Patrick went upstairs, desperate for sleep. He tied Jenny to a chair and once he was sure she was secure, he handed the knife to Fin.

"If she so much as sneezes, cut him."

Fin nodded, looking at this brother and watching while he climbed the stairs.

Jenny wondered if he would really do it. She sat quietly, moving her fingers every so often to keep the feeling in them. Her brain was in over drive. There was a possibility she could reason with Fin. There was still some humanity in his eyes. It made her wonder what had happened to Patrick. What had broken all the goodness out of him? Maybe it was horrible to believe he was evil. But he seemed empty of any redeeming qualities.

"Fin," she said, her voice shaky and small. "May I have some water?"

His gaze went to the stairs, then he looked at her.

She looked down at her arms, tethered to the chair, then smiled helplessly.

"I'd get it myself, but...," her voice trailed off.

He brought a cup back, and held it to her lips. The water was sharp and metallic tasting. It didn't taste good, but it did quench her thirst. She leaned back when she had drank enough.

"Thank you."

He set the cup on the coffee table and came back over to her.

"Anything else?"

Jenny shook her head.

"What happened, Fin?"

Fin looked away. "Nothing you need to know," he said.

"Maybe I can help," Jenny offered.

Again he shook his head. "Stop asking so many questions. You can't help. Nobody can. Patrick is taking care of it."

Jenny slumped back and rolled her eyes.

"He's gotten you involved in kidnapping. Yeah, he's a great help."

"Stop it, Jenny."

"Fin, I can look in your eyes and see that you aren't a bad person. Your brother is different. He likes hurting people. Look what he's doing to Jeremy."

"Your brother did that to himself." Fin's whisper was angry sounding, almost desperate, in his attempt to defect the blame off of Patrick.

"Patrick is still hurting him, even thought Jeremy is no threat."

Fin bit his lip. He couldn't argue that. He couldn't defend his brother. Everything she said was true. And this was only the beginning. Patrick got bored easily. He would find a way to entertain himself. Surely, Jenny Burns was smart enough to recognize this.

"Just do what he wants," Fin said.

"You mean like you do?"

"Please don't make him mad. If you think he's bad now, wait until you've pissed him off." Fin walked over and picked up the poker. He slowly moved the logs to fan the flames. The crackle of the fire reminding her of their situation.

"I doubt this means much to you, but I'm sorry this is happening to you. You seem like a nice girl."



Patrick stood at the top of the stairs, listening to his stupid brother. Fin was being drawn in by her. He could picture Fin looking into the soft browns of Jenny's eyes. He was buying all the sweet and innocent bullshit that Jenny was saying.

But Patrick knew Jenny was smart.

"I'm smarter," Patrick thought, smugly. Fin was naive. Patrick had never been one to fall for a sweet face and demure smile. He'd outsmart Jenny. She wouldn't know what hit her.

He went into the bedroom and lifted her duffel bag on to the bed. Now was his chance to get to know the real Jenny. He pulled out a handful of clothes and held them up one at a time. At last he came to what he was looking for. A lacy wisp of blue fell out from the balled up nightgown she'd been wearing when they broke in. Patrick lifted it off the bed and brought it close to his face. The smell of fabric softener and scent of her drifted up towards his nostrils. With a smile, he slipped the panties into his pocket and laid down next to the bag.