Good Deed Bad Deed Marcia Morgan (life books to read .txt) 📖

looked around until she found the bottle of water she had stashed under the edge of the mattress. She gulped about half of it and tossed it to Olivia, telling her she must drink all of what was left. Olivia did as she was told and they both settled back, each leaning against a moldy wall.

Gareth decided that it would be safer for them if he showed himself while Lenny was gone. Their reaction, especially Olivia’s, would be vehement, and he didn’t want Lenny to react by hurting either of them to keep them quiet. He took a deep breath and stepped from his place against the outer wall into the arched opening. The women looked up, both with different expressions. Valerie looked confused by the new face. Olivia gasped and stood, backing up against the wall.

After a few seconds she broke into a grin, looked at Valerie, and said, “Oh my God! It’s Clive—the man I told you about.” She then looked squarely at him and asked, “How did you find us? I can’t believe you’re here.” Turning back to Valerie she exclaimed, “We’ll be all right now. Clive will get us out of here.” She became very animated and shouted, “Oh my God. We’re going to be okay.” Still in a panic, she turned to him and said, “You have to hurry. That awful man will be back. I don’t know where he’s gone, or how long he’s been gone. He won’t hesitate to kill you—or all of us.”

Gareth’s body flushed with adrenaline. He had to tell them how it was. How could he tell them that he was now one of their jailers? He would do as he was told but had to figure a way to keep the women safe, as well as his brother. Yet he had no confidence in regard to either challenge. While they waited for him to speak, the dank air in the room seemed charged with electricity.

“Olivia, it’s not like that. I hate what’s happened, but I’m not here to save you. I’m part of this—but not by choice.”

“What do you mean?” Valerie said. She turned to Olivia and asked, “What does he mean?” Her eyes darted back and forth between the two.

Olivia spoke in a monotone. “He isn’t here to save us. He’s here to watch us. This is what it was about all along.” She slid down the wall into a heap then buried her head in the crook of her arm and began to sob.

Gareth had never felt as helpless as he did at that moment. Every fiber of his being wanted to go to her, to comfort her, to free them both and to run. But a thought flashed through his mind. He imagined his brother cornered in a prison hallway, arms held behind him by one prisoner, another driving a makeshift knife into his belly. There was so much blood. His brother sank to the floor, his eyes open in alarm as life drained away. Gareth shook the scenario from his mind and once again focused on the women. As much as he hated the predicament, he had to save his brother. At least the women had a small chance. His brother would have none. Several minutes passed before Olivia had calmed down and Valerie had settled back against the wall, a disgusted look on her face.

Gareth decided to tell them why he was involved. He leaned against the wall and slid down, knees bent, until he was resting on his heels. When he began to speak the women turned their faces away from him. He lowered his eyes and spoke softly. “My younger brother is in jail for a crime that was guilt by association. As bad luck would have it, Lenny, the man who took you, has a cousin at the same prison. Both are in the general population. He heard my brother talking about me, that I was a tech guy ready to start my own company, and for some reason the cousin told Lenny.” He paused, waiting for the women to assimilate what he had told them so far.

Olivia turned to look at him and said, “We don’t care what your reason is. You lied to me … lied in so many ways. You disgust me.” She turned away from him and folded herself into fetal position. Valerie said nothing, just glanced back and forth at them both.

“Please, Olivia. It wasn’t all lies. What I had started to feel wasn’t a lie. You don’t know how much I hated what I had to do. Can’t you see that I had no choice?”

With her face still turned away from him she mumbled, “We always have a choice.”

At that point Valerie rang in with her take on things. “It doesn’t matter how it all came about, or why. Take your egos out of it—especially you, Olivia. The only thing that matters now is what we can do about the situation.”

Olivia maneuvered herself into a sitting position and asked Valerie if she had any idea how much time they had before Lenny’s return, then answered her own question. “Of course you don’t.” She turned to Gareth and said, “Clive—or whoever you are—how is this going to play out? Are you going to help us or not?”

“If you’d let me finish telling you how I got involved in this insanity, you’d know why I couldn’t help you.” He looked from one to the other before continuing. Whatever hope had been present in their demeanor was gone, and both women sunk back against their respective walls like forlorn puppets whose strings had been let go. Valerie covered her eyes and shook her head back and forth in disbelief, while Olivia just stared at him quizzically, unable to accept the new reality.

Gareth decided to make his explanation quick and simple. “One call from Lenny to his cousin and my brother is dead. I have to do what he says. I’ve had to do other things besides watch you.