The Other Sister (Sister Series, #1) (5 page)

Will almost laughed at how easily he and Jessie Bains ended her rescue. They simply hopped onto an airplane and flew home. There was nothing, and no one to stop them. No one cared. They had all the legal paperwork, and were ostensibly on vacation. Now, they were going home.

He was also surprised at how well Jessie Bains presented herself. He was prepared for tears, and more carrying on. She quit talking last night, and that was that. She woke up, got ready and ate the food he brought her, then nothing. She quietly boarded the plane. They traveled as if they were any other American couple flying home. He wore civilian clothes, and she pulled herself together as if she never endured the most horrifying nightmare of her life, or anyone else’s.

She stared out the small porthole window of the airplane, saying nothing.

Just before they landed, Will sent a text to General Bains: they were landing, and all was fine. Jessie watched his fingers moving over the phone. She didn’t comment, and simply looked into his face, but her
brown eyes were dull and dead. Anyone looking closely at her would sense she’d been through something pretty horrific. There was no way she could hide it.

Finally, they exited the plane, and walked through the airport with their nearly empty carry-
ons. They filled them with a few token items just to avoid looking suspicious. Will threw all of his weapons into a dumpster in Mexico. She followed him out of the airport until they stopped before his black Silverado truck. Once in, Jessie leaned her head against the window, and her posture slumped.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You need to see your father.”

She lifted her head, and glanced his way. Her eyes were shimmering with tears. “My father hates me. Hates me like you can’t even imagine. Taking me there is a waste of everyone’s time.”

Will was confused. He thought maybe she was transferring some of her pain at what happened to her, towards her father. Surely a father/daughter relationship couldn’t be that poisonous. Especially with General Bains. He was one of the most honorable men of the twenty-first century.

“Those were his instructions. Just doing my job
, Ms. Bains.”

“Your job. Right. Regardless of what I need or want. Always the job. The good soldier. One of the reasons I so detest soldiers. You don’t think or act on your own. You just follow orders. And people ask how concentration camps could exist
, and how the Germans turned into Nazis. Something about following orders, wasn’t it?”

Will was surprised by the venom in her voice, and the intelligence she seemed to possess. “I deliver you and I’m done. You can hate every soldier out there. You won’t see me again.”

“You’re wrong. You’re about to become the poster child for the Army. Get a clue! You performed a political power booster in rescuing me. Just wait and see.”

“Your father won’t expose you to that.”

Her cold gaze cut into him. He stared harder at the road. “My father will do just that. He hates me.”

Will again looked at her as she slumped against the passenger door. The vehemence of her tone was the only feeling she showed today. He hated to be the cause
of anymore grief, he really did. She’d been through plenty. All he wanted to do was deliver her to her father, and finish the mission.

Will blinked in shocked, bewildered surprise when he pulled up to the residence of General Bains. In the driveway were dozens of reporters, cameras, and microphones, all of them directed toward his black truck. Jessie merely stared straight ahead, her mouth compressed.

She was right.
He couldn’t believe how right.

General Bains came rushing out of his front door, running towards Will’s truck, as if his own life depended on it. Will didn’t see the resentful, spiteful man Jessie Bains portrayed the general to be. To Will, the man looked like he had just been reborn.

“It’s for the cameras,” she whispered, staring straight ahead.

When Jessie opened her door, and got out, she was instantly enveloped in her father’s arms as the crowd circled around them, snapping pictures and asking questions in rapid fire. Will was assailed by the same fanfare. He pushed through the crowd, towards the
Bains’s private residence. He was trailed by the general, who had his arm around Jessie. Will stood aside, and waited for the general to open the door before going in behind them.

Being inside the general’s house had Will seriously wondering where his career would go from here.
Personal level
, he was now on a personal level with the most powerful man in the Army.

General Bains dropped his arms from his daughter. Will paused.
My father hates me, you’ll see
, Jessie’s words echoed through his head. How did Jessie know, and with such surety, that her capture and rescue would be covered by the media? How could it have happened without the general orchestrating it? He sure as hell didn’t tell a soul. Begrudgingly, Will regarded Jessie Bains with more credibility than before.

