Rescued by a Mobster

by Raven Rivers

  “He’s raped me more times than I can count already.”

  “Same,” Chelsea said, with look of torment in her eyes. “At this point I almost wish he would just kill me already.”

  “Oh, Jesus, I’m so sorry,” Jade told them, fighting back tears. Rubbing her sore cheek against her shoulder again, she mumbled, “We’ll get out of here. Yuri will… Yuri will… Christ, why do I feel so tired?”

  “It’s the drugs he uses,” Gabby said. “Better rest while you can. He’ll be back for one of us.”

  Chapter 23

  Protect the Others

  Jade

  Jade jerked awake. Bolting upright, she forgot where she was for a brief moment and wrenched her wrists, which were still cuffed to the floor and becoming tender. Calvin was standing in front Chelsea with a belt in his hand. Silent tears were rolling down her face as he detailed what he had planned for her.

  “And when I’m done, you’re going to swallow it and tell me how good it tastes, you got that? Every drop, too, you dirty—”

  Jade sprang into action, unwilling to let the others suffer more abuse than they already had.

  “I thought tonight would be our time to get reacquainted,” she blurted, interrupting him and bracing herself for the beating she’d receive for speaking out of turn.

  Instead, Calvin slowly turned to face her. His face was totally blank as he looked her over with a critical eye. “I was saving you for last. I don’t want to use you up too fast.”

  Jade’s stomach seized at the implication of his words. “Forget about those two. It’s me you want. We could really have a nice time together.”

  “You’re offering yourself to me?”

  “I just want an opportunity to talk with you. I can make you a nice dinner and we could get caught up.”

  “I plucked you, Jade. That makes you mine.”

  “I understand.” Feeling like she was about to heave, she knew there was only one way out. She’d have to get him to let down his guard, then seize any opportunity she could to take him out and get away.

  Calvin squatted down in front of her and eyed her skeptically for a moment. Reaching out quicker than she could anticipate, he grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her head back. “You do exactly what I say, nothing more. Do you understand?”

  Nodding, she could feel her hair pulling from her scalp. Out came the keys to the cuffs, and with a quick flick of his wrist, she was free. He brought her roughly to her feet by her hair and she didn’t fight back when he dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind them with a resounding thud. They walked up a long flight of rickety wooden stairs and came out across from a half bath built on the end of a large kitchen. Calvin walked across the room, kicked a stool against the wall, and sat on it.

  When he didn’t speak, Jade took that to mean she was to cook. Trying to force herself to act as normal as possible in this extremely abnormal situation, she kept her voice light. “What do you feel like eating tonight?”

  He didn’t answer, electing instead to run his fingers through the mop of brown hair scattered over his head while mumbling incoherently. His eyes were so dark that they looked black, and he kept them trained on her. The man was hard to read.

  She walked over to his refrigerator and opened it. “Maybe steak and vegetables will help you keep up your energy up for all our extracurricular activities. There’s nothing sadder than a villain who lacks the strength to fuck people up.” Trying for humor might have been a stupid choice under the circumstances. Daring a glance at him, she found a tiny, strange smile on his face. It was the creepiest thing she’d seen since, well, since she’d last seen him. He clearly liked those kinds of jokes.

  Looking through his scant cabinets, she began to slowly make him a meal and hoped he wouldn’t notice her trembling hands. She was terrified of him, but trying her hardest to play it cool as he studied her every move. Finally, he spoke.

  “You never gave me a chance.” The dull, lifeless tone of his voice sent even more chills up her spine. Every time she thought things couldn’t get weirder, she got proven wrong.

  She tried to smooth things over. “It wasn’t you so much as not wanting to get attached. You know, because we were both going off to college.”

  His voice rose. “You allowed the Russian to get close to you.”

  Scrambling for a way to diffuse his anger, she lied and told him, “Yuri? Come on. He’s not the sort of man that people like you and I really get attached to, is he?”

  His shoulders relaxed a bit. “I wouldn’t have thought so.”

