When she heard a rustling in the bushes, Krista thought nothing of it. She carried herself through life with a supreme confidence that few women had the luxury of feeling. She was the monster lurking in the shadows. People should be afraid of her.

She smiled at the delivery driver, who was clearly taken by her appearance, and stepped forward to run her finger along the touchscreen. She had no idea why they let you sign for packages this way, the signatures were never legible. The driver was obviously sizing her up. She was used to it.

“Is husband home right now?” he asked, with an accent she couldn’t place.

“It’s just little old me. Why, were you thinking of… coming inside?” she said.

The man was not attractive, but she never passed up an opportunity to keep her skills sharp. It’s not like she was really going to let him touch her. The man didn’t even seem to be able to look her in the eyes. Another pathetic moron. She had complete confidence that within five minutes flat, she could have this idiot on his knees begging to empty his wallet for the privilege of sniffing her farts through a walkie-talkie.

It came as quite a surprise, then, when then a second man appeared beside her. She turned and looked just in time to see sack being raised into the air over her.

“What the f-”

It was the last thing she managed to say before the driver shoved a cloth over her mouth. She gasped, which was a mistake, as the powerful smell of some drug assaulted her senses. She became lightheaded.

“Come on, hurry the fuck up, we don’t have all day,” said one of the voices.

* * *

“Is she still kicking, Mister Scott?” asked Murdoch. It was the first thing he’d said in fifteen minutes.

“No, I think she’s finally calmed down,” he replied.

Until this morning, he’d never met his partner. The boss always preferred it that way. Opsec had broken down about fifteen minutes into the job, when he’d accidentally used his real name to order a coffee. It beat the hell out of “Mr T”, anyway. He didn’t look anything like the guy! Scott wanted Reservoir Dogs code-names, but the boss said that was played out.

“What’s her deal, anyway?” he asked.

Murdoch shrugged.

Scott looked down at the woman-shaped sack on the ground behind him. Underneath all that, he knew there was a prime piece of meat. The photo hadn’t done her justice.

“Yeah but isn’t it a little weird? The instructions bein’ so specific, I mean.”

He didn’t respond.

“We were obviously gonna gag her anyway. But I mean we aren’t even allowed to look at her once we grab her? We have to sit at two meters away from her? We can’t remove the gag?”

“Job is job,” he said in that odd European way. He was horrible at placing accents. He wondered where about he was from – Poland or Romania or something. But he knew what answer he’d get if he asked.

“What is he some kind of wacko jealous husband or something? Doesn’t even want anyone looking at his property before she dies?”

Again, there was no response.

“Alright man, don’t talk. See if I care.”

After ten minutes of silence, he couldn’t take it anymore. They hadn’t even brought phones with them.

“Alright if you’re not gonna talk, I’ll talk to her instead.”

He shuffled back and loomed over her body, holding onto the rail inside the van with one hand. The bag started moving a little.

“Client was very clear. No talk, no looking, especially in eyes. Stay away.”

“Who’s gonna know?”

No response.

“Alright, fucking fine, but find a place to pull over, I need a bathroom or a tree or something.”

No response.

“Come on, pull over, I’m not joking. I have to go. Urine, piss, pee pee.”

He could see his partner rolling his eyes in the rear view mirror. The car came to a halt next to a small clearing. He made sure she was still firmly tied, then opened the side of the van and hopped out. After he was done, he pulled out an alcohol wipe, cleaned up his hands and threw it away.

“I will take some time also,” said the driver upon his return. “But longer. Shitting.”

“Hey, take these,” he said, throwing the container of wipes.

“Thank you,” he said. It was the first time he’d thanked Scott for anything so far.

As he waited, he stared at their target. It was such an alluring shape. It’d been weeks since Scott had a shag. The client could suck his dick. Nobody was ever going to know. She started squirming as he lifted the sack.

She was just as hot as he remembered. She was all dolled up. He almost felt bad that they’d messed her hair up a bit, since she obviously spent so much time making it look good. They’d accidentally ripped her blouse when they were stuffing her in the van, and he could see the bright red lingerie she was wearing underneath. This bitch was definitely planning to fuck somebody tonight. He smiled. Maybe she still will.

She faced up and looked at him. I’ll look her in the eyes if I want to, fucko, he thought.

“Lady, I don’t know who you are, but you are one hot fuckin’ number. Are you one of them uh, insta models?”

She shook her head.

“Oh right, you’re probably a little more upmarket. We grabbed you in a pretty rich neighbourhood. You’re some sorta trophy wife or whatever. I got it.”

She shook her head again.

