by Sadie Jacks
“And Gustav was the only Kuznetsov that was able to survive beyond a couple years in the gulag.” I wanted as concrete of an answer as she could give me.
“Yes. From the information we’ve found, he is the sole Kuznetsov heir.”
“But how does that connect to the Amatucci family?” Turo asked.
“Kuznetsov and the Night Terrors were the biggest game in town.”
“So? We’re the biggest game in town in New Trenadie, but that doesn’t mean other players aren’t around.”
Turo had a point.
“True. But—according to the collective, who found digitized paper records of Sweden’s border crossings—seven Kuznetsov men were recorded going through borders into Stockholm in 1968 when Papa said he was there. The collective checked Papa’s dates as well. He entered with four brothers. Left with only two. Of the seven Kuznetsov men who entered, only five show as leaving the area.”
I nodded, felt the band around my heart start to loosen. “You’re a goddess, Nik. Thanks. I’m going to go out and get started hunting. I’ll call you with the burner numbers. Keep in contact that way. You remember the call signs?”
She snorted. “Sir, yes, sir. We’ll keep in touch. We’ll also send out the cavalry if we need to. But if you make us come save you, I’m going to kill you myself.”
“Acknowledged, Grasshopper. Archangel, out.” I cut the connection, a huge smile pulling at my mouth.
She was probably seething with the handle I’d given myself. Although, I hadn’t been the one to give it to me. No, that handle had been born in Russia. It would die here as well.
Pulling the plastic bag off my head, I returned to the sink and washed the conditioner out of my hair. Shivering, I put the towel on my head and roughly dried it. I’d need to give it a good hacking. Nothing too cultured or well cut. Something that would help me blend in.
Just like I’d told Nik…it was time to go hunting.
Chapter 15 – Talia
I stared at the door. Wondered what had spooked Arkady so badly. Did it have to do with the men who’d just been in here? Were they coming back?
The breath backed up in my lungs as the bottom of my belly dropped away. My heart started to pound as every single ache and pain in my body shrieked in remembered agony. I shook my head. I couldn’t go through that again. Not ever. But certainly not right now.
I huddled against the wall, my gaze glued to the door. Air struggled to penetrate my lungs. My lungs pinched and shook inside my chest. They couldn’t come back. They couldn’t come back.
Just as the edges of my vision were starting to go black, I sucked in a huge breath. Slapped myself across the face. “Get your shit together, T.”
Almost as if I was standing outside myself, I nodded to the invisible me. I could do this. I could get control. I could bend destiny and fate to my will.
Taking another deep breath, I pulled it deep into my lungs. Held it for as long as I could. Pushed it all out, the pain, the fear, the hatred, the shame. I pushed it all out and did it again.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Once I felt steadier, I got to my feet. Shoving away the horror, the embarrassment, I lifted my head. Shook back my shoulders. And shivered.
Damn this room was cold. They’d destroyed my clothes. Left me with nothing but this stupid blanket. For that disrespect, I would chop off their balls.
Pulling the blanket around my shoulders, I went to the door. Pressed my ear against it. When I heard nothing, I tapped my knuckles against it softly. “Arkady?”
I prayed he was there. Prayed that he not only heard me, but that he would be willing to help me. Prayed that I had at least one nice person to lean on.
“What, Talia?” he said, his voice a low mumble I could barely discern as actual words.
“Can you get me any clothes?” Heat rushed my cheeks as shame ate at my stomach. I’d been reduced to begging. Even we didn’t treat our captives this badly.
“No. Stop talking to me or we’ll both end up dead.”
Tears welled in my eyes. I understood, even applauded his determination not to get caught helping me. I would have done the same thing were our situations reversed.
Pulling the blanket tighter around me, I moved back to the bed. In the low light, I stared at the mattress. Flashes of bright memory slashed through me like knives over unguarded flesh.
I couldn’t sit down on it. Certainly couldn’t sleep on it. I doubted I’d ever sleep again, to be honest.
You’ll do whatever needs to be done. We’re not dying here, T. Get your shit together, my inner bitch said. Suck it up, buttercup. You’ve got this. We’ve got this.
She—well, I was right. I would do what needed to be done, regardless of what it cost me. I was getting out of here. And taking as many of them with me as possible.
Swiping at the tears that had escaped my lids, I looked around the room. There wasn’t a lot of space available for much of anything, but I could at least give myself more time.
I pulled the mattress off the sagging frame. Dumped it rape-side down on the floor, behind the door. It would give me precious seconds to ready myself. Granted, it also formed a type of trap, but at least I could attack whoever came in first.
Nodding my head, I went back to my little collection of first aid supplies. Getting my last ice pack from the items, I broke it open and activated it. Settled it against the swollen tissues of my face.
Looking down at my body, I was a little shocked that the stitches I’d given myself were still holding. Not a single smear of blood came from the wound. Suck on that, Rafe.
It lacked its usual crow of superiority.
More tears rose to my eyes. I battled them back with a ferocity that probably should have scared me. They’d taken too much from me already. They wouldn’t get my tears.
