Scars Of Defiance (20 page)

“She does? You’ve seen her then? Is she alright?”

“You just missed her. I had her down for an x-ray of her
foot.”

“I missed her? How’s her foot?”

“Broken and healing crooked, probably because she can’t sit
still long enough for it to heal.”

Paul smiled. That was definitely her.

“She thinks the world of you, Paul.”

His wide smile broadened even further. His ribs didn’t seem
to hurt as much anymore. Love is the best painkiller.

“Paul, I’m going to level with you now. You are in for a
long haul.”

“I know.”

“No, I’m not sure you do. You’ll be Victor’s personal
punching bag for a while.”

“I understand, Doctor. When I found Sara, she told me a lot
about her life here and the abuse she has endured. Her strength to survive will
pull me through whatever lies ahead.”

“You just keep thinking that when you’re being lashed — and
you will be lashed.”

“I love her, Dr. Roth,” he admitted. “I’ll go through
anything necessary to try to help her.”

“You’re a good guy, Paul.”

“Likewise.” Paul wondered how old Dr. Roth was. He didn’t
look to be more than about thirty-five, and he didn’t even have gray hair. In
Paul’s mind, doctors all have gray hair. The glasses fit the bill, but the age
of the man didn’t match. What was it about Dr. Roth that Reginald trusted so
much?

*****

Several people entered Sierra’s room, including Reginald,
Victor, two guards, and a priest. This did not look good.

“Well, come on, let’s not waste any more time here,” Victor
said impatiently.

The priest stepped up to the side of the bed and began
reciting the verses of the marriage ceremony. When the time came for Sierra to
answer with “I do,” she did so. Victor slid a large ring on her finger and gave
her a rushed kiss, which she didn’t respond to. It was done. She would go on to
defy the Rawlings family from within their own house.

Everyone left the room except for Victor.

“Alright Sierra, it’s the moment of truth.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Time to make sure you really are a virgin.”

“You don’t trust Dr. Roth?”

“I don’t trust anyone.”

“Forget it. I’m not sleeping with you.”

“You don’t have a choice. You’re my wife now.”

“Just as I thought. Marrying you would take away all my
choices. It seems silly to me that a few words uttered by a man with a priest’s
collar makes it okay for you to take me by force.”

“Those silly words make what we do right in the eyes of God
and the land.”

“Now you answer to God? Or the land for that matter? You
don’t answer to anyone except maybe your father, who owns the land and thinks
he’s God.”

“Look Sierra, I don’t have to answer to my father. It’s you
who has to answer to him. If he finds out you are refusing me, I think you know
what you’ll have coming. Is that what you want?”

“What do
you
want, Victor?”

He had a strange expression on his face, almost as if no one
had ever asked him what he wanted before. He looked at her and said, “I want
you.” His youth and inexperience blazed out from behind his hardened exterior,
and she almost felt sorry for him.

“Do you really? Because I think you just don’t want anyone
else, namely Riley, to get me. I think you
think
you want me, but you
really don’t. I also believe your father wants me more than you do.”

“That’s sick.”

“No, he wants my name. He wants his heir to be a Montgomery.
Don’t you realize your father’s rule is failing? You are destined to take over
a deteriorating leadership, one dependent upon my name.
My name.
It’s
the King and Queen scenario all over again.”

“When I’m in power, this country will fear me. This is my
father’s problem. He’s trying to make sure people approve of him. He’s weak. I
won’t be like him.”

“You’re already not like him, Victor.”

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment. Well, go on then. Do what you’ve
got to do.” She lay back on the bed with a bored look on her face.

“Can you at least try to participate?”

“Why? I’ll never have feelings for you. You’ll never hold
any place in my heart because you killed Paul.”

“What? No, I didn’t.”

“Just because you didn’t pull the trigger doesn’t mean you
aren’t responsible for his death.”

“He’s not dead, Sierra. He’s here in the palace.”

She sat up quickly with confusion and excitement all over
her face.

“But you told them to kill him. I heard the shots!”