  “What have you been doing with yourself over the last ten years, Calvin?” Jade turned the subject to him and was careful not to burn his food. Calvin was the kind of man who didn’t really need a reason to go off, but she wasn’t looking to provoke him, either. Their interaction was starting to feel like normal socializing. The last thing she needed, though, was to normalize whatever was going on between them. Just keep his mind occupied. Keep him away from the others, she reminded herself. Look for a way out.

  “I spent time in Samoa. It was nice there.”

  “Have you ever thought of giving up this lifestyle and settling down with one woman?”

  “I’m married.”

  Jade dropped the pan she was holding and the noise resonated through the room. His wife clearly wasn’t here, wherever they were. It seemed he was leading a double life by having a wife in addition to his flower collection. Questions flew through her mind at the speed of light, but she didn’t know which ones she dare ask.

  She settled on, “Does she know about us?”

  Snorting an actual laugh, he responded quickly. “My wife’s normal. She can’t have babies of her own, so she runs a nonprofit for disadvantaged kids. If she stumbled on this place, she’d believe me instead of her lying eyes.”

  “She sounds like a good woman.”

  “I deserve a good woman after all I’ve been through.”

  Shooting him a quick look, she didn’t see anything on his face that told her he was joking. He honestly did see himself as the victim somehow. His demented mind could justify all of his horrific crimes.

  “I’m no different from your friend, Yuri,” he went on. “We both kill. He kills for money and I kill for revenge. In the end, our victims are just as dead.”

  Jade’s stomach churned as she realized that there might be a grain of truth to his words.

  ***

  It was day five and Jade was still tiptoeing around Calvin. The longer she spent around him, the more she understood that he had serious mental health problems. His violent mood swings were unpredictable. He slapped and kicked the three of them to relieve tension, but he seemed to be building up to something. She had a pretty good idea what it was, and she wasn’t sure if she could postpone it any longer. He was going to kill Gabby or Chelsea, possibly even both, and make her watch before finally killing her. Whatever compulsion drove him, it was getting stronger. When he’d told her that he killed for revenge, she’d wanted to ask what he meant. Now she understood that it was revenge for her scorning his advances years earlier. He’d never gotten over it, and now he was taking his resentment of her out on innocent women whose likeness to her wasn’t just a coincidence. When he killed one of them, he was imagining it was her. She was surprised he hadn’t killed her by now. What was he waiting for? Instead he’d watch as she cleaned his house. Cooked for him. Did his laundry. For a few hours a day, he’d forget about the others and focus on her, acting almost as if he was living out some sort of fantasy; envisioning her as his wife, perhaps. Then it was back in the basement for her, where he’d swap her out with one of the others to play his “games.” Five days had gone by yet he hadn’t made Jade play any of these sexually deviant games of his. He hadn’t even touched her in that way, most physical contact being a slap across the face or guiding her around the house by her hair. She struggled to make sense of why he continued to force himself on Gabby and Chelsea, not her.

  They over
heard him talking to himself at times. He’d occasionally slam his head into walls or swat at himself when he was frustrated. He was a time bomb waiting to explode on them. She would have to do something soon, that much was clear. As much as she hoped Yuri would bust in and rescue her once again, those hopes were increasingly dashed with each passing day. There’d been no sign of him, and her captor hadn’t so much as uttered his name. Had Calvin gotten to him somehow? Taken him out like he’d done Karl? She couldn’t be sure, but she hadn’t lost her will to live and was determined to make it out alive, even if she had to do it herself.

  Chapter 24

  Shoulder to the Grind

  Yuri

  Standing with ten men at his back, Yuri scoured over the map on the hood of Mikael’s SUV. A digital map would have worked, but a physical map of the five boroughs was easier for him. With it, he could circle prior dumping sites, target potential new ones, mark off the places they’d visited, and make notes along the side. He knew it was old school, but it was efficient and it worked. His true-and-true ways had never failed him before, so he wasn’t about to change them up now. Dead or alive, he needed to find his Jade and make Calvin suffer for what he’d done. Now was time to pull in his resources, call in favors, and organize his ass off if he wanted a successful resolution to the most important mission of his life.