Will followed the pair through a lovely white-tiled entry, with white walls and dark wooden shelves that displayed the memorabilia and highlights of General
Bains’s career. Right in the entry! There was nothing subtle about the man. The Bains’s house was undeniably stately, yet not pretentious on the outside: a pristine, white house, trimmed in black, with a perfectly manicured lawn surrounded by colorful flowerbeds.

The formal living room had
a white piano that took up one entire wall. Beside it stood Lindsey Bains, her long, smooth, blond hair falling neatly to her elbows. She was a beautiful woman, standing five-foot, six or so, with a svelte, willowy figure, and classic, Grecian features on her face. Nothing marked Jessie and Lindsey as sisters.

Something was wrong. Why weren’t they all rushing forward? Hugging?
Honey, are you all right? What happened? Oh God, I’m so glad you’re safe.
No such comfort was forthcoming amongst the Bains. Something seemed very wrong with this reunion, as well as the entire family.

Lindsey finally stepped forward, approaching her sister, and seemed like she wanted to hug her. But she stopped several paces short. “Are you okay?”

Jessie smiled, but seemed out of place in this family. The rest of her family was blond, all of them, and very restrained and formal. She was not. Jessie was earthy. Always dark, and bold in her appearance and actions, even the way she spoke. She had way too much personality by this family’s standards.

“I’m great. I
t was so boring, you have no idea. I was so glad to see Will. I was dying to leave. I mean spending days in this tiny room all by myself. I thought I would go crazy.”

Lindsey’s face relaxed. It had been strained, showing her worry about her little sister. She frowned.

“That’s what Dad said, that you were fine. Just scared.”

“Of course, Dad said that. I was scared. Until I realized they were just like, I don’t know, holding me for some reason.”

Dad didn’t know. Will’s head started to pound. General Bains had no idea what Jessie endured. They kept all communication simple and limited. Will preferred to break the news in person, not by texting. But why did General Bains already announce that Jessie was fine? She was so far from fine, and Will felt his agitation growing as he stood there silently, watching the mockery they made over what this girl suffered.

“Thank you
, Will,” Lindsey said as she turned toward him. She studied him and their eyes met. He smiled at her. She blushed and looked away. Jessie watched both of them. The general turned towards Will then.

“Will, I can’t even tell you how grateful I am. The sacrifices you made for our daughter’s safe return.” General Bains came up to him, and shook his hand, while slapping his shoulder. Will accepted the praise, and the empty words, which were all the right ones, as he tried to show the response they expected, but something vital was missing from it all.

Jessie suddenly turned towards the hallway. “Look, I need a shower and a hair dryer. Thanks again
, soldier. Guess, I’ll see you around sometime.”

The family watched her obnoxious departure. General Bains cleared his throat. “Forgive my daughter. She sometimes doesn’t comprehend the magnitude of a situation. Or what you did for her. She’s young
, perhaps we spoiled her too much. Shall we meet in my office, Will? Let you get on home?”

“Yes
, sir,” Will said, following the general into his massive home office. It held an impressive desk, lots of shelving, dead animal heads, and flags.

“What did you see when you found her?”

“She was in a locked room. I got her out. To the roof, we hid for an hour or so, and I killed four guards. Then we managed to escape, and get into the car I stashed. From there, the rest was routine. Hotel room. Flight home.”

“Was there anything more? I mean, with Jessie?”

Will stared into his eyes, watching him sharply as he thought of the girl he saw chained and shivering in a ball next to the wall. Naked, covered in mud, dirt, and more, so much more. He recalled the men he watched raping her, before re-chaining her to the wall. Whatever was wrong with this family, and all that was wrong with Jessie, went much further back than what befell her during the last four days. Will didn’t understand it, and usually would not have balked at telling the truth, especially to a superior officer, but his sense of compassion prevailed over his sense duty. If he could provide Jessie Bains with any kind of comfort, he would. He’d keep his promise and her pain to himself. Whatever her reason, she wanted people thinking worse of her than they already did.

