I feel burning tears slide down my cheeks. The girl and I stare at each other. Unmoving. Yet our eyes speak the unspeakable.
“Hit her right in the head with the cane. Hard.” Matteo commands, a hint of excitement in his voice.
My eyes widen. My heart drops and sinks into my stomach. My legs turn to water, and my muscles melt. I can’t do it. I can’t beat her up.
Dropping the cane to the ground. All I manage to let out is a sob.
Turning my gaze over to Matteo, I notice the fire unleashing from his eyes. Sweat beads his forehead, and his nostrils flare. I don’t care if they beat me up instead. As long as I don’t torture the broken woman before my eyes.
“Let me tell you this, bitch,” Matteo growls as he leans down and picks up the cane off the ground. He pushes it to my chest, and my hands fly to catch it.
“If you don’t do as I say, I will beat her up right in front of you until she’s nothing but a bloody mess on the floor. Get that? Now get to work.”
Shaking my head slowly, I cry uncontrollably. My body shaking with every sob and every thought that swims through my damaged mind.
The sobbing only stops when the woman looks deeply into my eyes, looking through my soul. She nods slightly. Just enough for me to understand, enough for me to see it.
“Do it. Just do it. Don’t make him kill me.”
Her green eyes shine with hope. They sparkle with faith. She doesn’t want to die. She still holds onto that last sparkle of hope that lives somewhere inside of her.
I know these men better than her, I know that she’s probably never going to survive. I clutch the cane until my knuckles turn white and hit her right in her temple.
She falls to the ground, slamming her hip against the hard floor.
“Oh, no. What did I do? Are you okay? Please forgive me.”
My own voice reverberates in my head. Summoning a little bit of my fading strength, I clutch the cane harder, waiting for my next order.
Chuckles and loud laughter bounce off the walls around us. And for a moment, there’s only me and the tortured woman lying on the cold, unforgiving ground. Both of us suffering from utmost agony.
Elena
I lost count of the number of whips I gave the woman.
“One more.” My uncle whispers in my ear.
Holding the cane up above my head, I stare at the woman. She’s lying on the ground with her eyes closed. A fixated look on her bloody chest gives me confirmation that she’s still alive. Surprisingly, even in utter anguish, she still looks like an angel. Her chest rises and falls calmly and at an even pace. Her throat bobs as she swallows.
A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips, knowing that she’s still alive and that I didn’t take her life away. I blink my eyes frantically as my vision turns blurry. My scalp itches and I just wish I could rip the skin off my head. A cold shiver travels down my spine, making me flinch when a hand lands violently on my shoulder.
“Boss said one more. Let’s go!” Matteo hisses through gritted teeth.
The chuckles around me suddenly fade away the moment her chest stops moving. I stare at her wide-eyed but there’s no sign of life in her anymore.
I turn slowly toward Matteo. He is saying something, but I have stopped hearing him. He looks upset. Veins pop out of his neck as he screams. But I’m in hell. So deep in it as the darkness pulls me, wrapping me in a warm blanket. Protecting me from hardship and from everybody in this room.
And just like that, my hand relaxes, and it drops the cane. My feet give up on me and I begin falling, running, escaping toward blackness.
* * *
“Baby, what are you doing there?”
His voice is like a breath of fresh air. It’s like the early morning breeze that hits you and makes you feel new. It makes you feel alive.
Turning around, I look at him, walking toward me.
His hands are in his pockets. His smile is wide. I can never get tired of the way his eyes study me closely, always stripping me to my soul.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I tell him.
He takes a seat beside me. Wrapping his arms around me, he leans his forehead against my temple.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?”
I shrug and sigh deeply. Swallowing hard, I turn around and face him.
“That night, when I saw them leave, I should have stopped my mother from driving. Instead, I let them fight and they never came back.”
Dropping my gaze to the floor, I hold the tears stubbornly and shut my eyes. The guilt torments me. It holds me hostage against my will. I could have stopped it. I could have saved their lives, but I didn’t.
