Stolen Ch. 13

Sky took her time brushing the long hair at the back of Ren's head. She pulled it up into a ponytail and secured it with a hair tie before putting the brush on the bedside dresser.

Ren looked over his shoulder at Sky where she sat behind him on the bed and smiled at her before standing up and reaching for his leather jacket.

"I'll be back for lunch. Matty and Brent will be here so if you need anything just ask one of them." Ren told her.

Sky didn't look at him as she nodded her head.

It was the fourth day since Ren had made the deal with Hawk to buy her and she had yet to thaw towards him.

"Do you want me to get you anything special? Chocolate? Fruit? Maybe a magazine?" He asked trying to draw her out.

"Nothing thank you." Sky said quietly.

"Okay then. But I might get you something. Surprise you." Ren said and raised his hand to cup the side of her face. Sky flinched from his movement and Ren smothered a curse as he turned away.

"Come outside and say goodbye." Ren ordered knowing she wouldn't go outside unless he ordered her to.

Sky climbed off the bed and followed him outside reluctantly. She watched as Ren and Brad got on their bikes and fastened their helmets. Ren gave her a salute before starting his bike and Sky looked down at her feet self-consciously.

Sky watched until the bikes were nearly out of sight before turning away and heading inside. She knew that Matty and Brent would leave her alone but keep an eye on her from a distance. Deciding to clean up Brad's room for him Sky went through the house to the room Brad used and began to pick up dirty clothes, checking his pockets for bits of paper and coins as she went.

After putting the dirty clothes in the washing machine she went back to the room and set about making the double bed. She collected the empty cup that was on the floor beside the bed and headed out to the kitchen with it.

She heard Matty and Brent talking out on the front porch and got herself a cold drink from the fridge before sitting down at the table. Most of the soreness from Seth's attentions was gone from her body and the bruise on her face was a startling mix of greens, purple and yellows.

Sky reached for the tin of biscuits on the table and felt the material of her top pull across her nipples, she closed her eyes as she remembered how Ren had woken her in the middle of the night. He had turned to her and started caressing her body even though she was still asleep. She had woken and they had spent the best part of an hour caressing and teasing each other before Ren had slid beneath the covers and used his tongue and lips to bring her to orgasm.

Each night since Hawk had left her behind Ren had ensured her pleasure without once entering her. He had always been gentle and mindful of the fact that she was injured and had satisfied her without hurting her. Sky had more than returned the favour with her blowjobs but she was still reluctant to get into the same bed with him.

Pushing aside thoughts of Ren and what would happen that night when they went to bed she looked around the kitchen for work to do to keep her occupied. She spied Brad's denim jacket on the floor by the pantry and stood up. She went over and picked it up and carried it into his room. She felt something hard in the pocket as she placed it on the Chester draws; curiously she felt in it and pulled out a wallet.

Sky was stunned as she opened it to see a thick pile of fifty and one hundred dollar notes in it. She swallowed nervously as she glanced towards the door then down at the notes in the wallet. Her heart pounded as she realised what she held. Cautiously she hid the wallet under one of the pillows.

Sky tried to act normally as she made her way to the laundry. The load of washing was still going. As the machine hummed she began planning her next moves.

Only Brent and Matty were at the house this morning. Brad and Ren were gone for another two or three hours and the two other men that were usually at the house had ridden off that morning saying they would be back after dark. Still, that left the two men to get past to get to a vehicle. That was if the keys were still where she had last seen them!, Sky realised with a start.

Sky walked into the kitchen and listened to make sure that Matty and Brent weren't near the door before walking to the fridge and reaching up to feel on top of it. She felt around in momentary panic as she failed to find the keys. Then her fingers felt cold metal and she pulled it closer so she could pick it up. The keys!

Yes! She could do it!

She would hide the keys and wallet in the clothes when she carried them out to hang out, go to the far end of the clothesline and she would nearly be out of sight of the two men. Then it was a quick dash to the garage where the panel van was. As long as the vehicle was an automatic, although... What did it matter if she did grind the gears every time she changed?

Yes she could do it!