Walking back to the mattress, I eased down. Shrugged. It wasn’t nearly so crappy without the sagging springs of the frame. Pushing myself into the corner, I got as comfortable and warm as I could. Locking my arms around my knees, I settled in for a long night of watching the empty room and the ghosts those men had left behind.
Each time the horror played through my mind again, I came up with alternate scenarios where I beat them all back. There was nothing they could do to me. Nothing but beg and plead that I treat them with mercy.
Mercy they hadn’t shown me.
Mercy that I wouldn’t be extending to them.
Chapter 16 – Talia
The harsh grating of the door had me launching from my spot. My arms and legs were numb, not to mention I couldn’t tell if I still had an ass. It didn’t matter. Adrenaline was my friend.
As soon as a dark head of hair passed by the edge of the door, I pounced. Beating at the person’s head and shoulders, I fought like a woman possessed. My breath started soughing in and out of my lungs as my vision blinked between white and black.
“Damnit, Talia,” Arkady finally said as we crashed to the floor.
He had me stretched out underneath him with barely any effort. His golden eyes were hard. “What the fuck was that?”
I spat in his face.
He leaned down, wiped it over my tits. Asshole. “Do that again, and I’ll—”
“What? Rape me?” I bit out, shoving my face up into his.
His expression shut down as his face went white. He backed up, let me move. “No. I told you, I won’t rape you. That doesn’t change just because three days have passed.”
I blinked. My mind went blank. “What?”
Sitting back on his feet, he tipped his head to the side. “What, what?”
“How long did you say it’s been?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Three days.” He tipped his head in the other direction. “They gave me direct orders to not feed you for three days. You haven’t been awake?”
Frantically, I felt my body. Tried to do an internal scan. What the fuck? How had I lost three
freaking days? Pushing up to my elbows, I turned and looked at the mattress.
More tears built behind my eyes. The mattress was stained in several large outlines. One of them bloodier than the others.
“Shit,” Arkady said softly.
I scrabbled out of striking distance. Pushed myself back up against a wall. I needed to be able to see everyone.
Dashing the tears from my eyes, I watched as Arkady got to his feet. He looked at me with sorrow and no small amount of guilt written on his face. “They’ve left the compound.”
I looked at him as if that was supposed to matter to me. Saying nothing, I continued to stare at him.
“I can get you some clothes. A new…well, a different mattress. You can go to the bathroom. Use the bucket to take a little sponge bath.” Something in his tone had a little spark lighting in my heart.
I ruthlessly quashed it. He wouldn’t fool me again. This man was out for no one but himself. While I didn’t fault him for that, I wanted to kill him for trying to soften me up with promises of clothes, mattresses, and baths. That was a special kind of cruel.
I shook my head. “I don’t need anything from you. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble, now would we?” I made sure to put a sneer in my voice. Even though I wanted to fall at his feet and beg him not to leave me alone.
His jaw clenched, twitched. “I’m not doing it for you. But for me. It stinks in here. If I’m going to be bringing you food, then I don’t want to smell it.” He pushed by me. Stormed through the door. “Grab your fucking bucket. You’re going to the bathroom.”
I stayed where I was. How was he going to force me to shower?
After a few minutes, he stuck his head back in the room. “I’ll pick you up, carry you down there. If you still don’t want to clean up, I’ll get you some hot water. Run my hands all over your body. Turn you on. Make you want me.” His golden eyes glittered in the light from the hallway. “I’ll make you beg for it. Then it won’t be rape.”
Fucker. I hated him. Glaring at him, I picked up the bucket. Thought about throwing it at him. Asshole deserved it.
“Throw that at me, I’ll really be forced to use my hands.” A wicked smile pulled at his mouth. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, looked me over from top to bottom. “Maybe even have to use my tongue.”
Clutching the bucket to my midsection, I hurried to grab the green soap. He wouldn’t get the chance to touch me. None of them would. I’d make sure of it.
Taking a slight detour, I dropped the bucket with a noisy clatter. Wrapping the blanket around me, I picked up the bucket again. “Lead on, rapist.”
He made a noise low in this throat. “I’m not a rapist.”
I didn’t respond. More important things were on my mind. Like getting clean. I still didn’t understand how three days had passed and I didn’t notice. Didn’t wake up. Were they pumping some kind of gas into my room? Had someone else touched me while I was out of it?
I pushed the thoughts away. If I didn’t remember, I certainly wasn’t going to go searching for the nightmares. Enough of those had made themselves comfortable in my mind already. Let sleeping dogs lie.
Walking out into the main room, I saw that we were still alone. It didn’t matter. I could feel invisible eyes on me. They were out there. Just waiting for me to drop my guard. Waiting for me to be vulnerable.
I might be naked under the blanket I wore, but I wasn’t weak or vulnerable. Even if the worst happened and I was raped again and again, they wouldn’t break me. I wouldn’t let them.
Arkady escorted me to the bathroom. Made sure to check it out before he let me in there. “It’s still cleanish from when you were in here last.”
His voice was calm and cool. As if he were trying to not frighten me. Asshole.
I pushed by him. Slammed the door in his face. Even if it was filthy again, I could handle it. Someone from my family was coming for me. I knew they were. I just had to hold on until then.
