I eased away from Noah, circling Tesler, who kept his gaze on his target.

Noah's chin lifted. "I wanted money, so I sold them information, but only about that stuff. I would never have led them to Dennis. They followed me and I tried to fight-"

"You're a little thug," Tesler said. "Hick town white trash who thinks he's cool because he's grown fangs and claws. But when things get ugly, he wants his mommy… or the nearest substitute."

I charged Tesler. He braced for a blow, but instead I launched myself at him, hitting him hard, knocking him off his feet. I flipped him onto his stomach before he landed, then crushed his face into the snowy ground, stifling any cries that would bring his brother running.

As Tesler struggled, I waved for Noah to go. When he didn't, I snarled a silent "Run!" Still he hesitated. I smacked Tesler into the ground, then surreptitiously pinned him with my knee, and released him, making it look as if I'd knocked him unconscious. I gestured for Noah to go, that I was right behind him. He took off, motioning for me to grab the extra coat and boots as he took his.

Noah was barely out of sight before Tesler threw me off. We fought. I might have had a chance, if Eddie hadn't heard and come ripping around the corner. Some of the fight went out of me then.

As hard as I tried to ignore Eddie, I knew that the minute his brother was in serious danger, he'd leap in, and I couldn't take them both. Realizing that was like pinching off the adrenaline pump that had kept me going. Every bruise from our earlier fight flared, every joint screamed, my head throbbed and the exhaustion of fighting my way back from hypothermia seeped into every muscle of my body.

Finally, Tesler had me pinned by the throat. I found my strength again, wildly fighting as his hand crushed my windpipe. I gasped and gurgled, then blacked out. When I recovered, he'd eased off, but was looming over me, his expression warning I had only to twitch and he'd choke me again.

I lashed out, trying to jab his eye, unable to reach, his hands tightening around my throat again, smiling, elated for the excuse. As I fought, that little-girl voice screamed for me to stop. I couldn't. I blacked out again. When I came to, I saw flashes of my family-no serene last portrait, but their anger, their confusion.

Was I going to die to avoid being raped? Did I think that was somehow noble, defiant? No, it would mean letting Tesler win in a far worse way-proving that he'd found the thing that scared me more than any other.

I stopped struggling. But as hard as that voice screamed, I wouldn't retreat into my safe place. I wouldn't look away. Travis Tesler might have won the battle for physical domination, but that was all he was getting. I promised myself that any satisfaction he gained from the next few minutes would be short lived. He would die for this. And I would be the one to kill him.

He grabbed my breasts. Grabbed, rubbed, squeezed until it hurt. I wouldn't look away. When he ground his hips against mine… there was nothing to grind. He was limp. He forced my hand down and made me rub him. Nothing happened.

"It's too cold," Eddie said. "Get her inside."

Tesler ignored him. He ground against me, pawed me, hurt me. I kept staring at him, and that was all it took.

He smacked my face. Once, twice. My nose bled into the snow, but still I turned back to him and met his gaze.

"Come on, Travis," Eddie said. "It's fucking freezing out here. Get her inside and you can-"

"Shut up."

He hit me again. Consciousness threatened another holiday, but I blinked it back and kept staring.

Eddie stepped toward us, hands out as if to pull his brother off me. Tesler swung at him, catching him in the thigh, making his leg buckle.

"I said back off," Tesler snarled.

"Or what? You'll choke me, too? Christ, Travis. It's a girl. Just a fucking girl. She's not worth this."

Tesler paused, then slowly nodded. "You're right. She's not." He turned to me, lip curled, teeth bared. "You think you're too good for me, bitch? You think I'm the worst thing that can happen to you? My brother's right. You've taken up too much of my time already. Eddie? Grab me some rope."

STAKED

I FOUGHT AGAIN, but it was too late. Even with the specter of a lynching dangling before me, I didn't have what it took to escape. I cursed my weakness. I hated myself for not finding some hidden well of strength. But I just didn't have anything left.

As I quickly discovered, lynching wasn't what he had in mind. He bound my ankles, then tied my wrists behind my back, as Eddie held me still. Once I was secured, Tesler ordered Eddie back inside. Eddie went-I was no danger to his brother now, and that was all that mattered.

Tesler started pulling me by the long end of the rope. He dragged me over every buried limb and rock, through every bush. Very satisfying, I'm sure, but he wasn't in the best of shape himself, and apparently my stifled yelps weren't worth the effort of dragging me over and through obstacles. So he threw me over his shoulder, and settled for verbal bullying.

"Do you know what's out here?" he said. "Something a lot worse than me. You've been running around these woods, you and your hubby. Have you seen our beast? I bet you have. It's curious, always sniffing around. It doesn't give us any trouble though. Know why? Because I figured out what it likes. The same thing I do."

"The missing girls," I whispered before I could stop myself.

"You saw the posters? Bet you figured I was responsible, didn't you?"

"You were."

"Just for taking them up on their offer. No one made them have a drink with me. No one forced them into my truck. They came along willingly. But as you may have guessed, I don't much like willing women."

"Where are they?"

"Here and there. Bits of them anyway. When I was done, I left then for our beast friend. You know how some werewolves have a reputation for eating after fucking? Well, they've got nothing on this bastard. I swear he was chowing down before he finished. Should have heard those girls scream."

I gritted my teeth and tried to block his words, to visualize something else. I managed to miss whatever he said next, then he dumped me onto the ground, jarring me back to the present.

I tried to stand up, but I could only twist and writhe. He grabbed the rope dangling from my hands and dragged me to a tree. I fought harder then, but it was no good. Even if I managed to get a limb free, he'd only truss me up again. So I waited as he tied the rope to the tree.