His grasp around me tightens as he pulls me toward him. His sandalwood scent fills my nostrils. I never opened up to anybody about this but him.
“You can’t blame yourself for their death, babe. They were both under the influence.”
“It’s all because of my uncle. He’s the one who killed them.”
He frowns. “Why do you say that?”
“He got in between them. Turned their lives to hell. He poisoned my life and turned me into an orphan.”
He releases me and looks ahead in front of him, deep in his own thoughts.
“Are you sure that’s what’s preventing you from moving on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, Elena. You know exactly what truth you cannot accept that’s preventing you from moving on. It’s preventing you from healing.”
My breathing comes in frantic pants. My heart sinks into my stomach, and a sob lodges itself in my throat.
It cannot be. He doesn’t know about it. Nobody knows about it.
Rising to my feet, I ball my fists and scowl.
“You don’t know anything. You only know what I tell you, Maksim.”
He chuckles and shakes his head.
“The day you accept that truth is the day you’ll be able to finally heal. We both know it.”
He stands up swiftly, and I subconsciously take a step back. He walks slowly toward me. His eyes gleam with something devilish. The air around us thickens with every slow step he takes. The temperature drops. My knees wobble and my heart jams in my rib cage.
He stops abruptly and tilts his head slightly. Giving a half-smile, he says, “You think everybody around you is the enemy. However, you are your own and only enemy, Elena.”
My eyes fly open into the blackness. Breathing heavily, I find myself back in my cell. I don’t know which events are real and which ones are not anymore. I remember beating up a woman ruthlessly, then darkness, then Maksim’s face in broad daylight.
Wincing, I stifle a groan. A pulse throbs painfully in my temple, causing the headache to turn into a migraine. I swallow thickly, but it hurts. My throat is dry and judging by the rumbling of my stomach, I gather that I haven’t had a drop of water or food in my mouth for a while.
Hugging myself, I shiver at the common cold air that I will never get used to. My hair is tangled in knots, and my clothes stink as well as my body. My cell smells of piss, mold and mildew. I’ve been here for a while now and he hasn’t shown up yet to save me.
Did Maksim give up on me? Is he even still alive?
Horrific thoughts race through my brain like a train. Guilt weighs heavily on my shoulders. I recoil as I remember Maksim’s gaze on me. His words felt like knives entering my flesh and slicing it to pieces. Nobody knows about it. It’s my brain’s way of playing games on me. It’s all in my head. My own fucking mind is trying to trick me. I blocked the memory away. Maksim is wrong for thinking that that’s what’s holding me back.
Bringing my knees to my chest and hugging myself tightly, I breathe calmly.
Nobody will ever know.
Maksim
Placing his coffee back on the table, Daniel’s lips purse, and his posture straightens. Frowning, he drags the pen over the map, tracing the way from Leonardo’s house all the way to the east where Marco Romano’s house is.
“I’
m telling you there’s only one explanation to how the tunnel goes from Leonardo’s place to Marco’s.” He pauses and looks up at me through his eyelashes. “They’re connected.”
“We get that.” Aleksandr retorts. “But Maksim told you that he paid a visit and there’s no door leading to a tunnel in the house. Nada.”
“There has to be. I know that he checked, but it does not make sense. I mean…” He stops and swallows thickly before he continues in a lower voice. “Unless Elena didn’t really know what she was talking about the other day and was hallucinating.”
I rise from my seat swiftly and point my finger at him.
“Watch your mouth, Daniel. Don’t let me remind you that because of your men, I lost her. Didn’t you find them all injured that day in the building? Didn’t Leonardo and his men fool you?”
He grits his teeth and narrows his eyes.
“Why are you even here? Why are you trying to help me?” I ask defiantly.
His nostrils flare, and his jaw clenches. He looks away for a moment. I wait for him to answer. His eyes roam around the room like he’s trying to find the right words to say. After a long moment, his gaze drifts back to me.
