Free New Species 03 Valiant by Laurann Dohner Page A

exploded inside
    the back of her head where it slammed into the metal
    truck bed hard. She gasped in air, ordered her body to
    move, but the second she tried to sit up, two bodies
    crushed down on top of her.
    She struggled and clawed at both men but they easily
    kept her pinned under them. The truck engine roared to
    life and doors slammed a second before the transmission
    was thrown in reverse. Wheels spun and everything
    moved rapidly.
    The sudden and abrupt movement of the truck rolled
    two of the men away from her as they slammed into the
    side of the truck bed. It rolled Tammy onto her side. She
    glimpsed the night sky. The truck brakes locked up and
    rolled her in a new direction a second before the driver
    changed gears again. The transmission protested loudly
    when it made a grinding noise.
    Tammy reached for the edge of the truck in hopes of
    climbing out but the driver punched the gas before her
    fingers could make purchase. The momentum of truck’s
    forward motion made Tammy slide toward the lifted
    tailgate. Hands grabbed her and two bodies came back
    down on top of her, pinning her under them. She
    managed to scream.
    The truck speed at a fast rate but over the stressed
    engine and the heavy breathing from her captors, she
    heard a horn honk repeatedly behind them. Pastor
    Thomas followed the truck and refused to stop trying to
    draw attention to what had happened.
    Bless him! Unfortunately it made the driver of the
    truck more reckless. The truck hit some potholes and
    Tammy groaned in agony as the men on top of her
    slammed and crushed her tighter against the painful
    metal under her back.
    Her ribs and head hurt. She also fought to breathe
    with their combined weight compressing her lungs. The
    horn kept honking behind them and it seemed to go on
    forever. The men holding her down were swearing when
    the ride turned really rough after the driver seemed to
    leave the road, driving over what Tammy guessed was
    grass from the way she could feel the ass end of the
    vehicle sliding and how bumpy and violently it moved.
    The sound of a horn grew fainter. She realized her
    attackers were smart enough to go off road since the
    pastor’s car wouldn’t be able to.
    Tammy nearly passed out from the pain when a loud
    grinding noise came from the truck and it slowed until it
    came to a stop. A man yelled curses from the cab. The
    men holding her down eased their hold. Tammy kneed
    one of them in the stomach hard. He made a horrible
    retching noise and she clawed her hand across the arm of
    the other man who tried to grip her thigh. Her nails dug
    into soft flesh until he screamed, jerking away.
    Tammy fought with her fists and legs to get away
    from her captors. She managed to do enough damage
    that they winced away. She sat up and lunged in the
    other direction. Her fingers gripped the side of the truck.
    Desperation and terror made her find the strength to
    drag her body up until she fell out of the back of the
    truck and hit the dirt on her side. She lay there for a
    second, in pain, but stumbled to her feet when the cab
    door near her squeaked open.
    She was able to make out the heavily wooded area
    that surrounded her with the help of the moon. She ran
    for the dark, dense tree line, hoped she could hide there,
    and knew it would be her only chance to lose the
    bastards. She barely made it to the trees when she heard
    them shout at her. It encouraged her to run faster and
    fear motivated her to press on while ignoring the pain in
    her side.
    Someone panted heavily behind her, closing the
    distance, and the urge to scream gripped her hard. They
    were gaining on her. She dodged a dark shape and
    hoped they’d hit what she’d avoided. Instead something
    slammed into her back. It sent her sprawling hard into
    the leafy dirt and a heavy, painful weight pinned her
    down. Pain ripped through her with an intensity that
    made everything go black.
    * * * * *
    “Valiant?” Tiger yelled again.
    Valiant walked out of his