“But…,” Jack wanted to continue to argue the point but the look William gave him shut him up.
“Good boy,” said William and turned back to Vivienne. “Fix her up and then take care of the rockstar. Text me if either of them give you any problems.” He left the cell with one last warning look to Jack.
Jack felt so many emotions at that moment. Fear of what they might have planned for Penny and how much more pain and humiliation they could put her through. He was angry at Crystal and William and all the thugs. He was also angry at himself for being so blind.
Vivienne worked on Penny and Jack’s stomach pain increased as he watched. He was almost certain his ulcer was back now; the news that his wife was the mastermind behind the kidnapping was not helping at all.
When Vivienne finished focusing on the stab wound, she examined the second stab wound on Penny’s right shoulder. She started an IV and then listened to Penny’s heart and lungs. For the first time ever, Jack saw worry on the doctor’s face.
“Is she okay?” he asked. Vivienne sat back on her heels and took out a small black notebook from her medical kit.
“She’ll be fine,” she answered shortly but Jack didn’t exactly believe her and he was surprised when she continued to speak with him. “Penny has anorexia, correct?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Since she was about thirteen.”
“Tell me more.” Jack felt like he was breaking Penny’s confidence but Vivienne had not asked a question. It was an order.
“She has struggled on and off. A few years ago, she went to treatment for her anorexia. Penelope came back in the best shape I had seen her in for a long time.”
“She was not in good shape when we acquired her,” Vivienne noted. Acquired? Jack would have to disagree on the term but he knew better than to voice it.
“Yes, Penny was struggling in the months leading up to that night.” Guilt filled him. He noticed yet at the same time didn’t help his friend. He was too wrapped up in himself and making decisions that involved himself, his family, and Penny.
“Anorexia is hard on the heart,” Vivienne noted.
“And so is torture.” The phrase came out of Jack’s mouth before he could stop himself. “I am sorry. Do not hurt her for my stupidity.”
“Don’t worry, Jack, you speak the truth. I’ll be honest; my tools and what William and the others did to her did not help her.”
“If you take Penny to a hospital, I will pay you whatever you want,” Jack offered. “Please, I do not want her to die.”
“She won’t die as long as I keep an eye on the issues. Besides, a good chunk of your money has been paid to William for your upkeep.”
“What?”
“Crystal used your own money you earned to finance your kidnapping. That’s why she has you make the videos and is pimping your children out to the media. Your money manager keeps just enough in your accounts so as not to alert your brother or sister and has… ‘redirected’ your money either to William or off shore for Crystal’s own use. She also drained all the money Penny had except for one account.”
“Syn suka,” he muttered. Although this was surprising news, the surprise didn’t last long. Crystal was a very greedy person. After all, it was her greed fueling the kidnapping. Jack tacked on a new worry to the long list created from this ordeal. He was now worried his children were not being financially taken care of but as quickly as that thought popped into his head, it left. Crystal would have to be careful about the money situation as any oddity might attract the FBI. Tony, his financial manager who was being blackmailed by Penny’s ex-boyfriend, would need to make sure there was enough money to pay all the basics. Maybe Tony would mess up and something would catch the FBI’s eye. Maybe money would end up being his and Penny’s salvation. This gave Jack a little hope.
His focus went back to Penny and Vivienne. The doctor was listening again to Penny’s heart and lungs and afterwards, took her blood pressure in both arms. Into the IV, she injected several drugs.
“These should help her,” she explained to Jack. “It’ll help her heart rate slow down and even out, hopefully.” Vivienne then waved a capsule under Penny’s nose. She awoke with a start. Vivienne helped her sit up and then took out a bottle from her kit. “Your blood pressure is sky high right now and this will help. Open up,” she ordered and Penny complied like a good child might. Vivienne put the small white pill on her tongue and then held a water bottle to her lips. Penny drank down as fast as she could. She was thirsty but Vivienne pulled the bottle away.
“May I have some more water?” Penny requested.
“Later.”
Penny looked crushed but she didn’t say anything. For a third time, Vivienne listened to Penny’s heart and lungs and took her blood pressure. She seemed pleased with the results this time and jotted a few things down in her notebook.
It was Jack’s turn to be examined. He had numerous knots, bruises and small lacerations from the beating he took. There were a few longer cuts that had crusted over and Vivienne cleaned them, closing them with butterfly bandages. She covered the lacerations with gauze and focused on his shredded feet. Jack’s resolve was low and the first time she touched them, he cried out.
“I’ll give you something,” she said and before he could recover and object, she stuck him in the hip and he was out.
Chapter 3
I laid on the stone floor, shivering. Jack had been moved onto the musty mattress with William’s help after Vivienne finished fixing him up but they left me on the cold, hard floor. Seeing both William and Vivienne together again frightened me and I felt safer when they left. Memories of what those two did to me filled my mind. The drugs, the torture, the rape… They all stole me from myself and I felt so small and frightened even during the few hours they left me alone. I needed to be strong, though. I didn’t want to show the bastards that they had broken me. I also needed to be strong for Jack.