“Well I don’t wanna play charades all day. Let’s just agree that you’re a slut.”

He pulled out his pocket knife and flicked it open. Her eyes went wide.

“Don’t worry, we aren’t gonna kill you just yet.” He leaned in close and dropped his voice to a whisper. “We’re supposed to dump you in the river much further downstream. Don’t want any nosy swimmers finding it too quickly.”

She looked completely petrified. He liked that.

All he’d have to do was make few cuts on the lower ropes. Just enough to give himself access. She fought to move away from him, but that was half the fun. He took a deep breath in and got a whiff of something – perfume maybe.

“Oh yeah, I love fucking you fancy cunts. You always smell so good.”

He took another deep breath, and it was even stronger. He felt a little bit relaxed. He felt good. He was getting a little bit woozy. If he didn’t know any better he could have sworn the woman was getting even hotter. He was rock hard. She really was an incredible specimen. The curve of her tits, fancy blonde hair, her gorgeous arse, the face of a goddess. He’d defile her shrine any day week.

It took him a moment before he realised he was staring. The woman didn’t seem nearly as scared all of a sudden. She was just looking at him. Like she was waiting for him to say something.

The door slammed shut in the front.

“Couldn’t do it. I’ll shit later,” said the driver.

Scott stood up and took a step back.

“Mister Scott, I hope you are not doing what it looks like,” Murdoch continued.

“I – no, I just wanted to get a better look at her. It really is a shame to kill someone who looks that good.”

“It is big country. There are many other women we will not kill.”

“Yeah, of course,” he said with a forced chuckle.

He pulled the sack back over her and moved away. They started moving again.

For the next thirty clicks, his eyes never left the shape. His thoughts kept straying back to her, tied up like that. It was possibly the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. He knew that once they got the job done, that mental image was going straight in the spank bank.

Can I kill her?

Of course he was going to kill her. Wasn’t he? It was becoming difficult to imagine going through with it. This wasn’t his first rodeo. It wasn’t even his first woman. But it seemed wrong, somehow. Like destroying a great work of art that he really wanted to stick his dick in. But it was more than just animal attraction. Maybe he’dlike to make breakfast for her after he got done raping her.

These were strange and conflicted feelings.

He made his way over to her. He could still smell her, that wonderful smell of rich pussy.

“Mister Scott, what are doing?”

“I just want to talk to her. Would you rather I talk to you?”

He rolled his eyes once again.

“Talk to her then, but I will be having word with boss when we are done.”

He didn’t care.

He ripped off the tape over her mouth in one smooth motion. He winced at the pain he knew she felt. Normally, that would have been a plus, but in this case, it made him feel uncharacteristically bad.

Despite the marks it left, he was once again taken aback by just how hot she was. There was no doubt about it, she had dick sucking lips, and he wanted them all to himself. He knew she was about to speak, and he waited with rapt attention.

“That’s better,” she said quietly, then coughed. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Scott Sallows,” he said without even thinking.

God damnit you idiot! That’s the second time today.

“Well Scott, I’m Krista. Pleased to meet you.”

He smiled like a love-struck schoolboy.

“I meant what I said before. You’re a real hot slut.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet,” she said. “But I must confess that I’m a little bit scared, Scott. You’re really going to kill me, huh?”

He nodded sadly.

“That’s OK,” she said. He felt awful. That wasn’t how he was supposed to feel. “I suppose we all have to die some time. I just never thought it would be like this.

“In a river?” he said.

“I… I never thought I’d die a virgin…”

“You mean you’re…”

She nodded. He got even harder.

“Hey, Murdoch?” he shouted.

He thought he heard some grumbling, but it might have just been the road noise.

“Hey, hey Murdoch, I’m definitely gonna fuck this girl, are you cool with that?”

The brakes came on hard. Scott almost fell forwards, just managing to catch himself in time. Krista slid forward until her legs were stopped by a heavy box. Murdoch pulled the car over, then turned around in his seat to look at Scott directly.

“You will not fuck this girl. You will act like professional, or I will will throw you in river too.”

“You’re crazy, you could have killed us,” shouted Scott.

“No, you are the crazy man. What will happen if they find body and you have left your ‘evidence’ inside her? Hmm? I know you have been prisoner, because you will not shut up. Talk talk talk. Always talking. They will have your DNA on file, then they will come looking for you, then maybe you remember what I look like, and they come looking for me. No! I will not let you be fucking this girl.”

Scott looked down at the once-in-a-lifetime piece of arse now laying so tantalisingly close to him, bound and helpless, practically begging him to take her virgin pussy. The way she looked so scared and helpless might as well have been a flashing neon “fuck me now” sign.