Sky smiled as she turned and headed back towards the bedrooms. She stopped as a thought occurred to her. Where was she and which way did she head once she was driving?. Sky shrugged and started moving again. Just keep acting normal until she had the chance to get to the vehicle.

* * * * *

Sky forced herself to walk at a normal pace as she carried the basket of clothes to the far end of the clothesline. She placed it on the ground and glanced towards the house as she straightened up. Matty was looking her way and she picked up a pair of jeans and began pegging them onto the clothesline. When she glanced their way after several minutes both men were once again making sure they were busy or looking the other way. She slipped her hand beneath the blue shirt on top and pulled the keys and roll of money from their hiding place. She took one last glance towards the house then turned and walked steadily towards the garage. She thanked her lucky stars that the front of the building was open and she hurried to the van. She hesitated as she saw the bikes behind it. Realising it was only a matter of time until her disappearance was discovered she rushed to the first bike and looked at it.

The tyres! She knelt to remove the valve from the front tyre. Quickly she moved to the other bike and done the same before getting to her feet, pocketing the valves and moving towards the van.

"Sky! Where are you?" Brent called and Sky realised he must be walking towards the end of the clothesline.

Shakily she managed to get the door unlocked and she slid into the driver's seat. The key slid into the ignition with no trouble and she sighed with relief then frowned as she saw the manual gear stick.

"Sky! Answer me damn it!" Brent yelled.

Sky checked the car was in what she hoped was first, shut the car door with a bang, locked it and turned the key. The car lurched forward as it tried to start and she realised she needed to put her foot on the clutch.

"Get out of the vehicle!" Brent yelled as he ran to the front of the garage.

Sky jammed her foot down hard on the clutch and turned the key again. The engine whined then caught and Sky released the clutch too fast causing it to stall.

Brent raced for the driver's door as he saw Sky turn panic-stricken eyes towards the dashboard; if only he could get it open he could grab the keys! His hand touched the door handle and the engine roared to life and the vehicle jerked but kept going as he lost his grip on the handle.

Sky pressed down on the accelerator as the van moved out of the garage. She saw Matty running for the building and then there was only the road in front of her.

Brent turned towards the bikes as the van left the garage and stopped as he saw the flat tyres. He hurried to the front of the garage and looked at the car as it picked up speed as it went down the road. Matty was breathing hard as he reached Brent; he looked past him into the building and saw the flat tyres.

"You got your phone on you?" Brent demanded.

"Yeah."

"Ring Ren and tell him what's happened." Brent said.

Matty pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket and handed it to Bent.

"You tell him 'cause I sure as hell aint gonna tell him we let his girl get away." Matty said with a shake of his head.

Brent took the phone and reluctantly punched in Ren's number. When the number rung out with no reply he cursed and headed towards the back of the building where the bikes were.

In the car Sky struggled to find the correct gears as she drove down along the road. Finally she started to get the hang of the gearbox and had the vehicle running smoothly. Eight kilometres down the road she came to the main road and looked at the signpost that gave the distance to the town in either direction. She decided against the nearest town reasoning that that was where Ren and Brad had headed to be able to be back at the time they had said. Turning to the right she eased out onto the sealed road and began working the car back up through the gears. By the time she reached where ever she was headed she should be able to drive a manual car she told herself as she had trouble shifting into top gear.

Glancing nervously in the rear view mirror she saw no signs of pursuit and tried to relax as she attempted to concentrate on the road ahead. It felt strange to be driving the vehicle on the road. At home all she had ever done was drive her parents car from the front gate around the side of the house to the carport.

As the kilometres passed by Sky began to feel more confident and began to drive smoother. She kept the vehicle travelling along at the speed limit not wanting to attract attention or end up being stopped for speeding. In her anxious state she did not realise that if the police had stopped her safety would be guaranteed.

Sky wasn't aware of time passing, only of her need to put distance between her and where she had last seen Ren. Plus she had only taken four hundred dollars out of the wallet believing it would be enough to get her to a town or city and enable her to get a bus ticket to her hometown. She had counted over three thousand dollars that she had left behind in the wallet. She knew she probably would be pursued and had left Brad's wallet in clear view on his bed hoping that by leaving all his identification and most of his money behind it would decrease their need to catch her.