I sat up and tested how much movement I had with the IV tubing. There was a little leeway and I inched closer to Jack. Moving hurt a lot and when I finally arrived next to the mattress, I was exhausted and in more pain. It was difficult to even crawl with my damaged knees and shoulders and I had to be careful about the wounds from Crystal stabbing me. Plus, for whatever reason, my wrists were handcuffed in front of me and there were heavy manacles around my ankles. William said Crystal ordered the unnecessary bondage. I knew she was evil before she showed up but never thought she was that evil to have Jack kidnapped and then to even stab me. I thought I knew her, knew her level of evil, but I was wrong.
Jack stirred a little from whatever Vivienne gave him and I couldn’t wait until he was awake all the way. I went to call his name but the simple name seemed stuck in my mind all of a sudden. My mind felt fuzzy, just like it did when Vivienne used some of her drugs to get the answers William wanted for Crystal. Sometimes even when I wanted to tell him something, I couldn’t get my mind and my voice to work together. I couldn’t talk. This angered William even though it was Vivienne’s fault. That’s when he began using the stun gun on me.
Those memories never went away and I fought hard to not think of them. I fingered the needle in my hand and a thought hit me – what if there was something else in that bag besides fluids? Tears came to my eyes; I didn’t want any more of those horrible drugs. It wasn’t the torturous Red one but some of the others they used bothered my head and kept me from doing something as basic as talking. At first I didn’t know why they would give that to me but then I realized it was done just to give them an excuse to hurt me more.
I wanted to pull the IV from my hand but knew if I did that, they would kill me. Instead, I focused hard on Jack’s name. I remembered how he would help his daughter Karie, who suffered from a stutter al
l her life. Just like he told her, I closed my eyes and focused on what I wanted to say. I imagined Jack’s name written on a piece of paper.
“Jack?” I called to him and, ignoring the pain in my shoulders which had been broken at least twice during the kidnapping, I did my best to reach out to Jack’s face and touch his bearded cheek with my bound hands. Actually, it was more of a stroke with my knuckles since the damage to my previously broken and burned hands kept me from uncurling them without intense pain. Again, I focused. “Ivan?” Whatever Vivienne had given him was holding strong. I wanted to reassure him but my words were a jumble. Even though I focused, I could only get a few out. “It’s… okay. Rest. Go… sleep.” A barely audible noise came from him.
“Ssss… Ssss…” To anyone else, it would just be nonsense coming from Jack but I had heard that before from his beautiful daughter Ellie who had died from a traumatic brain injury. Speech came late for her and we grew used to her attempts at talking. Jack’s Ssss brought the memory of Ellie back and I knew what he was saying. Ssss was Ellie’s way of telling us she was sleepy when she was a toddler.
“Sleep, yes,” I said with a shaking voice. “Sleep… until… ready.” I was sad but he needed the rest to heal.
A shiver ran through me, jarring all my injuries. I pulled my arms close to me, bending them at the elbow and tucking my hands beneath my chin. I wanted to fall asleep but I was so cold. I knew it wasn’t winter anymore – I wasn’t sure of the month, honestly – but the basement of the small bungalow in a wooden area where we were being kept was still cold. I wanted to be warm. I wanted to not hurt. Most of all, I wanted to be home in Jack’s house where no one could hurt me.
. . .
After a while I could barely keep my eyes open and tried to sleep but failed. Despite my exhaustion, I was just too cold and had too much pain. All I could do was stare at the brick wall and remember my terrible secret being shared. Jack took the news well. Was it too well? Was he just being nice? I couldn’t imagine him truly caring. After all, my mother told me if anyone ever found out my secret, they would never want anything to do with me. I could hear her voice in my head and a lump formed in my throat. I let my tears fall without sound – I didn’t want to wake up Jack – and wondered how long it would be before I lost Jack because of my secret.
A raspy noise came from Jack and when I touched his bearded cheek with my knuckle, he moved his head. I imagined his name on a piece of paper again.
“J… Jack?” I inquired with difficulty. This made me think I was getting those additional drugs in my IV. This worried me so much. Not just losing my ability to communicate, at least temporarily, but Jack would not be happy. He didn’t need something to get angry about; he was already angry enough after learning Crystal was behind the kidnapping.
“Penelope,” he whispered. “Is there any water?” William left two bottles of water for us but I could not open mine with my damaged hands.
“Wat…er?” I was finally able to get out although it was difficult. I reached for the bottles and inched one towards Jack. “Can’t open.”
“Okay,” he replied. “I open.” Jack whimpered and groaned a bit as he sat up. “Are you thirsty?” I nodded and struggled to sit up myself. When Jack touched me to help, I jumped. The weeks of torture drilled into me that even Jack’s touch scared me. “I will not hurt you, Penelope.”
“I know,” I managed to get out and then paused to focus on my next words. They were hard to express both physically and emotionally. “It’s just hard after what they did,” I explained slowly.
“You do not need to explain yourself, Penny. I understand,” he said and I drank down the whole bottle he held to my lips. The cool water tasted so good.
