Forsaken Read Online Free Page B

bounce around on the bottom using a leader and a spinner baited with night crawlers. Never tried it before. Do you fish?”
    “No, I don’t.” Chad tossed the stick into the fire and stood up. “That’s enough small talk. I think it’s time to get down to business.”
    Dad looked over his shoulder at Will, then squinted up at Chad, who towered over him. “But we just started talking.”
    Chad folded his massive arms in front of his chest. “I said, I’ve had enough.”
    “Please don’t do this, son.” The light from the fire flickered across Dad’s face, highlighting the lines in his forehead and making him look older than I’d ever seen him. But his eyes were fixed and hard, and the line of his jaw stretched tight as he spoke.
    Looking back now, I realize that at that moment he, too, had moved into another world—a world of absolute concentration. He’d been there before and knew that total concentration was the minimum requirement. It was a world he had wished to avoid for the rest of his life and hoped I would never have to see. A world of brutality and survival.
    I admired him so much for his calm in that moment, and I loved him. Dear, God, how I loved my dad.
    Chad clucked his tongue. “You don’t seem to understand, Mr. Pasbury. We have to do this. It’s what we do, isn’t it, Will? You see, sir, we came for your daughter. And we intend to take her.”
    Will laughed. It was a high-pitched, inhuman sound, more of a squeal. I trembled but didn’t take my eyes off Dad.
    “What do you mean you want to take her? Take her where?”
    Chad chuckled. “More accurately, we simply want to use her for a while. Right, Will?”
    Will stepped forward so he was standing to my right. He lifted the shotgun with one hand, resting the barrel on his shoulder.
    Dad had been waiting for an opening. Will’s nonchalance created one. From the corner of my eye I saw Dad pull one foot beneath him, so he was almost crouching rather than sitting on the log. He looked up at Chad. “I told you Taylor sometimes talks without thinking. If it’s an apology you want, I’m sure she’s thought better of her rudeness. Haven’t you, Taylor?” He looked me in the eye.
    “It’s true, I’ve got a big mouth. Always been a problem. I didn’t mean anything, though. I just joke around too much. If I offended you, I’m sorry.” I turned my head to meet Chad’s eyes.
    “No offense taken, truly. Nevertheless, you could use some work on your manners. Perhaps I can teach you a few things, and Will can reinforce your learning a bit when I’m done.”
    Dad pointed over his shoulder. “I’ve got money in the truck. More than a thousand dollars. Just let me go get my wallet, and I’ll give you all the cash we have. We’ll forget this and you can move on.”
    The idea gave me hope. If Dad could get to the truck, he might be able to grab the pistol he kept in the cab.
    Next to me, Will chuckled.
    “Why, Mr. Pasbury,” Chad said. “We didn’t come all the way out here for your money. Although I appreciate that you pointed out where we can find it. We want your daughter. What we intend to do is show her a good time. We’re not going to hurt her. In fact, by the time we’re finished, she might just find that she’s had the time of her life.”
    Dad looked him in the eye. “And you think I’ll just sit by and watch?” He lowered his hand to his side, closing it around something on the ground, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
    “You certainly can watch if you’d like. That’s an interesting thought. Not what I’d have expected of you. In any event, when we’re done we will move on. We have no intention of hurting anyone as long as you behave yourself.”
    “You need to think about this.” Dad held Chad’s gaze. “Let’s say you did this thing. And let’s say you killed us both. You’d get caught eventually. The owner of the gas station saw you with us. It won’t take the police long to figure it out. You can’t