Claiming His Bounty Ch. 02

He looked down at his drink and swirled his finger around the rim. The pretty woman next to him kept her hand on his knee.

"I thought they were gonna kill me then and there. Instead, they cuffed me to the bed and left me there to die slowly. Day one, I knew that I was going to die. There was no hope. Days passed. I lost track of them. I was starving, thirsty, hallucinating. It was painful. It's the worst thing you can do to a human."

"Were you scared?" she asked.

Felix shook his head. "I accepted my death. Sure, it was going to be painful. But I didn't break down."

"You poor guy. How did you escape?"

"After about a week and so close to death, I used my last bit of strength to call for help. An elderly lady was passing by the house and heard me. It was a strange coincidence that it was the same lady I helped across the street only a couple weeks before. She called the cops and saved my life. The doctors said it was lucky she found me in time. I was only hours away from death."

The woman gasped. Her hand held his knee tighter. "You are so brave. I wish I was that brave." Still studying the drink in front of him, he nodded with small smile. "What were you thinking as you were dying?"

"Dying?" Marv roared with laughter as he came up to the bar next to Felix. In his arms were more folders of recent skips. Felix didn't attempt to stop him. "Let me tell you the real story. It's so fucking hilarious. So he fucks this woman who knocks him out and ties him to the bed. When he wakes up, her boyfriend threatens him and leaves him chained up. Two hours later, the police come to the door 'cause the neighbors complained about some psycho yelling his head off for help. The police barge in and find him screaming and bawling."

The woman rolled her eyes and took her drink to another part of the bar. Felix stared at his beer. "Why did you have to do that?"

"'Cause you have more jobs. You fucked up letting that bitch run. You owe me." He shoved three folders in front of him. "Stop thinking with your dick and bring in these skips." Marv left with the glare that hadn't subsided in two weeks.

He flipped through the folders. One of them had information of another young female in trouble. He cringed at her mug shot. She was ugly as hell. There wasn't any temptation with her. He could easily ward off any of her seductive moves. As he gulped down his beer and waited to sober up a bit, he took notes on which fugitive to take in first. He gathered the folders and shivered when the chilly wind helped sober him up on his way to his crappy rental car. He didn't attempt to report that his car was stolen. The douche's reminder was still fresh in his mind. The thought of his ball sack being castrated with pliers was motivation for any man to keep quiet. But that wasn't the main thing that bothered him the most about two weeks ago.

He was played by a beautiful girl. Her lovely mouth spewed lies just to get out of trouble. He refused to believe all of her stories were untruthful. The fear of her boyfriend was obvious. The reason why she returned to that sadist was a mystery he half-heartedly tried to solve. He wanted to believe that the sex wasn't a lie, that she wanted him. Every night since, when he lay in his bed at night, lonely and confused, he searched every moment with her, trying to find a clue that she was sincere. Marv was right. That bitch was just looking for a way out.

His phone rang just as his hand was on the door handle. He pulled it from his pocket. On the lit screen were the words, "unknown number." He answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Felix?" a woman said.

"Yeah, who is this?"

"It's Carry. Remember a couple weeks ago?" His lips tightened. "You were trying to take me in-"

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Please, I need your help." He heard desperation and fear in her trembling voice.

But he laughed. "Last time you needed my help you fucking lied to me. What makes you think I'll believe you now?"

"Please...I'm in so much trouble. My life is in danger!" She was a good actress. It sounded real.

"Fuck you."

"Please..." she whined and broke into sobs.

"Goodbye..."

"Felix! Wait!" He ended the call.

He shook his head. "Little fucking liar." He laughed at her lame cry for help and kept laughing as he drove home.

~

The next morning, Felix entered Marv's Bail Bonds to collect more information on the next young lady he planned to arrest. She was slipperier than the slut he slept with. No one knew where she was. As soon as he walked through the door, Marv jogged up to him.

"She was here!"

"Who was?"

"The bitch! Carry...um...Wild-"

"What the fuck? Why the hell-"

"She was looking for you. She was fuckin messed up. Her face was all bruised. Looks like someone gave her a good pounding. I couldn't catch her. She ran away fast."

Felix stared off to the side, thinking. "What did she want?"

