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Prologue

He opened the door to her bedroom and walked in. The girl turned towards him, he saw the fear in her eyes and it excited him even more. He knew they were alone in the house and no one to hear her if she screamed. Catriona, was eighteen and beautiful. Miles had been planning to rape her for weeks.

“Senor! What are you doing here?” She sounded frightened.

“You know why I’m here.” he said, taking a step towards her.

She dropped the hairbrush she was holding and tried to slip past him, but he grabbed her around the waist and swung her around onto the bed. He dived on top of her, slid his hands up and under her top and found the smooth skin of her breasts her nipples.

“No!” she cried, struggling to free herself, “No!”

He twisted her onto her stomach so she was lying face down and pushed his hand under her skirt until he felt the thin strip of material between her legs.

“Lie still you bitch, you’ve been asking for this!” he hissed.

But she wouldn’t give in, he flinched as she tried to rake at his eyes with her nails, and her fist caught him on the side of the head. Her breath was coming in short gasps, interspaced with pleas for him to let her go, but he was stronger than her and nothing was going to stop him now!

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this!” He said slamming her forehead against the walnut headboard, “Now you’re going to get it and unless you want your mother to lose her job, you had better keep your mouth shut!” He slammed her head against the board again, stunning her.

Turning her onto her back, he pulled off her skirt and underwear and then quickly dropped his jeans and boxer shorts. He was so excited now that he was worried he would come before he’d got inside her. Kneeling between her open legs, he tore open her blouse and there she was, naked and ready for him.

The girl opened her eyes and looked at him in fear and with tears in her eyes. “I will do what you want, Senor Miles. Please don’t hurt me again!” She raised her arms towards him. “Kiss me while you take my maidenhead,” she said. “At least let me remember it happening while I was being kissed.”

“Yes, Okay,” he said lowering his face towards hers and preparing to penetrate her.

Suddenly both of her thumbs were rammed into his eyes. He screamed in agony and clamped his hands to his injured eyes. She shoved him off her and he fell from the bed, hands still clamped to his eyes. His head slammed against the floorboards and everything went black.

He awoke in hospital to find his left eye had been so badly damaged they had to remove it. The bitch had half-blinded him. But he’d find her and when he did, she’d do a lot of screaming before he killed her.

Chapter One

October 1989

Catriona Maria Travino, Cat to her friends, felt hot and sticky. It was a long bus ride home after working all day at the Lassitter stables in the town of Greensburgh, which was situated five miles outside of the Wheatstone City limits. Normally on a Friday night she drove Lassitter’s pick up because as well as working in the stables after school each night, she also worked there over the weekend. But for some reason, neither Jade, nor Jade’s father Colin Lassitter, had shown; so Cat had no choice but to take the bus home.

Right now she was looking forward to taking a nice refreshing shower and washing her hair. Wrinkling her nose against the stink of urine that permanently pervaded the tenement building, Cat, taking care not to tread on any discarded needles, made her way past the stairs, and down the dark hallway that led to the apartment. Cat shared the apartment with her mother and her mother’s junkie lover, Joel.

Taking out her keys, she was just about to insert her key in the lock, when a hand clamped around her mouth. She saw the gun just before its barrel was pressed painfully into her ear.

“Open it Catriona! Open the door!”

Her initial terror increased as she recognised the Candy-man when he walked past the man holding her. He was smiling at her with nicotine stained teeth. She didn’t know his real name; he’d always been the Candy-man; the man who would supply guns, drugs, girls or boys for sex, and anything else you were prepared to pay for. His massage parlours and clubs all offered sex for cash and many of the girls she’d been to school with now belonged to him. He owned them body and soul and he’d always wanted her!

Cat tried not to shake as she unlocked the door, the Candy-man entered and she was pushed in behind him, at least the gun and the hand had been removed now, then she heard her mother scream.

Cat ran into the living room and saw Joel, holding a bloody nose, while her mother lay gasping for breath doubled up on the carpet. She dropped to her knees beside her mother and looked up in fear at the two men.

“What do you want!” she cried.

“Your mother and Joel owe me money, Catriona,” the Candy-man said quietly. Immaculate in his white three piece suit, gold glinted from cuff of his shirt as he stroked his dark pencil thin moustache. “I’ve come to collect my money, or break their legs! I don’t suppose you’ve got a hundred dollars, Catriona?”

