Her own desire rising, Elgin hurried across the broad expanse of lawn, checking to make sure she was alone. In a few moments, she reached the edge of the forest and closed the last few yards, breaking into the clearing, expecting to find her lover.

Instead, the clearing stood empty and silent, no sign of an illicit tryst, no sound.

Oh well, she thought, moving to the center, I’ll be here to surprise him. After all, she knew Marty’s place and could find this spot in the dark. Camp would have to get out one of the doors and then circle almost all the way around the house.

A breath of something chilly suddenly raised goosebumps.

Camp didn’t know this place. He’d never been to Marty’s house. How would he have known about this clearing? And where would he have gotten a blanket?

Something grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and seeming to root her in place. Opening her mouth to scream, something wet and soft pressed itself to her face, clinging like a starfish. She couldn’t smell anything but something slightly sweet trailed into her mouth as she sucked in the material, struggling to breathe. But the harder she fought, the tighter the grip on her body, the harder the wet thing clung.

She couldn’t get any air. Her whole body seemed paralyzed with fear as the thing holding her squeezed the air from her lungs, deflating her body, leaving her limp and sliding sideways. Legs too wobbly to hold her up, unclenched fingers releasing the soft fur of her bear. Heartbeat and breathing vanishing. Darkness.

“Here you…” Harm stopped, the sight of the empty glider bringing him up short. Craning his head in all directions, he didn’t see her.

“God damn it,” he muttered, angry that she’d chosen now to play this stupid game. Well he’d been scared out of his wits once too often to be taken in again. Wherever she was, she could just stay there. In a little while, she’d realize he wasn’t going to bite and come back. In the meantime, he had a beer to keep him company.

Setting her bottle of hard cola on one of the little wood end tables, he settled into the glider and took a long draw, letting his eyes sweep the area to see if he could spot where she might be hiding.

His hand brushed against something. Looking down, he saw a piece of folded white paper stuck between the cushions, almost hidden from view.

Down the steps, across the lawn and into the clearing at the north end of the house.

So, that was it, he grinned to himself, stuffing the paper in the pocket of his jeans. She was hungry but not for barbecue. A little fun and games to work up an appetite. Rising, he walked casually over to the deck steps, his cock, excited by the prospect of a romp in the woods, making his progress uncomfortable.

He wondered what she had planned. A nice, long slow fuck in the pine-scented stillness or a wild quickie, pressed against a strong tree, pumping and grinding like horny teenagers grabbing some before they’re discovered.

His steps picked up tempo across the perfectly manicured lawn, his cock now bulging against his fly. No wonder she’d suddenly decided to wear that sundress at the last moment, he chuckled to himself. Easier than trying to wrestle out of two pair of jeans.

The lawn ended and the forest began as he moved into the trees. It couldn’t be very far he reasoned. Probably just a few feet.

“Elgin?” he called, weaving among the trees.

And then he saw it. A flash of red among the green trees and brown dirt.

“Here I come,” he growled playfully, “ready or not.”

He stepped into the clearing and in a heartbeat, the heat of his need vanished, replaced with icy dread. From the middle of the space, Elgin’s bear grinned up at him, it’s black eyes wide in welcome, it’s little arms outstretched as though glad to see him. The pendant hung from his left paw like an extended gift.

In three long strides, Harm got to the bear, bending down and reaching for the little stuffed animal.

Behind him, he heard a branch snap and turned his head just in time to see a blur of movement before the bomb exploded in the back of his skull and fireworks lit up the sudden blackness.

He became aware of the pain, even before he awoke. A fleet of jackhammer’s pounded out the “Anvil Chorus” in his head while thousands of little people in spiked shoes polkaed through the mush that had recently been his brain. Yellow lights like points of ugly, glaring neon pulsed regularly behind his eyelids.

Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes a little. The blur in front of him resolved itself into his white polo shirt and just below that, his dark blue denim jeans. He felt his chin brushing the soft, slightly fuzzy material.

To either side, his forearms rested comfortably on the broad, flat, wooden arms of the chair he sat in. Curiously, someone had left their belts looped over the chair arms and his wrists.

Raising his head seemed to speed up and intensify the pain but it also helped clear away some of the fog. Inch by inch, he managed to turn his head, taking in the bare gray walls and floor, the single overhead light bulb and the closed door in the right wall.

Futilely, Harm yanked his wrists. The belts he realized now were thick leather straps locking him to the arms of the large wooden chair. Bending over at the waist, he saw his legs, spread slightly, secured to the chair at the ankles with another pair of straps.

Suddenly, the room plunged into darkness. Harm struggled against the leather, adrenaline and fear pounding into his blood and gut.

A light came on in front of him and he found himself looking into another room. On a bed in the center of the other room, Elgin lay on her back, her head resting on a pillow, her arms at her sides. The red sundress in place, even her little red sandals on her feet. But he knew Elgin didn’t sleep on her back, at least not so perfectly posed.

“Noooooo!” he screamed, everything including the pain swept away by the horrible thought that she wasn’t merely sleeping.

The light flashed back on as the door opened.

“She can’t hear you,” Fisher told him calmly.

“I’ll kill you,” Harm snarled, his surprise at Fisher’s appearance erased by his fear for Elgin. The effort made him nauseous and he leaned back, shutting his eyes and gasping for air. A small line of sweat beads formed at his hairline and he prayed his head would explode. At least then the pain would stop.

“Oh, she’s not dead,” he continued. “At least, not yet. Little chloroform to relax her. Get her to come along without makin’ a lot a hoo-hah and spoilin’ everybody else’s Fourth.”

“You left the note for me.”

“Yep. Waited ‘til you were gone and then had the waiter take Ellie a note sayin’ fer her to meet you in the clearin’. Had a blanket and champagne. I knew that’d bring her. When she left, I put the note fer you and followed her. Knew you’d come sniffin’ after her like a hound after a bitch in heat.”

Fisher leaned down into Harm’s face, hate filling his body, twisting his face into a horrible caricature of the kindly old uncle he’d seemed.

“I knew the first time I saw you, you weren’t anybody’s secretary.” The word spit out like an obscenity. “I couldn’t believe my little Ellie’d bring her cheap lay up here and rub everyone’s nose in her dirt.

“Only thing that’s kept me alive all these years was Ellie comin’ home…comin’ back to me. Not that tramp who writes that trash, but my sweet little girl. But the tramp came back and I knew I had to get rid of you and her so I could have my Ellie back.”

“Go ahead and kill me,” Harm answered, trying to keep his voice calm but feeling the fear building inside him, “but don’t hurt Elgin. She’s not to blame.”