The Hollow Men (Book 1): Crave by Jonathan Teague Read Free Book Online Page A

of Wendy. He became enamored with Laura when she and Scott first moved into the neighborhood. Laura was different from the women he normally dated. She was completely comfortable with herself, beautiful, confident, intelligent—completely out of reach for someone like Bill.
    He knew a relationship with her would be impossible and it made her irresistible to him. Over the years, he’d made several passes at her, fumbling at first. As time passed and he grew more desperate to be with her, he became more assertive and crude.
    Each time Laura rejected his advances, Bill desired her even more. The more he wanted her, the angrier he got, and the more he hated her. He grew hungry to possess her, to destroy her confidence and to tear her happy life apart.
    Now Bill followed Laura and two of her daughters as they left the championship football game. The farther they walked from the stadium, the more isolated they became. He began to fantasize about what it would be like to have her. Carnal thoughts swirled in his mind. He dropped back twenty more yards and let his fantasies run wild.

CHAPTER 10
    G HASTLY T ROPHIES
    L aura and Maddy sensed that they were being stalked. They spontaneously broke into a jog.
    Tall pole lights bordered the walkways. They were spread far enough apart that Laura and her girls entered sections of blackness before stepping into the range of the next light. The LED bulbs tinged everything a peculiar white-blue. It was disorienting to see the world washed in it. Shouts and screams echoed in the darkness.
    One bend in the sidewalk away from their car, they saw two college-aged men blocking the way ahead of them. They smiled wickedly when they saw Laura and the girls.
    “Ladies, it’s not safe here. We’ll walk with you,” one of them said with mock gallantry and an obvious leer. He had a two-day growth of black stubble on his pudgy cheeks and soft jawline. The other appeared to be too young to shave. Their skin flushed.
    “You’re beautiful,” the clean-faced one breathed while staring at Maddy. “I’ll take you.”
    “And I’ll take the MILF,” said the other, his eyes hungrily traveling the curves of Laura’s body.
    She had worked for years as a nurse practitioner and knew how to handle herself. She was accustomed to getting her way. It wasn’t the first time she’d been exposed to harassment.
    “Boys! That’s not going to happen. Go find some willing sorority girls who will happily let you ‘escort’ them. Now, get out of our way.”
    She tried to keep her poise, believing her boldness would back the young men down.
    Maddy didn’t have the practice her mom had. However, she did have the disposition. She stood at her mom’s side and glared ferociously.
    Indecision flickered in the men’s eyes. Laura, anticipating it, used the moment to push her way past them.
    “Hold on,” said the scruffy one in a voice heavy with lust. He grabbed Laura around the waist. The jostling woke up the baby, who started crying at the top of her little lungs.
    “I said no!” shouted Laura.
    The man holding her pressed himself up against her and she attempted to push him away.
    “Show me you are going to be nice, and I'll let you put the baby down safely.”
    He tried to thrust his tongue into her mouth. She gagged. His breath tasted like he had poured Scotch into a tennis shoe and pickled his tongue in the brew.
    “This is going to happen either way. Make me believe you want it, or I’ll make you watch when I really hurt your baby.”
    The smaller one struggled with Maddy, dragging her off the path. He paid for it in kicks and punches delivered more savagely than expected from a fourteen-year-old girl. He slapped her hard and shook her. “I’ll make it as rough as you want!”
    She spat in his face.
    Just then Laura spied Bill. Though he gave Laura the creeps, she believed God had thrown her a lifeline and she clutched it desperately.
    “Help! Help us, Bill!”

CHAPTER 11
    S ILENT W AIT
    B ill had