“They have not given you any clothing.” He looked at my battered body and I felt self-conscious. I tucked my hands beneath my chin trying to cover my naked body.
“Don’t… look,” I stuttered out.
“This is not right,” he said. “Please, if you can, come sit on the mattress with me. You can wrap yourself in the blanket. The room is too chilly for you to lie on the cement.” Before I could move, he fingered the cuffs around my painful wrists. “Syn suka,” he muttered. There was a touch of anger in his voice when he spoke again. “We share the mattress and I want you covered with the blanket. You are shivering. Are you able to move yourself?”
I don’t know, I wanted to say but could not get the words out so I nodded my head. I knew he would want to know what was wrong, why I was having difficulty speaking. I was actually glad my words were stuck; I’m sure Jack’s anger would grow worse if he knew I was being drugged again.
With Jack’s help, I was able to move up onto the mattress although I had to sit on my good hip as it was still too painful to sit on my bottom. Landon, the thug that had raped me, had been brutal, worse than Shane. The memory of both terrible men brought a mistiness to my eyes that I was able to hold from falling.
Jack tucked the blanket around me and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. The tasks left us both breathless and in pain. Focusing on the words, I managed to get them out slowly.
“Thank… you.”
“What is wrong with your speech?” he asked but even if I could answer, I wouldn’t have because the door opened. It was Vivienne and William. My initial reaction was to shrink down but I wanted to show the maniacs that I was stronger than they thought and I sat up straight. It hurt my shoulders to do so and took a lot of energy but I had a point prove. Vivienne checked Jack out first.
“What is your pain level?” she asked.
“A three,” he replied. I heard him tortured and knew he was in bad shape. He was lying about his pain level. I had known Jack for a long time, after all.
“A three earns you just some ibuprofen,” Vivienne said.
“That will be fine,” said Jack. The doctor shook out the pills and then Jack gulped down another bottle of water. I was thirsty too but was afraid to ask for any.
Vivienne moved on to me and she listened to my heart and lungs. When I obeyed and took a deep breath, I made a loud wheezing sound. “Do you have any chest pain?” I nodded. “On what scale?” I could see the number in my mind but could not make it come out of my mouth. I painfully held up the four fingers and the thumb on my right hand.
“Why is she not talking?” Jack asked.
“Don’t worry, Jack,” William replied. “The cat’s got her tongue. That’s all.” Cat’s got her tongue… Cat… Not the four cats that were the Petrov’s family pets Karie loved so much. No, the correct memory came back of the drug called Cat. William called it a silencer and they gave it to me on purpose so they could hurt me for not talking. Was I going to have my voice taken from me for the remainder of our stay in hell? This thought scared me and I started shivering. I needed to be able to communicate with Jack.
Vivienne slipped a small pill under my tongue. After a few minutes, the chest pain abated. She started another IV bag.
“What are you injecting into her IV?” Jack asked.
“Just medicines to help her heart,” Vivienne replied. “The pill was for the chest pain. Her blood pressure has come down but her heart rhythm is still unacceptable and I am going to need to acquire an inhaler to help her breathing.” She paused. “Let’s just get rid of her, Will. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”
“No, treat her. Like I said, I’m not sure if we’re done with her.” These words scared me and I used all the will I had to keep from crying.
Vivienne rummaged around in her kit and I turned my head away out of fear. When William spoke, his words caused my stomach to do summersaults. “No, Vivi. Even I can tell she’s in no condition for a round of Red. Treat her heart and lungs and the stab wounds. For now, don’t give her anything extra.
” Vivienne huffed, fiddled with my IV, and left the cell with angry footsteps. James entered the room and he carried two protein shakes.
“Sip the shakes,” William warned. My stomach grumbled at the thought of something with substance.
“What happens next for us?” Jack asked.
“We’ll maintain you.”
“What does that mean?”
“We tuck you away somewhere safe, give you just enough food and water to keep you alive. When you are in better condition, we’ll move you to a new location.”
“Please, just release us,” Jack said in a weary voice.
“I’m sorry but that is not allowed in the contract Crystal has purchased,” William explained and left.
“Der’mo,” Jack expressed in frustration. He took several deep breaths and I knew he was angry. He took one last deep breath. “I am going to touch you,” he said and I nodded. He touched my cheek. “How are you doing? I am so worried about you.”
Fine is what I wanted to say but after several attempts, I could not get the word out.
“Why can you not speak all of a sudden?” His voice sounded so worried. I knew it would be best he knew about the drug even if it made him angry. “You could speak earlier but why not now?” Even if my hands were not so damaged, the handcuffs would keep me from using sign language to sign drug (Jack’s youngest son Leo was deaf and the whole family plus myself knew sign language). Instead, I painfully twisted my hands so that I caught the tubing from the IV and gave it a slight tug. I hoped Jack’s Big Brain could figure out what I meant. I was not disappointed. “They gave you a drug that keeps you from talking?” I nodded and again was not disappointed when he swore. I didn’t want him to be angry.
Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2) Page 6