Nearly three hours later she pulled into a service station to fill up with petrol. She grabbed herself a large bottle of water and some chips as well as a map. Asking at the service counter for the exact location of the station she left and sat in the vehicle for several minutes as she looked on the map and worked out where she had to go to get to a major city.

She realised it would take at least another four hours of driving before she reached Melbourne where she could arrange a way home. She buckled her seat belt up and made sure the vehicle was out of gear before she started it. Her face burnt with embarrassment as she stalled the vehicle twice before leaving the service station with a jerking start.

Two hours later her shoulders were stiff and her head was aching as she slowed down and pulled off the main road onto a side road. She drove along for a while until she found a thick stand of trees and bushes where she could park the van and not be seen from the road.

Sky looked in the rear of the van. There was nothing soft to sleep on so she stretched out best she could in the passenger seat and tried to relax. Unable to relax enough to sleep Sky opened the car door and got out of the vehicle. She walked a short way to the top of a small rise and looked out at the country below. She sat down in the shade of a tree and leant back against the trunk enjoying the cooling breeze. She shut her eyes as she breathed deeply.

The chill of the late evening woke Sky and she looked around dazed. She looked to where the sun was low in the west and realised she had slept for a good length of time. Fearing that the men would be out looking for her she hurried back to the vehicle and got into it. The keys were where she had left them in the ignition and she started the vehicle with no problems. The vehicle lurched forward and stopped with a jerk as it came to rest against the tree in front of it. Sky took a deep breath before restarting the engine and carefully finding reverse. She got out and checked for damage but other then a scratch on the bumper bar there was no mark on the vehicle.

Nervously Sky drove back along the narrow road to the main road and turned back into the steady flow of traffic. As dusk settled Sky slowed and pulled to the side of the road to find the light switch and turn them on. Satisfied she managed a relatively smooth start back onto the road and continued to travel.

The first hint of trouble was when the temperature gauge on the dashboard showed that the car was over heating. Sky pulled to the side of the road, popped the bonnet and eyed the motor uncertainly. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm herself then returned to the inside of the vehicle where it was warmer. None of the passing cars stopped and an hour later Sky topped up the radiator with the last of her bottle of water and restarted the engine.

Half an hour later the vehicle ground to a halt. There was an ominous banging noise coming from the motor and the speedometer refused to go above 20 km/h. Admitting defeat Sky pulled to the side of the road and turned the engine off.

Sky climbed from the vehicle without bothering to remove the keys and began to walk along the side of the road. Car after car whizzed past her and she watched the red glow of their taillights vanish into the distance wistfully.

It was very cold and about midnight when a car slowed down and stopped a little way ahead. Sky approached cautiously and looked into the car suspiciously. An older couple around retirement age sat in the front seat. The woman in the passenger seat smiled at Sky.

"Hallo there. Are you alright dear?" She asked.

"My vehicle broke down a ways back and I'm walking to the nearest service station." Sky said.

"You can't do that dearie. Not at this time of night!" The woman exclaimed. "Hop in and we can give you a lift. We live right beside the service station and it's another ten kilometres from here."

Sky hesitated a moment before opening the back door and getting into the car.

"Thank you ever so much. I thought I was going to have to walk all night." Sky said.

"Oh how rude of me! My name's Maude and this is my husband Jim." Maude said.

"I'm Janey. It's actually Janetta but everyone calls me Janey." Sky said.

"Such a pretty name Janetta. I hope you don't mind if I use your full name." Maude said smoothly.

"I don't mind." Sky said.

Sky was disappointed to see the service station shut for the night when they arrived at the small house next door to it, she climbed from the car and stood looking towards it disheartened.

"You might as well come in and sleep on the couch in the main room. I'm sorry we don't have a spare bedroom. Then you can go to the service station when it opens at 8am nice and fresh and rested." Maude told her.