"You, apparently. She was hysterical asking for you. She must be in real trouble. I don't think anyone could fake fear like that."

"You really think she's in danger?"

"Hundred percent sure. You better go catch her. Then bring her in. I want my money," he said with a growl and started to walk to his office.

"Did you ask where she was going?"

"I did. She replied, 'the morgue.'" Felix ran to his car and tossed the other skips' folders to the passenger seat. He searched his recent calls on his phone and tried the unknown number. Carry didn't answer. He called another number.

"Ello."

"Jay, I need you to work your magic. It's an emergency."

"Who's the skip and what's his number?"

~

With luck and skill, Felix found Carry's last location only a couple hours later. While waiting, he researched what he could about the boyfriend. The creep had a warrant for his arrest along with a long rap sheet full of past arrests. All but one of the charges was mysteriously dropped. One DUI put him in jail for not even a month.

Jay called with an address. It was half an hour out of the city, in the middle of nowhere and at the end of a dirt road. Felix closed his laptop after he scribbled down the directions. He attached his gun to his belt and headed for the highway.

He weaved through the traffic and flew down the semi-paved streets of a low class neighborhood. The spacing between houses grew wider, and the road turned to dirt and rock. He slowed as he made a right on the street that led him to Carry's location. He kept the car at a crawl and stopped when the house came into view. Behind thick trees, he parked his car.

He hid behind overgrown bushes and crept down the long driveway. Ahead was a small house with one parked car in the front. At the end of some bordering hedges, he stay crouched and waited for sound or movement. No one was in the front yard. He made his way to the backyard which extended to a small forest with wild, dry brush taking over. Low to the ground, he moved to the house and shrunk under an opened window. He heard voices but couldn't make out what they were saying. He went to another open window in the next room over. He peered over the sill.

The house barely contained furniture and was almost gone to hell from lack of maintenance. Past the rotten doorframe of that room, he saw into the hallway. The boyfriend and two other men were discussing something in low, angry voices. Carry stood close by. She kept her eyes low. The boyfriend turned to her and asked a question. Felix could see her mouth "fuck you" to him. With a well practiced backhand, he struck her face. She cried out and caught herself on the wall behind her. He grabbed her arm and led her into the room. Felix ducked.

"Sundown," the boyfriend said, "I'm gonna take this knife and slit your throat. And I'm gonna keep going until your head comes off." She didn't make a sound. "Tie her up. Once I get the call that the cop's house in up in flames, our little Judas is next."

Felix heard multiple footsteps fade away after they finished tying her and popped his head up. Carry sat in a chair, hands tied behind the back, head down and trembling. Knowing her fate was sealed, she didn't bother bawling or begging for her life. She stayed limp and quietly weeping.

"Carry," he whispered. She raised her head and looked around. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "I'm gonna get you out of here." Her quivering lips smiled. The last tear fell from her glossy eyes. He put his hand up, signaling her to wait. He leaned against the wall and searched his pockets. His useful tools were a gun and a pocketknife on his keychain. He was tempted to kick the door in and start shooting. He looked for a distraction instead.

He moved to the backyard and spotted an old charcoal barbeque. Propped against its legs was a bag of charcoal. Partially hidden in the shadows next to it was a container of charcoal lighter fluid. He smiled and quickly headed back to his car. Matchbox in hand, he went back down the driveway and stealthily circled her capture's car, letting his pocketknife rip through each tire.

Through the living room window, he could see two men smoking and talking casually. The TV blared in front of them. The boyfriend paced as he kept his cell to his ear. Felix moved around the house again and quickly checked on Carry. Her leg shook impatiently as she looked around the room. He snuck into the backyard and peered through the glass back door. Part of the kitchen blocked the living room and their view of the backyard. He dashed past the door and picked up the quarter full container.

He soaked four bundles of dry bushes with the lighter fluid and dropped a lit match into each one. He ran to the edge of the house and waited. It seemed to take forever for the flames to reach a few feet high. He held his breath and got ready, remembering that he had only seconds to get her out.

"Holy fuck! The yard's on fire!" one of the men shouted. He saw all three men scramble out the back door. He turned and threw himself into the window. Carry's breathing went shallow as he cut away her ties.