He made up his mind.

“Fuck you, Murdoch,” said Scott, drawing his compact pistol out of his ankle holster. He raised it up and pointed it at the man in the front seat.

The driver looked at him sternly.

“Put the gun down, you idiot! Why did you even bring that? We were not supposed to bring weapon!”

“Oh shut up. I’ve had just about enough of you. You’re boring. You bore me. I think I’m gonna take the rest of this trip solo.”

“You fucking pussy coward. Loser man, idiot. What do you think boss will say? Huh? Oh, Scotty my boy, of course I am happy to have you as part of my crew. You are so reliable. Take full payment. Take Murdoch’s cut as a reward. You always follow orders, such team player, only sometimes kills your own guys.” He started laughing.

Scott’s blood was boiling. He pulled the trigger. A bullet flew past Murdoch’s head and struck the windscreen. It cracked and warped around the bullet hole. The driver and Krista both flinched at the sound.

“What the fuck man!? What the fuck!?” shouted Murdoch.

He hadn’t aimed to miss, he was just not very good at what he did and his fine motor control was not one hundred percent at the moment.

“Get out of the fucking car or I will blow your head clean off,” he said.

The car door swung open and Murdoch rolled out to take cover behind it.

“You are insane, idiot man. This is not fucking worth it. I’m out of here.”

His heart pounded, but he felt good. He felt powerful. He wondered if he should actually shoot him as he ran away. What’s he going to tell the boss? What am I going to tell him? His thought process was derailed when he looked down and saw her helpless body once again.

She was his. All his. There was nobody here who would stand in his way anymore. Krista’s eyes were focused on him, and his on her. He fell to one knee and reached out his hand to brush across her soft, rosy cheek. She opened her mouth, inviting his finger inside. She seemed like a smart girl. She knew what was good for her. It made him so hard. She played with his finger in her mouth, tongue running across it and around it. He brushed her hair back with his other hand, and, uncertain of how he should proceed, eventually settled on leaving a kiss on her forehead. It wasn’t the violent fucking that he thought he wanted. It felt intimate. It felt right.

He caught another whiff of her perfume, or whatever that was. His muscles relaxed even more. It made him feel dizzier, in the best way possible. Like he was three drinks in for the night and anything was possible. He had to pull his finger back to use that hand to steady himself.

“You really would have killed that man, wouldn’t you? Just to have me?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. I just might have,” he replied. It was true. Then again, another hour of silence and he would have killed that prick for three dollars fifty and a stick of gum.

“Mmmm,” she said, biting her lip. “I like that in a man. Oh… but I’m so helpless like this… I couldn’t possibly stop you from doing whatever you wanted with me…”

He was almost drooling.

“Tell me what you want from me. What do you want the most of all, Scott?” she said, her voice dripping with sex.

He sized up his piece of fuckmeat.

“You’re gonna give me your tight, virgin cunt.”

“Oh heavens no… anything but that…” she said.

“I’ll just have to get at you somehow,” he said, his foggy brain struggling to figure out the logistics of such a basic task.

“That knife,” she said. “You’d be able to cut away all of this… all these restraints and take me…”

Of course, the knife, he thought. How could he have forgotten that? He pulled out his pocket knife and started hurriedly cutting away the bits of rope that were obstructing the path. He wound up going a lot farther than he needed to, but he was too horny to care. He yanked the bottom of her skirt up, revealing her incredibly shapely arse, delicately guarded by classy lingerie. He eagerly cut away the undergarments and ripped them away from her, looking back at her face for signs of approval and/or terror – preferably both.

He unbuckled his jeans and kicked them away along with his boots, infuriated by the stubborn right leg that required extra attention. Krista, now able to move around freely, took the opportunity to roll over and present herself to him, face down, arse up.

“Is this what you were looking for?”

It was. It was easily the prettiest pussy he’d ever seen.

“Why don’t you come closer and give it a nice big smell?” she said.

He almost tripped as he tried to get his face right up to it.

“Breathe in, that’s it,” she said as he took a deep breath.

She still smelled incredible, and he was feeling better and better with each passing moment.

“I’m totally in your power, sir. I’m completely helpless. But why don’t you take a nice, long look at your prize before you ravish me? You’ve earned it. Savour the moment,” she said.

He stared at her slick pussy and drank in the details. It was mesmerising. She was completely clean shaven, and her lips parted slightly as she wiggled her arse around. His head tracked them lazily as she moved it around in a circular pattern.

“Look closely. Follow your prize, look deeply. Around and around.”

Around and around.

