Bait Read Online Free PDF Page A

out.”
    Her eyes watered. Pain radiated from where he’d hit her. She couldn’t breathe. His grip tightened cruelly as he leaned close, pressing himself against her so that she could feel buttons and smooth cotton and the terrifying strength of the body beneath imprinting themselves on her flesh. She hung motionless in his grip now, stunned, terrified, as vulnerable as a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf. His hand spanned her throat, fingers digging into the tender hollows below her ears. It hurt. Her cheek hurt. The back of her head hurt. But the pain was nothing compared to the surging tide of her fear. His breath, warm and stinking of onions, was hot on her cheek. His mouth was just inches from hers. She shuddered reflexively—then remembered the gun and went absolutely still.
    Where was it? He’d had it—he must still have it—somewhere. In a holster or ...
    He changed position, and she felt his free hand fumble at his waist. The hand he’d hit her with—his right hand—
    Is he going for his gun?
    The thought that he might be getting ready to shoot her, that at any second now she might feel the impact of a bullet ripping through her flesh and muscle and bone, made Maddie go weak at the knees.
    â€œThere’s m-m-money in my purse,” she tried desperately. Her voice was a hoarse, halting whisper that hurt her bruised throat. A quick sideways glance told her that the door was close, so tantalizingly close. The glimmering line of light from the hall was maybe three feet away.
    â€œI don’t want your money.”
    His hand came up toward her head —oh, God— and then flattened on her mouth. A rubbery smell, a sticky strip molding her lips—duct tape. Shaking with horror, she realized that he was duct-taping her mouth shut. His touch almost tender, he smoothed the strip out, then applied a second one.
    It was then that Maddie knew, without a single remaining flicker of doubt, that he meant to kill her.
    Without warning a bright beam shone full in her face: the flashlight. It blinded her as thoroughly as the darkness had moments earlier. Flinching, shaking, light-headed with fear, she squinched her eyes shut and prayed like she had never prayed in her life.
    For the space of a couple of heartbeats, he did nothing while the light played over her face. He seemed to be ... looking at her.
    Terror popped her eyes open again just as the light went out.
    Maddie heard herself make a sound: a moan. No, a whimper, barely audible beneath the tape.
    â€œScared?” There was the faintest hint of enjoyment in his whisper. “You should be.” His voice roughened. “Get down on your knees.”
    Fear surged like bile into her throat. She tasted the sharp, vinegary tang of it. His hand tightened around her throat, then shifted to the back of her neck, squeezing and forcing her down. It didn’t require much effort. Her knees buckled; she was dizzy, disoriented, literally sick with dread. The carpet felt stiff and prickly beneath her knees. Her hands splayed out over it, supporting her weight as cold sweat drenched her. The wintry blast of the air conditioner hit her damp skin, worsening her shivers, turning her as icy cold on the outside as she already was on the inside.
    Her single coherent thought was, Any second now, I’m going to die.
    From out in the hall, just faintly, Maddie thought she heard voices. He must have heard them too, or felt her tense in response, because his hand tightened painfully on the back of her neck.
    â€œDon’t make a sound.”
    He was behind her now, leaning over her, his hand hard and controlling on the back of her bent neck, pushing her face toward the carpet. Even as the voices died away, even as her hands shifted automatically to compensate for the forced redistribution of her weight, the horrible vision of rape flashed into her mind.
    Please, God, please, God, please ...
    Her fingers touched the pencil just as her