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. That would never happen.She d rather die first than allow him to have hisway with her.Pulling her hand back as far as she could, with sheer force of will,she rammed his nose with the hard edge of her palm.At the same time, sheopened her mouth and clamped her teeth down hard on the fleshy pad of his palm.Megan tasted blood on her tongue and felt it smear against her hand. Shit, he yelled out, doubling over on his side, his thigh lying across her hips.With all the might she could afforded, she pushed him off her body the rest of theway.Megan quickly scrambled out from under him, rushing to her feet.She stepped out of his grasp quickly as he reached out to grab her.Nervously,she searched her pocket and drew out her palm-sized pistol.Holding it with bothhands as she shook from the fright, terror beyond comprehension gripping her,she pulled the trigger. Dammit, he roared clutching his shoulder, the same side as his woundedarm.The blood gushed between his fingers.The girls woke up screaming, their frantic gazes soaking up the situation inthe poorly lit room.They looked from Megan standing at the foot of the bedholding a gun to the man coming to his feet next to the bed.Rico rushed into the room, bringing the faint light from the kitchen as heopened the door.He was dressed only in jeans, and his bare chest and most of hisback was covered in black, wiry hair.He grabbed the pistol out of her hand andstruck her across the face with his other hand.Megan fell to the floor with a grunt as a striking bolt of pain assailed hersenses.White sparks flashed before her eyes.She fought the urge to scream andshow how afraid she truly was.By then, the other three men were gawking through the open doorway. Devil s Pact 419 Damn bitch shot me. Shit, look what you made me do. Rico pointed the pistol at Megan who layon the floor.Shooting him an insolent glance, she ignored their squabble as she went backto surveying the damage.Lightly touching her throbbing cheekbone, she felt theswelling starting to set in.Running her tongue along her gumlines, she checkedfor loosened teeth.Determining there were none, she thanked her lucky star.Theother stars surely a person required more than one must have been busyshining over someone else this particular night. Why didn t you fucking stay away? Rico raged on, sounding as though hewas ready to take his partner out for crossing him. The bitch shot me.Why you screaming at me? What you want me to do about it? Hell, I ain t no fuckin doctor.You gotone bullet in ya.What s one more? We need her alive, not you. So it s like that? Hell, yes. He looked down at her again.Megan could feel his eyes on her asshe sat up.She was aware he was concerned the faint beginnings of a bruise werestarting to show.The man was afraid of Devin. Try it again, and you ll findyourself tied up. He glanced over his shoulder at the girls as they held onto one another, cryinguncontrollably. Shut the fuck up. He turned and walked out of the room.Entering thekitchen, he muttered, Since you re awake, fix us some grub.I m hungry. Cursing, Dutch stormed out of the room.He shot a dangerous glare in herdirection.Megan raced behind him on her way to provide what comfort she could toShelby and Emma.She felt a sense of triumph glimpsing the scratches across hischeeks, his bloody, busted nose, and his shirt soaked in red as he held onto hisshoulder.Unfortunately, the shot only grazed him.She felt no remorse in wishingthe damage could have been worse.* * * * 420 Samantha Cruise Megan, I m scared. Shelby s soft voice trembled with fear as she grippedMegan s hand tightly on her lap. I m hungry.They didn t let us have no lunch, Emma said curtly, armscrossed over her chest, scowling at the three men seated at the table.They weredrinking Reed s leftover whiskey they d found in the sideboard. Girls, we have to be strong, she whispered with conviction. For now, we lldo as they say until I can come up with a way to get out of this. If only shebelieved it was that simple.Patting Shelby s hand, Megan rose from the sofa. The girls need to eat.I llstart supper, she announced decisively, hoping her conviction held some weightin the matter. I say when it s time to eat. Rico shifted in his chair and looked over at her,as if angered by the interruption.With the greatest of difficulties, she stood her ground and held his gaze.His cold eyes flashed to the girls, then back to Megan. Boys, ya hungry? One grumbled something about how he could use a little food.The othershrugged his shoulders flippantly, and she could have slapped away hisindifference right then and there.Turning back to his drink and the cards in his hand, Rico ordered gruffly, Mymen are hungry.Cook em something. * * * *Pablo barreled through the front door. Rider comin. Megan swung around from the pot of chicken stew she was stirring on thestove and stretched her neck to look out the window.Her heart raced.Devin wasthe first dreadful thought that filled her mind.Rico ran to the kitchen window, and the other three rushed to look out of theparlor window. Who is it? Rico asked, pistol already directed at whomever it was riding upto the house. Devil s Pact 421Pablo dragged her by the arm to the parlor window.She couldn t hide hergrimace as his fingers bit down hard on her flesh, pinching the skin of her upperarm.Casting a glance out the window, she gasped in terror as Caleb dismounted.Taking the reins in his hand, he tied his horse to the hitching post at the end of thewalkway.A habitual practice repeated dozens of times, only now, she dreaded hisfamiliarity.She prayed he would change his mind about visiting and ride away. Who is he? Rico repeated in a hushed, insistent voice.His grip tightened onher arm, twisted, urging her to speak up. Devin s brother, she lied quickly.If they believed he was related, hopefully,just hopefully, it would be enough to keep him alive.Shelby and Emma alreadycalled him uncle , so the lie wasn t too farfetched.Rico and his men passed questioning glances.Wordlessly, Rico gestured tothe others.From the signals, Megan knew it wasn t good.Forced to sit on the sofa with the girls, she flung her arms around them andheld them to her bosom as her blood raced and her body trembled.Closing hereyes, she prayed silently for Caleb s life to be spared.Her eyes darted open as soon as she heard the mundane sound of a handtouching the wooden door handle.Unable to breathe or move, she stared as thedoor was abruptly snatched from Caleb s hand and swung open.The rifle pointedat his chest brought his hands up automatically as he was ordered inside. Who the hell are you? Where s Megan? Caleb s questions went unanswered.Once he stepped a foot inside, the man hiding behind the door struck himbehind the head with his gun
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