It looked like a gymnastics horse, but longer and with a different kind of thickly padded top. It had a crank on one end and what looked like a long ...inged bar on one side. And he had cameras with lights set up in front and behind the apparatus. Her interest peeked immediately along with a flutter of nervous energy in her belly.Mr. Michaels proceeded to put ankle and wrist cuffs on both girls. Instead of the normal collar, he had metal ones. They were hard tubular collars that fit snug. “How could you think such a thing?!?”I smirked. “Well, Mom, I don’t know what all goes on in your life. I mean, I used to go spend the night at Mandy’s a lot. I didn’t see that as an opportunity for you to catch up on your solitaire scores.”“Well, I DIDN’T! The group thing, I mean.”“Okay then, Mandy said, defusing the situation. “Last night was a first for us all.”Saved by the bell. The oven timer dinged from the kitchen. Breakfast was biscuits, sausage gravy, and a vegetable frittata. Pretty. That was why he wanted me on my back; so he could hurt my front bad and kill me. Oh god, help me, I prayed; please dear god, help me. If I had thought there was any possibility that Paul could rescue me, I would have nursed that hope for all it was worth, but there was no hope. By my panicked calculations, he wouldn’t even be home for a few more hours, but even if he were at home this very minute, he’d have no way to know I was about to be killed. He would never guess, because there was so. In fact, she seemed to be pleased! “Besides,” I added softly, “you saw as much of me as I saw of you. And after all, I’m your big brother. You should trust me.” I laid my hand on her leg. She shuddered a little, but did nothing to remove it. “Shit, Sheila,” I added, “everybody does that. You’re not the first girl that’s ever played with her, you know.” Sheila sat with her eyes down for a short time. Then she put her hand on my arm, the one that was on her thigh. “I don’t know why I do it, Rajan.