CHAPTER SIX
Roy came awake suddenly. It took him a split second to realize what had startled him so badly. He'd looked around the dark cabin for a full minute before he felt it. Johnson was rubbing his hand up and down his chest.
A chill started in Roy's stomach and passed through his entire body. "Stop," Roy said as he tried to catch hold of the man's hand. Johnson pulled away from his grip. He knew instinctively that the man wasn't going to listen but he half hoped one of the others would wake up and try to stop him.
"Hmmm. I'm just getting started," Johnson whispered into Roy's left ear. The chill became a tremor. Johnson's hand strayed toward Roy's stomach. Angry, Roy caught hold of it again and tried to stop him. Unfortunately the man was significantly stronger than he was. With a soft chuckle, Johnson pulled his hand away and continued his descent. The man's putrid breath was coming faster against Roy's cheek.
Desperate to break free, Roy brought his left elbow forward and swung it as hard as he could against the man's body behind him. A grunt followed while Johnson's hand gripped him tighter in reaction to the pain. A louder chuckle and then Roy was being flipped around onto his back. For the first time in hours his shackled arm was free but it was still numb and useless.
"Get away from me," Roy demanded as he struggled to put a little more distance between them. He tried to scuttle backward on his butt but couldn't get very far. Even in the dim moonlight, Roy could see the lust burning in the man's eyes. A fear he'd never known before began to burn in his heart.
"No," Johnson replied. His right hand came out of the dark and punched Roy in the side of the head. Momentarily stunned, Roy was unable to defend himself when Johnson caught hold of his hair and smashed his skull against the ground three more times. The world began spinning drunkenly and sparks burned before his eyes.
"That's more like it," Johnson muttered. Roy was only distantly aware of the man undoing his shirt. His skin crawled as the strong, callused fingers rubbed over his cold skin. As Roy tried to gain control of his body again, he felt the fingers move down to the waist band of his jeans.
Fear spiked adrenaline into Roy's system. With his free left arm, he sent an uppercut into Johnson's chin. Not expecting the attack, the big man's head snapped backward with a loud grunt. Taking advantage of the man's momentary lapse, Roy jammed his knee into the man's groin. Not something he'd normally do but these were abnormal times. Roy was disgusted and unnerved to realize Johnson had been aroused when his knee made contact.
Breath whooshed out of the inmate upon impact. He bent forward as he struggled to inflate his lungs and recover from the burning pain running through his groin. While he recovered, Roy tried to move as far away as he could. He was still a paramedic and was unable to force himself to press his advantage further.
Growling like a bear, Johnson brought his head up and glared at the man attached to his wrist. This wasn't much fun anymore. Now he wasn't sure if he could perform the act with the pain coming from his member. He could see the fear burning in the smaller man's eyes. That just made him madder.
The growl became deeper. Then Johnson's hand shot out and gripped Roy by the throat. The move was so sudden that the still dazed fireman had no defence against it. Roy tried to use his free hand and his cuffed one to release the pressure on his throat but to no avail. Within seconds the world became darker and then brighter as red flashes appeared before his eyes.
Gasping for breath that wouldn't come, Roy felt his oxygen starved mind begin to give in. His eyes fluttered shut as darkness fell over them. He was only vaguely aware that Johnson was rumbling at the fasteners on his jeans with his free hand. Then he fell into oblivion.
The big man let go of his target, allowing the man to slump bonelessly to the floor, so that he could give the article of clothing his full attention. He revelled in the sense of power he felt over the unconscious man lying in front of him. Just as he got the zipper all the way down and was starting to pull the two halves apart to reveal the blue boxers underneath, his world went black. His body slumped over his intended victim.
OOOOO
The three vehicles pulled up in front of the jewellery store. Johnny was in the lead and was surprised to find that Vince was all ready there in his black and white squad car. Putting his Land Rover in park, the young paramedic jumped out and crossed the distance to where Vince was standing in a heartbeat.
The dark skinned officer had been leaning against his car when they pulled up. Now that they were stopped, he was striding up to Johnny. The fear on Vince's face was plain to see.
"What's going on?" Johnny asked as they met between the two vehicles.
"I just heard it over the radio. Roy's car was involved in a high speed chase through downtown," the police officer informed him. The other firemen had joined them.
"What?" Captain Stanley breathed. That didn't sound like Roy at all. The man was the most honest person he'd ever dealt with.
