“So just keep talking,” Ian says. “We know Nic is safe. She’s with Ruby.”
The man on Mindy wraps a hand around her neck, squeezes, and then slams her head against the wall behind her. My gut lurches as she opens her eyes and cries openly. He reaches down and yanks at the button of her jeans, then pulls down the zipper. She jerks away and shoves at his chest, dragging her nails across his skin. Spots of blood appear in the scratches, but she’s not able to stop him. He punches her first in her stomach, causing her to double over, and then right in her nose. Blood sprays out and coats her chin and T-shirt.
“He’s hitting her,” I say as steady as I can. My body shakes violently.
“More detail, you fucking cunt,” the man with the gun says. He uses his free hand to strike me across my face then grabs a rough hold of my breast and squeezes. I cry out in pain, but don’t move to stop him. Everything is just getting worse and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. He lets go and brings his hand across my cheek. “Or I’m going to fuck your face until you choke on my dick.”
“More detail, Holly,” Ian commands. His voice is a mixture of pain and anger. “Just tell me.”
The guy grabs Mindy by the back of her neck and shoves her face down onto the desk in the center of the room. Her arms splay out to break her fall as she claws at the corner of the desk to get away, but he grabs at her unbuttoned jeans and yanks them down to her ankles. She screams with such pain that I break out into uncontrollable sobs.
“He’s got her on the desk and he’s taking her pants off,” I cry into the phone. The man looks up at his buddy by my side and smiles wide.
“Gorgeous pussy. You should see this, dude,” he says and shoves her legs apart. He unzips his fly and pulls his dick out. Mindy scrambles to get away, but he brings his closed fist down onto the center of her back. Her entire body jerks in response, and she screams louder than before. He pulls her back by her hips, and with one hand, he pushes himself inside of her.
“He’s raping her,” I wail. My eyes close involuntarily and I scream out.
“Fuck,” Ian says. His voice is rough, and he clears his throat. “Hang in there, Holly. We’re coming in, we just have to be quiet.”
“Watch, you fucking slut!” the man with the gun screams in my ear. “Tell him, tell her Old Man!”
“Open your eyes,” Ian says. I do as I’m told. The man rams into her harder with each thrust. My stomach rolls from the sight of it, and I try to focus on Mindy, not the man violating her. Her strawberry blonde hair is mostly covering her face, but I can see that her eyes are closed and she’s gritting through the pain. Her jaw is locked, and her teeth are bared.
I reach forward and wrap my hand around hers. She jerks away, but I hold her hand tighter. Her tear-filled eyes open, and she gasps in agony.
“I’m here, Minds,” I say through my tears. “I love you, and I’m here.”
She says nothing in response, but she lets go of the edge of the desk and grabs my hand. She squeezes it hard and sobs into the desk.
Finally, the man stills and lets out a relieved sigh. He grunts and then blows out a breath. Mindy cries quietly on top of the desk. She’s holding onto me and the desk so tight that her knuckles have turned white.
“My turn, dude,” the man at my side says. The other guy zips up his jeans, and the men trade places. The man who killed Tall hands the gun over to his friend then moves to stand beside Mindy. He grabs one of her legs and one of her arms and yanks her onto the ground. She falls on top of the fallen desk accessories and screams out in pain. A cracked cup of pens is crushed beneath her face, and a tray of paper clips and other various small items is under her forearm. A sob escapes her as snot drips down her face and onto the carpet below.
“They’re taking turns,” I whimper into the phone. “Mindy’s on the ground.”
Sweat trickles down the face of the man beside me. He licks his cracked lips and gives me a satisfied smile. In a soft but menacing voice he says, “Tell him his baby is going to die. Go ahead.”
“He says your baby is going to die,” I mumble through my hiccups and sobs.
Ian’s voice in my ear is kind and encouraging, “There is no baby, remember that, Holly. We’re almost in the shop, so just hang in there.” He keeps his voice quiet and steady, though the longer this goes on, the more pain I hear from him. I know they’re coming, they have to. It’s just not fast enough. Mindy’s already so hurt. I don’t know that she’s going to survive this even if we make it out of here alive.
The man surveys the room before he finds something he likes. On the wall beside me is a miniature bat trophy that’s affixed to a diamond-shaped placard. He yanks it off the wall and pulls the bat off its base. Mindy sobs on the floor quietly, her face in the carpet. He throws the placard down, grabs her by her hair, and kicks her in her stomach. Then again and again.