by Naomi West
“Honestly, though, I doubt it. With all the talk I’ve had of escaping, you’d think they’d do something about it—punish me or what have you.”
“You have a point.”
She groaned. “Ugh.”
“What?”
“He comes back tonight, and I’m really not in the mood.”
“Are you ever?”
“Well, no, but tonight I just want to be left the fuck alone.”
“Is he really that bad?”
“Imagine an overweight fat bastard with a daddy-daughter fetish.”
“Yikes.”
“Yikes is right,” she agreed. “He has me put my hair in ponytails and talk in a high-pitched voice all night long. Worst of all, he likes to hear me say how much I love it when he fucks me or when I suck his chode of a dick. It’s fucking disgusting, and I can’t stand it much longer. If this keeps up, I might end up like Alice.”
“Stay strong,” I whispered. “We’ll get through this.”
I immediately thought of Andrei. He hadn’t told me much about his plan to get me out of there, but for some reason, I trusted him to make good on his promise. And maybe it was too much to ask, but I knew I had to bring up the possibility of him saving Martina too. Was it likely to happen? No.
But I still had to try.
26
A few days later and Andrei had failed to show up. It wasn’t like he had given me a schedule or anything like that, but it still felt strange that he would take so long to return.
Could it be that he’s never coming back? My fear took on a voice of its own. Perhaps he’s tired of you and has decided that you’re not worth saving.
No, I returned. Andrei is going to make good on his promise—I am sure of it.
Since my mind was elsewhere, I didn’t notice that I was painting outside the lines with the nail polish.
“I didn’t know we had fingerpaints,” Martina said.
I blinked. “What?”
She tilted her head towards my hand. “I think you missed.”
And missed I had. The side of my thumb was bright red instead of the nail itself.
“Dammit. Do we have any nail polish remover?”
“Yeah.” She tossed me a box. “Unfortunately, it’s not straight acetone.”
“So, what is it?”
“Some cloth pads that make your hands super sticky. I’m not very fond of them myself.”
“Jeez, I can see what you mean. This stuff is stickier than cum.”
She groaned. “I’d rather not talk about jizz unless it's absolutely necessary. I’ve had enough of that stuff for one lifetime.”
“Thinking about swinging for the other team?” I asked with a giggle.
“I might. This whole experience is really turning me off the male species.”
“Hey, not all men are pigs.”
She snorted. “I’m starting to find that hard to believe.”
I thought of Andrei. Was he any different, or was I just fooling myself into thinking that he was? Realistically, I knew very little about the man—aside from the fact that he was amazing in bed. But in terms of his real personality—his quirks, favorite food, and movie— I knew nothing. He was still a stranger—a stranger that had already fucked me half a dozen times. Now that was something I never thought I would say.
She leaned back and rocked on the legs of her chair. I was reminded of all the school teachers that had told me I would crack my head doing that. I was inclined to tell Martina the same thing, but I didn’t think she would appreciate the warning all that much, nor did I think she would listen.
“Anyway, maybe I’m wrong. Tons of people claim they have found Mr. Right. Who am I to say that there’s no such thing as a nice guy?”
“There has to be someone out there for you, Martina.”
“If I ever get out there again, that is.”
I gave her a look.
“I guess I’m just getting a little stir crazy. I used to run—a lot—before I was brought here. I’m really itching to stretch my legs.”
“Did you run just for fun or for sport?”
“Both. Every year I would also try and support a different cause, you know? Last year it was childhood leukemia. This year I was planning on a breast cancer run, but too late now.”
“It already happened?”
“Mhm.” She grabbed a stack of cards and dealt them between the two of us. It looked like a classic game of war.
“I’m still painting my nails,” I said.
“Yeah, but you’re doing a horrible job of it. You’d be better off just giving up—trust me.”
She had a point. Truth be told, I wasn’t much of a girly girl. There was a reason that I didn’t wear any makeup save for those really special occasions because, frankly, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to mascara or eyeliner or any of that stuff. I had a better chance of translating some hieroglyphics into English.
So, I cleaned off my mess and washed away the stickiness. Thankfully, I had built an endurance against the smell. I could stomach it for a solid half-hour before the stench made me queasy. I didn’t think I would ever fully be able to ignore it, but it was better than wanting to throw up every five minutes.
“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Martina asked once I returned.
“I would rather not—it’s still a little sore.”
“That’s right. Andrei’s a bit of an animal, isn’t he?”
“He likes it pretty rough, yeah.”
“But you like it, don’t you?”
I blushed because I really didn’t want to admit such a thing, but deep down, I knew it was true. Every time he brought me into that room, I was invaded by a pack of butterflies. They would swirl around and around my stomach like I was some kind of giddy high schooler getting ready for her first kiss under the bleachers.
“Don’t even lie to me, girl.” She slapped her hand against the dresser. “It’s written all over your face. You actually like it when this guy fucks you. I can’t believe it!” She flipped over a card. “But I’ll give it to you that he’s pretty damn cute.”