  Anthony Nash was getting on his last nerve today, slurping his expensive iced coffee over Yuri’s shoulder. Pointing to five prime potential dumping grounds that correlated with ones previously used, he stated knowingly, “You can mark those off. We have a presence there and no limp-dicked motherfucker would have the balls to dump bodies in our territory.”

  Sighing, Yuri clicked his five-color pen and circled those areas in green instead of red, ignoring Tony’s input. Tony snorted derisively and added, “You’re one hard fucker to befriend. You know that, right?”

  “Yuri is wise to mark it as a low ranking probability. Not everyone is scared shitless of crossing your family, Tony,” Luka said.

  “Well, they fuckin’ should be.”

  As they continued scouring the map, trying to find a pattern where the new string of bodies had been found, Tony looked over his shoulder to see a silver Mercedes pull up. His father had decided to join them after all.

  Stepping out of the vehicle, Don Nash nodded at Yuri. “Greetings. I’m sorry we had to meet under these conditions.”

  “I appreciate you coming,” Yuri replied.

  “It’s my pleasure. Victor Sonovo and I have quite a history together. Let’s just say I owe him a favor or two. Those favors extend to his right-hand man. You helped me recover a great deal of money from the late Reginald Williams. Let this be my way of thanking you.”

  “I’m your right-hand man, right, pops?” Tony asked with a proud grin, slapping his well-dressed father on the shoulder.

  Don glared at his errant son and muttered, “Unfortunately for you, I’m left-handed.”

  Tony’s face fell in embarrassment as several members of Yuri’s crew laughed. Tony Nash desperately sought his father’s respect and approval, but it was obvious the old man wasn’t exactly proud of his son.

  “I know you’re all worn out,” Don Nash addressed the gang. “You’ve all been on the hunt for almost a week now. I’m here to say I may have a lead.”

  Everyone perked up, eager for information that might guide them to Jade. Yuri’s men knew Jade was important to him, but only Mikael and Luka knew just how important she was. Sonovo also knew, but was too busy handling things in Florida to make the trip to New York. Rather, he offered Yuri his blessing in setting aside business until Jade was recovered.

  “What do you have for us?” Yuri asked.

  “The cops pulled a partial tire track from the grass beside the driveway. They believe it’s from an expensive hybrid van with a distinctive tire tread. That wouldn’t be much to go on in and of itself. However, they also found a ring with red paint imbedded in the gemstones. I believe it was an attempt by Ms. Reinhold to leave a clue. It turns out that it’s actually crimson berry, a color used by only one car manufacturer who also produces a line of hybrid vans. Long story short, we have a listing of only five such vehicles in our target counties.”

  Stepping towards the older man, Yuri extended his hand to him. “I’m now in your debt.”

  Don Nash shook Yuri’s hand, then removed a list of names and addresses from his suit jacket. “Sonovo is my daughter’s husband. That makes us family. This is what family is for. I know you’re like a son to him.”

  Yuri nodded solemnly, taking the sheet of paper he’d been handed. “I won’t forget all that you have done for us.” Turing to Mikael, his expert tracker, he handed him the paper. “We travel two at a time, observe only and report back. We’ll rank them in order of probability and investigate further.”

  With that, Yuri began breaking them apart into pairs and giving them addresses to stake out. Yuri and Luka took the last address on the list for themselves and wasted no time getting on the road. Rolling up on the address a half an hour later, they parked across the street and scouted the house. It was a smaller colonial, with children playing in the yard. The van matching the description was sitting in the garage with the door hanging open. A man who appeared to be Middle Eastern came out wearing a turban. His wife followed behind him, smiling. They had a cooler and appeared to be going for a cookout. He loaded a bag of charcoal and their supplies into the back of the van. The kids came running and laughed as they climbed in for what looked like a day of fun.