"Put the damn thing out!" the boyfriend yelled.

She grasped Felix's wrist and led him into the hallway and out the front door. They ran. Felix slowed to keep Carry in his sight, keeping his arm out for her to hang onto. She grabbed his hand as the first gunshot rang out. They flinched and ducked. Felix yanked her to the side of the driveway and threw her in front of him. She saw his car and sprinted for the passenger door. Another bang pierced the air. She fell in front of the door, then popped up and jerked the door open. He made sure she was in before he darted around the back and into the driver's seat. Carry got a glimpse of the three men running down the driveway at them while he turned on the engine. As they raised their guns to them, Felix made a hard left and barreled down the road.

"You gotta go faster!" Carry said as she looked through the back window, just making out the three men running back to their car.

"I slashed their tires. They're not leaving for a while."

She faced forward and sighed heavily, then shook as buckled her seat belt. "Where are we going?"

"Where do you think? Boss is pissed at me for letting you go."

"No please! Don't!"

"Why?"

"We're both dead if you take me in." But he turned left on the highway back to town. "I'm serious. I talked and have an execution coming my way. You helped me. He'll track you down and make it hurt."

The ball sack and pliers threat flashed in his mind. "Then what's your plan?"

"We gotta hide." She peered through the window and bit her thumbnail. "They've got warrants. If we tip them off, anonymously, we can wait until they're arrested."

"Then you'll promise to go to jail like a good girl?"

She frowned and sunk in her seat. "Sure," she said meekly.

He pulled to the shoulder of the highway and waited for a few cars to pass. He made a u-turn and stopped on the other side. "I know a place where we can go. But first, get out," he said as he opened the door and stepped out. She frowned in confusion and watched as he walked around the back of the car. He opened her door and waved for her to get out. "Turn around."

"Wha-" He slammed her body against the car and pulled her wrists back into handcuffs. "What the hell? Ouch!" He flung her around.

"This is because I don't trust you." They glared each other down as she sat in her seat. With a mocking smile, he slammed the door. Carry squirmed to try to get comfortable and grunted when he started up the engine.

"Don't you care about my safety?" she asked with an equally sarcastic grin.

"Since you asked so nicely..." He reached over and yanked her seatbelt across her.

"Thank you," she said as he roughly buckled her in. "Are you gonna tell me where we are going?"

"My friend has a property I can use as a safe house whenever I'm in trouble. We'll hide there." He picked up his cell from the middle compartment. "In the mean time, let's put that sociopath behind bars."

One hour passed, and they were still on the two lane highway with desert on each side and rest stops every twenty miles. Carry shifted in her seat and whined.

"What?" he asked.

"We have to stop at the next place that has a restroom. I really gotta piss."

He shook his head. "You'll wait until we get there. I can't risk you escaping."

"You gotta be fuckin kidding me! That's like an hour away! I can't wait that long. Can't you just pull over to the side and let me piss behind a cactus?" The car stayed straight on the road. He remained silent, ending the conversation. She looked out the window. "Fine."

"Wait, what do you mean...fine?" She let her body loosen up and took a few deep breaths. "What are you doing?" A small giggle escaped her lips. She closed her eyes. "This is a rental! You fucking bitch!" The taunting laughter continued as she

finished. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Yeah, sure."

His lips tightened. He wished he could make her pay. Thoughts of punishing her severely – humiliation, whipping, forcing himself on her – entertained his mind. Then he glanced at her face. Bruises marked the left side. The rest of her body was unblemished. He remembered how beautiful she was under her tomboyish clothes. Her perfect tits. Her wet cunt. Her moans. The memories came back to him. He looked back at her face. His anger turned into frustrated lust. He needed another chance with her.

He checked the GPS on his phone. The property was a few miles away. They left the highway then traveled down narrow, dirt roads and ascended windy paths over a lone hill. On the other side were trees and the beginning of a rural town where the desert ended. His friend's property was at the outskirts, isolated by thick, shady trees. At the end of the long driveway was a barn like building with a trailer next to it. He helped her out of the car, glaring at the stain on the seat and on her shorts, then released her from the cuffs.

