Chapter 1

 

Kimi’s new lease on life was on a downward slope to hell, and all she could do was watch it fall. The situation was dire, and she wanted to put as much distance between herself and the broken down car as possible. Unfortunately, no matter how fast she walked, it was completely obvious that she was the driver of the stolen vehicle.

"Dammit. Why don’t things ever go my way?" she complained, glancing back at the car in the distance. "Stupid import, aren't they supposed to be dependable?"

She muttered a few choice words and picked up the pace. Sweat trickled down her bronzed cleavage, and she unfastened the top few buttons of her white blouse to let some air in. It was only early morning, but she was already melting in the desert heat.

The long stretch of highway was rippling in the early morning sun, and she hoped someone would stop to help her soon. A few cars had sped by, but it had still been dark. Now that the sun was up, it was probably just a matter of time–she hoped.

The designer skirt she wore fit perfectly, and her sleek black hair was done up in a complicated knot. Only the most observant would see through the woman's impeccable appearance to realize she was uncomfortable as hell and felt like a kid playing dress up. Until that morning, her entire wardrobe consisted of blue jeans, oversized shirts, flip-flops, and a skimpy, sequined night-club uniform with a matching pair of pumps and fishnets. She'd left it all behind, making a run for it once and for all.

Now it seemed like just another mistake, but she was getting used to those. Even so, she was still trying like hell to be optimistic. In less than twenty-four hours, she would finally be someone else. "I can do it. I'll get there on time, no problem," she said, wishing she had a cellphone.

The distant rumble of tires on the Arizona highway caused her to step further off the road, worried that it might be the police…or worse. She was torn between hiding and hitchhiking until she saw that it was a huge red eighteen-wheeler.

"Yes!" she shouted, jumping and waving, temporarily forgetting her distinguished appearance.

The brakes squealed as the driver slowed when he caught sight of the slender little gal. He stopped beside Kimi and opened the passenger door. When he got a closer look, he realized she wasn't much more than twenty.

The lines around his eyes crinkled as he smiled down at her. “Hi, sweetheart. Don't tell me that was your car back there?"

Her eyes widened briefly as a big man leaned across the passenger seat with a friendly smile, the sun glinting off a gold tooth and his shiny bald head. Kimi smiled, because he immediately reminded her of Mr. Clean. The salt and pepper beard didn't match up with that impression, but other than that it was spot on. The big guy was huge, too. So big that he could be a body builder.

"Get out of the sun and I'll give you a lift to the next truck stop where you can arrange for service," he said, his friendly voice a deep rumble.

Ignoring the age-old warnings to never accept a ride from a stranger, she craned her neck and smiled back at him. "Thank you so much for stopping!"

It would be a daunting climb up into the cab, but she had to get out of sight…and out of town. However, she considered removing her pumps first, so she wouldn't break her neck.

"Not a problem," he said, smiling and offering her an extra-large helping hand.

That was a relief, and she gasped as he easily hauled her up the steep steps into the air-conditioned cab. She collapsed into the cushioned seat, paused to sigh at the comfort, and then scrambled to snap her seatbelt. The sooner they were gone, the better.

The man watched her with interest, his shrewd eyes immediately taking note of her anxiety. “I'm Jack, nice to meet you?” The sentence ended on a question, hanging in the air as he returned to his seat.

"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Kimi," she said, glancing at the time on the dashboard. It was almost nine. Her boyfriend would be waking up within minutes and he'd be furious. In fact, he'd be angry enough to do some serious damage this time. "Never mind about that car. I just really need to get to Los Angeles. You wouldn't happen to be headed that way? I could pay you." She fished in her purse, selecting a hundred from one of the neatly stacked bundles, holding it out with a shaky hand.

“Keep it,” Jack said, waving a hand at the money as he set off again. “It's not like you'll take a lot of gas to haul, and the company will keep me from talking to myself."

The man's muscles bulged as he changed gears, bringing the big rig up to speed. Finally he settled to relax as the vehicle began to eat the miles of road once again.

He glanced in her direction, "You could do me a favor though, to earn your passage…”

Kimi coughed, choking on her sigh of relief. Her eyes were wide as she hugged her purse and chewed her lower lip. Even though she was grateful, and he was kind of hot, she wasn't willing to perform any sex acts for a ride.

The comment hung in the air and finally Jack laughed gently. “There's a flask of coffee in the glove box. Pour me a cup, would you? And have one yourself if you want, it's a long way to LA. Luckily that's where I'm headed too.”

