About two hours passed before the first of them began to stir. It was Victor. He groaned, struggled to open his eyes, and instinctively jerked his arms—only to realize he was tied hard to a steel post.
His bloodshot eyes flew open in terror. He tried to scream, but the tape turned it into a muffled animal sound. One by one the others woke to the same horror.
Gene, Alex, and Baldy all went through the same sequence: confusion, then realization, then panic. They thrashed against the ropes and stared at Leah with wild fear.
Once she saw they were all fully awake, she stood and walked toward them so each man could see her clearly.
“Do you remember what you did to me three weeks ago?” she asked quietly.
At the sound of her voice, all four went still.
“Did you really think I would just live with it and forget? Maybe for you it was just something to do. A way to kill an evening.”
She crouched in front of Gene and looked straight into his eyes.
“I didn’t forget. And I’m not forgiving any of you.”
Then Leah reached into her bag and took out the kitchen knife.
The blade caught the dim light. All four men began thrashing again, making desperate sounds through the tape. Leah turned back to Gene.
“You were first that night,” she said. “So I’m starting with you.”
Gene shook his head wildly, terror pouring off him. Leah ignored him. She cut away the fabric of his pants and underwear. He tried to force his knees together, but his legs were tied fast to the post…
