The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton [121]
I smiled. “You’re very strong.”
“My arms are all I have. They have to be strong,” Wanda said.
She started picking at the ropes that bound my right wrist. “It’s too tight.”
“You can do it, Wanda.”
She picked at the knot with her fingers, until after what seemed hours, but was probably about five minutes, I felt the rope give. Slack, I had slack. Yea!
“You’ve almost got it, Wanda.” I felt like a cheerleader.
The sound of footsteps clattered down the hall towards us. Wanda’s battered face stared up at me, terror in her eyes. “There’s not time,” she whispered.
“Go back where you were. Do it. We’ll finish later,” I said.
Wanda hand-walked back to where Bruno had laid her. She had just arranged herself into nearly the same position when the door opened. Wanda was pretending to be unconscious, not a bad idea.
Tommy stood in the doorway. He’d taken off his jacket and the black webbing of the shoulder rig stood out on his white polo shirt. Black jeans emphasized his pinched-in waist. He looked top-heavy from lifting so many weights.
He’d added one new thing to the outfit. A knife. He twirled it in his hand like a baton. It was almost a perfect sheen of light. Manual dexterity. Wowee.
“I didn’t know you used a knife, Tommy.” My voice sounded calm, normal, amazing.
He grinned. “I have a lot of talents. Gaynor wants to know if you’ve changed your mind about the zombie raising.”
It wasn’t exactly a question, but I answered it. “I won’t do it.”
His grin widened. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Why?” I was afraid I knew the answer.
“Because he sent me in here to persuade you.”
I stared at the glittering knife, I couldn’t help myself. “With a knife?”
“With something else long and hard, but not so cold,” he said.
“Rape?” I asked. The word sort of hung there in the hot, still air.
He nodded, grinning like a damn Cheshire cat. I wished I could make him disappear except for his smile. I wasn’t afraid of his smile. It was the other end I was worried about.
I jerked at the ropes helplessly. The right wrist gave a little more. Had Wanda loosened the rope enough? Had she? Please God, let it be.
Tommy stood over me. I stared up the length of his body and what I saw in his eyes was nothing human. There were all sorts of ways to become a monster. Tommy had found one. There was nothing but an animal hunger in his gaze. Nothing human left.
He put a leg on either side of the chair, straddling me without sitting down. His flat stomach was pressed against my face. His shirt smelled of expensive after-shave. I jerked my head back, trying not to touch him.
He laughed and ran fingers through the tight waves of my hair. I tried to jerk my head out of his reach, but he grabbed a handful of hair and forced my head back.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.
I didn’t dare jerk at the ropes. If my wrist came free he’d see it. I had to wait, wait until he was distracted enough not to notice. The thought of what I might have to do to distract him, allow him to do to me, made my stomach hurt. But staying alive was the goal. Everything else was gravy. I didn’t really believe that, but I tried.
He sat down on me, his weight settling on my legs. His chest was pressed against my face, and there was nothing I could do about it.
He rubbed the flat of the knife across my cheek. “You can stop this anytime. Just say yes, and I’ll tell Gaynor.” His voice was already growing thick. I could feel him growing hard where he was pressed against my belly.
The thought of Tommy using me like that was almost enough to make me say yes. Almost. I jerked on the ropes and the right one gave a little more. One more hard tug and I could get free. But I’d have just one hand to Tommy’s two, and he had a gun and a knife. Not good odds, but it was the best I was going to get tonight.
He kissed