“Let’s say I know how it feels to lose the girl you love the most.” He blurts out angrily before grabbing the coffee cup from the table and chugging the liquid like a thirsty man.
Aleksandr quirks an eyebrow up. His eyes drifting from me to Daniel.
I watch as Daniel picks up the pen and glares at the map. He doesn’t want questions. He doesn’t want to talk about it. But I know he’s hiding things.
A heartbreak, maybe?
Shaking my head slightly with my eyes pinned on Aleksandr, I manage to convince him to drop it and to not push Daniel any further.
“I’m gonna destroy that basement,” I say curtly.
Both Daniel and Aleksandr snap their gazes at me.
“What do you mean destroy it?” asks Aleksandr.
“Destroy the walls. What Daniel is saying is right. The way the tunnel is built has to do with whatever tunnel Elena was talking about. I have to find her as soon as possible. Can’t delay this any further.”
“Did you find anything in the drive I gave you?” asks Daniel.
“Still going through it. I don’t wanna miss any detail. And I haven’t gotten to Marco Romano’s part yet.”
Daniel nods his heads.
“But if the tunnel goes from Marco’s house to Leonardo’s, does that mean Marco was involved in contraband as well?” asks Aleksandr.
Daniel walks to the sofa and takes a seat, “Not sure. But whatever you’ll find in the drive will probably answer this question.”
Fixing my eyes on Aleksandr, I say, “Get a team to destroy the walls in the basement without affecting the house itself. It’s Elena’s home at the end of the day.”
“When do you want me to start?”
“Tonight. Before dawn.”
“Do you think the old woman who lives there will be fine with this?”
Walking over to the mini bar, I pour myself a glass of scotch and answer Aleksandr’s question.
“Told you. She’s on our side.”
Daniel shoots up from his seat. “Alright, I’m hungry and sleepy. I’m heading out.”
As he makes his way to the door, I call out for him. He stops in his tracks and looks back at me. Daniel and I might not be the best of friends, but we always understood each other. We think alike. And despite the number of times I wanted to strangle him, I’m still grateful that he decided to help.
“Thanks for your help,” I say firmly.
His reply comes as a simple nod.
“I’m heading out too. I’ll keep you posted.” Says Aleksandr as he makes his way to the door.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, I’m back to the common loneliness that I’ve gotten so used to. Alone in my office, I stare out the window. The weight of the whole world is on my shoulders. I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever see her again. If everything I’m doing will pay off at the end. Then I shake the thought away by cursing myself to hell for even thinking that I’m not gonna see her again. I will get her back. She’s mine to keep. Mine to cherish. She will carry my children, and we will live our happily ever after. Nobody will take that away from us.
Walking back to my desk, I chug the rest of the liquid audibly and push the empty glass away from me, so I don’t get tempted and pour myself more. I need the alcohol desperately to numb some of the mental dejection I’m suffering from. But I also need to be awake to study the rest of the drive.
Turning my computer on, I open the folder and start going through the documents. So far, I’ve had nothing but business contracts, agreements, and even pictures of all the women who were kidnapped and sold internationally as slaves. I click on a file named Medical. Scrolling down a couple of unnecessary documents on Elena’s mother, I land on a document named Marco. I frown and open it. It has medical notes, doctors appointments and plenty of documented visits but nothing indicates what he was exactly being checked for. Just a bunch of lab appointments and blood tests.
I click on the last scanned document and read through it. Suddenly, my heart picks up its speed, and sweat trickles down my back. I gape at the document in disbelief. Scrolling down as I read, the thumping of my heart becomes loud and clear in my ear. I swallow the lump in my throat and rise from my seat. Acid bile rises up my throat. But it escapes my mouth before I make it to the bathroom.
I spew my guts until I’m gagging, and nothing is coming out anymore. My body becomes weak as I land on my knees and pant for air as if I have just run a marathon. Dizziness takes hold of me and I try to gain my senses back.
