An Honest Lie(84)

Rainy thought back to the journaling he’d had them do, the way she’d always try to write things that would please him. And that’s what he was doing back then: brainwashing a bunch of kids into believing their life’s purpose was to please him. Pillaging their brains for information and then using it against them and their families.

“Ditto,” Rainy said. She wished he’d given her some of that water, too, but she was too proud to ask.

“Wonderful,” he said, throwing his hands up. “Let’s get to know each other again, then—what do you say?”

“I’d say it’s about time.”

Taured looked pleased with that. He surveyed Ginger’s array of food on the counter, his lips pursed.

“I’ll get us something better,” he said, bypassing the vegetables Ginger had so carefully lined up. “You want a steak, Summer? Who am I kidding, everyone likes a steak, right? Except maybe that guy.”

“Fine,” Rainy said. “A steak is great.” She wanted him to leave for a bit so she could think and gather herself. She knew he wasn’t going to just let her out of these cuffs. But that was stage two, and she wasn’t there yet.

She watched him wash his hands using the little bottle of detergent Ginger had brought, washing off Ginger’s blood with Ginger’s soap. She didn’t feel bad for him; the bastard intended to harm both her and Braithe.

Taured whistled while he scrubbed. Rainy didn’t recognize the tune, but it sounded like something sung at church. When he was done, he pulled off his shirt, making sure to face her as he did it. He was all muscle, tough like a bull. Even his neck had thick cords running through it, veins standing at attention. Dropping the bloody shirt on the floor, he turned away from Rainy; she saw the gun in the waistband of his pants, as she supposed he wanted her to.

She’d seen him shirtless only once, when she’d accidentally walked into the makeshift clinic for a Band-Aid. He’d been sitting on the examination table, kicking his feet like a kid. Rainy had been so alarmed that he was there she almost hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t wearing anything on top, and then when she did notice, she must have turned a shade of ultrasonic violet, because Taured had laughed.

“They’re just tattoos, Summa, Summa, Summatime...” And then he’d shown her each one, without getting off the table: animals exploding from leaves across his shoulder blades, and a snake draped across his chest, the tip of its tail touching his belly button. His arms were clean of tattoos, which, he explained, gave the world what they wanted: a respectable man.

“And I am the most respectable man, Summer, wouldn’t you agree?”

It was then her job to say, “Yes, Taured.”

Even then, she’d wanted to laugh when Taured used the word respectable so generously on himself.

Then he was shrugging on another shirt, a tight, white undershirt he pulled from his pocket. He looked like a dick, she noted, not above being petty in this moment. He picked up the duct tape and walked over.

No, no, no—she needed to be able to talk to Braithe. He was gentle at least, spreading two layers over her mouth before backing away to look at his handiwork. She watched him walk over to Braithe and survey her. He kicked her leg.

“She’s out cold,” he said. “She won’t bother us tonight.” And then he left.

Rainy kicked at the air. Trying to make noise under the tape was exhausting and then the feeling that she was suffocating would creep in and she’d have to calm herself down. But it was only five—maybe ten—minutes after he left that Braithe began to stir.

“Rain-nee,” she slurred.

Rainy clanked her handcuffs against the table leg.

And then what sounded like a sob. “He’s dead.”

For God’s sake, Rainy wanted say. He wanted to kill us. One down, one to go!

“This was your plan?” Braithe continued. “Trading one psycho for another? We’re never going to get out of here, oh my God...” Her head dropped as she cried into her knees.

Stick with the plan, stick with the plan... Rainy clanked her handcuffs again, trying to get her to focus.

“I know, okay...I know.”

And then she was quiet for so long Rainy was sure she’d fallen asleep. She jumped when Braithe’s voice sounded, her vowels stretched long, like taffy. “I’m sooo sooorry, Renny,” she slurred. “My fault...”

It wasn’t her fault, though, and it made Rainy angry—the itchy kind of angry that she would scratch at for hours. She wasn’t exactly on loving terms with Braithe right now, but nothing either woman had done warranted this madness. That’s good, she thought, settling back against her pole. Keep the anger. It’s better than fear.

When Taured came back, the light in the room had changed completely. It had to be early evening. No one would notice him coming or going at this time of day as families and couples shlepped back to their rooms from the pool. The lobby would be swarming with people checking in.

He set two bags of groceries on the counter where Ginger had set his just hours before and began to unpack them. He was enjoying her pain—the duct tape. She sat still and patient like a good girl until he wandered over to her and abruptly ripped the duct tape off her mouth. That made her yell, and she dropped her head like Braithe did so he couldn’t see her expression. Her bladder burned to be released. She wanted to cry and sob with relief at the same time.