“She was fine, sir.”

“Thank God. So this was all a ruse to get money.”

“How did anyone find out?”

“The media? I don’t know, a leak, I guess. A handful of people knew when we tried to figure out what to do. That’s how you were discovered. I know I can’t officially reward you, but son, you
will be
rewarded for this someday.”

Will shook his head. His personal success was so unconnected to what he experienced, he couldn’t care one bit. By the time he got past the family again, as well as the media, his mind was spinning and his nerves were shot. He
looked up and noticed the face staring out one of the windows at him. Will felt sick in his gut. Twenty-year-old Jessica Bains’s life was decimated, and the only person in the entire world who knew it was a soldier who knew nothing else about her.

Will didn’t believe Jessie Bains when she told him that being in General Bains’s cross hairs would change his life. Change his life indeed! Within weeks, he was transferred to serve under the general, and now reported directly to him. His entire life was unlike anything he knew before. His face appeared on myriad magazines and newspapers, while the media purported the story as a romantic jaunt between the soldier and the general’s daughter. Will was lauded and “hero-fied.” It all culminated by making him feel sick. Becoming famous over what happened to Jessie was never something he wanted, and a job he never asked for. However, it was impossible to undo what had already become public knowledge.

Now, the general went over the top by hosting a dinner in honor of Will Hendricks’s bravery for single-handedly rescuing his younger daughter. Will nearly puked when he was informed. His attendance, of course, was mandatory. That’s how Will ended up dressed in full Army regalia, before five hundred of the most influential figures, both military and political,
in the country. Many had flown in from across the nation. All were assembled in his honor. Though the general called it “unofficial,” what Will saw was about as official as it could get.

The event was the vehicle by which, after a month, he came face to face with Jessie Bains once again.

She looked nothing like the girl he took out of the cell.

Just over a month since returning her home, tonight, she was all smiles, making jokes about her captivity, and relating how lucky she was when the handsome soldier came to rescue her. For the occasion, she wore a peach-colored dress, strapless, that showed off her smooth shoulders, and strained to hold her double D breasts. It clung to her small waist, and flowed down onto the floor. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, the blunt ends brushing her bare skin whenever she smiled and cocked her head, as if having the time of her life.

She sat with her family, as did Will. Being the guest of honor, he was obligated to sit next to the general, and across from Jessie. Her dull, haunted, brown eyes never once met his. Why didn’t
anyone
else notice those stricken eyes of her? She gulped the champagne as if it were water, spoke too loud, smiled too much, and tried too hard to convince him of the empty-headed party girl she so obviously thought she was. Why, then, was he the only one who noticed it was all an act?

Lindsey was a striking contrast. In a lovely, modest, black dress that draped over subtle curves, her blond hair was smoothly wound into a knot, and her makeup was so soft and natural it only enhanced her beauty, without looking overdone. She spoke in quiet, gentle tones, her excellent breeding visible. She was seated two chairs away from Will. He noticed her glancing his way more often than not, and quickly diverting her eyes, as if shy, at being caught.

When the general ultimately stood up, tapping a spoon on his wine glass, Will longed
for deployment to some far-off region right then and there.

“As everyone here knows, we are gathered here to h
onor this man, Colonel Will Hendricks. He not only stepped up, at risk of his own safety, but did so at a time when he was not required to. This man’s bravery makes me very proud to count him as one of my own. And now, also as part of my family, for returning my daughter to me at personal sacrifice of himself. Ladies and gentleman, please join me in a round of applause for Colonel William Hendricks.”

The entire room erupted into loud clapping before it became a standing ovation and a roaring ensemble of cheers. Will blin
ked. Did the general really do this to him? How could an officer in the United States Army, a general at that, crave so much attention? How could the general shine a spotlight on his own daughter’s kidnapping? And why did the good general feel the need to throw a party over it? Hailing Will as the hero made him wish he could disappear from Jessie’s life and that the whole ordeal never happened

Then again, Jessie didn’t tell anyone. Obviously. No one knew what he knew. She pranced around, pretending to love being the center of attention, as if getting kidnapped was just another fun way to start the next social season, as if it were all a great big joke.