“You should see him naked…” I whispered in a dreamy voice.
“Would you listen to yourself? You’re practically drooling over the guy.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “You know, I wonder whether Andrei will buy you.”
“Buy me?” I repeated, forgetting that it was my turn.
Martina impatiently tapped the pile and waited for me to drag it over to my side of the dresser.
“Yeah, like Nadia. That’s how she got out of this pla—”
All of a sudden, Alice, who had been as silent as a ghost, got out of bed and charged up to the dresser, nostrils flaring like those of a raging bull. It was the first time I had seen her even a little bit animated, and it was shocking, to say the least. Her pale skin was blotched with patches of red. Even a vein throbbed on her temple.
“I want to know what’s so goddamn good about getting bought—again.” Her voice trembled, as did her fists.
“Alice—”
“Do you think that Nadia is somewhere eating in a fancy restaurant with a sugar daddy that keeps her in fur coats?”
Silence.
“No! She’s probably dead in a ditch somewhere, broken beyond recognition.” She’d lowered her voice, but the anger was still present.
I thought about what Martina had told me. Nadia and Alice often shared a bed together—not sexually or anything—but just as a means of caring for one another.
“What’s worse? The devil you know or the devil you don’t?” She narrowed her eyes as if Martina was responsible for Nadia being gone.
“I…”
“Don’t ever speak of her again and how she managed to ‘escape’ this place because you don’t know fucking shit, and you’d be better off keeping your mouth shut.”
Martina sat there, stiff. It was like Alice had just slapped her in the face and it certainly felt that way. The air was thick with animosi
ty.
Suddenly, Martina started to cry. She ran off to her bed and climbed the ladder, nearly tripping as she did. Alice locked herself in the bathroom. I was left there, dazed.
What just happened?
It took a second for me to snap out of it, but then I joined Martina on her bed and rubbed her back, trying to get her to calm down.
“Shh, it’s okay,” I said over and over again, but, of course, it wasn’t helping because everything was far from okay.
Uncertainty clouded everything. We didn’t know whether we would survive another day or if we would end up as target practice. All of it was beyond terrifying. And now I was left wondering what Andrei’s true intentions really were.
Was he aiming to save me? Or save me all for himself?
27
Yuri was blowing off some steam in the hotel’s pool. It was nearly Olympic sized and immaculately clean. Whoever we were paying to maintain the thing was earning every penny of their paycheck.
The room was incredibly humid. I was forced to take off my jacket and hang it up on the lifeguard post. When that wasn’t enough, I rolled back my sleeves. By the time I was finished, Yuri was approaching the end of his lap. I thought he would stop, but he did a somersault in the water and off he went. There had to be something on his mind. He only ever exercised this hard when he was worried about something, and while he wouldn’t admit that was the case, I still knew it was true.
So, I waited on the bleachers like some sort of spectator. I tried to busy myself with my phone, but I wasn’t very interested in the Connect-3 I had downloaded earlier that week. It was the top game on the app store, but it was absolute garbage. The fact that people were wasting money on gems for this game boggled my mind. At least spend your 99 cents on a candy bar from the dollar store or something.
Finally, Yuri emerged from the pool and dried himself off with a towel. I couldn’t say that I particularly enjoyed seeing my almost brother in a speedo, but I wasn’t about to tell my capo to put some clothes on.
“You have good news for me, I hope.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t.” I got up so it would be easier for me to look him in the face instead of his bulge.
“I had a feeling,” he mumbled as he towel-dried his hair, leaving it an absolute mess. “Does that guy think he’s playing some sort of sucker or something?”
“It would seem that he does.” I crossed my hands together, and his gaze fell on my forearms. Something about his expression changed like he had just noticed something, but before I could figure out what it was that he saw, he caught my gaze and forced me to continue. “He lowered his offer—again.”
“How low?”
“Nearly as low as the first offer. It only differs by a couple of hundred, and that doesn’t even cover the Glock that I gave him.”
“Fucking cunt.” Yuri threw his towel to the ground, eyes blazing with anger. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”
“He thinks that he’s some sort of badass that runs this town.”
“The pussy doesn’t know shit.”
“Well, he thinks he does, and he thinks that our guns are worth pennies.”
“I’m getting really sick and tired of this back and forth bargaining. I’m starting to think that I should pay him a visit myself.”
“No,” I said a bit too quickly.
He raised his eyebrows. Yuri had definitely noticed my rashness. “And why not?”
“Because I said that I would handle this and I meant it. If I can’t handle a simple gun sale, then what worth am I to the future company?”
He appeared to mull over my words, but I wasn’t completely sure whether he was convinced or not. “How did you get those scratches on your arms?”
“What?”
“Those.” He pointed.
It was then that I realized they were a result of Cora’s nails. Our sessions were getting hotter and hotter, and as a result, our bodies wore the marks of our passion.
