Free Bare Back by N Kuhn Page A

work, right? God I hope so. Sending a prayer skyward, I hope my father is at least alive and alright.
     
    The ride was uncomfortable. The circulation in my arms felt cut off and my fingers were going numb. Holding on to the horn of the saddle, Paul had an arm around my waist, the other on the reins. For a dumb ass, he actually rode pretty well, even though his basic commanding of the horse was lacking. Sansa knows well enough what to do though, so she just led the way. Cameron held out a flashlight, trying to light our way through the woods. Finally finding a trail, we picked up speed, racing off to who knows where. As we near a clearing, I realize it’s where the chopper was. There’s a glowing pile of debris in the middle of the meadow, with another, newer chopper sitting a couple hundred yards away. Cameron must know how to fly that thing, or maybe there’s someone else out here.  As we ride up alongside the helicopter, Cameron slides off Shelby, reaching out for me. He carries me to the chopper, buckling me into a back seat. There’s no one else in here, which means he must know how to fly and that’s a scary thought.
“What should we do with the horses?” I hear Paul shout.
“Forget em. Can’t fit em in here,” Cameron says, looking over his shoulder and smiling at me. He climbs up to the front seat, putting on a head set and flipping switches. Paul removes the other saddle, throwing it in the Chopper with the one Cameron pulled off.
“These are nice, I’m sure we can get some money for them. At least a hundred,” Paul says. What an idiot. That saddle is well worth almost a thousand, its hand made. Just great, now they’re selling my stuff and losing my horses. They may as well kill me now. Paul smacks Sansa’s ass and sends her flying through the meadow to safety, Shelby following right behind her like always. He climbs into the empty seat up front, closing the door of the machine. All I know is that Mitch better hurry up and find me, because I’m dying to kick everyone’s ass, including his, and then get as far away from these Calhoun brothers’ as I can. They only seem to bring misery to my life.
 

Chapter 9
     
    Mitch
     
    The footsteps nearing me sound too heavy to be Kelli. Crouching down, I switch off my flashlight. The fire must have given us away. I tried to keep it small. We needed it for warmth as well as protection. Now I’m kicking myself. I have to figure out how to get to Kelli. Out of nowhere, I hear screaming.
“Mitch, help me, please, Mitch.” It’s Kelli. Damn it! They found her. My heart racing, I have to figure out which of the brothers is here with me. My adrenaline begins coursing through my body and I shake, trying to hold still. Anger driving me, I creep towards the sound as the man curses under his breath. It’s got to be Ricky, because he just called his brother a dumbass. This may not be super easy then. The guy is pretty big, even though dumb a as rock. Circling silently around to his rear, I can just barely make him out in the moonlight. He turns towards my position, so I lean down, grabbing a rock and tossing back the way I had come from. He snaps his attention that way. Then I pounce on him. Wrapping my arm around his neck from behind, I squeeze. My bicep being so large, it quickly presses into his throat, cutting off his air. His hands claw at my arm, but achieve nothing. Lowering myself to my knees, I drag him down with me.
     
    As his breathing slows, I release his neck, twisting an arm behind his back. Pushing him to the ground, onto his stomach, I twist the arm up towards his shoulder blades. He cries out in agony. It’s a boost to my adrenaline.
“Hey there Ricky. How’s it been going? Blow anything up lately?”
“Fuck you,” he spit out.
“So, what is your brother doing with Kelli? I swear if anything happens to her, you’re both dead.”
“It’s not my brother you need to worry about,” he laughs.
“What does that mean?” I shout at