Now Will was getting dragged into this obscene display of Jessie’s ordeal. Will wanted nothing more than to be forgotten, and fade into the crowd, or go on another mission. A mission where only a handful of people knew where he went, and whether he succeeded, although he usually did. He accomplished more than a few important, life-altering deeds during the span of his career. This, however, was becoming a travesty. The turning point of his life. He
got that now, and clearly. Just as Jessie predicted.

Will smiled politely through the well-wishers, the hand-shakers, and the shoulder-slappers while the women nearly
wept for his heroism.

“Will?”

He looked down at the soft, feminine voice beside him: Lindsey. He might have been mad at her for dragging him into this, but that would have been comparable to hating a baby. She was so pure, good, quiet, and serious. She never meant to harm anyone.

“Hi
, Lindsey.”

“You hate this
, don’t you?”

He smiled, almost willing to trust her, but not quite
, she was still the general’s daughter. “I’d rather not get attention for just doing my job.”

“Jessie doesn’t even get
what you did for her,” Lindsey said, her gaze following her dark-headed sister. Jessie was giggling, talking, and moving her arms as she seemed to be describing their mad dash off the roof. Did she include the part where she peed on him? What about when she was chained to the wall? Or when she begged him not to leave her? Did she explain what it felt like to have feces on you because you couldn’t move far enough away from it? Somehow, he doubted she would include those things in her glib recounting of her experience.

“She’s safe. That’s all that matters.”

“I’m sorry she’s so abrasive about it. You were really heroic. I doubt she even noticed.”

Jessie noticed. Will knew it and he wanted to say it. He wanted to stick up for Jessie, and tell everyone she was one of the strongest people, even compared to most soldiers he knew, or she could not pull off the
farce of convincing everyone that she had a delightful time being kidnapped. Not after what he witnessed. He personally knew how badly she suffered. If he hadn’t witnessed it himself, and watched it happen with his own eyes, he too, might have been totally convinced by her laughing and happy candor.

She played it all off that she was a little scared, but really, she was fine. She was that persuasive, and sounded that happy. He wondered how much else she buried in her life and pretended to be outrageously happy about. Was everything he heard, and all the gossip, completely a sham? Was her blatant sexuality and crude behavior really just a shield she hid behind? The screen she used to prevent everyone from noticing she liked using razor blades to slice her own skin?

“I’m sure she noticed. I’m sure she realized if I hadn’t shown up, she might not have returned.”

Lindsey’s eyes rose to his face in utter astonishment. She hadn’t a clue. Jessie’s own sister didn’t even realize that Jessie nearly died. “What do you mean?”

“They would have killed her. Think whatever you want about your sister’s attitude, but she was kidnapped, taken out of the country, and locked in a cell. She wasn’t about to be handed back over. So give her a break. Maybe she’ll quit the bravado act if she could trust someone who really cared that she survived.”

“I didn’t know. She plays it off like it’s no big deal, and Daddy said, she was just begging for the attention. You don’t know Jessie
, she could have even planned something like this.”

Will nearly sat down as he rubbed a hand to his temple. They believed Jessie could plan something like this? Jesus. They were so off base. The
general told Lindsey it was no big deal? And Jessie could have planned it as a stunt for more attention? Bullshit. The general knew as well as Will, Jessie was mercilessly kidnapped and held against her will. Was Jessie right when she said her father hated her? But why? 

“She didn’t plan it.”

“No, I suppose not,” Lindsey said, looking off towards her sister. She licked her lips. “I-it sounds like you’ll be stationed here for awhile.”

“Looks like.”

“Well, I hope to see you more. I’d like that.”

Will blinked. There it was… that look of longing in Lindsey’s eyes.
Shit
. The general’s daughter liked him. He liked Lindsey, and always thought she was sweet and pretty. But she was the general’s daughter. No way. No how. There was nothing on earth that would make him mess around with a superior officer’s daughter. Not when the other daughter had already caused him so much trouble.

