The Other Sister (Sister Series, #1) (12 page)

Jessie couldn’t believe her father not only completely embarrassed her in front of Will, but also tried to convince Will to say he fathered her baby. He was delusion
al. He was stupid. He was wrong. Jessie left the building and wanted to die. It was horrible. Her father. Will. The baby. The rapes. She walked down the front steps of her father’s office, her head bent down, her heart as hollow as her stomach. She hated her father so much, she was shaking. He managed to ruin the only good relationship she ever had in her life. He totally tarnished Will’s association with her. Will could never glance at her now without having this between them.

Blackness began to overtake her, swirling her into a vortex deep in her stomach, inside her soul. The spot where her heart should have been.

She went home, and crawled into her bathtub. Quickly and easily she released the pressure. Suddenly, the world was much less, and her father’s angry words started to fade. Even Will’s face slowly receded from her mind.

Will finally left the post, and could not believe the day he’d had. Nothing could prepare him for today, other th
an maybe, Mexico. Never-ending, fucking Mexico. He wanted to drive away until he forgot he ever met Jessie Bains. The problem was: nothing could ever let him forget what he saw and knew about Jessie Bains.

Beyond the shock of what he now knew, he had to reconcile what he finally, totally, and fully realized about General Travis Bains. The general regularly abused Jessie. He bullied Jessie until there was nothing left of her. Not even an ounce of self-esteem could survive what General Bains did to her.

The general was only a second away from kicking his pregnant daughter while she was sick at his feet, and the only thing that prevented him was Will’s presence. Will could not stop replaying the scene in his mind. Will saw now that the only thing that would ever end General
Bains’s abuse of Jessie would have to be Will.

Will parked his truck a few blocks from the general’s house. He jogged easily through the side streets, around the yard, and to the back of the
Bains’s home. Effortlessly, he climbed up a tree and got onto the second story. He quickly tiptoed towards the bedroom window where he saw Jessie before. He looked inside, but saw no one. The window easily slid open after he popped the lock. Child’s play. He slipped into her bedroom, and saw a sliver of light from underneath the bathroom door. There was no movement or sound.

Then he heard the soft swishing of water. He was about ninety-nine percent sure what Jessie was doing at that moment in her bathtub. This time however, rather than breaking down the door to rescue her, he simply backed up, sat down on the bed, and waited until she finished.

Jessie opened her bathroom door after the water became frigid. She quickly put Band-Aids over the latest incisions before opening the door.

“Better grab a towel, Ms. Bains.”

Jessie almost screamed at the voice coming from her darkened bedroom. The open shades allowed a faint glow of moonlight, while casting shadows over the floor and furniture. She ducked back behind the door to hide.

“What are you doing here?”

“We’re going to talk.”

“Who let you in?”

“I did. Special Ops, remember? Not exactly rocket science to get in.”

She shut the door and went to her pile of clothes. She found her underwear and a shirt, and slipped into a pair of sweat pants she left in the bathroom. When she came out, there sat Will in shadows, on her bed.

“You can’t just break into my room.”

“Get a bar to put in your window, the lock is crap. It’s easy as pie to climb up here.”

“Okay. I will,” she said, suddenly at a loss of what to do. Why
was he there?

She finally came closer, and sat at the end of the bed, a good two feet away from him. He was looking at her. His eyes moved over her wet head and onto her sloppy clothes. The room was so quiet, she could hear the tapping of a branch on her window.

“Did it help?” Will finally asked.

“What?”

“Cutting? That’s what it’s called
, isn’t it? What you do to yourself?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“There’s a couple thousand articles on the internet. There are even support groups you can join.”

“You looked it up?”

“What you do to yourself? Yeah, I looked it up. So does it help?”

She glanced down at her bedspread, and traced one flower with her finger. “Yes.”

“If I hadn’t been in there today, your father would have kicked you, wouldn’t he?”

She was quiet, and didn’t care to answer. She traced the flower again. Finally, she said softly, “Yes.”

“What else does he do to you?”

“How did you know?”

