Their Double Blessing

Chapter 10

Patricia struggled against her bindings. Mary had led her to the parking lot where Ronald was waiting in a grey van. The grin on his face was enough to send her into a rage. Inside she was tied up tight before the vehicle drove away, barely struggling because she didn’t want any harm to come to the baby. If she hadn’t been pregnant things would have gone down differently. But she was carrying vulnerable cargo and just a walk had drained her. Until she was better any struggle or attack could result in a miscarriage.

This was still unbelievable. Her own sister was part of a kidnapping plot just to get money from George. How had their relationship taken such a terrible turn? Not being best friends didn’t mean someone was going to rob and hurt you. It was insane that Ronald might have had the less deadly idea. She doubted anyone could get her to take large sums of money from George. But at least that move didn’t involve taking her hostage and holding for ransom. Now she was at their mercy, going to some far off place to wait for the money.

She knew Ronald was bad news. He was a criminal looking for the next big score. She never wanted him around and thought taking precautions and waiting for him to slip was enough. Wrong move since he was also waiting for an opportunity as well. That snake stayed out of trouble by being five steps ahead. Already having a plan in place to trick her out of money was a smart move. Whether or not it worked that was a decision with hope of yielding profit. That jerk wasn’t just a handsome face, but also a hardened and shrewd criminal.

Mary however was running on anger and adrenaline. Attacking her outside the apartment was risky. There were less people around there but anyone could have stepped out for all sorts of reasons. If there was any weakness in their plan it was her sister. Who allegedly came up with this crazy kidnapping scheme. For one that was messy and had many holes. What if George refused to pay the cash or called the cops? What if he couldn’t get his hands on money fast enough? There were many variables and ways that things could go south fast.

Why did they need the money this bad though? Why not stick to Ronald’s plan? Perhaps it wasn’t only about the cash. This gave Mary control and a hand in criminality. Taking a sister hostage, a pregnant one no less, would be looked down upon by any normal person. After this Mary would always be on the run. People saw them leaving the apartment together. All the pieces linked to Mary. Ronald however stayed the shadows. Giving orders while Mary was a figurehead using her ideas but following the ex con’s instructions to the letter.

“He’s using you, Mary,” Patricia spoke up. “Everything connects to you but not him. If this goes bad, Ronald will run leaving you holding the bag. Stop this and go to the cops. I will speak on your behalf and try to get a light sentence. This isn’t the kind of person you are.”

She’d been trained to appeal to people’s emotions. In security it was important to know what kind of person you were dealing with. If there was anything left in her sister then there was a chance. Perhaps Ronald’s claws weren’t as strong as he assumed. She had to try.

“I told you she would underestimate you. Patricia always has to be number one. The prettiest, smartest, have the rich guy who never worked for anything, multiple husbands who could take care of her, play the victim card when things went south and just the perfect woman. Mary I have to tell you that she’s all that you said and worse,” Ronald spoke from up front. His words hit hard. Was that really how Mary saw her? The perfect woman who had everything fall in her lap? Nothing could be further from the truth. It was almost a joke.

She had to work hard for everything. Husbands with means was not the same as being a trophy wife. The men she dated weren’t not looking for women who weren’t going to pull their own weight. Unless of course they stayed home having many babies. Which was not in the cards for her or something she wanted. No man was pampering her to the point of laziness. Not even George tried to make her quit working and hang out around the house. The idea that she didn’t earn everything was nauseating.

Mary was the one who wanted others to take care of her. Always quitting jobs or getting fired for stupid reasons. Including leaving the coffee pot perched on the fax machine. The damage was still being paid off; one of the few times Patricia refused to help. The employer kept the payments small since she was able to help them find a replacement and begged them not to have Mary arrested. It was an embarrassing debacle. To have that same person turn around and claim she was some kind of lazy beauty getting everything handed to her was comical.

“You’re pathetic Ronald. My sister is supposed to be your fiance. What kind of man drags a woman he claims to love into a situation like this?” Patricia tried to damage his ego. He was the mastermind and if made mad enough might start making mistakes. She was desperate to find a way out of this before things got worse. This man was a career criminal and she had seen his face. If that was not bad enough, he had Mary involved. If anything bad happened her sister would be an accomplice. There had to be a way to stop this before it was too late.

“You really think I’m dumb enough to listen to that tripe. Oh the woman you love is in danger. Let me talk to you like a human being. I had military training sweetheart, that won’t work on me.” Ronald laughed as he made a sharp turn. “I always wanted to knock you off that high horse. Mary knows how life works, but you? Acting as if people all succeed with a little elbow grease, then having the audacity to bag a white billionaire while giving your black brothers the cold shoulder? Oh and I guess that pregnancy was by immaculate conception too right?”

“You’re a pig,” Patricia said. “And stop driving like an idiot. I’m pregnant, not a sack of potatoes for you to throw around. If I lose this baby you’re a dead man, no matter where they lock you up. If I were you I would leave me on the side of the road and take off.” She had enough of playing it safe. Ronald was the worst and she wanted to hurt him.

“Oink, I’m not the one tied up and rolling about in the back. Always the high and mighty type, we are going to fix that real soon,” Ronald said his voice becoming less smooth.

Mary shoved her hard. “Don’t talk to him like that. He’s a great man who has connections you couldn’t dream of. Why should he toil for nothing just because the military didn’t want him and some woman lied about him trying to touch her? She got hers and so will you.” She laughed and stretched out her legs in the back, a knife in her hand and the gun securely in the waistband, already looking like a criminal ready to do whatever it took to get a score.

“Mary, you need to listen for once. Ronald is going to get you sent to prison. You’re right, George was a great catch. You can still get a man like that if you leave this joker behind and get us out of here,” Patricia decided to give it one more try. She had nothing to lose. They weren’t going to hurt her before getting to make a ransom demand. After all, despite their thirst for revenge this pair of criminals were still hoping to make a huge payday.