Chapter 10

When Leanna came up out of the blackness, she stayed very still. She could here the man cussing under his breath. He was to her left. She knew from the floor and the smell that she was in the main barn. She could hear the cows in the distance to her right, so figured the doors were in that direction. Straining her ears, she tried to determine how far away he was and how close she was to the door. Then she heard him. He was moving towards her. She tried to get away by scooting backwards but he caught her by the hair and yanked her back.

'Bitch! That kick hurt but it won't stop me. I have a feeling you're gonna be mighty tasty and as long as we've got the place to ourselves, I plan on taking my time. Whether you enjoy it or not will be up to you.' Buddy leaned over her and tore her cotton chemise from the neck to her waist and grabbed her breasts with both hands, hard. She tried to twist away from him, but he dug his nails into her tender flesh, effectively stopping her. Tears began to escape from under the blindfold and ran down her face. 'I told you to be still.' Then Buddy leaned over and bit her nipple. Leanna cried out in pain.

James saw the horse tied to the tree and stopped the wagon. There was no sign of the rider.

'Billy, stay here, I'm going to walk up to the house and see if I can find Leanna. If I find her, I'll whistle and then you can bring the wagon. Do you understand? I want you to stay here.'

'Yea, James. I'll stay 'ere but shouldn't I 'elp find 'Anna? What about 'da bad man?', Billy asked, the fear in his voice reflected on his face. He was counting on James to find Leanna and protect her.

'I'll take care of the bad man. You stay here til I whistle. Then you come and take care of Leanna. OK?'

'OK.'

James got down from the wagon and using the trees for cover, made his way to the house. His gun was in his saddle bag, in the barn. His boot knife was the only weapon he had, and he had it in his hand. He made it to the porch without seeing anyone - no Leanna, no Buddy Wilkes, or Grays, or whatever the hell his name was. Something in the garden caught his eye and stopped his heart. Leanna's basket was overturned and the ground looked torn up as if a struggle had taken place.

Moving to the front door, he listened but heard nothing. He slowly opened the door and looked into the front parlor. Empty. The house had that deserted feel to it. He was positive no one was in the house. Moving quickly, he went through the dining area to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, he carefully looked out the windows towards the dairy barn. Even the cows were gone - in the pasture. The two horses in the corral looked calm. He opened the kitchen door and cautiously moved onto the porch. And then he heard a muffled scream.

James took off running towards the barn, knife in hand and murder in his heart. Skidding to a halt just outside the doors, he could here a man's voice and a woman's whimpers.

'See? Told you it would hurt if you didn't cooperate. Now, time to see the rest of the goodies!'

James ran into the barn, knife raised, and saw Thomas Grays standing over Leanna. Her breasts were exposed and her pants were undone. Grays was starting to bend over to remove them when he heard James. Startled, he stood up and reached to his hip bringing up a knife even more wicked looking than the one James had.

Grays laughed softly. 'Well if it isn't the whelp that tried to steal my Isabelle! Thought you were dead! I guess I'll have to rectify that, now won't I? Can't let you interfere again. Oh, no, those ghosts are gonna stay buried this time.'

Grays lunged at James. James managed to dodge away, but was tripped up by a piece of equipment sticking out from the wall. He fell hard to his side, his knife knocked out of his hand in the process. Grays spun around and saw James on the floor and dove at him. They rolled over each other on the floor, James trying desperately to keep the sharp knife away from his chest as Grays tried just as desperately to plunge it in.