“Oh! Yes, sure thing! Uh, I was a little worried for a minute there,” she said, blushing at the misunderstanding.

He chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about the tease there by the way but I couldn't resist it. You'll have to bear with inappropriate jokes at times.”

The guy's travel mug was almost as big as the thermos, and she hurriedly filled it, handing it over. “Here you go. A big mug for a big guy," she teased, glancing at his huge biceps and broad shoulders. "I'm so glad you're going my way!”

She glanced around the enormous truck cab. "Nice place you've got here. I've never been inside one of these. It's like an efficiency apartment. I had no idea they were this big," she said, looking behind her at a short hallway that ended at a double bed. There was a door on the right and cabinets on the left, and the place even smelled clean. It wasn't what she expected at all.

“Most are, but most also smell a lot worse. I own the rig myself though so I've had time to do her up. Saves renting an apartment, I'll tell you that.” Jack grinned and sipped his coffee as he drove. “We'll be stopping in a few hours for lunch, my treat. Should have you in Los Angeles by dinnertime. Hope that works for you?”

“It definitely works. I missed breakfast today, so I'll be nice and hungry.”

She casually looked him over and decided that he was intriguingly handsome. From the look of him, she figured he was old enough to be her dad.

That thought brought on a sadness that was literally painful, because her father died in a car accident not too long ago. Up until then, he doted upon her. They'd had a perfect relationship, and she missed him like crazy. As poor as they were, she'd always felt loved and protected.

She switched her train of thought to that morning, which had already been overly productive. After leaving her-boyfriend as he slept, she helped herself to the money in the casino safe and then committed grand theft auto, stealing his apparently unreliable, yet ridiculously expensive car.

“Well, later I've got a meeting at a pub in Vermont Village. I guess that's a neighborhood in Los Angeles. I have to admit, I'm kind of unprepared, but I'm buying a car—and other things,” she explained, which was partly the truth.

The meeting was set up on the spur of the moment the night before. Their bartender was knowledgeable on the subject, and he told them about the guy named Charles.

“Not the best neighborhood,” Jack warned, giving the young woman another once over. She was so young and delicate, and his first impression was that she was also a little gullible.

“Oh, I had no idea,” she said, chewing a fingernail as she remembered a similar discussion with her friend, Polly. Apparently everyone agreed that it was insane to meet a stranger from the internet with a huge bundle of cash. However, after weighing the danger against the alternative, escaping Alan won out.

Kimi figured if Jack knew the whole story he'd think she was an idiot, so she kept quiet while feeling completely inept.

He glanced at her sideways. “Yeah, calling it rough is really an understatement. It's actually more like a war zone, so take this" —he passed over a business card— "just in case you need a lift or anything else. I'm not heading out until tomorrow morning when the load is delivered.”

"Thank you," she said, smiling as she glanced down at his card. It got right to the point with 'Jack Robins' and then below it was his phone number, an email address and a small picture of a big rig truck.

The offer to help gave her a warm feeling that she hadn't felt for a long time. She tucked his card into her pocket, already sorry that they’d be parting ways. Unfortunately, if things went wrong, she didn’t have a cell phone to call him with. She’d left it behind, because Alan had bought it and she didn’t trust him. As far as she knew, he could somehow track her down with it.

In fact, she’d left everything behind. Well, except for his car and the casino’s ten thousand dollars. It was just enough to pay for her new identity and disappear. All she really wanted was to settle somewhere far away from Alan. Frowning, she rubbed her bruised arm. There was something really wrong with him. In fact, she was pretty sure he harbored a hidden psychotic condition of some sort. Too bad he hadn't shown it until she moved in with him.

Her escape and the robbery happened without much forethought or planning. She actually considered it more of a necessary theft, because that sounded better and she was truly desperate.

“You look beat,” Jack said, noticing that the pretty girl rubbed her arm repeatedly. “Why don’t you get yourself comfortable and have a nap?”

A yawn hit her out of nowhere, and she nodded. “Thanks, I think I’ll do that. I had a hard night.” She reclined the seat and closed her eyes, unwillingly replaying the last twenty-four hours again.

 

***

 

The night before, Kimi was working in the casino lounge when Polly pulled her aside. “Meet me after work at the bar, okay? I’ve got a way for you to get away from that dickhead and his stupid plans for you.”

It was too good to be true, but Kimi tried to sound hopeful. “Really? Well, I’ll be there around midnight, but I doubt you can stay up that late.”