"Don't you dare run. You'll be staying in shackles the rest of the time we're here. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," she mocked him. He opened the door to the windowless barn converted to an open and modern space with concrete floors and paneled walls. Using the outdoor light behind him, he groped for a light switch to illuminate the room. Overhead florescent lights went from dim to bright. They faced the whole room, stunned.

"What does your friend do for a living?" Carry asked.

"Chemistry teacher."

She stepped farther into the room. "Right." She meandered around the equipment, lovingly running her finger along her favorites and lightly rustling the chains.

"What the hell is this place?" Felix asked.

"It's a dungeon," she said with a smile.

"I think I've figured that. I just," he put his hands on his hips and looked around, "will never look at that guy the same way again." Her angelic smile and blushing cheeks caught his attention. "Why do you look so happy?"

"Oh, just remembering my days as a submissive."

"You were into this kind of thing?"

"Old boyfriends...old masters..." she explained as she put her hands behind her back. Her eyes rested on the floor. Her head was slightly bowed. She fidgeted, shyly, under his gaze and bit her lip. Her eyes flicked up to his.

The corner of his mouth turned up. "Tell me about these things," he said as he motioned around the room only decorated with sconces on the walls.

The seductive smile returned to her cute face. "Well, this place is used for sessions – play, sex, giving and receiving punishment." She strode to the front and turned, ready to give an impromptu lecture. "Sometimes these play times are temporary. Master and slave are only master and slave for the session. Others do this twenty-four seven."

"What was it like for you?"

"I've had both." She placed her hands on the first piece of furniture. "This is a swing. You've probably seen one before. Pretty vanilla unless you're gagged and bound to the bars. That's a different experience." She skipped to another part of the room.

"Now, this is awesome!" In the corner was a human-sized birdcage set on the floor. "I gotta try this out sometime," she said as she gripped the bars and imagined herself, naked and punished, feeling the bite of the cold metal bars as she tried to get comfortable, looking at the world from a bird's view in the suspended cage.

Next to that one was another coop, small and confined. She got on all fours. "This is where bad puppies are kept," she said with an innocent pout. He laughed quietly as she rose and went on to the next piece. "And I don't have to tell you what this is."

"It's a jail cell."

She entered and closed the door. The pout was still on her face. "How could you possibly put this cute girl in jail?" His eyes went from her beautiful, sulking lips to her boobs smashed against the thick bars. "Well, if I piss you off, you'll know where to put me." Her eyes lit up when she saw the next piece.

"Or..." She hopped out and stood before a large 'x' against a wall. With a graceful twirl, she placed her back to it and stretched her limbs. "I could spend some time on St. Andrew's Cross." She stepped forward and spun, plastering her tight abs against the solid metal frame. "You'd probably like this side more," she said over her shoulder, "so you can take the whip to me."

She skipped away to the next point of interest. "Or you can punish me differently. You could give that spanking you were talking about." She bent over a bench, giving him a view of her backside. The piss stain was in plain view. His annoyance with her returned. An impish giggle came out of her when she looked back and saw the glower on his face. She nodded her head to the other side of the room. "There are other kneelers and horses you could use as well to bind me and leave me in agony for hours." She snapped back up and sat on an odd shaped chair, crossing her legs suggestively. "You could use your imagination on how you want to display me. You have quite a variety here." She waved her hand, showcasing the other chairs and a tilting table. "And don't forget the stocks and yokes. Oh, and that trap box." She scowled and approached it but caressed it as a sentimental smile grew wide on her face, giving away how much she loved the humiliation. "I had to stay in a box like this for a few hours. I was a really bad girl that day."

"What did you do?"

"I told my Master to fuck off."

The cuss word coming out of her sweet mouth seemed dirty and wrong. Innocence seemed to pour from her fragile, tiny body. But he knew the slut hidden inside. The more he looked through the false façade, the more he lusted for her. His dick started to swell.

"Oh!" She ran to a rack holding implements. Eyes wide with terror and excitement, she stroked the paddles and took a flogger. She held her arm out, caressing the tails of the whip over it. In a quick flick of her other arm, she struck the pale flesh above her wrist. Her chest heaved, and she suppressed a moan.