“Yeah, maybe
, Lindsey.”

Will escaped by ducking into the
men’s room where he could hide. He came out and wandered away from the crowd where the dinner was being held. He couldn’t handle much more attention, or joking over what Jessie suffered. Coming around the corner of a shadowy hallway, he heard voices. He turned to leave when he recognized the voice. Jessie’s.

“Not here. I mean it.”

Jessie’s voice often was too loud, and too artificial, although no one else seemed to notice. This time, however, she sounded stressed. Will cringed, starting to dread his association with her. She was going to lead him into trouble. She was just that kind of girl, it followed her everywhere. Being near her was like being in her wake, you never knew when you might get capsized. Will rounded the corner of the hallway and tried to back up. But it was too late, he already spotted Jessie in an alcove hidden at the end of the long hallway. He’d been trying to leave, and escape, but instead, he had to run into her. He straightened up again, when he realized what she was doing.

Pinned against a door, and hidden by the doorway, the man with her had his hand up her dress, and not innocently. She squirmed. He couldn’t believe this girl. Anyone could walk right up to them. Then the man’s profile registered with Will: the state senator, Harlan
Johnstone. The man was sixty if he were a day, and currently finger-banging a twenty-year-old girl. A girl who was also the daughter of the man’s closest friend. Will couldn’t believe his unending bad luck. Johnstone spent a lot of time in Bains’s office, as Will now knew.

The senator turned just as Will tried to quietly back up, and run from the disaster known as Jessie Bains. The senator turned suddenly, and his eyes ran up and down Will in startled astonishment. He pushed Jessie off him, and she fell back into the door. The senator stared, and ran his hand over his pant leg. Then he tucked
his offending hand into his jacket pocket, and, without a word, passed by Will as fast as he could. The old guy was almost jogging. Will couldn’t believe what he just witnessed.

Jessie pushed away from the door and brushed at her dress. Her gaze was pinned on his feet.

“Well, if it isn’t my hero.”

“What are you doing, Ms. Bains?”

“The senator.”

“He’s sixty years old.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, well it was worse when I was younger.”

Will paused. Jesus how long has she been doing this? “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you?”

She shrugged.

What was wrong with her?
That’s all Will could think as he looked down at the small girl before him. What the hell was the matter with her? He couldn’t think of anyone he knew who was as disgusting as Jessie Bains at that moment. He retreated and turned his back on her. He had a feeling very little stopped Jessie from doing what she liked. He lied for her and tried to protect a girl who would stab him in the back just as easily as she’d, no doubt, sleep with him. And anyone else for that matter.

Her voice stopped him.

“Look at you in all you
r military finery. I imagine you men are all supposed to be handsome in your uniforms. All I can see is the strange, cloning effect you share when you’re together. You’re all the same. But then, that’s what you aim for, isn’t it? To be the same. To fit in. Be part of the brotherhood. Let me guess, you’re a career guy, aren’t you, Will?”

“I am.”

Her sneering tone so contrasted to the other civilians’ near awe and respect for his profession. He decided he had enough. He might’ve saved Jessie, but he didn’t see any reason to ever talk to her again. As far as he could see, she was a spoiled, self-centered, bitchy, brat, who probably slept with half the post just to piss her father off. No wonder her father disliked her so much. He turned his back and started down the hallway.

“Will, wait.”

He sighed and closed his eyes. He almost got away free. Still, he stopped and turned back towards her. There was something in her voice. A desperate cadence he didn’t notice before.

She walked closer. “You didn’t tell my father.”

“I told your father only what pertained to the job he sent me to do. I found you and got you home.”

He studied her face. Stricken brown eyes stared back at him. Her eyes were the only honest reflection of the hell that she suffered and the pain that had to be filling her head. Why could no one else see it? She lowered her eyes from his gaze. He was surprised to find anything made her bashful. Getting caught with the Crypt Keeper’s hand up her dress didn’t faze her, but thanking him did?