He became more and more entranced by it with every revolution of her perfect behind and with every breath of air he took in.

“You’re such a bad man, Scott. Aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling.

“You do such horrible things. But don’t you want something more than just a one time affair? Wouldn’t you rather keep me around? Around and around and around.”

“Around and around…” he said.

“If you want me to stay around, then you need to protect me, Scott. You need to keep me safe,” she said.

“Uhuh…”

“You do want to keep me safe, don’t you? Don’t you want to keep me around?”

“Yeah…”

“Because you know if you keep me around, then you can enjoy your prize for so much longer, can’t you?”

His jaw hung open and he stared without speaking.

“Take it now, sir, reach out and take what you’ve earned.”

She snapped her fingers. His senses cleared up a little. He had no idea what he was waiting for.

He went into a frenzy. His underpants got partially ripped as he discarded them, he could wait no longer to experience the nirvana that awaited him. He normally liked to start with an exploratory finger, but he wasn’t in control anymore. The beast took over completely, thrusting inside her from behind as fast as he could manage without tearing something.

Everything about this woman was driving him wild. Her look, her smell, the way she moved, the way she felt. He was sitting on the edge of pain and pleasure, pushing his body to its limits, but he loved every second of it.

As he continued ravishing Krista, he started to feel odd again. He got woozier and woozier, until finally, he couldn’t stand any longer. He fell to the floor next to Krista in a drunken, contended stupor. All thoughts of driving the rest of the way to the destination were gone. He was no longer having coherent thoughts at all, but felt flashes of feelings and ideas. He felt very fond of the woman sitting beside him. There was no way he could kill her. He wanted to protect her. To keep her all to himself. Maybe he could take her somewhere that they could lie low for a little while. Somewhere that they could spend quality time together. Completely uninterrupted.

She continued whispering things into his ear. He nodded along, happily.

* * *

Superintendent Wylie stared in disbelief at the suspect, smiling broadly as he recounted the details of the kidnapping and attempted murder of one Krista Olsson. He’d been in custody for a couple of hours now. He showed up at the station in a postal van and turned himself in. He claimed that he was hired for the job, but his conscience got the better of him.

He sipped his coffee and shook his head. His story would have been easier to believe coming from someone without a record like his, but he wasn’t sure what motivated him to do this instead of just running or going through with the murder. He was sure that the man had killed before.

“Has O'Reilly finished taking the woman’s statement?”

“Uhh, actually, she asked if she could see you,” said the constable.

He raised an eyebrow.

“By name?”

“No, she just asked to see “the man in charge”. Her words. Said she’d feel more comfortable with you.”

“Alright, I guess you’ve got this guy under control,” said the Superintendent.

“Yeah, I just wish he’d slow down for a few minutes.”

The woman – Krista – was seated behind a coffee of her own and a small plate of food that the men had scrounged up for her. She flashed a winning smile at him as he entered the room. He stole a glance down to an incredible pair of breasts, bound up tightly by her outfit.

“Are you the man in charge?” she asked.

“That’s me,” he said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be meeting under more pleasant circumstances. What you went through must have been horrible, but you’re safe now.”

“It was frightening at first,” she said, “but in the end, it wasn’t so bad. Poor Scotty, he really is such a sweetheart once you get to know him.”

“Your kidnapper? He was recently released after serving time for an assault charge. Grievous Bodily Harm, if I recall correctly. Between you and me, he’s also come across our radar before. We think he’s been involved in some very serious stuff, Miss Olssen.”

“He’s really not so bad deep down,” she said. “I’m sure he never would have done any of those horrible illegal things unless he was desperate.”

He shrugged.

“I’ll have to take your word for it. Now, Krista, whenever you’re ready, would you like to start explaining what happened from your perspective?”

Krista recounted in detail the last few weeks of her life. How she was engaged to marry this Arthur character, how he died in mysterious circumstances, how his daughter, Heather, had verbally threatened her life, and finally, the circumstances of her kidnapping. She was held by the man for several days before he finally turned himself in and freed her this afternoon.

“And you said he didn’t mistreat you at all during this time?”

“Oh… he was a little rough at first, but I assure you, he didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to. He was such a gentleman,” she said with a little giggle. The Superintendent found that difficult to believe.

Sometimes it was hard to pay attention to what she was saying. The young woman was very easy on the eyes. He kept stealing glances down at her cleavage without meaning to.

“And he just… had a change of heart? He just decided to let you go and turn himself in, risking potentially years in gaol?”

“Well, I guess he finally saw the error of his ways. Or maybe he just felt too guilty killing a helpless young girl like me,” she said, like she was a porn-star trying to persuade the cable guy to stay a little longer.

