by Sadie Jacks
“Reasons.”
Her dark brows came together again. “What kind of reasons?”
“The kind that don’t concern you.”
She pulled her bottom lip in. It looked more like a habit than anything else. When she flinched and released the flesh, I could almost hear the curses roll across her mind.
“What would it take for you to join my family?” She looked up at me through her lashes.
My eyes widened. “Are you seriously trying to recruit me to your family right now?”
She shrugged. “I work in our Foundation. Good talent is hard to come by. I strike while the iron is hot.”
Her words belied her steady gaze.
“What kind of benefits package do you guys offer?” I asked, the sarcasm easy to hear.
She laughed softly. “We actually do offer our family members benefits. Health insurance, tax prep, legal representation. We’re as big as we are because we don’t run things the way other families do.”
I blinked a couple times. Surely, she was shitting me.
Her chuckle slid over my skin. “I’m not playing you. We do offer those things. We also offer good pay, decent vacation time, and even dental.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Dental is a bitch when you’re always in danger of unscheduled extractions.”
My laugh shot from my chest. Unscheduled extractions. She was quick on her feet. I’d definitely give her that.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
She nodded. “Think about this too: If you help me get out of here in one piece, my family will reward you very handsomely. Not only that, if you get me home without more damage, I’ll make sure you get a position you’re qualified for.”
“How do you know what I’m qualified for?” I helped her sit down on the side of the bed. “For all you know, I’m a fumbling idiot who likes to give orders.”
She smiled up at me. “No, you have the respect of your men.”
I snorted.
“Well, other than the guy who told on you. Your men respect you. Do what you tell them. Unless you’re secretly brutal, they follow you because you’ve earned it. Not because they’re afraid of the repercussions. There’s a massive difference in behavior when it’s the former.”
I quirked one eyebrow high. “You’re an expert in human psychology and behavior patterns?”
She tipped her head to the side. “No. But I’ve been in this business long enough to recognize the difference. Besides, if you’ve got no other options for your life, like you claim, what do you know about psychology and behavioral patterns?”
My back stiffened. Shit. “Like you, I’ve been doing this for awhile. We need to look at your back. I know Barrikad and Kostas like to wear steel-toed boots.” I turned her to the side before she could ask any other questions.
“I’m going to raise your shirt again.”
She nodded. Her dark fall of hair was a fuzzy poof, but it rose and fell down the length of her back with her movement. “Go ahead.”
I lifted her shirt, took a peek at her skin. I winced as I saw the imprints of Kostas’ boots. “You’ve got some massive bruising back here.” Tracing my fingers over the discoloration, I watch her for any hint of pain. Feel for any differences in the underlying structure.
She jerked away from my touch. “Fuck.”
I lifted her shirt a little higher. Ducked down so I could see her back more clearly. “Shit, princess. I think you have a bruised kidney.”
Talia looked at me over her shoulder, dark eyes wide. “That’s bad, right? Like, dying kind of bad.”
I let her shirt fall, met her gaze. “From what I understand, yes. It is bad.”
She held my gaze for a little longer. Nodded. “I need you to leave.”
I blinked a couple times as I tried to make sense of her words. “What?”
She sighed, turned around to face me. “I need you to leave so I can do something and you won’t get in trouble for it.” She widened her eyes slightly, looking at me steadily.
Oh. She wanted to call someone. “Do it. I’m the one who got it for you in the first place. If you can call someone who knows more about that kind of stuff than I do, I’d like to hear the conversation as well.”
We had another silent standoff as she studied me some more. I held her gaze. I wasn’t lying to her. And I certainly wasn’t going to try to get her killed faster by not knowing what a bruised kidney could look like. If she needed quick medical attention, then I needed to talk to Barrikad. Make sure it happened sooner rather than later.
“Fine. But one word out of line and I’ll find a way to hurt you.” She glared at me.
My lips quirked. “You offer me a job and then offer to hurt me.”
She smiled widely. “I said we didn’t use rape. We use violence. We’re a mafia family, not the local PTA.”
“PTA?” My brows furrowed.
“Parent Teacher Association.”
I let my blank stare stand for my answer.
She tipped her head to the side. “Soccer Mom Brigade. Is that one better?”
I at least understood the concept behind that one. I nodded.
“Good. Now boost your sexy ass up to the ledge. Get the phone down.” She slapped my thigh before pointing up at the ceiling in case I didn’t know what ledge she was referring to.
“You think my ass is sexy?” I smirked as I stood up. Getting on top of the bed, I made sure to turn so she could see said sexy ass.
She slapped it. “Under different circumstances, I’d climb you like a tree. Now, give me the phone.”
My body jerked at her declaration. Fuck. Knowing she found me sexy wasn’t going to make being her jailer any easier.