“How did I know? I watched him move his foot back, totally poised. The only reason he stopped was when he saw me stand up. He totally forgot I was there in his rage toward you. And that’s what it is, isn’t it? Complete and unreasonable rage toward you.”

“Yes. I always make him mad.”

“You make him mad?” Will’s voice was silky. Strange. She wasn’t sure what he thought. Maybe he believed it was all her fault, and well deserved, and hated her finally. “That’s what he has you convinced of, isn’t it? That it’s all your fault. That you’re bad. What else does he do to you?”

She glanced up hope flashing in her eyes. Then she shook her head as the light dimmed from her gaze. She didn’t trust that he could believe or help her.
“Nothing. Really.”

“Yeah, right
. Nothing. Why didn’t you tell me what he did to you?”

“You wouldn’t have believed me. No one does. He’s the general. He’s the superstar of the Army. Why would anyone believe he hurts me? His own daughter? Besides a lot of people would tell you I deserve anything and everything he does to me.”

“No. No, you don’t deserve it. He doesn’t do any of it to Lindsey, does he?”

“No.”

“She doesn’t even know, does she? That her precious father intimidates you, belittles you, abuses you, bullies you, and then hits you. She doesn’t know, right?”

“I don’t think she does.”

“Why is that?”

Smiling easily and with complete confidence she said,
“Because she’s the good sister.”

“No, she’s not. But why doesn’t she know?”

Jessie shrugged. “Because she can’t see it. Or maybe she thinks I deserve it too.”

“That’s what you’re afraid of
, isn’t it? And why you don’t tell her. You’re afraid she’ll take the general’s side.”

“Sure she will.”

“No, she won’t. I promise you she won’t blame you for a grown man trying to kick you while you’re lying on the floor. I’ll back you up if you tell her.”

“I won’t tell her.”

He nodded. “I know. I think you’re wrong. But it became very clear to me today what has been going on. You see, when the general sent me to Mexico, he had your location down to a tiny pinpoint on the map. He knew exactly where you were, how many were holding you, and what the circumstances were. The only thing he didn’t know was what they did to you. I was so prepared by his briefing, it was like clockwork. Got me to thinking today.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He did it. He planned the kidnapping.”

Jessie recoiled. “How can you say that? He’s harsh, but no, he wouldn’t do that to me.”

“I think it was supposed to be one of those “scared straight” kind of deals. You ever heard of those? They’re out there, unbelievably. The child gets kidnapped and taken someplace. For some reason, yours went way beyond that. He probably didn’t plan on that. That’s where I came in.”

The swirling blackness descended over her head. She pushed her fingers into her skin. No.
No.
Her father couldn’t hate her that much to do such a thing to her. She wasn’t so unlovable that he’d do that to her. Or was she?

“Why do you live here? Why don’t you leave? Get away from him and what he does to you forever?”

She couldn’t follow his conversation. He was so all over the place.

“Leave here? I can’t do anything. I flunked out of school. I can’t get a job.”

“You can’t live here anymore. After what I witnessed today, I don’t think you’re safe with the general. He’s enraged at you. His plan went wrong. I entered the picture, and now you’re pregnant. I think he must realize I could easily figure out what happened. He’s terrified of me. As well as you. And that makes him a real threat.”

“I have nowhere else to go.”

“He might have tried to strangle you today in his office. I saw it in his eyes. I was right there. I fucking sat there while he pushed a pregnant, hundred-pound girl into the wall. He’s dangerous right now. Whatever he planned to have done to you completely failed, and now you’re worse off than ever. You’re pregnant and a total humiliation to him. Jessie, you can’t stay here.”

“You can’t go against him
, he’ll ruin your career.”

Will stared at her. “No
, he won’t. No one pushes me around. Not even the great General Bains.”

“That’s good.
I can’t believe he tried to order you to take responsibility for this pregnancy. I can’t believe he had the guts to do that to you.”

Will stood up and ran a hand absent-mindedly through his hair. He still wore his fatigues. He looked dangerous in her bedroom. But then again, he was Will. He could never be dangerous to her.

“We had a little discussion today. About you.”

“I know. I was there. It was stupid.”

