Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Where'd you go today?" Jason yelled in Maisy's face.

She flinched and tried to step away from him, but he grabbed her arm and hauled her closer.

"Did you hear me? Where'd you go?"

"J-Just for a picnic. Paige packed us a lunch," she stammered.

"Liar! You're lying! You went to the bank, didn't you?" Jason asked.

"What? No!"

Jason shoved her away hard, and Maisy went flying backward, hitting her hip on the edge of his desk before falling to the floor. She landed on her left arm, and it hurt. A lot. But she didn't like being on the floor when her brother was standing over her. She was way too vulnerable down there in range of his feet. He'd kicked her before. And it hadn't felt good.

She was scared out of her mind. Of her brother, yes…but something had happened to Jack today. One second he was there with her, and the next she felt as if he was a mi llion miles away. She had no doubt his head hurt, she could tell by the stiff way he was holding himself and from his furrowed brow, but there was more to it than a simple headache.

He was distancing himself from her for some reason. She'd racked her brain to try to figure out why. Had she said something to piss him off? Done something? She didn't think so, but he was definitely acting different.

Of course, the most obvious reason he hadn't touched her even once after they'd started home was because he'd remembered something. But surely he would've said something, right?

Maisy wasn't sure. She didn't know how amnesia worked. She hated her brother a little more right then, for not bringing a doctor in to see Jack. What if he was permanently disabled by whatever had been done to him by the kidnapper Jason had hired?

"You were gone way too long for a fucking picnic!" Jason snarled as he stalked toward her.

Maisy crab-walked backward away from him, but she wasn't fast enough. Her brother reached out and grabbed her by the hair, hauling her upward as Maisy desperately tried to take the pressure off her head.

"Tell me where you went. What you did. Now!" Jason ordered.

"I swear, we didn't do anything! Jack wanted some different scenery, so we went to the park and hung out. Then we ate the lunch Paige packed for us and came home. Please, Jason, let go, you're hurting me!"

Her brother eyed her with a cold expression. Maisy shivered just seeing it.

"Beg. "

"What?" Maisy asked, trying to pull herself out of his grip, with no luck.

"Beg me to let you go."

"Please, Jason."

When she didn't say anything else, he yanked on her hair. "More."

If she could've gone to the police right that second, Maisy would have. This was the man who'd killed his wife because she'd outlived her usefulness. This was the monster who'd likely killed their parents because of greed. She hated him. Completely and utterly.

"Please let go of me. I swear we didn't do anything other than have a picnic today. I wouldn't betray you that way. I'm begging you, Jason, let me go. Please, please please…" It was humiliating to lower herself this way, but she would if it meant getting away from her brother.

For the first time, it hit home what Jack had given her by not making her plead for anything. She'd brushed it off as being a quirk of his, but she was more sure than ever that at some point in his life, he'd had to beg for something, and he understood how demeaning it was. How hopeless it made you feel. Because at that moment, she felt lower than a bug. Jason was toying with her, and it felt awful.

He smirked, then shoved her away from him so hard, she stumbled and fell to the floor yet again. As she rolled, her face hit the leg of the chair opposite the desk. Pain bloomed in her cheek, but she didn't hesitate to jump to her feet.

"Don't fuck this up," Jason warned. "We have less than three months until we can get that money. All you have to do is keep your legs spread, keep his dick happy, and we're home free." He narrowed his eyes. "I know you're in love with him, it's obvious…and pathetic . But don't go thinking the two of you can live happily ever after. It's not gonna happen. We can't risk him remembering. All that matters is that the marriage certificate was filed and the countdown to getting what we deserve has started. Understand?"

"Yes."

"I mean it. He might be infatuated with you now, but that's because he's getting pussy on a regular basis. There's no way he'd ever fall for you if he didn't already think you two were married. You're too ugly and stupid to catch any real man. That's why I had to go out and find one for you. This was for your own good, Maise. Just be thankful that instead of bringing home a dildo, I bought you a real live dick."

He laughed then, an evil sound that made Maisy's toes curl. Any affection she'd once felt for her brother was long gone.

