Deceptions

by Dana Mansfield

  “So you’ll be a stay-at-home dad?”

  “A stay-at-home dad with a wonderful best friend to help him,” he explained and touched my cheek again. “I made sure Tony knew I needed to have you compensated for at least the next fourteen years.”

  “Oh,” I said with a little surprise to my voice.

  “That does not mean you cannot leave should you want to,” he clarified.

  “I love my job,” I said. I would never want to leave it nor could I imagine leaving Jack or the children. Besides, what else could I do?

  “And without you over the years, I think my children would have turned out differently and not for the best. You have done an excellent job raising them. You were their rock when they needed someone stable in their lives.” I was quiet. I’d always had a problem accepting compliments. They had been non-existent in my life until I met Jack. I thought over what he said and the children’s smiling faces flashed before me. It warmed my heart.

  “You know I will support you in your decisions. I always have,” I said. “And although I know music means so much to you, I’ve seen how happy you and the children have been these last couple of years.”

  “There were many happy moments. I cannot believe how much I had missed in their lives until I was forced off the road. I thought I was balancing my career and family life well but I was not.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Ivan,” I said and reached out to his cheek. “You’ve always been a wonderful father. Have you told the guys you’re retiring?” I asked.

  “No, just Emerson and Tony know and now you. I’m going to tell the guys when we meet up in New York on Monday.” Emerson was the head of Jack’s record company and a close friend while Tony was Jack’s business manager.

  “The kids will be ecstatic,” I said. “Little Sofie will be beside herself. She’s missed you so much during your trips to LA and New York recently. She doesn’t remember what it’s like to have a rockstar papa.”

  “I have missed them all,” he said and retrieved his phone. He scrolled through several pictures of the kids and smiled. Then, came a picture of Crystal. His smile faded.

  “You two had a fight, didn’t you?” I was tentative with my question.

  “Yes,” he responded with a sigh.

  “May I ask about what?”

  Jack was quiet for a good two minutes as his gaze was out the windshield.

  “There may not be a need to compensate you for fourteen years,” he said in slow words.

  “What?” I said, confused again.

  “I have missed the kids but I have also missed you,” he said, his voice quiet but warm. “I have done a lot of thinking since that weekend in June. The words you spoke… I have analyzed them over and over.” Again, Jack was quiet. “I asked Crystal for a divorce,” he said. I was shocked and couldn’t find my voice. “She actually agreed to it. She admitted things are just not the same between us.”

  “Is that what you argued about?” I inquired as my heart raced.

  “No, not about the divorce. She was not happy when I said I planned to file for sole custody of all the children,” he explained. “She was very, very angry with me about that.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding? She’s barely given the kids any attention the last two and a half years and she is mad at you for wanting to make legal what is basically already in place?” Jack cringed from my words and I felt bad. “I’m sorry. It’s not my place,” I said quickly.

  “No, do not say that,” he said. “What you speak is the truth, Penelope, and I think that is what irritated me the most with her tonight. I called her out on that and she exploded and ordered me back to Voorhees. I just did not anticipate that at all. It threw me for a loop.”

  We were silent until Jack spoke again.

  “I want to give us a chance at exploring what happened at the cabin,” he said. “Your words, and our actions, made me realize that not only was my marriage dead, but you and I are most definitely something more than close best friends. In my heart, I want to see if maybe we have something together. I hope I am not being too forward.”

  “No, you aren’t being too forward,” I said but didn’t say anything more. Divorce. It was something I never thought Jack would do. He did take his marriage seriously but then the accident happened. Thinking back, things were starting to change even before that. I chewed on my lip. I was worried, though. Jack was a celebrity, albeit a quiet one. He never made the tabloids other than the few weeks after the accident. He was boring but I knew what other celebrities went through. Things were bound to get messy before the smoke cleared and Jack and I could explore. The prospect of exploring lifted some of the heaviness but I had a fear maybe we would not make it through the divorce in one piece.

  “Did you tell Crystal about that weekend in June?” I asked in a small voice.

  “No,” he replied. “That is too special to share with anyone.”

  “But…”

  “No buts,” he said and held my face in both his hands. “I will protect you for as long as I can but I do not think it will even come up in the divorce proceedings. When you spoke those words to me about my marriage, it opened my eyes. I realized Crystal had abandoned me and the kids a long time ago. That will speak very loudly in court, especially if she tries to fight me for the children.” Jack leaned in and gave me another kiss. “I missed doing that to you. I withdrew from you these last few months because I needed to find out if my marriage was indeed dead. I needed to see it for myself. That is why I went to Crystal’s condo in Atlantic City so often. I needed to know and then when I did know, I felt so stupid that I could not see what had happened.”

  “What did you do when you went to her place?” Again, I was hesitant in my questioning. It wasn’t my business and he was married to Crystal after all.

