Heap of Trouble (Trouble, Tennessee 2)

His rage was as harsh then as it had been in the days leading up to her visit to the hole. How could she reason with him when he seemed bent on making her suffer for the rest of her natural life?

“Whip me,” she suggested, calling up to him. “Please. Send the ladder down. I’ll take my spanking. You can whip me. Just don’t leave me down here!”

She’d spotted the horsewhip in the kitchen. They kept it propped in the corner as if to represent an everlasting threat, a possibility for corporal punishment.

The wood covering the well moved a tad, enough for an instant flash of light, but nothing more. He was toying with her and the taunting made her more desperate than anything else.

“Gotta a drink. Wanna—”

“Shut the crazy shit up, Longs. You can carry on when I’m not here to witness it.”

“Jims is your brother, Toms. You’re doing this to your brother? Why? What did he do that was so terrible?”

“Did ya miss the part where I told ya he was doped up?”

“No, I heard that part,” she said in a breathless voice, hoping she could keep him talking until he changed his mind about leaving her there. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea, Toms. Maybe Jims needs a hospital.”

“He needs to dry out.”

“And I’m sure he will.” She tried to remember the last time she’d seen Jims. Had he been at the Vance home prior to her stunt? She couldn’t remember.

“He’ll sober up in a few days,” Toms said. “He needed a good woman to show him the way.”

“Toms, please.” When she’d first come to and had realized where she was, she’d made up her mind. She wouldn’t beg. Now, however, she would do anything to help herself. She was cold and frightened. “I wanna go home.”

“Aw, poor baby,” Toms drawled. “But hers didn’t wanna go back to the family when ole Toms first met her.”

The baby talk turned her stomach. He sounded sinister, possessed.

“Toms, please. I will do anything.”

“I believe ya, cupcake. Thing is, me and Rons have another duty for ya now. And we’re willin’ to bet that SOS you sent out is gonna get us just what we’re in the market for.”

“What do you mean?”

“That brother of yourn, he’ll be lookin’ for ya. And when he comes, me and Rons? We’ll be ready for him.”

Jims had begun chanting in whispers. Doped or not, he was clearly afraid of his brothers.

“I made a mistake,” she said, thinking of Bradley then. What if Toms and Rons had set her up? Had they known she would send out a message for help? Was that the only reason she’d been permitted to use the computer? Panic struck then and she buried her face in her hands, trying not to sob, fighting like mad to keep the wails contained.

“Yeah, buddy. Rons said to me, ‘Toms, I reckon that girl of ours has ‘bout served her purpose. Ain’t gonna take the willin’, ya know’ and well, I reckon I agree. That’s what he said to me. He believes yer willin’ but yer only willin’ to take the bold and few. What’s them fellas names?”

“I don’t know.” Heather couldn’t think. What fellows did they know about? It wasn’t important. Right now, she needed to keep Toms busy. Heather swallowed. “I’m thirsty.”

“Wanna drink? Wanna sip—”

“Knock it off, Longs!”

A chain rattled in the distance. Something scraped against the stone wall.

“Do you have him restrained?”

“In a way,” Toms replied.

She rubbed her wrists and was silently grateful. Things could’ve been worse.

“So tell me somethin’, cupcake.” The wooden planks shifted and this time, Heather glanced around at the surrounding area, shocked to find the area in front of her vacant until Toms threw down four bottles of water. She turned to find Jims but the well went black again.