“The informant. They killed the informant. I told you I
would be bringing Paul with us just in case he had taken what was mine. Dr.
Roth says you are physically pure, but it is obvious Paul has stolen your heart
from me.”

“Even if I had never met Paul Bronson, my heart would never
have been yours.”

“Well, now you are legally mine, and I will have you even if
it’s just your body.”

“I want to see Paul first. I want to see with my own eyes
that he’s alright. If you’ll do that for me, I’ll try to be more …
accommodating.”

“I’ll do you one better, Sierra. I’ll let you see him daily
if that’s what it takes to have you be willing.”

She nodded. Willing but not wanting.

Victor walked to the door and said something to the guard
outside. He closed the door and walked over to a chair in the corner. “They’ll
bring him up momentarily.” Victor watched as Sierra sat up and preened her
hair. She had a smile on her face, and her cheeks had blushed naturally in
anticipation of Paul’s arrival.

Victor waited for a reunion that would anger him beyond measure.
He didn’t know if he’d be able to watch. Not that he really wanted Sierra. He
only wanted the union so no one else could get her. She was spot-on with her
assessment. His father wanted her last name, but deep inside, Victor knew his
father was weak. What kind of a dictator worried about pacifying the people?
The people should be scared to death of their ruler. That’s how it should be.

But something inside his gut twisted when Paul was brought
into the room and Sierra rushed to him. She tried to hug him but stopped short
at seeing his bandaged ribs. They said phrases like, “I thought you were dead”
and “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again” and “I’m so sorry.” They kissed
briefly, and Paul ran his hands up into her hair. He kissed the top of her head
and told her he loved her. Of all the nerve! Saying something like that right
in front of her husband!

Anger filled Victor’s veins to the point that he actually
saw the color red. He began to feel physically ill when they started talking of
escape. He stalked forward and tore them apart. “That’s enough! Get him out of
here!” The guards moved in and took Paul out of the room. Paul strained his
neck to get one last glimpse of Sierra as she sat down on the bed. Victor’s
eyes met Paul’s, and as the door closed, he squinted to near slits as he said
to Paul, “She’s mine now.”

*****

The next day, Sierra sat all alone at the long dining table
and pushed the food around on her plate. Her stomach rolled and tumbled with
the anticipation of seeing Paul again. Somehow, they needed to escape.

“Well, there you are.” Riley Stone entered the room and
sauntered over to Sierra. He pulled one of the ornately handcrafted chairs out
from the table and sat beside her. “See, you weren’t gone long. I told you it
wouldn’t work.”

“Why are you bothering me, Riley? Didn’t you get the memo?
I’m now Mrs. Victor Rawlings.”

He leaned forward as if what he had to say was significant.
A sly smile crossed his face. “I can get you out of here, Sierra. I have it all
figured out. I know how to hide you, protect you, and reinvent you. You only
need to come with me, and I’ll free you from this life.”

“Why should I do anything with you, Riley? Last time
Reginald caught us together like this, you stabbed me in the back to protect
your own interests. You did it then, and you’ll do it again if you get the
chance.”

“Don’t you see it was for your own good that I said what I
said?”

“How was being beaten to within an inch of my life for my
own good?”

“It taught you humility.”

“Leave me alone, Riley. I don’t need or want you in my life.
If you persist, I’ll take this to Reginald myself.”

“He won’t believe you, but suit yourself. I think eventually
you’ll come find me and beg me to help you escape.”

“I don’t understand the relationship you and Victor have,
and I don’t think you understand it either. Who in their right mind would
continue to hang around the guy who stole his girl? And who with a lick of
sense would allow the guy whose girl he stole to continue to see her? Yours is
a complicated relationship. I’m happy to say I won’t be a part of it much
longer.”

“If you’d leave with me, we could both get out of it
sooner.”

“I’ll be out of this soon enough without you! It’s your
fault I’m even here, Riley. I’ve never liked you, but that didn’t matter to
you, did it? Then, your jealous friend decides he doesn’t want you to be happy,
so he takes me from you, even though you never really had me to begin with. My
father died because you couldn’t take a hint! I’m forced to live here because
of you! Do you see how this whole situation is for me? I can’t stand either one
of you, and yet here I am, stuck with both of you because you’re too stupid to
back out, and he’s too stupid to keep you away. However, without all this
drama, I would not have crossed the border.”
And found Paul
. “That’s the
one good thing to come of it all, and it’s good enough for me. Now, leave me,
Riley.”

