CHAPTER 1
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE
Sharon Rhodes cursed as she carefully guided her car onto the shoulder. The engine of
her Saturn had sputtered and died suddenly and without warning. After braking to a stop,
she smashed her fist against the steering wheel.
"Damn it!" she shouted out loud. Car trouble was the last thing she needed.
She was already running late returning from a business meeting half a state away and just
wanted to get home.
She snatched up her cell phone and began dialing her boyfriend before she realized she
had no signal. She pointed the phone every which way, but nothing. She wasn`t out in the
boonies or anything, so how could she have absolutely no signal?
"Damn it!" she said again. She slammed the useless phone down and turned to
watch the other cars speed past. Her Saturn wasn`t even a year old. It was supposed to
be reliable. Why would it just quit like that?
Sighing in resignation, she switched on her flashers, then popped the hood latch and got
out to lift it up. Eventually a highway patrol car would come by. In the gathering dusk
she worked quickly, finishing up just as large drops began to fall from a lone cloud
overhead.
As she opened the door to get back in, she saw a large truck signal and pull off the
road. It slowed and stopped about fifteen feet behind her.
A white knight, she thought, smiling.
The truck was one of those huge, long haul tractor-trailers. The red and silver cab was
so brightly polished it looked like it had just come off a truck showroom. Or wherever
big trucks like that are sold, she thought.
Seated in her car again, she watched in her left side mirror as the trucker emerged. He
opened an umbrella and jogged up beside her. She lowered the window and the man stooped
down.
"What`s the trouble?"
"I don`t know! It just died. I barely got it off the road."
"Turn the key."
She did as the man suggested. The engine gave a weak "rrr-rrr-rrr" and nothing
more.
"Hmm," muttered the truck driver. "Sounds bad. Have you called
anyone?"
"No. I mean, not yet. I mean–"
"Well, I know of a shop not far from here. If you want, I can give them a call.
They`re good guys. Won`t rip you off or anything."
Sharon pretended to consider the proposal. As if she had any better prospect. "Um,
okay. I really appreciate it."
"No problem. It might take a while, though. You wanna come and wait in the
truck?"
"Well ... I don`t know..."
"I`ve got a fully equipped sleeper unit. I mean, not that I`m suggesting–"
"It`s okay. I understand, but no thanks."
"We can get a pot of coffee going... It`s getting chilly out here."
Again Sharon pretended to think it over. Actually, she`d always wondered what those
fancy trucks were like inside.
"Are you sure you can wait with me?" she asked. "I mean, don`t you have a
schedule or something?"
"Just made my last stop, as a matter of fact. On my way home now. And I`m about to
take a week off, too, so there`s really no rush for me."
"Wow! Just when I thought all my luck was gonna be bad today. Okay, you convinced
me."
She opened the door and the man held the umbrella so it covered more of her than himself.
"My name`s Evan," he said, as they hurried together toward the truck.
"Pleased to meet you, Evan. I`m Sharon."
When they reached the truck, Evan climbed onto the step, opened the door and held out his
hand. Sharon couldn`t help smiling as she accepted the assist up into the cab. Her white
knight was in fact quite chivalrous. She scooted across the driver`s seat, past the tall,
complicated looking shifter, and sat in the passenger seat.
Evan climbed in and shut the door. He smiled at her and she smiled back. He was cute in
a truck-driver sort of way. His face hadn`t seen a razor for days, but he was reasonably
clean. Not her type, but hanging with a trucker might be fun for a change of pace.
Actually, as her gaze met his, she caught her breath. She thought she detected something
deeper in those dark wells – something secret, hidden, forbidden...
Evan motioned toward the back with his head. "If you don`t mind getting the coffee
started, I`ll make that call."
"Sure!" she agreed. She got up and stepped between the seats, through the
entryway into the sleeper compartment. It was amazing back there, like a tiny one room
apartment. There was a bed, cabinets, a desk with computer, microwave oven,
refrigerator...