"Now, to make sure you don't fuck things up, I've talked to your doctor and he prescribed something new for you." Jason walked to his desk and picked up a pill bottle she hadn't seen before. "And because I don't think you're taking your medicine every morning like you're supposed to, I'm clearly going to have to take over that responsibility for you too. Here." He shook out a pill and held it out to her.

Maisy stared at it with trepidation. She had no idea what it was and no desire to take it. But she knew better than to protest. To defy him. She held out her hand, but Jason shook his head. "I don't think so, sis."

He moved so fast, she couldn't evade him. He grabbed the hair at the back of her head and tilted her back so far, she was thrown off balance. Then Jason shoved the pill in her mouth and put his hand over her lips and nose, cutting off her air.

"Swallow it," he ordered.

Maisy's eyes widened as she stared at her brother. She tried to pry his hand off her face, but he was far stronger. She wanted to pretend to take the pill. Keep it hidden in her mouth until she could spit it out. But she hadn't counted on Jason depriving her of oxygen, something he'd never done before.

She didn't mean to swallow the damn thing, but in her desperation for air, as she thrashed and struggled, the pill accidentally slid down her throat.

"It's gone?" Jason asked.

Maisy tried to nod but couldn't move her head.

Her brother removed his hand and Maisy took a huge gulp of air. Then Jason held her mouth open as he inspected her as if she was a kid…or a dog. Finally, he ran a hand gently over her hair and murmured, "Good girl," as if she really was an animal. "See? As long as you do what I want, nothing bad will happen. Now, why don't you go and lie down? That pill is gonna kick in fast, and trust me, you aren't going to want to be walking around when it does." He chuckled, but there was nothing funny in the sound.

"What was it?" Maisy asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. You've taken it before…just Valium. But your previous dose wasn't enough, so I tripled it."

Maisy stared at her brother in shock. "Tripled? The regular dose made me feel out of it as it was!" she said .

Jason merely shrugged. "Well, now you'll really not worry about anything. That's my job. You've always had too much anxiety. Like I said, this is for your own good, Maise. All you need to think about is keeping your husband happy. And the best way to do that is to keep your legs open. If he's getting pussy, he won't think too much about anything else. Just a few more weeks, sis. Then this'll be over and done."

Maisy didn't ask what over and done meant…she knew.

She didn't want to think about what a triple dose of Valium was going to do to her either. She'd be completely out of it, like she'd been for way too many years of her life.

"Go upstairs," Jason ordered in a low, mean tone. "The last thing I want is you passing out on me down here where I'd have to see your ugly face."

Maisy turned toward the door, her mind spinning. She needed to add this to her diary. Had to let the police know that her brother was drugging her once more. But Jack said he wanted some time alone. She couldn't go upstairs…but if she didn't, she was afraid of what her brother would do.

With no choice, and feeling bitterness well up inside her at how little control she had in her life, Maisy headed up the stairs. The difference was, this time, she was aware of her brother's manipulation. In the past, she'd thought he was actually trying to help her. She was grateful he was there. Now? She wanted to be anywhere but here. But Jason wasn't going to let her and Jack leave. He'd probably start drugging Jack too, which was unacceptable. Maybe she could pick a fight with Jack, make him hate her so much, he'd leave .

Her heart seemed to shrink at that thought, but having him away from Jason was preferable to him being dead, which was his fate if he stayed here. She had about fifteen minutes before the drug really began to kick in, based on experience with her normal dosage, and Maisy knew she'd have to do something drastic before that happened. Once she began to experience the floating feeling that Valium always gave her, she'd lose the determination that currently swam through her veins.

Not thinking about anything other than convincing Jack to get the hell out of this house of horrors, Maisy opened the door to their room.

Standing at the window, Jack turned to face her, and suddenly her determination took a nose dive. She spun to face the door. He looked so… angry ! And Maisy had never seen him like that before.

"What are you doing up here? I told you I wanted to be alone," Jack said.

Maisy couldn't stop the wince. She'd come to see Jack as her safe place. When things with her brother got too intense, she'd been able to count on her husband to soothe her. Having him speak to her just as harshly as Jason was a blow. She closed her eyes as she continued to face the door for a long moment, trying to gather her courage to incite his anger. To stoke it. To get him so pissed and frustrated with her that he left.

She turned away from the door to face him, opened her mouth to say something completely ridiculous and outrageous—but where he looked angry before, the absolute fury on his face now stopped her in her tracks.