“You will regret turning me down.”

Sierra let out an exasperated sigh, rolled her eyes, and
shook her head as Riley left the room. Then she hobbled down to the infirmary
to speak with Dr. Roth about Paul.

“Sierra, I’m glad you came. I need to speak with you as soon
as I finish up with this patient. You can wait in my office.”

A few minutes later, Dr. Roth came in and said in a low
whisper, “I’m working on something that will hopefully free you and Paul.”

“A plan?” Her excitement was electric.

“Yes. That’s all I can tell you right now. Keep it quiet,
and don’t talk to Paul about it. Act normal around Victor, and be patient. It’s
going to take a little while.”

“Victor promised me I would be able to visit Paul every
day.”

“Your love for him is the only thing keeping him from being
killed. They are so sure you’ll end your own life if Paul dies.”

“But we’re going to escape before that happens, aren’t we?”

The door to the infirmary opened, and their conversation
ended.

*****

Paul sat in his room with his back against the wall. His
body still hurt in various places from his beating at the gas station, but he
tried not to dwell on it. His mind continually switched between his family and
Sierra. He worried for their safety and for hers. Voices outside the door
pulled him out of his trance.

“I am to evaluate the prisoner,” Dr. Roth said to the guard.

“Did you see her? Is she alright?” Paul asked after they
were alone.

“Yes, she’s fine. She’s being treated well. Listen, I’ve got
an idea, and I need you to go along with it. This idea came to me after Sierra
fled the first time. I figured it was only a matter of time before she was
found and brought back here. Please don’t be offended by that assumption. It
had nothing to do with you or your ability to hide her. I knew Reginald’s
presence in Slaterville would turn up a clue, and that’s all it would take.”

“It was my fault, though,” said Paul. “I trusted my friend
of ten years with secret information about Sara hiding in my house. I’ll never
trust anyone outside of my own circle again, well, except for you, Dr. Roth.
I’ll never put her in danger again.”

“In this world, Paul, you can’t trust anyone, only your own
gut instinct. Remember that.” Dr. Roth took a deep breath. “Now let me paint a
picture in your mind. When we know someone is dead, we move on, we find
closure, and gradually, over time, we learn to accept that that person is gone.
When someone only disappears, we are more likely to spend the rest of our lives
searching for them in the hope they are still alive. So the trick here is to — ”

“Make them think she’s dead.”

“Right. So now you understand the goal of my plan. I need
you to trust me on the rest. Do exactly as I say, alright? If it all goes
according to plan, we will all be free in a matter of days.”

“Tell me what you need me to do.”

“I have a few more details to hammer out first, and then
I’ll let you know. I’ll hurry as much as I can for your sake.”

“My sake? Do it for Sara’s.”

“She’s not the one who’s about to be beaten repeatedly.” Dr.
Roth pulled out a pill of some kind and handed it to Paul. “Swallow this.”

Paul, trusting Dr. Roth, swallowed the pill without water.
“What was that?”

“A narcotic for the pain.”

“I’m fine, really.”

Dr. Roth didn’t say anything back, but the expression on his
face appeared to be sorrow and sadness. Paul wondered what he was thinking. Dr.
Roth walked to the door and knocked on it for the guard to open it. As soon as
the door opened, Sierra came in.

Paul pulled her into an embrace carefully, and she laid her
head on his shoulder. He rested his cheek on her head and inhaled her scent.
One of his hands smoothed her soft hair on her neck and shoulders. She smelled
wonderful and looked healthy, and it did so much to buoy his spirits.

“Paul, are you alright?” she asked through her tears.

“I’m fine. How are you?” He pushed her away to arm’s length
and searched her face while she answered him.

She diverted her eyes to his wrapped chest under his open
button-up shirt. “It looks like I’m doing better than you are.” She placed her
palm in the center of his chest gently.