I've tried so hard to keep Mick Taylors character in character it's been quite hard but I hope I've pulled it off. Hope everyone enjoys the next chapter.

The blue/grey Ford F100 sped across the wilderness, an awkward silence stretched out almost as long as the empty dust road, there was nothing to see for miles other than sand, a few bushes and the odd kangaroo. The sun was slowly setting in the distance casting an orange glow on the empty wilderness around them. Sophie turned round in her seat to look through the back window wondering if there were any cars behind them but saw nothing other than his rifle in the back of the truck.

"Is that a Remington .22 Model 541?" There was a touch of awe and amazement in her voice. She then stopped dead as she realised she had actually dared to make conversation and acknowledge him. Mick threw his head back and gave a chilling laugh; it sent shivers down her spine.

"So the little girlie knows a thing or two about rifles does she?" She could pinpoint the impressed tone in his voice.

"My names Sophie and yes she does" in an irritated tone being fed up with being called girlie all the time.

"Well Sophie, Mick Taylors the name, pig shooter and outback legend" He boasted puffing out his chest proudly. "So how does someone like you know about rifles?" He had always summed her up as a posh stuck up tart, with more boobs than brains (usually how he liked them)

"My dad was a hunter; until he died that is...don't suppose you have a drink with you? I'm gasping" she looking at him hopefully.

"There's a bottle of water in the back" he answered pointing his thumb over his shoulder, keeping one hand on the steering wheel not taking his eyes off the road. She looked relieved and wiggled out of her seat and leaned over in the gap between the seats to reach the water.

Mick struggled to keep his eyes on the road as his eyes diverted to her perky round bottom bobbing around in their tight denim jeans bent in between the seats. Sophie grabbed the water bottle just as Mick's diverted eyes caused the car to swerve. She struggled to keep herself upright as she fought to get back into her seat.

"What was that, what you trying to do kill us?" Mick smiled and gave another blood curdling laugh, it would have been funny except he was the only one that knew the joke and smiled to himself as he saw Sophie taking swigs out of the bottle from the corner of his eye.

He watched Sophie slink back into the chair in the corner of his eye and chuckled to himself. Her eyes were getting heavy and she had suddenly been overwhelmed with tiredness. "Maybe just close my eyes for a little while won't harm" she thought to herself. Mick watched her eyes drift open and closed slowly until the drugs finally kicked into effect and she fell into a deep sleep.

Mick's eyes gazed over her sleeping body, he growled to himself as his eyes met her curvy hips, toned stomach and of course her ample breasts. She sure was a looker, he had to give his mates credit for that as they sure knew how to pick them. But yet he was surprised with how much she knew, many times a woman had been looking down the barrel of his rifle and they'd never be able to identify it, it was refreshing to have a woman that had some brains. "One that might just be an intellectual match for him, he was going to enjoy playing with her. But all in good time" He thought to himself he could wait, good things come to those who wait and he was going to savour it when he did.

Sophie's brains pounded in her skull as she gradually gained consciousness and a dark and dingy room slowly came into focus through blurry eyes. She groaned and went to sit up but found herself unable to move. Her eyes went wide as she started to panic, she pulled at her wrists and found they wouldn't move, next she pulled her legs with the same result. Her breath became uneven and panicky as she frantically looked at her wrists and legs to find they were tied to a table with thick rope.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" she thought over and over again in her mind. "He was the bloke she should be scared of, he's going to kill me he wasn't my rescuer at all and he had just wanted me for himself" She thought. Her mind worked overtime as she thought about how she was going to get out of this situation. Frantically she started pulling at the ropes hoping that they might break free or become loose.

Suddenly a chuckle sounded from somewhere in the darkness, making her blood run cold.

"Bloody bout time you woke up" Mick said as he slowly leaned into her vision holding a bowie knife. "I was gonna wake you up if you took any longer"

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked boldly trying to sound unafraid.

"Whatever I want, whenever I want, you're my little play thing now" He laughed to himself at the thought. "Now be patient with me while I take of my favourite shirt then we'll get down to business" Her eyes flickered side to side taking everything in, she saw Mick taking off his shirt revealing a white vest underneath and her eyes finally rested on the gaping hole in the top of his muscular shoulder. She noticed by the river of thick red blood that it was bad, there was so much it was almost black. It ran down in thick sticky streams, covering his hand and dripping off the ends of his fingertips.

"Fuck you" she said looking him directly in the eye. Mick raising an eyebrow in surprise, he hadn't expected her to be so brave "I don't care what you do to me, because with that wound on your arm you won't be doing anything for very long"

"What do you mean by that?"Mick asked concerned, his face puzzled.

"Your bullet wound is exactly where your Axillary artery is; depending on how long it took us to get here you could be dead within 10 minutes"

She could tell her statement had hit home hard, she could see him calculating just how long the car journey had taken, he looked concerned.

"Mick I can sort it, just untie me and I can stitch it for you" She said in a soft caring voice.

"Do you think I'm fucking stupid or something, you can't out smart me you know"

"Fine... fucking bleed to death, as if I'm bothered" she shouted back, bold as brass and full of confidence. His eyes went wide as he realised the gravity of the situation he was in.

"How long do I have?" he asked concerned.

"How the hell do I know you drugged me remember? All I know is if your artery is bust you have an hour max from the time you got shot" Mick started pacing round the room, he didn't know what to do, if he left his arm like it was he could die but if he untied her she could make a break for it and try to escape. He started to swear and mutter under his breath. Sophie began to panic she had to get Mick to trust her.

"Mick I can sort it, please just untie me and I promise I'll stitch it for you. You can trust me, I won't try and escape you have my word" She could see the cogs in his brain turning trying to think how to resolve the situation, he hated to be in a position where he was simply going to have to take a woman's word for it. He gave a heavy sigh, leaned right up close to Sophie and put his knife to her chin.
"Alright girlie, I'll get the stuff you need, I'll trust you this once and you better not try anything funny or It'll be making a head on a stick time and trust me you don't want to find out what that is"