take a piss. He reached for the bucket in the corner and relieved himself for the first time in over twelve hours as more tears ran down his face. He sat on the thin mattress and reached for the bowl of stew. The food was at room temperature. And that damned video was still running. Corbett forced himself to eat the unidentifiable concoction. It had a very bitter taste, but it was food. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten anything. He had no idea what day it was or what time it was. All he knew was that he was in the worst place in his life.
While Corbett sobbed himself to sleep, the sisters marched to the other end of the hallway to deal with Steinwood.
He didn’t stir when they opened the door. Not a peep. Not a move. He was literally scared stiff, except for pooping in his pants.
“Whoa!” Kathryn roared. “Need a diaper? Jeez, I’d be passed out, too, if I had to spend one more minute in here.” She kicked his foot to see if he was conscious. “Hey! You!” Steinwood curled into a ball, and Kathryn poked Annie. “Make it quick. The stench is burning my nostrils.”
Annie leaned over the crumpled man. “Dr. Steinwood. You are here because you are a despicable human being. You and your partners preyed on vulnerable women, taking advantage of their trust. You cheated and lied. You put their health at risk. One of them died, and another is in a semiconscious state. Yes, we know everything about you, Corbett, and Marcus. You and your high-end sports cars.”
Steinwood started shaking his head and tried to speak.
“It appears that you want to say something?” Annie said.
He nodded vigorously.
“We are going to remove the bag, but you need to sit still. Nod your head ‘yes’ if you understand.”
He whimpered and complied. Annie removed the bag. Everyone saw the terror in his eyes as he blinked uncontrollably from the bright light. Annie was about to pat him on the head but thought better of it. She wasn’t about to ruin a good pair of slacks from wiping whatever grime was in his hair. He flinched away.
“I am going to remove the tape now.” Annie leaned over and pulled the duct tape off his face in one swoop. The sounds coming from his throat were a mix of coughing and gagging. He tried to speak.
“I . . . I . . . didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” It came out in a rasp.
“Well, whatever you meant to do, you did hurt people.” Annie crossed her arms over her chest. “And you are going to pay for it.” She nodded to Myra to start the video loop. “Enjoy the show.”
Kathryn reached behind him and cut the zip tie, handed him the stew, and backed out of the very small space. The rest of the women retreated to the hallway before Annie slammed the steel door shut. The sound of the keys made him shudder. The fact that his pants were still wet was not helping.
Chapter 39
London
Marcus’s legs twitched as his vision went from darkness to fog. He couldn’t focus. He tried to speak, but nothing but spittle and slurred speech came from his mouth. He felt a small tube in his hand. It was the call button for the nurse. He pressed it several times. Within minutes, two very imposing nurses stood before him. One was a very large black man who looked like he spent most of his free hours in a gym. His arms were solid muscle. At least that was what they looked like to Marcus. The other looked like Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest—mean, cold, heartless.
“What is it, Dr. Marcus?” she growled.
He had questions, but he couldn’t form words.
“Dr. Marcus, we can’t have you pushing that button all willy-nilly. What do you want?” she demanded.
The large black nurse was a bit kinder. “Dr. Marcus, do you know where you are?”
Marcus tried to find a body part that was functioning besides the thumb that seemed to be stuck to the call button. He squinted through his swollen eyes. His lids were the size of golf balls.
“Dr. Marcus, you are in the Royal London Hospital. You were found by a delivery chap in an alley outside your office. You’ve suffered very severe injuries. You have a broken leg. Shattered, actually, as is your left elbow. Your jaw and both eye sockets are fractured. You have a collapsed