Them

Janelle Stone was slowly floating up toward consciousness. Initially, her brain flooded with confusion. What the hell was going on? Where was she? Why was she so out of it? Voices. She could hear voices—a woman’s voice and then a familiar male voice, which caused her heart rate to spike. Oh no. Just oh fucking no! And then it all came flying back. Her own fucking sister had betrayed her. She had lied to her by telling her she had cancer when she probably didn’t. She had turned her own sister in. Flashing lights and sirens—that was the next thing she remembered—and then boom. Bronwyn had thrown her under the bus, and she’d been chased down by the pigs until they’d made her lose control of the rental she’d gotten and ram into a tree. Fucking bastards! “What’s going on?” she heard Boris ask. “Could be waking up now,” the female voice answered. “Just remember that if she doesn’t appear to have any memory of the last handful of years, she’s almost certainly not faking it. It’s very common.” “If she truly can’t remember anything, will she eventually?” “There are no guarantees,” the female voice answered, which Janelle now realized belonged to medical personnel of some kind. She was so glad she heard those words, because keeping her eyes shut tight and appearing not to wake up, she realized she could use what she’d just learned to her advantage. The truth was, she remembered everything. But Boris didn’t have to know that. They could start all over again as strangers—something she knew would frustrate the hell out of Boris. She knew damn well the bastard would want her to know exactly what she’d done, exactly who she was, and exactly what was in store for her. Only Stone refused to give him that satisfaction. She also refused to remain in custody. One way or another, she would break free and get back out of the country. She just might not be able to fly out of it. She might have to head down to Mexico or some other country and jump over to Montenegro from there. She was grateful she didn’t have any pets anymore, because months in Montenegro for them would mean they’d starve to death, since she didn’t have any friends she could trust or rely on to take care of them until she could make her escape. She was so pissed. She was pissed at herself for being dumb enough to believe Bronwyn. She was pissed at Boris now that he once again had the upper hand. Relax,she told herself. It won’t be for long. You’ll get away, and once again they’ll be pissed as fuck—and even terrified—that you’ll come after them again. They’ll live in fear for the rest of their lives. Slowly, she opened her eyes, but only partway. It was enough to see Boris grinning down at her. Yeah, you think you’ve won now, she thought to herself while she did her best to keep her expression blank and neutral, but you won’t be on top for long. “Welcome back,” said Boris. “Ready to do this right the second time around?” Janelle feigned a confused look as she groaned. There was movement beside Boris, and that’s when she saw the doctor. “Hello, Miss Stone,” said the doctor. “I’m Dr. Dodd. Do you know where you are?” “No,” Janelle lied. “Do you remember what happened?” Janelle shook her head. “Do you know this man?” Again, Janelle shook her head. She wanted to laugh at the disappointed look on Boris’s face. “Where am I, and what’s going on?” Janelle asked in a strained voice. The doctor exhaled sharply, apparently choosing her words carefully. “You were in an accident on the road.” Janelle held her confused look. Her eyes shifted to Boris, who slowly chewed a piece of gum while smirking at her. “Do I know you?” she asked. Boris snorted sarcastically. “Oh yeah, you know me.” Nobody spoke for a moment, and then Janelle finally asked, “Did I hit your car?” Another snort and a shake of the head from Boris as he slumped away from her bedside. Thinking Janelle’s growing confusion and apprehension were genuine, the doctor said, “Let’s not worry about any of the details right now. Let’s just get you better first.” “Am I broken?” Janelle asked. “You are very lucky,” said the doctor. “You’ve got a serious concussion and a few bumps and bruises, but you’re otherwise intact. You may have trouble remembering things for a while.” “How long have I been here?” “Almost two days.” “Wow,” Janelle said, shocked for real. “After we get a little more nourishment in you and see if we can get you moving a bit and cleaned up, we’ll run some other tests, including some memory tests, okay?” Janelle nodded, determined to flunk those memory tests.