She shook her head, every dollar she earned at the stables went to her mother who was a drunk, or to Joel for his drugs.

“Catriona, you’re twenty in a couple of months and I have decided you ought to come and work for me. A beautiful girl like you could make a lot of money.”

“I’ll never work for you!” she spat. Oh shit, I shouldn’t have said that, she thought, as his face grew dark with anger.

“You think you’re better than me, because you work at that fancy ranch? Is that what you think?” he moved quickly, his slap stung her cheek and knocked her head back. “You show me some respect!”

He looked at her up and down and his eyes narrowed. “Joel! How would you like to make a deal for her? You owe me a hundred bucks and I was going to get Diego here to break both of your legs! But how would you like to do a bit of business with me? I’ll give you another hundred, for Catriona’s cherry. Let me take her up to her bedroom and give her pussy some meat. How about it, have we got a deal?”

Cat felt suddenly afraid, surely even Joel wouldn’t let him rape her! Even for a hundred dollars? She tried to run back out of the room but Joel grabbed her, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh as he twisted her arm behind her back with enough force to make her cry out in pain.

“Sure, you can have her cherry if you want, I’ll even hold her down while you fuck her. But for a thousand bucks you can have her and do what you like with her. I reckon you could get a hundred bucks a night off her easy if you put her to work on her back.”

Jesus, she thought, he’s selling me! The Candy-man had wanted a quick lay but now he was thinking of buying her! He would force her to become a hooker making money for him by opening her legs or her mouth for anyone who had enough dollars! She started to shake and couldn’t get her breath. Surely Mom’s not too drunk to let this happen!

“Mom! Help Me!” she screamed. “Please help me!”

She was rewarded with a drunken snore, Joel and the Candy-man laughed.

“What about her?” the Candy-man asked, indicating her mother. “I don’t need any trouble from the cops?”

“She won’t go to the cops. She won’t even remember you slugging her.”

“Five hundred cash and I’ll forget about breaking you legs along with the money you owe me, that’s six hundred dollars; it’s going to cost a few hundred getting her hooked on crack.” Taking out his wallet, he counted out five hundred dollar bills and held them out to Joel. “Take it, unless you want Diego to start in on your legs!”

Oh shit no! Joel can’t do this to me! She knew girls were bought and sold into prostitution every day in her neighbourhood, but not her! Please God, not me! She started to panic then, because no one would bother if she just disappeared, it happened in all the time.

“Mom!” she croaked, “Mom?” and started to cry as Joel pushed her backwards, into the arms of the drug dealer, who’s  hands closed around her breasts and squeezed hard as he pressed himself against her.

“Nice and firm, baby,” he said, “Just how I like them.”

I’ve got to get away! She thought and tried to rake at his eyes with her nails but he was ready for her and he grabbed her hair so hard she thought it would be pulled right out of her head. And then he slugged her and she had to stop herself from sliding into unconsciousness.

I can’t let them get me out of the apartment, she thought. Once they have me outside they’ll drug me and do what they like with me! She started to cry, they couldn’t do this to me! She tried to pull free from the man’s arms ignoring the hair that was tearing free from her scalp, and tried desperately to hold onto the doorpost and then her fingers were pried away and she was pushed and dragged down the hall, her fingernails tearing as she tried to grab hold of anything, anything at all to halt her progress.

Cat screamed, knowing that in this neighbourhood no-one would take any notice, but she screamed again anyway. I must get away! I must get away. She kept repeating it to herself like a mantra as she was pushed and dragged towards the door leading out to the street.

Her breath was coming in laboured gasps and her fingertips felt raw, and then she was on the sidewalk, being pushed towards the open rear door of a car in which Diego was already sitting. He was grinning and had a loaded needle in his hand as he reached for her.

Fear was replaced with anger, anger that anyone could treat her like this, ignoring the relentless grip on her hair, Cat found a new reserve of strength, and with a cry of rage she twisted around and drove her knee hard into the groin of the Candy-man. He released her collapsing to his knees. Catriona slammed the car door shut into Diego’s face and heard him yell out in pain.

Cat ran, pushing her way through the gathering crowd of onlookers, she had to get to the ranch, she’d be safe there.