She found the coffee maker and started to get a pot ready. "This is really
something!" she said. "You have all the comforts of home right here."
"Makes the long hauls easier to take."
His voice sounded closer than expected. She turned and found him standing in the
entrance to the sleeper.
"Oh! Did you call already? I didn`t hear anything. How long will it take for the
tow truck to get here?"
"I didn`t call."
She laughed. "Well, better get moving, buster. I`m sure you don`t want to sit
around here–"
"I`m not making any calls."
"What?" Sharon stopped what she was doing and stared at him. He didn`t seem to
be joking. "Why not? I thought you said–"
"I lied."
"What are you talking about? What`s going on?" She suddenly became aware that
he was blocking the only way out of the truck. And his eyes were fixed on her chest. She
wasn`t showing any cleavage; her modest V-neck sweater wasn`t cut low enough to reveal
anything, but the way he was staring, she felt naked nonetheless.
She stood up straight and took a step toward him. "I think I should go now."
He didn`t move. There was a small opening to his left. She started toward it, but he
shifted quickly and blocked her way again.
"This isn`t funny, Evan! Or whatever your name is."
"I`m not laughing."
It was true; he wasn`t. In fact, he appeared all too serious. And his eyes were still
focused on her breasts. "I bet," he said softly, "they`re awesome."
Sharon felt her mouth go dry. Her eyes darted all over the confined space of the
sleeper, but there was only one way out, and it was through Evan. Just outside, not
twenty feet away, cars continued to zip by as if nothing was wrong.
Then she remembered her disabled car, with its hood open and emergency flashers blinking.
"Look," she said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "Just let me
go right now and I won`t say anything to anyone."
Calmly, he shook his head. His lack of concern about getting caught disturbed her almost
as much as the situation itself.
"My car!" she blurted. "A trooper`s bound to come by any minute and see
it."
"Oh, I don`t think there`ll be any troopers comin` down this stretch of road for a
while."
How could he be so sure of that? "Please," she whispered. "You can take
my money–"
"Sharon," he said. "If I wanted your money, I`d have it by now. Let`s
just get you bundled up so I can get started."
Bundled up? Get started? What was he talking about?
"Turn around and put your hands behind you."
Oh God, she thought! He wants to tie me up! He`s going to violate me and kill me!
"No! Please! I swear I won`t tell anyone, just let me–"
His next moves were so fast she had no chance to defend herself. He struck her, a
stinging slap to the cheek that sent her reeling onto the bed. Then he was on top of her,
wrestling her, flipping her over, twisting her arms behind her and wrapping cord around
her wrists, like a cowboy roping a steer.
Dazed, it took several seconds for her to gather her wits. She finally began to struggle
and writhe, but it was already too late. Her arms were secured and he`d trapped her legs
and was binding her ankles.
"Help!" she screamed as loud as she could. "Help me! Someone!
HELLLP!"
Evan`s reaction terrified her. He simply stood up and listened to her yell. She
screamed and screamed, then stopped and gazed up at him. Tears ran down her cheeks. Fear
gripped her like a vise.
"Nobody can hear you, Sharon. I could let you scream all day, but it would become
annoying after a while."
"Please. Let me go. The ropes... They`re too tight!"
He sat on the edge of the bed and patted her hair. "Oh, we`ll be making some
adjustments to your restraints, don`t worry. For now, though, I`m gonna shut you
up."
She stared in horror as he held a large rubber ball in front of her mouth. Keeping her
lips clamped tight, she shook her head. If he thought he was sticking that thing in her
mouth, he was crazy.
"Really, Sharon, don`t be stupid," he said. "I`m gonna get this in your
mouth one way or the other."
His tone of voice was disconcertingly gentle, considering the fact that he was in the
process of abducting her! Like his lack of worry about getting caught, it frightened her
more than if he`d been loud and menacing.
"Huh uh!" she muttered, determined to make up for her failure to fight him off.
