Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2)

by Dana Mansfield

  “Present your arm, Jack,” William ordered as Vivienne took out a syringe, tourniquet, and small glass vial. My heart sank. Jack was being forced to do heroin again. It had been a while since the last time they used it and I hoped they would never start it up again. I should have known better.

  “Please, no,” Jack said and tucked his arms closer to himself.

  “How can you say no after the wonderful meal I brought you?” William asked in a very amiable manner. Now I understood the change in food. If we wanted the good stuff, Jack would have to pay with heroin. We were nothing but play things. “Either you take the hit, Jack, or your food will be cut to even less than before.”

  “But we were hardly allowed anything before,” Jack noted, his voice incredulous.

  “I see your Big Brain is still working,” replied William. Jack looked at me with a shocked face. It was a terrible position he was in. We were starving before and if that little amount of food was decreased, I didn’t know how we would survive. But if we wanted good food in adequate amounts, Jack had to take the heroin. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He took a deep breath and let it out before slowly unfolding his arm. “Good choice, Jack,” William said. Vivienne shot him up and they left. Jack was quick to fall into the heroin fog and slumped back against the peeling paint wall.

  “Oh, Jack,” I said and painfully reached for his hand. He hung his head towards me, his words slurred.

  “I had no choice.”

  . . .

  I watched over Jack while he was high. I tried talking to him but he was just too out of it. For several minutes, I let my emotions get the best of me and cried. I hated all the games William and the others played on us and wondered if Crystal was behind this latest one.

  But crying wouldn’t help the situation so I wiped my eyes and focused back on Jack. His eyes were partially closed and unfocused. His breathing was even but slow. I didn’t like this but didn’t know what I could do. I took his hand in mine and gave it as best of a squeeze as possible with my injured hands. Jack squeezed back which surprised me. Maybe he wasn’t so out of it than I thought.

  “Jack?” I called and after a few moments his eyes focused and moved towards me.

  “Penny,” he said slowly. “I had to.”

  “I know. You were put in a bad position.” Jack’s eyes closed but he squeezed my hand again.

  “I am sorry,” he whispered.

  “Don’t be.” I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Jack leaned a bit against me and I squeezed his hand again. We stayed that way until the heroin wore off. The first thing Jack did was vomit what little was left in his stomach from our lunch. It wore him out and I brought him a cup of water.

  “Thank you,” he said and sipped a little of the water. “It is terrible.”

  “Then don’t take another hit.”

  “But if I do not, we will starve.”

  “They can’t starve us to death.”

  “No, they cannot starve me to death. Remember, I am the money. But you, sweet Penny, they could starve you to death and I cannot let that happen.” I sighed. Jack was right. They would never do anything to kill Jack but I was disposable. This hurt my heart and I dropped my head to hide the tears forming in my eyes. Jack pulled me into a hug and I cried into his chest.

  “When will this end?” I cried. After a few minutes, I felt embarrassed and pulled away from Jack. “Sorry.”

  “Now it is your turn to not be sorry,” he said and then kissed me. We touched our foreheads together. It was a moment that warmed my heart. It was a moment I wanted to experience in freedom.

  The door to our cell slid open and William and Vivienne entered. William was smirking at us and this angered me. Something inside of me snapped and I had no control over my mouth or words.

  “You’re awful!” I screamed and struggled to my feet. “What you’re doing is just playing games with us. You’re twisted fucks!”

  “Penny!” Jack called and stood up in front of me, shielding me from William. I tried to push him away. I wasn’t done.

  “And Crystal is a fucking monster!”

  “Penny! Stop!” Jack yelled at me and gently pushed me against the wall. “Think about what you are doing?”

  “I’m giving them a piece of my mind,” I replied.

  “No, what you are really doing. Your words. What are your words going to do to us?”

  “I don’t care. I’m tired of all of this.”

  “Penny, you cannot just say these things,” Jack said. “They will hurt you.”

  “But Jack…” I tried to continue but a loud bang caused me to jump. William stood with his gun pointed at the ceiling. He then pointed it at us.

  “Are you finished, Penelope?” he asked in a very cold voice. It was then I realized what I had done. A numbing chill filled me. “Vivienne, please leave the food tray for Jack along with his heroin. Jack, when you are finished eating, you are to administer your heroin. Understand?”

  “Yes,” Jack replied. I looked at him; his face full of fear.

  “Jack…,” I whispered as I felt William firmly grip my upper arm.

  “Please do not hurt her,” Jack begged but William ignored him as he dragged me out of our cell.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I struggled to keep up with William. My legs finally gave out and I fell hard to the cement floor of the workshop. William towered over me and I started shaking. I had screwed up royally. “I’m sorry I became mouthy. I just snapped. Please don’t hurt Jack because of what I said.”

  “You’re worried about Jack? Oh, Pretty Penny. You should be worrying about yourself.”

  . . .

