“All the boys around here might be afraid of you because you’re dad’s the sheriff, but I’m not!” Chase rumbled in her ear, his arm tightening so that she felt her ribs giving way.  “I do what I want because my dad runs this town!  And you’ll let me do it because I can get your dad fired!”

Lanie was too stunned to even try and struggle as she was swept toward the back of the building, away from her friends, and right toward the thick, dark stand of woods just beyond.  She did not want to get any closer to those woods!  She knew what might be in there and Chase was just serving her up!

That notion had her body jolting awake and had her instantly struggling against the arm that was crushing her ribs, but Chase was holding her so tight she could barely draw in a breath, let alone get herself free.  In only a matter of seconds it seemed, she was rushed around the building and right into the pitch blackness of the woods behind it. 

As terror crested inside her, Lanie suddenly found herself slammed down onto the ground with jarring force and then Chase was on top of her, effortlessly grabbing her wrists and pinning her hands over her head.  His weight was on her, mashing her into the ground and filling the air with the scent of the pine needles beneath her.

Chase let out a growl, a deep, chilling sound filled with rage and frustration and something else that Lanie couldn’t quite define, but something that had her blood running cold.  She had no time at all to react before Chase was shoving his free hand between them and tearing at the button of her jeans.  With alarming precision and speed the button and zipper were undone and his hand was shoved past the waist band and then…he was groping at her in a way that brought a flood of sickness crashing in on her. 

Lanie opened her mouth to scream, but Chase stifled her attempt by crushing his mouth to hers and forcing his tongue into her mouth.  She could taste the blood that she’d drawn from him.

A piece of Lanie’s mind simply could not believe this was happening to her.  This was Chase Wylie!  This was the boy she’d grown up, the boy that all the other girls chased after, the boy who had been over to her house a hundred times!  This was the boy she had thought was charming only a minute before! 

What had happened to Chase Wylie in the past few moments to turn him into this…monster?

Chase suddenly pulled his mouth away from hers and Lanie reacted, jerking her head up off the ground and smashing it against his face.  Another growl flew out of Chase and for a split second his vice-like grip on Lanie’s wrists loosened.  Instantly, she jerked her right hand free and using every ounce of her strength she slammed the heel of her palm straight into the center of his nose, feeling the bone give way.

An anguished howl erupted from Chase and his weight rolled off her.  Without wasting a second, Lanie’s body jerked into action and she was scrambling to her feet and bolting forward away from Chase just as fast as she could go.  But, she only made it a few feet before strong hands bit into her shoulders.  A shriek tore out of her as she was pulled backward, lifted up into the air, and then rammed against the side of the building hard enough to cause her vision to go black and pain to radiate through her entire body.

“
Bitch
!  You shouldn’t have—“ Chase’s words were cut off by a sudden gasp and his hands digging into her shoulders were just suddenly…gone. 

A loud, dull thud sounded out, echoing through Lanie’s skull and she fought for a few seconds to clear the darkness from her eyes.  When the shadows were blinked away and she could focus her gaze, she found herself looking at Chase Wylie, being held high up off the ground by…Kyle Vincent, who had a hand wrapped around the boy’s throat.

“What did you do to her!” Kyle snarled right in Chase’s face, giving him a shake that caused him arms and legs to flail wildly.  Chase didn’t answer, which seemed to enrage Kyle, who gave him another hard shake, sending the boy’s head snapping backward.  “
I said what did
you do to her
!”  Again, Chase didn’t answer and in a quick move that Lanie almost missed, Kyle was slamming him against the building with such force that Lanie heard his skull crack against the brick.

Fear shot outward through Lanie’s limbs and she sucked in a breath so that she could shout out at Kyle to stop before he hurt Chase, but then she paused, the words dying on her lips.  On second thought, maybe Chase Wylie needed a little bit of hurting.

Letting out an angry roar, Kyle smashed Chase into the brick wall again and then tossed him aside like a weightless bag of garbage, sending him skidding along the ground for several feet.  That done, Kyle turned and was standing in front of Lanie, his face a mask of guilt. 

“Lanie, are you alright?  Did he…did he…hurt you?” he asked hoarsely.

Before Lanie could answer, Kyle whipped around and gave her a quick second to see Chase flying at him, his bloodied face twisted in rage and his fists drawn back, ready to fight.  Lanie watched Kyle simply swat the boy aside as if he was nothing more than an annoying insect, sending him flying through the air and crashing to the ground with a loud thunk.

“What’s happening over here!” a loud voice sounded out a split second later and Lanie spun around to see Finn and a couple of his teammates, Bryan Watts and Spencer Frank, standing at the corner of the building.

Finn and the others took a second to assess the scene before them, their eyes darting from their felled teammate, to Kyle Vincent, who was a complete stranger to them, and then over to Lanie.  Without a word spoken between them, the three of them charged Kyle, fairly shoving Lanie aside to get to him. 

In opened mouth horror Lanie watched as the three hulking boys descended upon Kyle like raging bulls.  She knew—she hoped—that Kyle could defend himself against all three charging football players, but if he did people would…know about him!  It would be so obvious that he wasn’t normal and how would she explain!  How would she keep her dad from hearing about him!