And while I waited, I would plan. Connive, seduce, fight, anything to get out of here. I would no longer be content to sit and wait for rescue. Master of my own fate, I would work to get free until someone killed me.
Getting the bucket filled up with steaming water, I grabbed some of the rags I’d left out. Clean as they were going to get, I dumped a few in the water. Added soap.
I barely stopped myself from upending the bottle of soap into the bucket. But since I didn’t know how long I would be here, I needed to make sure I stretched what few resources I did have.
Letting the blanket drop, I stepped into the tub. Winced as the heat scorched my feet and lower legs. Pushing the wish for a hot tub sized bucket from my mind, I focused on washing every part of me.
Time passed as I centered my mind on nothing but getting clean. With intense concentration, I catalogued my wounds. Made sure they were as sterile and sanitized as possible. The big wound on my thigh was still holding tight, and for that I gave Chase’s goddess a little mental prayer of thanks.
Once the water started going cold, I stepped out of the tub. Grimaced at the dirty color of the water. Shuddered as I tipped the bucket over so it could run towards the drain in the floor that had kept me from drowning the last time I was in here.
“Ten more minutes,” Arkady announced as he slammed a fist against the door.
I flipped him off as I set about rinsing the tub and refilling it. I needed to do something about my hair. With only dishwashing soap available, I didn’t really have a lot of other options. Maybe I’d get a streak-free shine out of the whole deal.
Snickering silently at my lame joke, I wetted down my hair once the bucket was full again. Pushing the gritty and greasy strands off my back and neck felt like a million pounds had been lifted off me. Pouring a small puddle of dish soap in my palm, I went to work getting my hair as clean as possible.
Rinsing was a unique experience since it felt like I had a bundle of straw on top of my head. But at least it was clean. If I could somehow fashion a hair tie to keep it up and off my body, I might even be able to forget that it’s a rat’s nest that will need a gallon of conditioner and deep moisturizing treatments.
Assuming, of course, that I didn’t die in this hellhole.
Three resounding thuds landed on the door. “Time’s up,” Arkady said.
Just as I was bending down to gather up the blanket, he opened the door and stepped inside the bathroom.
I stood up, uncaring for my nakedness. He’d already seen the goods anyway. And if he wasn’t going to rape me, why should I feel shame? I wasn’t ashamed of my body. He couldn’t make me feel bad about that.
His gaze couldn’t settle as he looked me over from top to bottom. Over and over his eyes tracked over my body, a peculiar expression on his face. One I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a man’s eyes when he looked at me.
“Like what you see?” I asked as I tipped the bucket over once more.
He danced out of the way of the rushing, dirty water. His lips pursed into a hard line. “I got you some clothes.”
“Did you bring me a towel?” I asked. Might as well start shooting for the stars here.
He nodded. “It’s not very big. But it was all I could manage.” Arkady still had yet to look into my eyes.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is it in your magical bag of holding?” My tone was searing.
He jolted, finally looked me in the eye. “Sorry. You’re gorgeous.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sleeping with you. So you can keep your fake compliments to yourself.”
His lips quirked. “It wasn’t a fake compliment, and you know it. And I didn’t ask you to sleep with me. If I did, you’d be hard pressed to say no.”
I laughed. “Think you’ve got the skills, huh?”
He shrugged. “I know I do.”
“Aren’t you afraid that someone will see you being nice to me? I wouldn’t want to get raped again to teach you a lesson.” The laughter was gone from my voice as if it had never been there
.
I’d been thinking about the whole thing. Raping me didn’t make sense. Not from a family blood debt perspective, anyway. Blood debts were usually killed or tortured in front of the opposing family.
They’d done this with no one as a witness but Arkady. By raping me, they lowered my value. Lowered their own sense of honor in killing me later. I doubted any of those men who had been in here earlier would ever allow their honor to be impugned.
So, unless these jackholes were just the average rapists—which seemed highly unlikely—they were teaching someone else a lesson. That I learned a lesson as well was probably just icing on their particular asshole cake. Which meant the witness was the one meant to learn a lesson.
That left Arkady. He had a snitch in his own line of power. Someone had ratted him out. Probably butthurt that I killed some of his friends. Wanted Arkady to pay for not hurting me or anything as payment for those deaths.
“He’s been dealt with,” Arkady said softly. His voice held a brilliant edge of violence and promise of death.
“I hoped you made him beg.”
Arkady smiled, but it held zero humor or comfort. “He did.”
I nodded. “Good.” I looked around the room. Studied the man in front of me. “Where are these clothes?”
He blinked a couple times. Finally he nodded. “Out here. I didn’t want to just toss them in. Given your propensity for throwing water all over the floor, I thought it better to wait until you were finished.”
“And because you wanted to see me naked.” I shrugged. “Done and done. Can I have them now?” I held out a hand.
He nodded again, backed up to the door. Without taking his eyes off me, he opened the door. Stuck one hand through the opening. Pulling his hand back through the door, I saw a small plastic bag.
Bulging at the sides from what looked like purple velvet, I bit my lip to keep from snarking. He was giving me clothes. I wasn’t going to bitch at him because of his poor taste.