  Jack dry heaved into the waste bucket, sweating profusely. His latest round with heroin was the worst and he wondered if Vivienne was spiking the drug with something else. After one last heave, he flopped back against the cement wall and breathed heavily. His stomach muscles ached from the heaving but it was his soul that was hurting the most. William had taken Penny and Jack was terribly afraid that something awful was going to happen to her. He understood her blowup. He’d had his own just a few weeks after they were taken and Penny had taken his punishment for him. If William was going to punish Penny for her blowup, Jack wanted the opportunity to take the punishment instead. It was only fair.

  Jack filled the cup with water and rinsed his mouth out to get rid of the taste of bile. He drank a second cup to help clear his foggy mind. He went to the window and breathed in fresh afternoon air which helped also. Closing his eyes, he brought up the image of Penny. Please let her be safe.

  The door to the washroom slid open and James entered with a covered tray. He said nothing as he set it on the floor and left. Jack knew better than to ask about Penny. In the past, that question often brought a beating. Sitting next to the tray, Jack pulled the towel off and saw meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans and a glass of milk. Then tears came to his eyes when he saw a small bowl of chocolate ice cream. Jack picked up the bowl and felt the coldness through the glass. With a spoon – an actual spoon! – he took the first bite. It was the best thing he had tasted in recent history.

  Jack was not hungry after he finished the ice cream but knew better than to leave any food so he forced the meal down. His stomach felt extremely full and nausea swept over him. Laying down, he concentrated on keeping the food down. He focused on Penny during those days at the cabin. It had been such an eye opening weekend; a true life changer. Because of Penny’s words, Jack realized what he could not see – that his marriage was over. His heart became clear for the first time in over two years and he realized that he was in love with Penny.

  But before he could truly act
on that newfound feeling of love, they’d been kidnapped and now he had a terrible fear that Penny might be dead. Guilt consumed him. Although he tried to stop her, did he try enough? He should have been more forceful with her, been clearer about what her moment of defiance might do. She wasn’t thinking clearly, so easy to do in this situation. Jack just hoped that she had not gone too far.

  Chapter 21

  I held my breath for dear life but I had not been able to draw in a full breath before I was dunked again into the icy water. I fought against the hand holding me under but I was no match for William. My lungs burned as they demanded air but if I granted their wish, I would die but the demand was too high. Just as I was about to take that wet, icy breath, William pulled my head from the old stock tank. I choked on the water that had started down my windpipe and collapsed to the hey strewn floor, coughing. I struggled to breathe in air; it was my tenth dunking in a row and I didn’t know how much more I could take.

  “Please…,” I stammered. “No more.”

  “I’ll stop when I feel you’ve paid for your defiance,” William replied. He grabbed me by the neck, harshly bent me over the stock tank, and dunked me. I had taken a bigger breath this time but my energy was low. I fought as much as I could but I felt this was the last dunking I could take. Again, William held me under until I was just about to take a wet breath. This time when he let me up, he threw me down on the floor. I lay there focusing on my breathing. My lungs burned and I shivered from the ice water. I was dragging in my breaths and wheezing something terrible. I didn’t feel right and worried what the dunking was doing to my heart which was racing. The familiar dull ache in my chest increased.

  “Put her in the chair,” William ordered and James and Landon picked me up and plopped me down in a heavy wooden chair. My wrists and ankles were secured tightly. I feared what William would do to me next. Vivienne was in the old hog barn also but had yet to use any of her ‘specialties.’

  “So you say Crystal is a monster, huh?” William began, standing right in front of me. I stared at his non-descript belt buckle as my mind raced on how to answer. I was certain that whatever I said would result in pain. Therefore, I stayed silent. “Answer me, Penny.” William was insistent but I was being stubborn. Which I knew was stupid but I kept quiet anyway.

  William walked behind me and petted my head. This irritated me and I moved my head away. I had no idea where this moxie was coming from; maybe I was just tired of all the games. I knew in my head that my actions were unacceptable but yet I still acted defiant.

  “What has gotten into you, my little pet?” asked William.

  “I’m not your little pet,” I replied back. William smacked me hard across the head. I hadn’t seen that coming and wasn’t ready for it. I braced myself for more hits but none came. Instead, William moved back around to stand in front of me. Again, I focused on his belt buckle. “I guess you’ll need some assistance in complying with me. Vivienne, you may begin.”

  . . .

  Jack stood at the window. It was late afternoon and the breeze felt refreshing. He’d just come down after his last heroin high but he knew William or one of the others would be along soon and make him take another hit. He usually only had an hour or two of clarity.

  But in those small moments of clarity his one thought was of Penny. She’d been gone for ten days. He prayed she was alright and had to bite his lip to stop himself from asking about her. What she did was punishable and he hoped that punishment wasn’t death. She couldn’t be dead. He had so much he wanted to do with her. Go back to the cabin, sit and talk about the happier times, hold her hand.