He frowned and adjusted his collar. Is it getting hot in here?

“I find it a little far fetched, that’s all. There was really nothing else he said to you?”

“What can I say, Inspector? He’s a changed man. If anything, I think he’s a victim here almost as much as I am.”

“Superintendent,” the police officer replied.

“Oh yes, of course, sorry. But like I said.”

“You don’t think charges should be pressed against him? For attempted murder and kidnapping?”

“Oh I didn’t say that. No of course, you would have to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. I have no doubt he’ll end up in gaol for years and years to come.”

As he scribbled his notes, the police officer felt like he could sense something. It was faint, but it was there. He couldn’t quite put a word to it. There was a presence, or a change in the air. When he looked up from his notepad, there was something different about the woman he was interviewing. Something subtly more alluring. His little glances started lasting longer. He coughed and shifted in his seat.

“There was something else I wanted to double back on here. You said that you thought that Arthur’s daughter – Heather – was responsible for his death. Why did you think that?”

“Well, Officer. It’s just that she seemed so angry about us getting married! She threatened me, and then she hired that poor man to murder me. We were told something was found in Arthur’s system. It all seems very suspicious to me. It seems like something you should look into in detail.”

He couldn’t imagine why somebody would ever want to threaten someone like Krista. She seemed so nice. Jealousy, perhaps?

“She hired that man?” he asked. He thought back to what he’d overheard from the interrogation room earlier. “I think he said he didn’t know who the client was, that he was contracted anonymously.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, angered by the question.

“Oh, forgive me. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but you know – police brain. I have to consider all possibilities.”

“Oh, of course, how silly of me. Sorry, it still feels a little raw. You’re being so helpful, and I shouldn’t raise my voice like that.”

“That’s quite alright,” he said.

“Have you ever been married, Superintendent?” she said.

The question put him off guard.

“Yes, happily married for twelve years,” he said, displaying his ring finger.

“Oh,” said Krista. “That’s such a shame.”

As she smiled, he found himself mirroring it. His face went a little redder.

Parts of her story seemed far fetched, but there was a certain genuineness to her. She had a very trustworthy face. A very sexy, very trustworthy face.

“We’ll certainly look into this. You can rest assured, Miss Olssen, that we will bring whomever is responsible to justice.”

“Oh, I have every confidence that you will, Superintendent.”

The feeling he had before got stronger. It was a smell, albeit a very faint one. He hadn’t fully appreciated quite how beautiful she was before. Her cleavage wasn’t just impressive, it was undoubtedly the finest he’d ever laid eyes on. The rest of her body was no less stunning.

He was simply looking at her. And she was looking at him. That perfect moment hung in the air between them.

“You know, you have beautiful eyes, Superintendent,” she said. “Do you think I could take a closer look?”

“I – that’s a highly irregular request, ma’am.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just they’re really quite remarkable.”

He found it was difficult to say no to her all of a sudden. He took his glasses off.

“Mm, yes, how lovely,” she said. “Do you like mine?”

He looked into her eyes – really looked.

“Yes, they’re quite lovely,” he said, then turned away. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I shouldn’t stare.”

He wanted to look at her, he really did, but it seemed inappropriate to do so.

“It’s really quite alright, Superintendent. I really don’t mind. You’ve got such a stressful job. You should relax a little.”

“The job does get to me sometimes,” he said.

“Exactly! You should just take a moment to breathe and relax. You can let your eyes wander wherever they want to.”

He turned back hesitantly, and his gaze fell downwards into her chest as he took another deep breath in.

“That’s right, it’s perfectly natural.”

He nodded softly.

“As an officer of the law, I know I can rely on you to be dedicated to this investigation. Obviously, you want to find the truth, don’t it?”

He nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “Of course.”

“As the victim of this terrible crime, I’m a very important witness, aren’t I?”

“Yeah…”

“So we should probably stay in contact, for the good of the investigation. We should see each other regularly. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice… I mean, of course, we would be interested to hear what you had to say.”

It did sound nice. It sounded very nice.

“And you are going to be very dedicated to finding the truth, aren’t you, sweetie? The truth about who hired this poor, desperate man to perform such a dastardly act. And about who murdered my beloved fiancé.”

His eyes were still fixed on her chest as it rose and fall with her breathing. He wanted to reach out and grab her breasts. He wanted to lick, to suck, bury his face in them and die. He was making an arse out of himself staring at this lovely young woman. It was so difficult to look away. But she didn’t seem to mind.

“Yeah… of course…”

“I’m so pleased to hear that,” she said with a Cheshire grin.