—
I must have been out only a few seconds, because when my head cleared I was lying on my back with Duke and two of his pack standing over me. I wondered what they were waiting for, and gradually realized Heather was shouting at them. "Don't kill him! I'll make a deal with you!"
"You don't have nothing to offer that we can't take by ourselves," Duke said flatly, his glare still on me.
"That's not strictly true," Heather shot back, her voice tinted with both horror and determination. "Rape isn't nearly as enjoyable as sex with a willing woman. But I'm not talking about that. I can tell you where there's a big cache of food and furs."
That got Duke's attention, but good. He looked up at her, eyes narrowed. "Where?"
"It's well hidden. You'll never find it if you hurt either of us."
"Willy! Zac! What've we got?" Duke called. I turned my head slowly toward the cabin as two of the boys came out the door. Heather, I saw, was no longer being held, though Jackson stood close by her with his knife drawn.
"Not too much in here," one of the two called back. "A couple days' worth of food, maybe, and some other stuff we can use."
Duke looked back down at me. "Okay, lady, it's a deal. Zac, go see if you can find some rope."
"You gonna tie him up out here?" Al asked. "Someone might find him."
"Naw, we're gonna take them inside. But I want his hands tied before he gets up." Duke grinned down at me. "You've got a good place here to hole up. We almost missed it."
I didn't bother to reply. A moment later Zac brought out most of my last coil of nylon rope, and in two minutes my hands were tied tightly behind my back. I was then dragged to my feet and marched at knifepoint into the cabin. Heather was