Page 26 of Web of Lies
There isn't a spin I can put on this that will take that look out of Shaun's eyes or the feeling out of my gut. The wife has clearly been treated poorly, probably for a long while. Nothing the husband said led me to expect her to be in this condition. I expected spoiled. I expected pampered. I expected whining. I did not expect the breathing skeletal remains of the woman he married. I did not expect this malnourished, overly-exhausted, withdrawn version of a woman I'm supposed to torment. A woman I've beenpaidto torment.
After just a few moments of a good look at her in the daylight, I have to admit I'm not feeling very inclined to return her to the man who hired me, much less torment her.
“Well?” Shaun demands, literally tapping his foot.
I shrug with an attempt at nonchalance. “He hired us to take her and make her wish she was back home. I don't ask for backstories or reasons, I just do the job.”
He gives me a flat look and then jabs his thumb in the direction of the door. “That's not a normal job. She's already in really bad shape. I can keep people hungry, keep them tired, make them really glad to be rescued. No problem. But it seems more likewe'rethe fucking rescue party.”
I shrug again.
“You don't think she looks miserable enough already?”
“It's not my job to have an opinion. It isn't your job, either. Our job is to keep her and make her glad to see her husband again. That's it.”
“Oh bullshit. I'm not stupid. I can tell from the look in your eyes. She's not going to ever be glad to see that mother fucker. What was he like?”
This time the shrug is genuine. “Rich old white guy. Likes his money and his position. All he said about her is that she needed to learn her place.”
Shaun's jaw ticks. “If she hasn't learned it by now, she's not going to.”
“It doesn't matter,” I sigh. “We took the job and we're going to do it.”
He rolls his eyes, scoffing as he turns and goes back into the house. I take a few seconds to lean against the porch railing and collect my thoughts. I shouldn't have taken this job. My initial gut feeling was to turn it down and I ignored it. We're doing this job. The money makes it worth it. It's unfortunate that the wife is already in bad shape, but this is a job. Just a job. That's it.
Shaun is slumped on the couch when I get back inside. He's got the television remote control in his hand but hasn't yet turned it on. He's staring at the wife.
And she's not impressed with it. Not even a little.
“What?” she clips.
Shaun keeps staring but doesn't answer. I watch his eyes roam from the roots of her blonde hair to the tips of her toes, but he doesn't say anything. His gaze settles back on hers and she stares back at him, only breaking it with an occasional blink.
“We've been hired to take you.”
She blinks at him.
“We've been hired to make you miserable.”
She tilts her head.
“We've been hired to do anything we want to you, as long as it doesn't leave a scar.”
She smiles. It's small, but it's definitely there.
“You like that?”
She blinks at him again. “No.”
“You're smiling, though.”
She nods. “How much did he promise you?”
“It doesn't matter,” I answer. “We were offered a job and we took it.”
She smiles. “Okay.”
Shaun looks at me, one eyebrow cocked. “Okay, she says. Okay.” Then he snorts a laugh and turns on the television.