I handed her the phone, got down off the bed. By the time I sat down, she’d already dialed. With the phone up to her ear, she scooted over towards me. “I don’t want to try the speaker, just in case it’s too loud.”
I nodded, moved closer until we touched from shoulder to hip to thigh. Biting my tongue against the groan, I curled my hands into fists and stuffed them under my ass. Being this close to her, when neither of us were playing games, was going to be torture.
And not the good fun kind, either.
Chapter 24 – Talia
How did this guy put off so much freaking heat? It was like sitting next to a bonfire. And I wasn’t wearing enough layers.
Pushing thoughts of Ark from my mind, I powered up the phone. Prayed the startup didn’t take as long as it had the first time. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand it. He was being too nice. Too understanding. Too…not evil.
Finally, the phone showed the home screen. I couldn’t be certain, but I thought we both let out sighs of relief.
Focusing solely on the phone, I punched in Willow’s number.
Ark finally got back down, scooted over until his hip was against mine.
“I don’t want to try the speaker, just in case it’s too loud.” I just prayed I wasn’t waking her up. Or disturbing her. Or pulling her from sexy times. That girl deserved all the sexy times she could ge—
“Tali!” she shrieked in my ear. “Let me get everyone else on. We’ve set up a whole system. Give me two second, but don’t you dare hang up on me.”
I looked at Arkady. “She’s my sister.”
His brow furrowed. “I didn’t know you had one.”
I shrugged. Oops. Probably shouldn’t have said anything. “Don’t remember anything you hear on this call.”
He nodded. “I need you to survive this, kitten. Getting you killed isn’t on my agenda.”
I looked at him. Opened my mouth to reply.
“Figlia, you are calling again very soon. Is everything alright?” Momma asked.
“Well, I kinda got beat up. Ark thinks I might have a bruised kidney. I need to talk to Jessa.”
I heard Momma’s sharp inhale. “These men. These Kuznetsovs, they beat you?”
“Yes, Momma. Is Jessa there?”
“I’m here, Tali. I’m here. What does the a
rea look like?” the doctor dating my oldest younger brother said.
I pointed to Ark. Motioned for him to speak.
He cleared his throat. “The darkest portion is about the size of a big man’s fist.”
“How long ago was the injury?” Jessa interrupted.
“Maybe fifteen minutes.”
“Shit. Okay, go on.”
Ark looked at me like she was crazy. She was, but in good ways. I motioned for him to continue. “There is a dispersal pattern of bruising. From indigo to a light red. The area of most concern is obviously the middle. But there is some hatching?” he looked at me, his brows scrunched up. “Is that the right word?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what it looks like, so I can’t help you. Describe it. She’ll understand.”
“It looks as if her ribs are creating a chessboard of some kind. Maybe from the rubber edging on their shoes when they struck her. None of her ribs appear broken. She can move, albeit with pain. But there are no major marks on her belly. One long bruise on her left hip.”
“Thank you. Tali, when you sit up, does it hurt?”
I shook my head. “No. It doesn’t. Only when I’m walking.”
“Have you peed yet?” Jessa asked.
“No again.”
“Does it radiate heat at the bruise site?”
“That’s a you question, Ark.” I turned slightly so he could feel my back.
“It feels no hotter than the rest of her body.”
The feel of his hand against my bare skin sent shivers down my spine. Gave me goosebumps everywhere else. It felt like rough velvet.
“Did it hurt when he touched you, Tali?” Jessa asked.
“No. Why?”
“You just gasped. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in pain.”
My cheeks heated as I flicked my gaze up to Ark’s. He smiled at me, his golden eyes warming.
“No, no pain,” I repeated. “What do you think, Jessa? Do I need a hospital? Or to escape faster?”
“Escape. Escape is always good,” Momma said.
I laughed slightly. “On the agenda, Momma. But that’s a little out of my league at the moment.”
“You said the man’s name was Arkady. Arkady, are you listening to Momma?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Not ma’am. But we discuss this later. If you help my figlia to escape, we will reward you very handsomely. Think on this.”
“Do you have some ice packs available, Arkady?” Jessa interrupted before Arkady could even open his mouth to discuss Momma’s offer.
“We have some disposable ones. I’m under orders to have Talia up and mobile. She dines with the brothers tonight.”
“Good. I want you to get as many as you can. T, are you feeling loopy or parched?”
I nodded. “I’m thirsty, I wouldn’t go so far as parched. Not yet anyway.”
“Arkady, can you get her some electrolyte water? Gatorade, Pedialyte, Powerade? Something along those lines?”
He glared at me. Shook his head.
“He can’t. He’s helping me on the DL. If he gives me special treatment, I think I’ll get raped again.” I kept my gaze on him. Let him know I knew how things worked in this kind of structure.
The color drained from his face as his eyes went wide. His jaw hardened.