Kyle didn’t seem to be thinking along those lines as he easily dodged two of the boys, snatched the third, Finn, up by the shirt collar and flung him aside as if he weighed little to nothing.  Confused, the two football players spun around and charged Kyle again, one getting in a hard left hook that snapped Kyle’s head sideways.  From out of nowhere, Chase came barreling in from the side and tackled Kyle, picking him up off the ground and carrying him forward until he was smashed into the side of the shack with a tremendous and sickening
thud
!

Almost instantaneously, there was a small horde of people swarming Kyle, fists flying and knuckles cracking and Lanie stood, frozen in shock, waiting for the moment when Kyle threw the boys off him and then snapped their necks one at a time.  Seconds, horrible seconds during which those fists continued to assault Kyle, dragged by and still Kyle did nothing to get the boys off him.

“Stop!  Finn, stop it!” Lanie heard herself shouting as she suddenly surged forward toward the writhing mass of bodies.  She flung herself at them, ready to fight tooth and nail to pull Kyle free, but at that same instant Kyle swept the bodies aside, sending them all three flying off in different directions.  Kyle was standing in front of her before the bodies even thumped to the ground, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side.

“This ends
now
!” Kyle roared, his voice rumbling through the darkness.  “The first one to take a step toward Lanie is the first one who dies!”

Lanie gasped at Kyle’s words.  Oh God!  How would she explain this!  Everyone would know!

Finn, picking himself up off the ground and squaring his shoulders for another round, pinned Lanie with an angry glare.  “Lanie, what the hell is going on!  Who is this guy and what
the
hell
is he on!” he growled.

Lanie, feeling addled, tried to force her thoughts into line, but Finn made a move to charge forward.  “Finn, stop!” she yelled at the boy, fully prepared to throw herself in between him and Kyle.  “Kyle was helping me!”

Finn halted, his eyes narrowing.  “Helping you what!  Kick Chase’s ass!”

“Chase was hurting me, Finn!” she shot at him, her voice breaking. 

“What?  What do you mean?” Finn demanded, his gaze going to Chase, who was picking himself up off the ground.  “What does she mean, Chase?”

Chase looked at Finn, his blood still oozing down his face, his expression twisting with anger.  “She was overreacting!  And this guy came out of nowhere—“

“He wouldn’t get off me, Finn!” Lanie said hoarsely.  “And I’m the one who did that to him!  Not Kyle!”

Yes. 
She
had broken his nose, probably a couple of times, and she would do it again given the chance!  That thought had her bring her hand up to her face, trying to wipe away any of Chase’s blood that might be there.

Finn’s gaze swept back to Lanie, studying her through the dim light.  Lanie could see his handsome face going taut as he looked her up and down, taking in her jeans that were gaping open.  Even through the darkness, she could see the fire flashing in Finn’s eyes.  Lanie, feeling humiliation wash over her, quickly buttoned and zipped them, trying not to remember what Chase’s harsh hand had been doing to her just a few moments before.

“Dude, seriously!” Finn growled out, turning his flaming eyes back to Chase Wylie. 

Chase stiffened as the other two members of the football team dusted themselves off and came to stand by Finn.  There was a moment of silence during which the only sound to be heard was the low hum of the generator.

“I’ve heard things about you, but I didn’t want to believe it,” Finn said, his voice drawn as a tight as a bow string.  “None of us did.”

“Finn, it’s nothing!” Chase snarled, annoyed now.  “She changed her mind and freaked out!  You know how they are!”

Finn ignored the boy’s words.  “Why did you do this to
Lanie
!  Lanie isn’t just some girl!”

Lanie felt a surge of tears stinging the backs of her eyelids.  At least Finn understood the meaning of loyalty. 

“Are you stupid, Chase!” Bryan Watts asked, sounding disgusted.  “She’s Sheriff Bancroft’s daughter!”

“So!” Chase spat.  “I don’t care!  This is nothing!  She overreac—“

Finn’s fist smashed into Chase’s face, cutting off his words and sending an arc of blood spraying outward through the dim light.  Chase went stumbling sideways into the building and Finn turned back to Lanie.  “Lanie, did he…what did he do?”

“Nothing.  Nothing.  Kyle stopped him,” she answered.

Finn let out a hard breath and turned back around to face Chase Wylie.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lanie.”

Without another word, Finn and the other two boys all grabbed Chase up by the arms and bodily hauled him away from the building and off into the shadows of the woods, with Chase kicking and swearing the entire way.  Once they were lost in the darkness, the night was filled with the sounds of Chase Wylie’s teammates doling out a little justice. 

Horrified, Lanie turned to Kyle.  “I want to go home.” she said to him, sickness overwhelming her.  ”But…I-I drove here with…Chase.”

“I’ll take you back,” Kyle said and scooped her up into his arms.  “You’ll be home in a minute.”  Kyle settled her more comfortably against his chest and Lanie let her arms slide around his neck.  “Close your eyes and remember to breathe.”