Polly hugged her. “Oh, don’t worry about me. These are dire circumstances. We’ve got to get you out of here.”

As Kimi watched her friend hurry back to the office, she wondered what cockamamie plan she came up with this time. Polly worked nine to five and was a dedicated early bird, so Kimi figured this scheme would be a doozie if it warranted such a late meeting.

They’d grown up together on the nearby reservation. Polly knew everything about her, but Kimi regretted confiding about Alan. Since the day she confessed to his abuse, Polly hadn't stopped trying to help. It was a little frustrating because Kimi was hopelessly trapped and her friend continuously came up with ideas that would never pan out.

Later, Kimi waited in a quiet booth, still wearing her sequined waitress uniform when her excited friend arrived. “This is drastic, but I have an idea and it’ll work. First, Bob the bartender told me about a guy on the internet who sells fake identities. So you’ll need money for that. If you come in the office at 4AM, you’ll have ten minutes to hit the office safe while the server backup is running. It happens once a month, so it has to be tonight.” She slipped the safe combination into Kimi’s hand.

“No way. You’ll get in trouble,” Kimi said, hardly able to believe they were even talking about it.

“Like I care. Anyway, I’ll just tell the asshole that I had it written down and lost it,” she said, talking about Alan. He was her boss, too, but she wasn’t afraid of him because she wasn’t living with him. To her, he was just a particularly rotten employer.

After a few drinks and going over what little fine points there were, Kimi finally agreed but she was still on the fence. “Okay, you can stop worrying. I’ll go for it, Polly,” she lied, as she hugged her goodbye.

Kimi wasn’t much of a drinker and the alcohol had a calming effect, but it also threw off her mediocre judgment. It would have been much better to stay away from home, especially since her imminent robbery was only three hours away.

With a yawn and a stagger, she headed out the front entrance into the quiet parking lot. It was past midnight, and even though the Arizona desert sky was full of stars, they were all but invisible because of the blinding casino lights. The belligerent marquee near the road silently mocked her as it announced her debut performance tomorrow night. She paused to angrily flip it off because she hadn’t agreed to any of it. Alan just told her she was doing it, and when she stood her ground he went a little crazy.

She had an instinctive, natural grace when it came to dancing, but she didn't want to do it in front of an audience, and definitely not naked. The situation made her stomach hurt and she hurried to the gutter and vomited.

Just across the road was a cluster of hotels and one high rise condominium that reflected the lights from the casino. It was where she lived with Alan, and she hated going home more and more every time.

She wished she’d never met him. It was his great looks that got her. The man was completely perfect, with dark hair and a big, solid body. With his impeccable style and confident attitude, he turned women’s heads everywhere he went.

“Well, they can all just have him!” Kimi yelled, staggering sideways on her high heels as she stumbled home. “Damn. Who keeps moving the ground?”

The skimpy, sequined uniform flashed in the lobby as she passed through, only pausing to wave at the guard. Inside the elevator, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

At the top floor, she quietly exited the elevator and headed toward their door. As she reached for the knob, it jerked open and Alan’s eyes narrowed at his staggering girlfriend.

“Why were you so late? Are you fucking drunk?” His hand lashed out across her face with a loud crack and her head snapped back so hard she felt stunned.

“You know I don't like you coming home late!” he shouted, his face a mask of fury as he grabbed a handful of her long hair. She cried out in shock as he yanked her inside, shoving her toward the bedroom.

Knowing better than to keep him waiting, she tried to act natural while unzipping her uniform. It was difficult to do without arguing, but every day things got worse and she was afraid of what he'd do. She gracefully pulled the bodysuit off and slowly danced her way toward the bathroom, flinging the uniform at him with a flirty spin.

“Fucking stupid bitch, I said get on the damn bed!”

The alcohol inhibited her better judgement and she finally lost her temper. With her eyes narrowed, she kicked off her shoe and made sure it flew straight at his head. As he dodged it, she turned and ran straight for the bathroom.

With a grin, he vaulted over the bed and caught her easily. Enjoying another chance to use his superior strength against her, he slammed her petite body against the wall as he squeezed the hell out of her arms.

“I said strip!" he shouted in her face, giving her a brutal shake. "I’m sick of arguing about this bullshit. You’re doing the goddamn show! Now let’s see you perform. Get on the bed and shake that ass!” He shoved her toward the bed so hard she fell. In a panic she scrambled to her feet and up onto the bed just to get away from him. “Dance and strip. Just like you're doing on stage tomorrow night.” He whipped his belt from the loops and slapped it down on the sheets.