  “I went to talk to her and we did talk the first couple times but then things did not go so well. Most of the time I just sat on her couch and waited.” He squeezed my hand. “We did not sleep together if that is what you were wondering.” I felt my cheeks grow red and I looked anywhere but at Jack. “We have not been together in that way since before the accident.”

  “What happens next, Jack?” It was a question I had asked him several times at the cabin and just as before, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Many things, Penny. I need to visit with a divorce lawyer and I have to tell the children.”

  “Maybe Crystal will do it first? She’ll have plenty of time this weekend with you not there.”

  “I asked her not to and she said she would not.”

  “Before or after the fight?”

  “Oh,” he said and worry crossed his face. “Before.”

  “I know she said for you to go back home but I think you should go back to the lodge and tell the children as soon as they wake up. I’m afraid she’ll tell them first just to get back at you if she’s mad about you wanting sole custody,” I advised.

  “You make a good point,” he said and he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. “I should have thought of that.” Jack was worried and I felt bad. I leaned over and kissed him. He smiled and returned the kiss. “We need to get this journey done,” he said and stuffed his hands back into his gloves. “I will brush off the car. It is too cold for you out there.”

  Jack slipped out into the storm and a lot of my tension eased. Although his actions the last few months hurt me a lot, I couldn’t be mad at him as the two decisions that controlled him were quite monumental. Once again, things were about to become so challenging. His words ran through my mind. I want to give us a chance at exploring what happened at the cabin… These words made me smile and I said a little prayer the divorce did not rip that possibility away.

  I cranked the heat up and waited for Jack to finish the chilling task of cleaning the car off. We had sat for quite a while and the snow was heavy so there was a lot to clear. In the rearview mirror, I saw him clean off the back window. That’s when I saw the headlights.
Jack must have noticed them too as he turned in their direction. The vehicle stopped and I wondered what was going on. Jack walked towards the vehicle. After a few feet, however, he stopped and then…

  What the hell? I saw Jack raise both his hands. Out of the corner of my left eye I saw another set of headlights approach from the opposite direction but I was more worried about the headlights belonging to the vehicle parked behind the Suburban. I couldn’t see the two people facing Jack very well due to the snow. I had a feeling something bad was happening so I slipped out of the car and started towards Jack. I was stopped, however, when I saw the two individuals – a man and a woman – pointing guns at Jack. I needed to get back to my phone that was sitting in the center console. I turned and came face to face with a man pointing a gun at me. He had a hard face and gray eyes. A second man, darker, appeared next to him.

  “Turn around and start walking towards Jack,” the man with the gray eyes said. Jack? This person with a gun mentioned Jack by name. What was going on? I wasn’t stupid, however, and followed orders. As I turned, I felt a strong hand grip my upper arm. I stiffened. It was the man with the gun and my feet froze. This angered him and he shoved me hard against the car. “Do you want to die?” he growled at me and placed the barrel of his gun against my temple. My heart raced; I couldn’t breathe. He jerked me away from the car and pushed me forward.

  As I came into view of the man and woman who were pointing their guns at Jack, the man standing next to the woman became angry.

  “What is Penny doing here?” he demanded. There was an attitude about him that made me think he was the leader of this gang of frightening individuals. The woman approached me and pointed her gun at my face.

  “Do you want me to put a bullet in her?” she asked.

  “Please do not hurt her,” Jack implored and took a step towards me. The leader raised his gun back up at Jack, causing him to stop in his tracks.

  “James, secure him,” the leader ordered. James was the man that had arrived with the one who held me. As he stepped into the light, I saw a better view of his face. The left side was scarred and blotchy. He tucked his gun into the back of his black jeans and approached Jack.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Jack demanded. It was a valid question. “What are you going to do to us?”

  “I was warned that you liked to ask questions,” the leader said. “Learn now that silence is golden when it comes to dealing with me. My team and I are being paid a fair amount of money to abduct you so in a few minutes, after we dispose of Penny, you’ll be taken to a secure location for holding.” Several things this man said concerned me. The first and foremost, though, was that Jack was being kidnapped. Someone had paid these awful people to kidnap Jack. Was he going to be held for ransom? Were they going to hurt him? “Landon, throw her into the ravine,” the leader ordered while pulling out his cellphone.

  “No!” Jack screamed and I started fighting against this man called Landon. It was useless as he had the body of a top NFL lineman. I wasn’t going to die without a fight and as he dragged me towards the guardrail, I did my best to slow his progress by dragging my feet. Jack was putting up a fight on his own. James had Jack’s arms pulled behind his back. “Do not do this!”

  Jack was being ignored.

  Landon continued dragging me. The guardrail was coming closer and closer and I panicked even more. I ignored the pain in my back as I twisted and landed a knee where it counted.

  “You bitch!” Landon howled but didn’t let go of me right away. Instead, he threw me down to the ground and landed two hard kicks to my left ribs. Pain in my chest petrified me. He picked me back up and a few feet later, shoved me hard against the guardrail. Landon grabbed me by my hair and the back of my pants and lifted me up.

