After the showers were over Merle and Sinclaire walked back out, looking for the men. Or the women. Sinclaire still hadn't seen them.
"Over here," Will called from down the hall. "We've got some bunks set up if you're interested…"
"Nah," Merle said. "We figured we'd have dinner and be on our way."
"Where are your wives?" Sinclaire asked. "I wanted to see if I could help with any of the cooking…"
"No," Sam replied. "They're doing fine on their own. You just relax."
"Hell. She relaxes she gets fuckin' lazy," Merle drawled. "Ya oughta let her help."
He didn't understand her motivations, but he knew Sinclaire wanted to talk to those women.
Patrick laughed and said, "You know how women are in the kitchen. Territorial. I almost got my hand taken off the last time I offered to help! You'd better stay out here and let us keep you safe."
Merle noticed the way the man's eyes lingered on Sinclaire as he said that last part. They sat making small talk for awhile and then Sinclaire excused herself to the bathroom. Once she was out of view she sprinted for the kitchen. When she opened the door she saw two women of average height and weight cooking venison. It looked so normal for a moment that she felt stupid for assuming differently.
Then she realized the women were practically cringing and they hadn't turned to face the opened door.
"Um. Hi," she said.
The woman on the right spun around.
"I'm Sinclaire Lewis," Sinclaire said. "Are you…"
"Did Will bring you?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, he invited my husband and me to dinner," she answered.
The woman started to reply, but the other woman put her hand on her arm and shook her head slightly.
"Can I just ask you one thing?" Sinclaire asked quickly; she thought she heard footsteps in the hall. "Which of you is Candace?"
The woman on the right said, "I am. Why…"
"How long have you and Will been married?"
"6 years," the woman answered after a moment.
"6 years," Sinclaire repeated. "That's right. Okay. See you at dinner!"
She walked out, right into Will. Giving him a shy smile she said, "I'm sorry. I got lost."
She walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Will had said 4 years. There was no way that a couple would be that far off about their time together. Something was up and it didn't spell out anything good for her and Merle.
Merle was waiting for her in the hall when she walked out of the bathroom.
"Dinner's ready," he informed her.
"And after that, we're out of here right?" she whispered.
"I don't know," he answered. "I like this side of ya. All quiet and ladylike."
"Fuck you."
"Yeah, after this we're outta here," he answered with a grin. "I don't like the way those guys look at ya."
"What do you mean?"
"They watch ya real close, but ya don't need to worry about it. I ain't gonna let 'em hurt ya."
"Why not?"
"Cause you're mine for right now," he said simply. "I know it ain't…I know we ain't fuckin', but that don't change the facts."
"And what facts would those be?" she asked in shock.
"You're the one who can help me get what I want," he informed her honestly. "And I don't hate ya."
Sinclaire laughed in spite of herself.
"I don't hate you either," she admitted.
"Come on you two," Will called. "You don't want to let it get cold."
They walked in and sat at the table. Candace and Monica served and everyone began eating. Sinclaire took a sip of the water Candace had poured her and ate as quickly as she could. Merle was eating fast too, but she didn't know if he was of the same mind, or if he was just hungry. It wasn't until the room tilted that she realized her mistake.
Merle glanced at Sinclaire when her chair scraped back and she tried to stand up.
"What the fuck?" he asked when she put her hand on his shoulder for balance.
He stood up and caught her as she fell.
"I told you to do them both," Will hissed, pointing his gun at Merle's head.
"I…I did!" Candace wrung her hands. "I did what you said, I swear!"
"What the fuck ya'll talkin' about?" Merle felt a little sleepy, but he figured that was just because of how fast he'd been eating. Now though, with Sinclaire out like a light, he was thinking differently.
"We're not going to let you leave," Will informed Merle. "We're…collectors."
"Collectors?" Merle questioned. "Of what?"
"Women," Sam answered casually. "We'll have to repopulate at some point won't we?"
"We'd planned to kill you," Patrick cocked his gun. "It would have been easier to do if you'd been knocked out, but she fucked it up."
Patrick backhanded the woman and she cried out, putting her hand to her cheek and starting to sob.
"Shut that bitch up," Donny snapped.
"Hey, now," Merle scooped Sinclaire up, holding her close, so that her body shielded a good many of his vital organs. "You're gettin' carried away. I'm guessin' she did drug me; I'm feelin' kinda sleepy. It ain't her fault I got a high tolerance. I'd rather work out a deal with ya than catch a bullet in the head."
"She's not your wife is she?" Will asked thoughtfully.
"Fuck no. And ya'll are actin' like I wouldn't share her for some safety and a nice soft place to sleep."
"You aren't in a position to bargain," Donny reminded him.
Merle shrugged and said, "I might be. I got a vest loaded with grenades and ya'll might think I'm not crazy enough to kill everybody in this room, but you'd be fuckin' wrong."
He held up the grenade he'd pulled from his vest as he'd spoken.
"Now I think I've earned a right to stay here since ya'll tried to drug me and it didn't fuckin work. I might be more like ya than ya think."
Will suddenly laughed.
"I've liked you from the beginning," he admitted. "I thought there was more to you than met the eye. The fact is, Patrick had his eye on her for himself…he's got a thing for brunettes."
Patrick looked sullen at the thought of giving her up and Merle shrugged nonchalantly.
"I been tryin' to get her to trust me," Merle said. "Now that I got a convenient cell to put her in…what I'm sayin' is that I ain't fucked her yet and I don't want your sloppy seconds. Give me a few days to get what I want outta her and then ya can have her. How 'bout that?"
"That sounds good," Will spoke for Patrick. "Candace, go show him where he can put her."
Candace did as she was told and Merle lay Sinclaire down on the small cot inside the cell. Then he went back out where everyone was eating.
"Can I have some food that ain't laced with just enough of the good shit to piss me off?" he asked.
"Wasn't in the food," Patrick informed him. "It was in the water."
He handed Merle an unopened bottle as he spoke and Merle nodded, unscrewed the lid and drank.
When Sinclaire woke up she was in a cell. Merle sat at the end of the cot, watching her.
"Oh my God," she groaned as she sat up. "What are we going to do?"
"Ain't no "we" about it," Merle answered. "That Patrick guy wants ya for his woman and I've agreed to let him have ya in a few days…once I'm done with ya."
"What?" she felt dangerously close to passing out again.
"Yep," Merle rolled his shoulders. "For the next three days, I get to do whatever I want with ya."