"When they finally got it pulled over they found two escaped inmates inside. So far they're not talking but they were being transported for trial along with five other men this afternoon. They never made it to the court house. We have units out searching for the bus but so far it's still missing," Vince said. Fear for the senior paramedic was burning in his stomach. He had no idea how Roy had gotten involved in all of this but obviously the man was in trouble.
"How did they get Roy's car?" Marco wondered. The Hispanic fireman had been hoping they had the car to search for. It was a much bigger target than a lone person in the city of Los Angeles.
"Like I said, they aren't talking yet. My Captain said I could help you with the search even though it's not my district. He'll release more officers to search after the bus is found. Unfortunately, the other five escaped convicts are our primary concern at the moment. All of them are in prison for murder," Vince informed them. "This is where Roy was this morning. Let's see if we can figure out where he went from here."
Johnny's head swam while Vince and his Captain laid out a plan of attack. Roy wasn't in his car. Somehow escaped convicts had wound up with it but Roy wasn't there. If he'd had contact with the two men long enough for them to steal his car, chances were Roy had been in contact with the other five. What the hell was going on with his partner?
OOOOO
It was the growling that had brought Connors back to the world. He knew that meant Johnson was very angry. He also knew that was never a good thing. Just as Connors forced his eyes open, he saw the big man choking the civilian. Rolling to his knees, he moved closer as quietly as he could. Then he saw that Johnson had the man's button undone on his jeans and was fussing with the zipper. Rage turned his own vision red as he searched his immediate area for something to use. Then he swung with everything he had at Johnson's head.
It took every ounce of self control Connors possessed to keep from killing the man. Angrily, he caught hold of the man's nearest shoulder and threw him off the civilian. He was all ready serving a life sentence for murder. He just couldn't bring himself to soak his hands in more blood. So he stood over top of the big man, the piece of wood he'd found along the way clutched tightly in his hands as he tried to catch his breath.
"What the hell is going on?" the older of the brothers asked. Beside him his younger brother sat up and looked around the dimly lit cabin. None of this was really making a lot of sense.
"Shut up," Connors growled. Fishing in his pocket, he came up with the key for the cuffs. It took him a moment or two to find the key hole. Then he undid the cuff holding the civilian's wrist. Glancing around, Connors came to Anderson, still sleeping deeply in his corner. That corner also had what was left of an old wood burning stove. There was just enough of it left that Connors pulled Johnson over to it, fed the cuff around its leg and cinched it closed.
It wouldn't hold Johnson for ever when he was mad. It would give them a bit of time though. Time to get the civilian away and, hopefully, safe.
"Are you going to help me or get in the way?" Connors asked as he looked at the brothers. While he waited for their decision, Connors moved over to the still unconscious civilian. Carefully he examined the man's neck under what little light the moon provided. All ready Roy's neck was starting to swell where Johnson's hands had gripped him. Listening carefully, Connors made sure that he was breathing well despite it. The last thing the man needed at this point was to start to choke because his throat swelled shut.
Absently, Connor pulled the man's clothes closed and did up his jeans. That was not something he wanted to see.
Just then, Anderson stirred and then sat up. "What's going on?" he asked as he took in Connors hovering over the civilian and Johnson lying beside the wood stove. His alarms were going off.
"None of your business, Anderson. You have two options here. Come with us and help with the good Samaritan or get lost and find your own way. Johnson is staying here for as long as I can keep him," Connors informed him. Personally he didn't want Anderson to stay with them. The man gave him the creeps, just like Johnson. But, as the saying went, keep your enemies close.
Anderson looked around at his companions while several thoughts sped through his mind. He knew that the other three inmates didn't trust him. That was okay. He didn't trust them either. He would have much preferred to be with the good Samaritan with Johnson than without him. They both had the same preferences. But he didn't much want to be here when Johnson woke up either.
"Let's get going before Johnson comes to," Anderson stated as he stood up and moved over to the unconscious man. Johnson had really done a number on him. He was going to be in a world of hurt when he came around again. A small smile played across Anderson's lips. Just the way he liked them.
"Fine. What about you two?" Connors asked as he carefully pulled the man until a sitting position. He was going to be a dead weight for a while. A small part of his mind groused that he should just leave him here, that he was going to be a lot of trouble. But he ignored the little voice in the back of his mind. There was no way he was going to leave the man to the elements and Johnson's tender administrations.
"Yeah, we're in," the older brother said. He ran a hand through his close cropped dark blond hair and then moved over to help Connors. Close behind him, his taller, younger brother followed. Between the four of them, they lifted the man up and left the cabin.