“I think you’re telling me a lie, lil’ doc. I have a feeling you’re all by your lonesome in here. Now, that just don’t seem right,” he told her as he continued to box her in. “Matter of fact, I bet we have us at least a good hour or so before we get more docs coming to your aid.”
His meaning was clear, and Lindsey had to swallow the bile in her throat. She’d grown up with four brothers, and this man wasn’t going to take her down easily. The problem was that she didn’t know where Sandy or Dr. Stamos were or when anyone else would enter the hospital. She needed to get help.
The man took another step toward her and her fear was almost all-consuming. Fight or flight had most certainly kicked in and she was ready to knee this guy as hard as she could and then run for help as he flopped on the ground like the weasel he obviously was.
“You’re wrong. There are plenty of people in the halls, but more importantly, the ambulance will be here any second now,” she bluffed. If only her voice was stronger. Even in her own ears, it sounded weak and pathetic.
There was a light of victory shining in the man’s eyes that told her that her bluff wasn’t working. He knew they were virtually alone, and he held a royal flush in his hands. It was her strength against his, and though he wasn’t a big man, he was bigger than she was.
Just as she decided to run, a pained scream sounded from the only other emergency room. She twisted her head for only a moment to gaze in that direction.
That moment was all her attacker needed. He pounced much faster than she would have believed possible. Before she had a chance to defend herself, he wrapped one arm around her waist from behind and the other reached up and gripped her neck, making it instantly difficult to breathe.
“Was that one of the other staff members you were talking about?” he whispered cruelly in her ear.
Lindsey couldn’t help the pain rolling through her heart. He had at least one accomplice, and it appeared as if they’d already found Sandy, and most likely Dr. Stamos as well.
The door opened, and Lindsey stopped struggling against thug number one as a new man entered the room, this one far larger than the guy holding her. She knew her chances of getting away from him were slim to none.
Why hadn’t she just called 911 immediately when she’d gotten the bad feeling? Wouldn’t it have been better to beg for forgiveness if she’d been wrong? Maybe she could have saved her coworker and friend if she had trusted her instincts.
“You found a new one,” the large man said as he took his time examining her.
“Yep, appears she wanted to join our little party in here,” the smaller man holding her said with a laugh. “I just wanted some easy drugs, but this is so much better. Remind me to thank Pete again for the recommendation. He said last week the night shift was a skeleton crew. Guess he knew his shit.”
“Yes, Pete’s pretty damn smart,” the larger man said as he stepped right in front of her and ran a filthy finger down the side of her cheek and then over one breast. “I prefer bigger, but she’ll do. She’s feisty. That makes up for her lack of size.”
Lindsey jerked back against the man holding her, but his vice-like grip didn’t loosen at all. He just laughed as he stepped back and leaned against a counter as if he had all day. The longer these men took, the more chance of someone arriving.
“Hey! You got the last one. This one’s mine,” the small man behind her snarled.
The good humor on the large man’s face vanished as he shot a look at the man holding her. Another chill traveled through her because she had no doubt who the boss was in this relationship. The man behind her shut up.
“No. They are all mine first,” the large man said almost pleasantly.
The man behind her let go of her throat and she sucked in a much-needed breath before it was knocked back out of her when he pushed her forward hard enough to drop her to her knees on the hard floor.
The large man gripped her arm and yanked her back to her feet, sending shooting pain arrowing through her shoulder before smashing her to his chest. Up close, she could see dents in his face, and missing teeth from years of drug use.
Fighting tears, she tried to plead with him. “Please, just let us go.”
Leaning back, he smiled before his fist came out and knocked her in the side of the head, making her see stars for a moment. She almost wished blackness would overtake her vision just to free her from the hell she was in.
“If I want you to open your mouth, I’ll let you know when and how wide,” he told her. “We’re going to have a good time here, and then you’re going to unlock these nice pretty cabinets with drugs in them.”
The man’s stinky spit splashed her in the face, making her shut her eyes for a brief second as she tried to regain her bearings.
“I don’t have access to any of that,” she told him. That was partially true. The sort of drugs they wanted had to come from the doctors.
The man slapped her again for her less-than-satisfactory answer. She tasted copper in her mouth and couldn’t help the whimper of fear and pain that escaped. It was exactly what he wanted, but she still couldn’t help herself.
He shook her for a moment before a gleam returned to his eyes. “I’ll just have to get you a bit more relaxed and then you can give me what I came for.”
“Where’s Sandy?” Her voice was a bit stronger this time, but still not as forceful as she would have liked.
“Me and Sandy had a good time a few minutes ago. If you’re a real nice girl, then both of you will get to walk away from this. Do you understand?” he said. He then began pulling her toward a curtained room.