It cannot be.
I’m disgusted and horrified for my woman. My doubts are finally cleared.
I need to get her out. Even if it’s the last thing, I do.
Elena
Opening my eyes slowly, I squint to ease the heavy blurriness in them. I know I’m not alone. I feel another energy in the cell.
Pulling myself off the ground, I hug myself. The imaginary insects that always crawl up my legs and fill my scalp have now tripled. I don’t know when was the last time they’ve given me another dose. I need it. I don’t think I can function if I don’t get another dose of whatever poison my body has gotten used to.
Blinking my eyes a couple more times, I see a silhouette sitting across from me. I blink once more then I see the blonde hair. My heart hammers in my chest, and the sweat underneath my armpits turns dry instantly. Another blink and I see her. The woman I thought I killed. Staring back at me with wide eyes. Her gaze is not friendly but piercing. Her face is full of bruises and she has a black eye.
I swallow thickly and manage to ask past my quivering voice, “Are you real?”
At first, she doesn’t say anything. Just stares at me unblinking. Unmoving. The gloominess in her eyes is haunting. How did she get into the cell?
Turning around, I search for a guard or for my uncle. Did they leave us all alone here? The silence goes on and on until she finally decides to break it.
“Why did you beat me up the way you did?” she asks, her voice is almost a whisper.
A cold shiver runs down my spine. She’s here for answers, and she deserves them. Straightening my stance, I reply, “You know I didn’t have a choice. They made me do it.”
“We always have a choice, Elena.”
I open my mouth to say something. But I freeze when the tears start streaming down the girl’s face. She sobs painfully like a young child. I want to reach out to her and hug her. Maybe even just stroke her hair. But my arm is numb, and I can barely move it.
“Lydia. Isn’t it?” I ask, remembering her name.
Her sobs come to a halt, and she snaps her head up. She nods her head agitatedly and stares at me like a woman in a daze.
“You have a beautiful name. And I’m sorry for hurting you. Are you better now?”
Her silence erupts into evil laughter. I stare at
her in wonder. Suddenly, the bruises on her face begin disappearing. Her long, blonde hair slowly starts shinning, and her body heals right before my eyes all the while she’s laughing hysterically in the corner. I gape at her in disbelief as she turns from a miserable, bruised woman to a beautiful one like she’s never been touched by dirt before. Clean and pure.
When her laughter dissipates, her eyes meet mine. And for a fraction of a second, I subconsciously seek to see peace in her eyes. I desperately need to see it like my life depends on it. Then she flashes me a grin, revealing flawless, white teeth.
“I’m finally at peace.” She says and rises to her feet. Her legs are long. Her skin is smooth. She’s a beautiful woman.
When she starts heading toward the cell, I call out her name. She stops and turns around to face me.
“Where are you heading?” I ask her softly.
“I’m going home.”
“They let you go?”
“I’m dead, Elena. You killed me.”
And just like that, she disappears right before my eyes. Leaving me confused, scared, and panting desperately for air. Feeling like my lungs are giving up on me, a scream rises up my throat. It cannot be. I didn’t kill her.
I begin to thrash violently like a madwoman. It’s all in my head. It cannot be. I am not a murderer.
Sobbing, screaming, and howling like a beast in pain, I beg the lord that was never there for me to save me. To bring an end to my distress. I cannot live like this. Every hope that I had in surviving vanishes. I’m suddenly back into believing that death is my solution. Just like when I was first kidnapped by Maksim’s men. When I lived under the mercy of my uncle and when his men raped me repeatedly. I killed a woman. And I will never survive this.
I will never forgive myself.
A firm, meaty hand lands on my forearm and yanks me up. I would normally stop screaming out of fear and confusion. But this time, I don’t even care. I scratch the meaty hand with everything in my power. I hear a man’s hiss. But I’m blinded by fury that the blackness is all I see.
His To Keep: Beasts In The Dark (Book 2) Page 6