"What the fuck ?" he bit out as he stomped toward her .

Maisy cringed and stared at him as he approached. When his hand came up, she couldn't help it, she flinched and cowered slightly. Which seemed to make him even angrier. Well, her goal had been to make him so mad he left; at least she'd managed the first part. She just didn't know how she'd done it. Was he that angry at her very existence? It wouldn't surprise her; she seemed to inspire that in people.

Shit…she was already feeling the effects of the pill her brother had literally forced down her throat. Her thoughts were disjointed, and she found she couldn't pull up the determination she'd felt even moments ago when she walked toward her room.

"What happened to your face? And…are those fucking finger marks on your arm?" Jack growled. He didn't touch her, his hand was hovering over her face as if he was afraid to hurt her.

Smiling, Maisy took hold of his hand and placed his palm on her cheek. She tilted her head into him and closed her eyes.

"Maisy?"

"Hmmm?" she asked, lost in the feel of his palm against her overheated cheek. It felt so good. His hands were soft, but they also had calluses, which felt amazing when he ran them over her body. He was everything she'd ever wanted in a man, and he was hers.

"What's wrong? You're acting weird."

Was she? Maisy opened her eyes and stared up at Jack. His brown eyes were so beautiful. Reminded her of milk chocolate. Was there any in the house? She was hungry. Then she remembered that she was trying to make her husband mad, but couldn't really think of why .

Then it hit her. Jason was going to kill him. She had no doubt.

"You should leave," she blurted.

"What?"

"Leave. You need to go. But don't tell anyone. Just go, Jack. You have to go."

He studied her, and to her relief, didn't move his hand from her face.

"Why? Why should I leave?"

"Because. It's bad here. Bad things happen."

"Like what?"

But Maisy shook her head. "Can't say. You'll hate me. And I love you too much to purposely make you hate me. But I'm gonna fix it. Need to write in my diary."

"Maisy, did you take something?" Jack asked softly.

She liked this gentle Jack much better than the angry one.

"I'm trying to be gentle," Jack told her. "Now, tell me what you took."

Crap, she'd said that thing about gentle Jack out loud?

"Maisy, concentrate. Tell me what you took."

"Didn't wanna, but I couldn't breathe and had to swallow. He said it was Valium. But triple dose. Didn't know they made those. Guess he can get his evil minions to make whatever he wants." She had no idea what she was saying anymore, and visions of yellow creatures like from that cartoon movie danced in her head.

"Fuck."

"Yeah. He said I was s'posed to do that too but…I'm tired. And dizzy. Can I rest for a minute before we have sex? Or maybe you can just do it while I'm sleeping? But then you gotta go." Maisy blinked, and it seemed to take wa y too much energy to open her eyes again. "Get away from here, Jack. I wish I could say where you came from, so you could go there. But I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She seemed to wilt then, but she somehow didn't fall to the floor. She was floating. No, Jack was carrying her. She turned her head and buried it into the skin of his neck. "Smell so good," she told him, trusting him not to drop her.

She felt something soft under her and smiled. She recognized her mattress. "I love my bed," she said dreamily.

"Did Jason do this?" he asked, running his fingers up her arm.

Since he'd asked so nicely, Maisy nodded.

"And this?" Jack asked, and she felt his fingers on her cheek once more.

"Sorta," she said with a shrug. "I fell when he shoved me."

"And he made you take the Valium?"

Maisy heard the skepticism in his voice, and it hurt. More than the bruises on her body. "You ever thought you were gonna die?" She didn't wait for his response before she went on. "His hand over my nose and mouth…cut off my air. I couldn't breathe. It was scary. He's gonna kill me, you know. Not today, because time's not up. But in a couple months, we're as good as dead. Should've just let him do it. Then you would've left. Been safe. And he wouldn't get it. Charity would get it all. Should've died a loooong time ago…then you wouldn't be here."

"Shhhh, Stellina , you're safe now."

She loved when he called her his little star. "Not safe," she disagreed, then she closed her eyes and couldn't find the strength to open them again. Maybe she'd take a nap, then she'd get up and do whatever it was she was supposed to do. At the moment, she didn't care about anything other than sleeping.