Primary Valor Jack Mars (miss read books TXT) 📖

that was behind him. He sank into it, so that when she walked to him,they were nearly the same height.

He reached and put his strong armsaround her. He pulled her close. He wanted to smell her, and he did. There wasthe slightest sent of lavender and vanilla. She smelled like a confection, alight dessert.

She stiffened in his embrace.

“You don’t have to worry,” hesaid. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I never want you to be afraid of me,because I’m going to take care of you, and love you, and keep you safe. Nothingbad will ever happen to you again. Because I am going to be so good to you.”

He pulled away for a moment andlooked into her pretty blue eyes. “I love you, honey. You know that, don’t you?”

The girl seemed frozen, unable tomove. She looked down again, focusing somewhere on his shirt.

“I don’t know anything anymore,”she said in a small voice.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Darwinsaid. “That’s the perfection right there. You don’t have to know anything whenyou’re with me. You just have to know the one thing, the only thing that’simportant. That I love you, and you love me. That this relationship is aboutlove. That we love each other and we take care of each other.”

He looked into her eyes again, andsaw that she was silently crying, the tears sliding down her face. He caughtone with a thick finger. Then he put it on his tongue.

“Your tears are so salty,” hesaid. “But why are you crying?”

Her face broke up into a grimace,a mask of anguish, like the face of a small child. When she spoke, her voicewas deep and husky, like the sound was caught in her throat. But it also madeher voice sound more like that of a woman. Womanhood was coming.

“I want to go home,” she said.

Darwin shook his head. “Angel, youare home.”

Her mouth was quivering. “I’m not.I’m not home.”

“That other place was never yourhome,” he said. “This was always your home.”

She stood there, his hands on herarms, her body shaking. He found it disturbing, the way she was acting. She wasnot adapting. She was not appreciating.

This island was breathtaking. Shecould have a life here like none other. Total luxury, an existence that otherscould only envy. Instead, she was still crying and whining about a life thatwas gone.

It was the kind of thing thatcould make him lose his temper. These girls could be brats sometimes. It wasElaine’s job to discipline these tendencies out of them. This was nothing thatDarwin wanted to deal with.

The girl shook her head. “I wantmy mother.”

“I think you need to learn toappreciate what you have. Instead, you’re reverting to these childish—”

“I want my MOTHER!”

Before he knew what he was doing,Darwin’s right hand reached out and grabbed a chunk of the girl’s hair near thescalp. He got a nice, tight grip, and pulled her to the ground by her hair. Ina second, she was on her knees.

“You don’t have a mother,” hesaid.

He put his face close to hers. Hehad loved her moments ago, he remembered that, but now he was seething withhatred for her. This happened sometimes. When he was drunk, he could get veryangry. It was important that he not do anything rash. He didn’t want to ruinthis opportunity. He didn’t want this girl to fail.

She could end up leaving theisland, and not in a good way. Not in a going home to mother way.

“Listen to me,” he said. “You needto grow up. That life you think you remember is over. This is your life now. Andif you don’t start appreciating me, and what I’m doing for you here…”

He pushed her head away from him. Nowshe was on her knees, curled in a ball, weeping abjectly.

“I don’t know what I’m going to dowith you.”

She just kept on crying.

“Boo-hoo,” he said. “Boo-hoo.”

He picked up the telephone andpressed the button.

“Yes,” a voice said.

“It’s Darwin. I need anothercouple of girls. There’s something wrong with the one that I have here. Itseems like she might be defective.”

He thought about who he wanted. Hewanted ones that were completely obedient, loyal, girls who had learned theirplace, who had adapted to life here. He wanted girls who were residents ofparadise, girls who owed their very lives and well-being to him, and who damnwell knew it. Girls who would show this one what it was all about.

“Send me number 11, and number 17.Thanks.”

He hung up. He looked down at 21. Itdisgusted him, the way she was.

“I’m going to show you what we dohere,” he said. “Tonight, you’re going to watch, and then you’re going toparticipate. My patience is through. So now I’m going to show you what’sexpected of you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

9:05 p.m. Central Standard Time (10:05 p.m. EasternStandard Time)

Isla de los Jabalies

Near St. Simon’s Saw

The Caribbean Sea

 

 

The sea grasses were man high.

Luke could see how this islandmight once have been a good place to hunt boar. But good was a relative term. Thegrass was so deep you would never see a boar until it was right on top of you.

He checked his compass and hikedthrough the grass to the rendezvous point. The island was an inexorable downslope in that direction.

It was quiet, hardly any soundexcept the wind rustling the grass, and the crash of waves on the pebble beachahead. As the water retreated into the ocean, it made a sound across the rockslike fingers scraping across bones.

He came out onto the beach, andthere were two figures to his left in the darkness. They stood near a largeinflatable motorboat, its engine up. As he came closer, Luke saw the white hairgleaming in the night. MacDonald was smaller than Luke remembered. Bowles washere already. He had landed first and hadn’t bothered to wait for Luke. Bowlesseemed to tower over Buzz. The man was shrinking. Old people did that.

“Buzz Mac,” Luke said.

MacDonald turned to look at him. BuzzMac was indeed shorter than either Luke or Bowles. He had a full head of hairon his head, all of it completely white. He had a white goatee on his face. Hewore a dark