  The door to the cell slid open and William entered with a tray. Behind him were James and Landon and between them was Penny. They were half holding her up, half dragging her. She looked a terrible site with a beaten face and her wrists wrapped in beige bandages. They brought her in the room and left her side and William shut the door. Penny was upright for only a few moments before she started falling towards the floor but Jack caught her and carefully lowered her.

  “Penny,” he said and kissed her forehead. “I am so glad to see you. How bad are you hurt?” Beneath the bruises on her face he could see deep shadows beneath her eyes.

  “Bad,” she whispered.

  “I was afraid your words would hurt you. Why did you do that, Penny?”

  “I was just tired of the games,” she replied. “I just couldn’t stop myself.” Tears slipped from her brown eyes and Jack wiped them away.

  “You are chilled,” he said and grabbed their blanket. He tucked it around her.

  “I’m so tired,” she said. “And hungry. They didn’t let me sleep or eat. They just hurt me.” She was on the verge of a crying fit which was the last thing she needed. She was wheezing badly and Jack found her inhaler. She took two puffs from it and shut her eyes, breathing through pursed lips.

  “What can I do to help you?” Jack asked.

  “Just hold my hand. Please?”

  “Of course.” Jack took her hand. He was glad to see that her wrists and ankles were free of manacles but the bandages around her wrists worried him.

  Penny continued to take purposeful breaths and slowly, the wheeze eased. She seemed to relax and finally opened her eyes which were filled with both pain and fear.

  “I was so stupid,” she said. “I knew better than to spout off like I did but I just couldn’t stop myself.”

  “I understand, Penelope. Like we have said several times, it is the situation. I am sorry that William and the others chose to hurt you. But we are back together and we just have to watch each other and stop each other if we are about to say something we should not. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she replied. “Help me up?” Jack slipped his hand behind her and gently pulled her into a sitting position. The blanket slipped revealing her wrapped wrists.

  “What happened here?” he dared ask.

  “My wrists are broken. They were using this electrical device and it was so painful. I was straining against the bindings,” she replied in a shaky voice. “Vivienne splinted and wrapped them. They hurt, though.”

  “You were put through hell again,” said Jack and gently placed his hand on her cheek.

  “You have no idea.” A few more tears fell which Jack wiped away. “I’m so tired.”

  “They brought food. Do you want to eat a little before resting?”

  “Something soft. My jaw hurts. I don’t think it’s broken but maybe cracked?” She stared past Jack. The space between her eyes crinkled a bit. “It was hell.” Jack carefully pulled Penny into a hug and held her for several moments. “Thank you,” she said after they separated. Jack pulled the towel off the tray. There was enough food for two – sandwiches, apples, milk, and a thermos. There was also Jack’s heroin.

  “Soup,” Jack noted and filled the thermos’s cup with vegetable beef soup. Over the course of many minutes, he fed the entire contents of the thermos to Penny and then she drank the milk. She slumped back against the wall as if eating had exhausted her.

  “I’m so tired,” she reiterated.

  “You can rest now,” Jack replied. “Let me help you find a comfortable position.”

  “And then you’ll eat?”

  “Of course.”

  “And then you’ll have to take the heroin,” Penny said sadly.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Do not be. Now, a comfy position.” This was a difficult task. Although the only injuries he saw was her beaten face and broken wrists, she complained of pain throughout her body. Her back bothered her especially and she mentioned again about electricity being used. That could not have been good for her previously broken back.
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  Once she found a comfortable position, Jack tucked the blanket around and then gave her a kiss. It lasted for several moments.

  “Have a good rest,” he said with a smile.

  “Will you sit with me until I fall asleep?”

  “Konechno,” Jack replied. Penny let her eyes drift shut and it wasn’t but a few minutes before she was breathing evenly with sleep. She had been through hell and now it was time to heal. Or heal as much as she was allowed. Who knows what might happen next to them?

  . . .

  I don’t know for how long I slept but it must have been quite long. There were three trays sitting in the corner and I guessed that I had slept into the next day. I needed the sleep; I was exhausted. William had used sleep deprivation to punish me and I never wished to experience that again. Nor did I want to experience everything else they did. It was a different sort of experience than when they tortured me for information about the weekend at the cabin. This was more physical, more draining. Not a lot of hitting, although I had been beat once, but they used other implements to inflict pain. The worst was the electricity. Straining against the bindings until I thought I’d go mad was horrific. It was also painful. And humiliating. William explained he had learned that particular torture method from his cohorts in South America.

  Without moving, I looked around to see what I could. There were the trays and the box that held our medical supplies. I could see Jack’s feet but that was it. I really needed to use a bucket but the thought of moving made me hesitate. I waited until I was in pain, not long since I was still suffering from my latest urinary tract infection, and carefully sat up. This was a hard maneuver to do since I could not use my hands due to my broken wrists. The motion winded me but at least I could see Jack now. He was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.