And her stupidity for coming with him in the first place.
"For instance," he went on. "I could pinch your nose shut. You`d have to
open your mouth eventually for air."
She sucked her lips in tighter and buried her face into the mattress.
"Think about it," he said. "You`ll be gasping for breath, plus you`ll
have the ball in your mouth. Kind of a double whammy. If you just open up, it`ll really
be much easier for you."
Yeah, right, she thought. You`re so thoughtful, trying to make my own abduction easier
on me.
"Or," he continued. "I could ... slap you around. Beat you. I can be
very mean if I have to be."
He still wasn`t loud, but a menacing tone had definitely crept into his voice. Sharon
whimpered, frustrated and afraid. She was trapped. Maybe it really would be better to
play along. For now.
She turned her face toward the ball and parted her lips slightly. "Fine. You
win."
"Wider," he said.
She opened as far as she could.
"There`s a good girl," he said as he worked the ball in until it was wedged
behind her teeth. Her eyes widened as her mouth was filled to capacity, and the taste and
smell of rubber overwhelmed her.
Quickly, he tore off a piece of duct tape from a roll he had handy, and smoothed it over
her trembling lips. He added a second strip of tape, and then a third.
And then he added more rope to her binding. Cords soon circled her chest, above and
below her breasts, cutting into her shoulders and securing her arms even more tightly
behind her. Last, he bound her legs above and below her knees.
Finally, he stood and stared down at her. She turned away from him, writhing and tugging
at her bonds. The ropes chafed her skin with every move, but held firm. Despite the gag,
she continued to yell as best she could and stopped only when she heard the door slam.
When she glanced back to where Evan had stood, he was gone.
She managed to sit up, then get to her feet. She was wobbly at best, with her ankles so
tightly bound and her four inch heels still on her feet. From where she stood, she could
see out the windshield.
There was Evan, inside her car! The door was open and he was rummaging around in the
driver`s seat. After a moment, he emerged with her purse, but instead of coming directly
back to the truck, he stopped and stooped down by the rear bumper. He reached under the
car, pulled something loose, and only then returned.
"Ah, I see you`re up!" he said brightly as he entered the truck once more. She
glared at him and his chipper tone of voice. "I brought your purse. You won`t be
needing it, but this way it won`t be quite so obvious that you were the victim of foul
play."
"Ohmph!" she uttered at the acknowledgement of what was happening to her.
"And this little device," he held up the thing he`d removed from her car`s
bumper. "This is something I dreamed up on my own. It`s a transceiver, see? When I
send it a special signal, it goes into action, sending out its own signals. One
completely screws up a car`s engine computer, making the engine stall. And the other
signal interferes with cell phones. Makes them quite useless."
Oh my God, she thought! My car trouble and cell phone trouble were both caused by this –
this truck driver?! How and when had he put that thing on her car?
"Clever lad, ain`t I?" he said chuckling at her distress. "But it`s time
to be off, now Sharon. I would tell you to buckle up, except there aren`t any seat belts
in the sleeper. But don`t worry! I have another way to make sure you stay safe back
there."
He stepped from the cab into the sleeper. Sharon wiggled and hopped, but if she couldn`t
get past him before, she was totally powerless against him now.
He picked her up bodily and set her down on the bed. Then he turned her onto her tummy,
bent her legs back and lashed them to her wrists. He tied another rope to the one
connecting her limbs and strung it up to a hook in the ceiling. He pulled this rope,
lifting her tethered arms and legs upward, until her back was arched and only her belly
made contact with the mattress.
"There," he said, cheerily. "All safe and sound. Comfy?"
"No!" she screamed, tossing her head wildly. "Ih hurfs!"
"Yes, yes, I know it hurts, but the first leg of our trip won`t be very long.
You`ll be fine."
She turned her head and watched him slip into the driver`s seat. He grabbed the shifter
and shoved it to a different position. Then she heard the engine roar and the truck
lurched forward and merged back onto the road.
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