Come on, Andrei, you need a good excuse here, or the boss is never going to believe you.
“Gave them to myself,” I said as I held up my hands. Thankfully, my nails were a tad bit lower than usual.
“Jeez. Cut those talons, will you? You’re going to poke someone’s eye out with those things,” he reprimanded, but that was better than him knowing about Cora.
I still did not understand why I was keeping her a secret, but it felt necessary at this point. I mean, what would Yuri think? He’d probably accuse me of prolonging the negotiation with Lorenzo just so I could get in a couple of fucks.
Yuri sat down and rested his hands on his knees. “The guy really is a fucking cunt with all these machinations. If I weren’t trying to get out of the business, I wouldn’t hesitate to show him what’s what.”
“But we’re so close to that change all of us are looking for. We can’t let one bastard ruin that for us.”
“I know.”
I was starting to sweat, and I really wanted to get out of there, but I had a feeling that the conversation wasn’t over.
“The world would be better off without the likes of Lorenzo Brocato.”
“But to kill him would incite an all-out war with his cluster of groupies.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Yuri’s voice was strained like he was about to lose his temper.
I knew that if I wanted to save myself from his backlash, I needed to end the conversation, and I needed to end it now.
“Let’s just focus on unloading these guns, and then you can retire to those dolphins of yours.”
Yuri offered a grin. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
I nodded and made my way towards the door.
Splash!
When I looked back, Yuri had disappeared underneath the surface of the water.
What is he thinking right now, and what’s eating him up inside? Does he know that you’re lying to him? Or is it something else?
I reached the door, but something made me turn around a second time. Yuri was perched on the edge just watching me with those eagle-like eyes of his. What was he seeing?
“Make sure you trim those nails. I wouldn’t want you to keep hurting yourself,” he called out.
“I will.”
28
“I’m starting to believe that you’re not coming here for the guns, Mr. Valeri.” Lorenzo smirked as he spun a gold ring around his pinky. “It might even seem that I have something you want.”
“What I want is for us to make a fair deal regarding the guns. Now, I have spoken to my boss, and he says that he just cannot accept your offer and that he does not appreciate you trying to play us. You’ve had the Glock in your possession for a while now. I think that is more than enough time to figure out whether it's a good gun or not.”
He got up and poured himself a drink from a crystal decanter. He swirled the drink around his glass a few times before reaching into his coat pocket. From it, he retrieved a flask and poured some of its contents into the glass.
“The good stuff,” he explained. “I can’t keep it out in the open. As far as this stuff is concerned, you can’t trust anymore.”
I will admit that I was curious as to what it was, but I didn’t bother to ask. If I had to guess, it was probably absinthe, the outlawed booze that was supposed to make people hallucinate. It wouldn’t surprise me given the lunacy of this guy.
He took a swig and released a long, drawn-out breath. “Now that really hits the spot.”
I adjusted myself in my uncomfortable seat. The guy was starting to really test my patience. I had come out there to talk business, not watch him get drunk.
“In any case, getting back to things, your guns are good.”
“Then you’ll agree that they are worth a higher price.” I motioned to the well-furnished room. “And given the state of this place, you can certainly afford it.”
“You know, I’ve been wondering… It seems you Valeri are rather eager to unload this batch of guns. Any particular reason for that?”
“It is our business to unload guns.”
“Right.” He took another swig. Half of his drink was already gone, and I didn’t want to stick around to experience the side effects of whatever it was he added. “Your father started up this gun business, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“And yet, you’re not the capo?”
“No, my brother took that position.”
“But I don’t remember you ever having a brother—a biological one that is.”
“I didn’t come here to talk family politics with you.”
“Right, right. My apologies.” He set his glass on a coaster and leaned against his desk, so he was standing right in front of me. “Then let’s get down to it then, shall we? The guns are good, but I’m not going to pay top dollar for them. My offer is firm.”
“And if I throw in some higher caliber guns to sweeten the deal?”
“Then perhaps you have piqued my interest.”
“It’ll cost you.”
“We’ll talk details next time.” He clapped his hands, and as usual, Cora was paraded into the room.
Immediately, our eyes connected. I felt that buzz in the air and warmth spreading just underneath my skin. Lately, these feelings had intensified. She had infected me with her beauty—with those eyes. And now, either this disease would kill me, or I would come out a thousand times stronger.
“Enjoy.” Lorenzo snickered as he made himself another special cocktail.
I didn’t even bother to excuse myself from the rival boss before I dragged her into the private room. I hadn’t even noticed that our fingers were laced together like we were a normal couple walking through the park or something.
Inside the room, I was hesitant to let her go. It was like releasing her hand would shatter a piece of myself.
I turned on the stereo and upped the volume as high as it would go. As I did, my fingers were jittery, and my heart was pumping harder than usual. There was a sort of tingle at the small of my back.