As she started swaying, she discovered that the surface of the bed wasn’t easy to move on. Especially not after she'd been drinking. Turning her back, she reached to unfasten her bra with shaky hands, then tossed it at him. No music played as her graceful body undulated and she twisted and twirled, the ceiling lights shining down on her smooth skin and flawless curves. It was time to remove the last article of her clothing, and her hips swayed with the expertise of a seasoned belly dancer.

Her one man audience watched in amazement, hardly able to believe his luck in discovering her. She was a goldmine. It was pure luck when he'd seen her on the security cameras dancing as she cleaned. The way his little Kimi moved was irresistible. She was a natural, and the bitch was all his, too. Her tight pussy had only ever known his cock, meaning he owned her.

It was time to remove the last article of clothing, but she didn’t want to do it and drew out the dance longer. Her body language was seductive and enticing, but her thoughts were anything but, filled with fear and hate. Hooking her thumbs under the elastic waist of her fishnet hose, she hesitated.

Deciding she'd practiced enough, Alan grabbed the sheet and yanked hard. Kimi shouted in surprise as she toppled over and before she knew what was happening he was on her. He wrapped her wrists in his belt and flipped her onto her back to grin down at her.

“Not bad! You're learning some new moves. You'll bring in a fortune!" His teeth bit into her ear lobe and tugged. "We'll use it to buy plenty of stripper outfits that I can rip off you,” he said, grabbing her ass with one hand and tearing her fishnet hose open in the back.

"I'm not going to strip! I told you I wouldn't do it!" she argued, gasping as he smacked her across the face.

While glaring down at her, he freed his cock from his pajamas and leaned back to take hold of her ankles. He bent her legs with her feet almost by her head. The backs of her legs were rested against his muscled torso and her feet rested on his shoulders as he paused to let her think about the situation.

"Didn't I tell you we're done arguing about it?" he asked, positioning his cock to push against her virgin ass hole.

Adrenaline kicked in as Kimi realized his intentions. Her eyes met his and what she saw terrified her. He'd never let her win, and he wanted to cause her pain. Hearing her screams was what he enjoyed the most. While biting her lip to keep from begging, she tried to free her arms from his belt. Unfortunately, he’d secured them too well, and there wouldn’t be any escape.

“Let's break new ground tonight before the new ground tomorrow.” His unlubricated cock moved suddenly as he thrust, savoring her gasp as he forced the head into her resistant hole. His hot breath washed over her face as he groaned at the squeezing and began pushing in deeper.

The stretching hurt so bad that she couldn’t help but scream as he began to pump in and out of her. What he was doing terrified her because she’d never had anal sex, and it was so painful that she thought he’d damaged something. It was even hard to breathe because of how he had her bent up like a pretzel with all of his weight pushing down onto her.

“I hate you, Alan!” she screamed.

The slap to her face stunned her into silence, and he hit her again on the backhand for good measure. “No you don't, slut, you love this! It's what a whore like you needs,” he explained as he started thrusting harder, his full weight driving his shaft in against the resistance. “If I thought I couldn't trust you…” The comment faded with an unspoken threat. His mouth pressed to hers, saliva running over her skin.

Alan groaned as he came, pumping his load home in her ass violently before rolling onto his back. “Tomorrow morning you’ll do a special performance on stage just for me, got it? Afterward I’ll let you suck the cum out of my cock. Now go clean yourself up." He grinned, looking forward to seeing her in the spotlight as he used her uniform to clean himself.

Kimi crawled out of bed, her legs wobbly as she made her way to the bathroom. Things got worse every time she came home, but that was the last straw. It persuaded her to carry out Polly's haphazard escape plan. There wasn’t any choice left but to run.


Chapter 2

 

A police siren snapped her out of the terrible memory just as she was drifting off to sleep, and she bolted upright in her seat, instantly picturing her face on a wanted poster. A desperate gasp escaped as her wide eyes stared at the side view mirror in horror. A squad car was fast approaching with its flashers on.

“Oh, no! Crap! Are we getting pulled over?” she cried, flopping back down in the seat. She looked toward the back of the cab for a hiding place, feeling so anxious she was suddenly lightheaded.

Alan was friendly with the police, and they’d just return her to him. There was no telling what he’d do then…especially after what she’d done to his dashboard. At the time, it was just too hard to resist the payback, but she regretted it now.