Sky looked at the kindly older couple and smiled, "thank you."

Sky followed them into the small house. In the main room Maude turned to face her and gasped in shock as she saw Sky's multi coloured cheek. Sky raised a hand to it self consciously and looked away from the concern she saw clearly in the other woman's eyes.

"The guy I used to live with done it." Sky said as she refused to be ashamed.

Maude nodded and indicated the lounge.

"It's not much but I thought it would be better than the doorway of the service station."

* * * * *

Sky walked into the small service station and went straight up to the counter. The man behind the till looked her over suspiciously as he took in the bruised cheek and obviously slept in clothes.

"Can you tell me if a bus that goes past here?" Sky asked.

"Where are you looking to go?" He asked.

"Melbourne or North." Sky answered.

"Well the Greyhound bus goes through here about three this afternoon or there is the school bus that goes to Sale. It passes in about five minutes."

"Would I be able to get a ride? I can pay of course." Sky said eagerly.

"Wait out by the bus shelter at the northern entrance." He said.

Sky hurried off forgetting to buy the food and drink she had wanted. A ride was definitely more important.

She had barely reached the bus shelter when the school bus came along. There were three school children waiting at the roadside and Sky climbed onto the bus after they did.

"Can I get a ride to town?" Sky asked.

"That'll be five bucks." The bus driver said tiredly.

Sky handed the money over then hurried to find a seat as he set the bus in motion. The drive seemed to take forever even though it was only forty minutes long; Sky was eager to be off the bus and got off at the first stop in town that was the local primary school.

She stopped long enough to ask directions to the travel agency from a teacher at the school gates then set off at a quick walk. She stopped at a take-away shop to get something to eat and drink and sat at one of the tables in the shop to eat.

Taking her time she wandered along looking in shop windows until she reached the travel agency. By then the shop was open and Sky went in and approached the front counter.

"Can I help you?" A woman came from the rear of the office space to stand over the counter from Sky.

"Yes I want to get a ticket to Byron Bay in New South Wales," Sky said.

"Come over to my desk and I can arrange that for you." The woman's nametag identified her as Toni.

When they were seated Toni typed in some information into her computer and glanced at Sky.

"Coach, plane or train?" Toni asked.

"Which is the quickest?" Sky asked.

"Plane but you will have to catch the coach to Melbourne, take a flight to Ballina then another coach from there." Toni said.

"Okay, how much is that?" Sky asked as she pulled the roll of money from her pocket.

Toni quickly added the fares and gave Sky the total. Sky grimaced as she counted out her money and found she would have barely ten dollars left.

"And that will get me to Byron today?" Sky asked as she handed the money over.

"Melbourne this afternoon just before two but your flight is not until tomorrow. All of today's flights are booked out." Toni informed her.

Sky nodded slightly discouraged. It wouldn't be until tomorrow she reached home.

"What about by coach?" Sky asked.

"You will still need a coach to Melbourne, you arrive just before two and then you have to wait until eight for the connecting coach through to Lismore. And there's a thirty minute wait for the connection to Byron Bay." Toni said.

"Is it any cheaper?" Sky asked thinking of the food she would need.

"Definitely. Coach is always cheaper than plane. Let me check how much."

Sky sat patiently while Toni worked it all out, booked the trip and printed out the timetable of coach rides and a receipt. When Toni handed Sky her tickets, receipt and timetable Sky felt an immense sense of relief. She was going home. At last she could let herself believe it!

Sky left the travel shop with a bounce in her step as she headed for the bus depot. On the way she passed a public pay phone and immediately stepped up to it. She fed coins into it nervously and dialled her parents phone number. Her heart was pounding as she waited for someone to answer.

"Hallo. You have reached Jim and Marina Wilkinson. Sorry we are unable to take your call but if you leave your name, number and a short message we will get back to you.."

Sky felt disappointment as she heard her mother's voice repeating the familiar taped message. Sky took a deep breath and waited for the beep.

"Hey Mum. It's me, Janey. I'll be home tomorrow night on the 10pm bus. We'll talk then. I love and miss you," Sky said before hanging up.