  There was no flashing of my life before my eyes nor was this happening in slow motion. It wasn’t silent either. Landon growled obscenities at me and I heard Jack begging for my life. The wind blew his words around and I was halfway over the guardrail and facing pitch blackness when I heard an important word.

  “Stop!”

  I was jerked back over the guardrail and tossed like the clichéd ragdoll to the snowy ground. I hit hard and for several moments gasped for breath. It hurt so much to breathe and I recognized the feeling of broken ribs.

  “What the fuck’s going on, William?” Landon asked. The leader had a name – William.

  “The Employer isn’t sure if Penny should be terminated. The Employer will get back to me in a few minutes. Put her by Jack,” William ordered.

  Landon jerked me to my feet. I had pain everywhere but my chest hurt the most. My legs gave out on me as I got to Jack and I dropped to my knees. I was trying to breathe hard and clutched at my left ribs. Landon and James walked away from us but still kept us in their sights.

  “Are you okay?” Jack asked and crouched down next to me. He had such a concerned look on his face which was understandable.

  “I’m fine,” I replied although my chest hurt. It was hard to breathe; I was so cold and wet from landing twice in the snow. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I have no fucking idea,” he replied. “But I am going to find out.” Jack stood and stepped closer to the quartet of madmen. “I demand you tell us what is going on.”

  “You need to learn, Jack,” William said, “that you are in no position to demand anything.” He struck out at Jack and landed a hard punch to his stomach. This doubled Jack over and he collapsed on the ground, moaning.

  “Jack!” I somehow managed to yell and get to my feet. My movements were too quick for my shocked body and the world spun around me and everything went black.

  . . .

  “Penny! Penny!” Over and over I heard my name but I was having difficulty climbing out of the black pit. “Penny!” With much effort, I forced my eyes open. Little bits of icy snow hit my face. Kneeling next to me was Jack. “Penny, are you okay?”

  “I… I don’t know,” I stuttered. What I did know was that I was freezing from laying in the snow. I tried to sit up but the pain in my side stopped me.

  “What is wrong?” Jack asked.

  “I think I have a couple broken ribs,” I answered truthfully. I usually didn’t confirm if I wasn’t 100% but I felt the situation was one where honesty was necessary. “Help me up.” Jack slipped his gloved hand beneath my back and took my hand in his other one. His movement was slow so the pain wasn’t so sharp. “Thank you,” I said as a major shiver ran through me.

  “You are freezing,” he said and unzipped his parka.

  “No, you need it,” I said, shaking my head.

  “You need it more. Your lips are blue. I do not want you to get hypothermia.” Jack slipped his jacket off and then put it around me. I was a little dizzy and Jack steadied me. I looked around. The four madmen who were kidnapping Jack were several feet away.

  “What’s going on?”

  “The leader is waiting on a phone call,” Jack explained. His next words came out with reluctance. “Whomever is behind this is deciding whether or not you should live.”

  “Oh, God,” I said and looked around. The terrible quartet weren’t exactly paying attention to us. To our right were woods. “Let’s try and get away, Jack. Into the woods.”

  “If we were not in the middle of a blizzard, I would agree, Penny, but the elements would get us before we found someone to help us.”

  “I just don’t want to stand here,” I insisted. “You need to get away.” I ignored the pain in my chest and removed Jack’s coat.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as I shoved the parka at him.

  “Go, Jack. Go to the car and get out of here. I’ll draw them away.” I tried to push Jack towards the Suburban but he wouldn’t budge.

  “Penny, no,” he replied. “It will not work.”

  “I’m not going to just let them take you.” I gave him another shove and then ran towards the woods. “Hey! Over here!” I yelled towards William and the others.

  �
�Penny!” Jack yelled.

  “Go to the car,” I screamed at him. William and his goons began running towards us. I shoved Jack a third time and ran through the heavy snow into the woods. I heard footsteps behind me and quickened my pace. My back and hip were killing me but adrenaline kept me going. The footsteps were closing in on me and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around. It was Jack. “No, Jack. You were supposed to run.”

  “It would not have worked.”

  “Jack…,” I started to argue with him but the kidnappers quickly came up on us. None of them looked happy.

  “I was told you were a pain in the ass, Penny,” William said and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

  “Please, just let Jack go,” I begged as he approached.

  “If I let him go, then what’s the point of keeping you alive?” William replied and roughly turned me around and yanked my arms behind me. “Do something like that again and I have a bullet with your name on it. The Employer wants to keep you alive but if you become a pain in the ass, you’re gone,” he warned as the handcuffs clicked shut. He swung me back around and then slapped me hard enough to knock me down to my knees. I tasted blood in my mouth. “Do you understand?” William growled down at me. I quick looked at Jack who was being handcuffed also. His face was filled with fear.