  Luka sighed. “This definitely isn’t who we’re looking for. The man looks nothing like Calvin.”

  Remembering Calvin’s neat brown hair and pale complexion, Yuri was forced to agree. Snapping a picture with his cell phone, he marked a line through the address on his list.

  “What now, boss?”

  He scanned the list. “We join the stakeout at the nearest address. Rest if you need to. This has gone on too long.” Yuri didn’t need to tell Luka, of all people, how small the likelihood of finding her alive at this point was. After ten years of his pent up anger, her chances with Calvin McMillan weren’t good. Still, Yuri wouldn’t rest until he found her.

  “What about you, boss? You haven’t slept in days.”

  “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

  Speeding away, they were halfway to their next destination when they got a call from Tony. Between slurps of iced coffee, he said, “I think I found him. Check your messages. I sent you a video.”

  “Give me a minute.” Pulling over, Yuri switched his phone to speaker and steamed the video. It showed a chubby man with sloppy brown hair loading two bags into the back of his van.

  “This doesn’t look like the picture I gave you.”

  “No shit, Sherlock. That picture is a shitty black-and-white yearbook shot from a decade ago. Look at his eyes, though. A person’s eyes don’t change. And just look at how weird he’s acting.”

  Yuri replayed the video and paid closer attention, watching as the man looked around the neighborhood before climbing into his van. Tilting his head slightly, Yuri played the video a third time and paused it on the man’s face. He zoomed in and focused on the man’s eyes. Nudging Luka awake, he showed him the video as well. After a moment of deliberation, the two agreed it could be Calvin.

  “We think you may be right, Tony. Don’t engage him. We’ll take turns following him.”

  “I could just beat it out of him,” Tony offered.

  “No!” Yuri demanded. “You just keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t see you. This guy’s dangerous.”

  “Okay, okay. Fuck, calm down. Just get your ass over here, pronto.”

  “We’re on our way. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

  Moments later, Yuri’s phone rang again. “I lost the stupid fucker, Yuri. Sorry.”

  Enraged, Yuri screamed into the phone, “What? How could you let that happen?”

  “He left his house. I was going to stop him but yo
u told me not to. I followed him on I-87 but lost him after he exited on East 134th St.”

  “Okay, I’m just a minute or two away from that area. Hang tight.”

  “I’m circling back around now.”

  Two hours later, they were no closer to finding the van. Frustrated and tired, Yuri and Luka had met Tony in a gas station parking lot off of I-87. Upset that Tony had lost the van, heated words escalated to a shouting match that led to shoving. Yuri was about to throw the first punch when Tony’s phone rang. He gestured for Yuri to hold on a second and dug his cell out of his pocket.

  “Yeah? I know. I was following him but lost him. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay. Really? Wow. Okay.” After a long pause, a smile spread across Tony’s face. “Yes, I’m hearing every word of it. This is great news. Okay, text me the address. We’re on it!”

  “Well?” Yuri asked as Tony shoved the phone back into his pocket with a smug grin plastered on his face.

  “Saddle up, boys. Pops pulled some strings and found another address in what we think could be his wife’s name. They only own one other piece of property. It’s a rundown Victorian-style home in King’s Port.”

  “Wife?” Yuri asked, looking at Luka in confusion.

  “Beats me,” Tony shrugged. “Follow me. We’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

  Chapter 25

  Shoulder to the Grind

  Jade

  Calvin stormed into the house. He seemed to be throwing things around and talking to himself, more agitated than usual. The girls could hear him, even from the basement that had become their dungeon.

  “He usually doesn’t come until the afternoon or after dark. This isn’t good,” Gabby said, worriedly.

  They fell silent, listening to the floorboards creak as he stomped around above them. He was definitely in a foul mood, which meant he’d be down shortly to take it out on one of them.

  “We’re going to make it through this,” Jade whispered, swallowing hard. She was trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince them.