The Doctor Is In by Carl Weber Page B

burning in her shaking hand. Her breathing was heavy as she pondered what she was going to do about Raine. When she and Omar had devised their plan, they had agreed that Raine would be kept alive as a sort of Plan B. If they somehow failed to get Kasen to give up on Raine, then they could at least use her to get some ransom money so he could have her back. Of course, Voncile was not down with that plan, especially now. First, she obviously wanted Kasen all to herself, and second, Raine was getting on her fucking nerves. With Raine being in her house, she couldn’t get much sleep. She feared Raine getting loose and, possibly, coming into her bedroom to cause her harm. Also, Voncile’s house was isolated, but she still feared that Raine could escape and run to one of the neighbors’ houses. Then Voncile would be in jail, and Omar might choose to let her rot there while he pretended not to know anything.
    Voncile made a decision: She would go with the flow for only a few more days. After that, Raine would have to be moved to a more secure and secluded location.
    The cigarette hadn’t calmed Voncile’s nerves like she wanted it to, so she opted for a shot of vodka. She downed the fiery liquid that caused her chest to burn, then took a deep breath and listened for signs of movement from Raine. Things had become awfully quiet up there, so she tackled the stairs again to check on Raine.
    Raine was lying sideways, in a daze. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at the wall in front of her. She hadn’t moved an inch; it didn’t look like she had even blinked. Voncile thought she was dead, until she walked up to her and slapped her face. Instantly, Raine snapped out of it, but she was still as docile as she could be.
    “Please,” Raine begged, “just let me have a pillow for my head. I’m so sorry for all that screaming. I shouldn’t have made you mad. I hope you can forgive me. All I want is for the two of us to get along while I’m here. Don’t you want that too?”
    Voncile pursed her lips then folded her arms. She patted her foot on the floor, responding to Raine in a sharp tone. “Don’t you dare feed me a bunch of bullshit. We are not friends, and we never will be. As for the pillow, I’ll think about it. Depends on how you behave. See, I am in control. Don’t you understand that?”
    To Voncile’s surprise, Raine didn’t respond aggressively. She actually gave her a smile, even if it did look a little forced. “Okay, I understand. But may I please use the bathroom to go clean up myself? As you can see, I’m a mess. I don’t want to ruin your floors like this, and I know the smell on me is irritating you.”
    Voncile sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything, especially since I gave you a shower earlier. Now please don’t get ahead of yourself and keep asking me for favors. I said I’ll think about the pillow. That’s all I will do.”
    “I won’t push,” Raine said politely. “And thank you. Thank you, again, for at least considering it.”
    Voncile pivoted then walked away, not noticing the evil glare that Raine shot at her behind her back.
    Nearly an hour later, Voncile returned to give Raine a fluffy pillow. She also had another clean pajama top for her, along with a soft white towel. The pot was back in her hand, and inside of it was the burger and fries she had purchased for Raine earlier.
    “See,” Voncile said, setting everything neatly in front of her. “When you’re nice to me, I’m nice to you.”
    Raine flashed another fake smile. “Thank you. But I need my hands untied so I can wipe myself down and change clothes. Do you mind freeing my hands?”
    “Of course I don’t mind.” With a grin on her face, Voncile removed a 9 mm from her pocket and showed it to Raine. “I got this bad boy a few weeks ago. It’s nice, isn’t it? I paid a pretty penny for it, too. I hope like hell that I don’t ever have to use it. After I untie your hands, I want you to be real careful, because