SERIAL UNCUT by Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn J.A. Konrath Read Free Book Online Page B

Candi work it out in her
head. This john was hot to trot, offering more than the going rate,
and he'd probably be really quick. Plus, he was cute. She could
probably do him fast, and pocket the whole fee without having to
share it with her pimp.
    " You got yourself a date,
sugar."
    Taylor took another quick look around the
lot, made sure no one was watching, and hustled Candi into his cab,
climbing up behind her and locking the door.
    The truck's windows were lightly
tinted--making it difficult for anyone on the street to see inside.
Not that Candi bothered to notice, or care. As soon as Taylor faced
her she was pawing at his fly.
    " The bedroom is upstairs." Taylor
pointed to the stepladder in the rear of the extended cab, leading
to his overhead sleeping compartment.
    " Is there enough room up there? Some
of those spaces are tight."
    " Plenty. I customized it myself. It's
to die for."
    Taylor smiled, knowing he was being coy,
knowing it didn't matter at this point. His heart rate was up, his
palms itchy, and he had that excited/sick feeling that junkies got
right before they jabbed the needle in. If Candi suddenly had a
change of heart, there wasn't anything she could do about it. She
was past the point of no return.
    But Candi didn't resist. She went up first,
pushing the trap door on the cab's ceiling, climbing into the
darkness above. Taylor hit the light switch on his dashboard and
followed her.
    " What is this? Padding?"
    She was on her hands and knees, running her
palm across the floor of the sleeper, testing its springiness with
her fingers.
    " Judo mats. Extra thick. Very easy to
clean up."
    " You got mats on the walls too?" She
got on her knees and reached overhead, touching the spongy material
on the arced ceiling, her exposed belly jiggling.
    " Those are baffles. Keeps the sound
out." He smiled, closing the trap door behind him. "And
in."
    The lighting was subdued, just a simple
overhead fixture next to the smoke alarm. The soundproofing was
black foam, the mats a deep beige, and there was no furniture in
the enclosure except for an inflatable rubber mattress and a
medium-sized metal trunk.
    " This is kind of kinky. Are you kinky,
Taylor?"
    " You might say that."
    Taylor crawled over to the trunk at the far
end of the enclosure. After dialing the combination lock, he opened
the lid. Then he moved his Tupperware container aside and took out
a fresh roll of paper towels, a disposable paper nose and mouth
mask, and an aerosol spray can. He ripped off three paper towels,
then slipped the mask on over his face, adjusting the rubber band
so it didn't catch in his hair.
    " What is that, sugar?" Candi asked.
Her flirty, playful demeanor was slipping a bit.
    " Starter fluid. You squirt it into
your carburetor, it helps the engine turn over. Its main ingredient
is diethyl ether."
    He held the paper towels at arm's length,
then sprayed them until they were soaked.
    " What the fuck are you doing?" Candi
looked panicked now. And she had good reason to be.
    " This will knock you out so I can tie
you up. You're not the prettiest flower in the bouquet, Candi with
an i. But you have the cutest little toes."
    He grinned again. But this wasn't one of his
attractive grins. The whore shrunk away from him.
    " Don't hurt me, man! Please! I got
kids!"
    " They must be so proud."
    Taylor approached her, on his knees,
savoring her fear. She tried to crawl to the right and get around
him, get to the trap door. But that was closed and now concealed by
matting, and Taylor knew she had no idea where it was.
    He watched her realize escape wasn't an
option, and then she dug into her little purse for a weapon or a
cell phone or a bribe or something else that she thought might help
but wouldn't. Taylor hit her square in the nose, then tossed the
purse aside. A small canister of pepper spray spilled out, along
with a cell phone, make-up, Tic-Tacs, and several condoms.
    " You lied to me," Taylor said,
slapping her again. "You've got rubbers."
    "