“I watched while you were raped. I watched while you cut yourself. I watched you deny everything that was done to you. I watched your sister call you names, and your father almost kick you. I watched all that without a word of defense for you,” Will admitted, pausing to glance at her. “You are not something I ever wanted in my life. I never chose to be anyone’s savior, or the person to turn to for help. Thing is, you and I, just are. We’re in this together, because of Mexico, because of your father. But here’s the clencher, I will not watch you get hurt anymore. Not again. Not ever again. Not if I can stop it.”

“Don’t say that. You’ve done everything. You did save me. You did help me. You don’t have to feel guilty.”

“But I am guilty. Guilty of doing nothing. Which is almost as bad as what your father does to you.”

“It’s nothing like what my father does to me.”

Will held her gaze, and came closer to her. “He won’t do anything else to you.”

She shrugged. “It’s just how things are.”

“Not anymore. You see, I’m going to marry you. You’re going to leave his house, and no one will ever hurt you again.”

Jessie stood up, looking shocked, as if a bolt of electricity just shot through her. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it? Or should I sit by while your father beats you up one night so you miscarry? No fucking way. I’m getting you out of here.”
 

“You don’t even like me.”

“I can’t watch you suffer anymore. I mean it. I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t do something for you.”

She got up
and paced her dark room. “This is crazy. This is what my father put you up to. This makes no sense.”

“I’ll get you out of here, away from him. Don’t you get it? You have to do that right now or he’s going to kill you. Everything he planned went so far the wrong way that it’s made things ten times worse for him. And no matter how irrational it is, he persists in blaming you for it.”

“Again, I remind you that you don’t even like me.”

“I don’t have to like you to help you. We both know what it means: getting you away from here and dealing with a pregnancy you can’t hide forever.”

She turned her back to him. Hearing him say that he really didn’t have to like her, although expected, stung her. “And when the baby comes out Latino? What are you going to do then? Announce to everyone that I must have cheated on you?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when it’s closer. You don’t even know if you’re keeping it, do you? One thing at a time: first, we need to get you out of here.”

“What did my father say to you? Promise you a change in rank? Gold? What could be worth your freedom to take me?”

“Nothing. I mean, he thinks he’s convinced me to marry you for my own good. My career. But I’m not doing it for anything. I’m doing it because of what I saw today. Saw and didn’t stop. I’m not proud of that, or anything else I’ve watched happen to you. But I won’t make that mistake again. And you know as well as I do, that you need me right now.”

“I could just abort the baby.”

“You could. But that doesn’t stop your father.”

“You really believe he’ll hurt me?”

Will leveled a look at her. “We both know he already has. I’d like to keep you from getting killed.”

She shut her eyes with relief. Someone finally saw what her father did to her. It was heady. It was scary. It was life-changing. “How will you stop him?”

“I made it clear if I marry you, he no longer has any say over you.”

“What? So now you do?”

“No.
You
do. You have control over yourself. All I’d be giving you is a way out of here. We’ll get married so you, at least, will get the general off your back, it’s all in name only.”

“I have no money. I can’t do anything.”

“I know, but I do. I have a job. The least I can do is get you out of here. And I’ll help you find something you like to do. I’m sure there is a job out there just for you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I owe you. What I didn’t stop in Mexico, or in the general’s office today, I owe you. If I do this for you, the rest is on you to fix yourself, move forward, whatever. I’m here to give you a chance, then we’re even.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I do. I really do. Let me do this… Wait, let me rephrase that,
I am doing this.
”

Her heart felt like it could start beating again. For hours, it seemed frozen, dull, dead. Now it pumped happily, moving blood through her body. She was alive again. He would take her away from here.
Away from her father
. Will would save her.

“He’ll try
to make a big splash out of it, you know. Really play up Mexico, try to garner publicity for himself.”

“Fine, let him. Once we’re married, he’s out of it. You’ll be free from his control.”

She shook her head. She could never be free. That much she knew. But getting away, that could be a vacation, and really nice. Really, really nice. “Okay we’ll do it. Until this baby stuff is figured out. Then we’ll get divorced, agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“Thank you, Will.”