Tuesday Teaser 4/2/19 Gina’s Wolf Part 41

We have been very, very lucky here in the Red River Valley. We were expecting a major flood, but our melt has been very gradual. It’s still below freezing at night, so it melts a bit during the day and then stops until the sun comes up. So instead of a major flood we will have a moderate one. The crest is forecast to be around 20 feet over flood stage, so it’s not like we’re completely dodging the bullet, but we are in good shape to fight this flood. Some bridges are closing and some rural roads are under water, but my volunteer shift for sandbagging has been cancelled. So more time for writing!

I’ve been doing some thinking about the little snip last week featuring Carla and Taye. I still haven’t decided whether or not to include it. I appreciate your comments. They made me think about several points. I think I will ask my editor what she thinks.

This week’s snip is a little awkward. There just isn’t a good place to end it so you are kind of left hanging. Sorry about that!

Chapter Thirteen

Gina was close to despair when she heard the sound of dishes and cutlery clattering and caught the scent of bacon and coffee. Breakfast was being served. She hadn’t slept much. Maybe she hadn’t slept at all. Her mind spent the night rushing from one impossible escape plan to another. Nothing she’d come up with was likely to work.

She got off the cot with a pounding head and a stomach that couldn’t decide if it wanted to growl with hunger or turn itself inside out. Her mother’s calm voice spoke in a murmur from another part of the tent. Gina lingered in her curtained-off section, trying to hear what her mother was saying. If she were a wolf like Cole, she would be able to understand every word, but she wasn’t. She adjusted the knife in its inner sheath, lifted her chin, and strode out to the dining area of the tent.

Her mother sat at the foot of the table, her stepfather sat at the head, and Brother Saul and his two sons, Tanner and Jon, were on one side and a few of the officers of the army occupied the other. Relief touched her when she saw that neither was Major Ellis. She recognized them but didn’t know them well.

Gina was noticed immediately. President Todd ran a frowning gaze over her. Brother Saul rose from his chair and moved to the other side of the table. Tanner pushed his chair back and came to her. He gave her a smarmy grin.

“You look like you slept in your clothes,” he sneered.

“I did,” she answered with a smile that hid clenched teeth.

He didn’t grab her arm as much as catch the flesh on her upper arm in a pinch. “Come sit down. Eat fast. We’re leaving after breakfast.”

 She managed to neither scream nor punch him. The painful pinch was the only reason she followed him to the table. As she sat down in the chair his words sank in. “You’re leaving?”

“We are leaving,” Jon corrected.

Tanner sat next to her and leered. “You’re our wife. You come with us.”

She looked at her stepfather, who smiled benignly at her. “I’m already married,” she informed him.

“To whom?” he inquired coldly.

The words stuck in her throat. The truth would be dangerous to Cole, and a lie wouldn’t come.

When she didn’t reply, he waved a hand. “I didn’t give my consent. It’s not legal.”

“I am over twenty-one.” That came out easily enough, although her voice wobbled. “I don’t need your consent. And how could I be married to them? There wasn’t a ceremony.”

An ugly shadow ghosted over his face and faded into serenity. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, Georgina. I am the President. I am the law. I married you by proxy to the Allersens two days ago.” His voice rose with every word. He paused and gathered himself. “In any case, if your husband is in Omaha you will be a widow very soon.”

A tiny bit of tension eased in her. He didn’t know that his captive was her husband. She wanted to ask how soon but didn’t dare. She reached for the platter of scrambled eggs. Tanner seized her wrist.

“Do you love him?”

“Jealous?” she asked.

His grip tightened so she couldn’t suppress a gasp. “No,” she lied. “I only married him because they made me. But I am married.” The pain forced a choked scream out of her. “Let me go!”

“Indeed.” Her stepfather’s mild voice took on a sweet note that made her blood run cold. “Tanner, I believe I mentioned once before that I don’t like to have my daughter manhandled like that. Release her.”

He did, with a sullen look. Jon inclined his head coolly. “We certainly don’t intend to harm our wife. But since she is our wife, she is no longer your concern.”

General Anderson raised one bushy black brow. Todd set his fork down with great care. “Georgina is my daughter whether she is your wife or not. Her mother would be unhappy to know her daughter is not treated with respect. If my wife is unhappy, I am unhappy. You do not want me to be unhappy with you.”

Gina shot a glance at her mother. It didn’t look like she was paying any attention to the conversation.

Brother Saul made patting motions in the air. “No, we don’t. I’m sure my boys will treat Georgina with all the respect she deserves.” He turned his gaze on her. “Please be patient with them. They are young.”

Gina managed a tight smile. She wanted to jump to her feet and scream that she wasn’t married to them, they were pigs, and she hated them. Instead she reached again for the eggs. She wasn’t hungry, but she would need to keep up her strength. Jon gently pushed her hand aside and took up the spoon himself.

“One spoonful or two?” he asked politely. “Bacon?”

A polite monster. His courtesy was probably due to her stepfather’s implied threat. He poured her coffee and sat back to watch her eat. Gina took her time with her breakfast. Inwardly, she spun in frantic circles, trying to find a way out of this. Another pleading glance at her mother told her she would get no help there. Why couldn’t her mom be like Carla? Carla would do anything to save her kids.

At last she could eat no more.  Jon told her, still polite, to go get packed. “I need to use the necessary first,” she said. “Excuse me. I’ll be back.”

Tanner gave her a toothy grin. “We’ll escort you. This is an army camp.”

She ground her teeth. “I’ll be fine. No one here will hurt me. I’ll be right back.”

“We will accompany you.” Jon stood and held her chair.

Trapped, Gina cast another glance at her mom. There was a tiny pucker between her brows that smoothed out as soon as she saw Gina looking. “Go ahead, dear,” her mother said. “I’ll get your packing started.”

Jon smiled stiffly. “Please set out a change of clothes for your daughter. I’m sure she would appreciate  something fresh to wear.”

Why was she going along with this? Be hauled off by these goons to be their ‘wife’? Gina opened her mouth, but her stepfather cut her off.

“You’ll go, Georgina,” he told her. “You can go on your own two feet, with dignity, or you can go tied up like a criminal. Your choice.”

Gina seethed in silence. He would do it. Being free gave her a better chance at fight or escape. “Fine,” she ground out. She marched to the door flap, hands clenched. Jon and Tanner went with her. Outside the tent it was still dark. “What time is it?’

“Half past five,” Jon said imperturbably. Having a wife who hated him didn’t seem to cause any concern. “This way.”

There were many latrine areas around the perimeter of the camp, but he led her in the opposite direction of the cage where Cole was. She almost protested. She wanted to see Cole but making a fuss would just draw more attention to him. And the latrines in this direction were on the edge of camp. Could she get away?