Nodding, without taking my eyes from his, I said, “I don’t blame him. If it weren’t for him, I’d be dead already. And he’s tried to do what he could this whole time. He’s not to blame for anything that has happened to me.”
He lowered his gaze, leaned away. A wry twist distorted his mouth.
“Then we won’t kill him. If no special water is available, then what other options do you have, Jessa?” Momma said.
“Regular tap water, if it’s clean. Sips, T. Just sips. Your kidneys filter your fluids. We need to give your body something to work with, but we don’t want to overload them. Especially if they’re bruised. Ryker, has the plane left already?”
“Yes. Two hours ago. I’ll make sure the guys stop and get some before they get to Foster’s.”
I nodded, smiled. They hadn’t forgotten me. I had the best freaking family in the world.
“Mr. Arkady, this is Angelo Amatucci. Could you please tell me what your bosses want with my daughter.”
It wasn’t a question, but Arkady was nice enough not to throw an attitude at my Papa.
“They are using her as a blood debt. She let them know she’s never heard of their uncles. From what I’ve been able to figure out, they think you or your brothers killed two of their uncles. Although, not blood uncles.”
“Yes, we are aware of this. What are they wanting from her specifically?” Papa asked.
Arkady looked at me, shook his head. “I don’t know, sir. I’m sorry. I’m not that high up yet.”
“You are planning to stay with this family?” Momma interjected.
Arkady clenched his jaw, his fists. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand that you are above the violence and desecration that have perpetuated against my daughter. If that is true, then you don’t belong in an organization that treats their captives so poorly. My figlia has probably told you, but we don’t use those practices here.”
“She said you don’t rape, but that you do use violence.”
“Yes, well, we aren’t the Salvation Army, now are we?” Turo said in a dry voice.
I smiled.
Arkady rolled his eyes.
“I’ll keep working on him, Momma. Right now, we just need to know about the kidneys. Jessa, is there anything else we can do?” I asked. We needed to get off this train of thought before Papa thought to brand Ark an enemy.
“You’re going to want to ice the areas of concern. Not directly against your skin. We need to flush the pooling blood away from the organs. Get it to your lymph nodes. Your lymph system is responsible for getting rid of it. Arkady, do you happen to know lymphatic massage?”
I blushed, remembering what Willow had said about Ryker giving her a lymph massage when her legs had been all bruised from a heavy table at Chaos. Granted, she was a pain seeker, and I wasn’t. But I imagined anything would feel better than the overly full feeling I had right now.
“Not in a traditional sense. But if it will help me get her up on her feet, then I’ll be willing to bet I can figure it out. With the blessing of the brothers.”
“What usually happens at these dinners? I can’t imagine they invite captives to them very often,” Momma said.
Arkady cleared his throat again. “No, ma—” He blushed. “No. They don’t. The dinners are to parade the captives around. Usually make them eat off the floor, crawl around on leashes. Nothing your daughter can’t handle. But it will be hard on her sense of self.” He looked at me with a steady gaze. “She’s got this. If she can keep her head down, keep her mouth shut, then she’ll come out of this just fine.”
“So a pissing contest to see who bagged the biggest fish,” Turo said. His words were succinct. I could hear the icy anger under each consonant.
“Essentially. As long as she stays under the radar, then she won’t have a problem. If she brings attention to herself, her captor will have a reason to crow even louder.”
“And who counts as her official captor?” Papa asked quickly.
“Dusan,” Arkady said. “Which is both good and bad. He’s right in the middle for catches. Not so high that he needs to brag, and not so low that he needs to show off. Thank whatever deity you worship that it wasn’t Gavrie.” He shuddered slightly.
“Where is Dusan in the line of succession?” Papa asked. He had his thoughtful voice on. A patient observer waiting for the full picture to develop.
“He’s number three.”
I blinked. “But he looks so young. Do they not do birth order succession here?”
Arkady shook his head. “No.”
“What is their system then?” Turo demanded.
Arkady looked at me. Widened his eyes slightly.
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“Jessa, is there anything else we need to be concerned about?” I asked.
Arkady gave me a slight smile.
“I want an answer to my question, Talia Maria,” Turo snarled.
A fire sparked through my belly, shot from my mouth. “Well, you’re not getting one. I’m not going to endanger the only person who is helping me while I’m here. You can wait to find out a different time. Now back off or get off the phone.” I pulled my guts back in. Felt like I’d run a freaking marathon. I’d never come down on Turo that way before. Ever.
“We apologize, figlia. We are concerned for you, and we are too far away to be of much use. We forget that this is your life. You are in charge. You make the calls,” Momma said in a soft voice.
I heard the familiar slap of a hand over the back of someone’s head. Figured Turo had opened his mouth to argue with me. Momma nailed him for it.
Was it petty and mean-hearted that I smiled? Maybe, but smile, I did. Finally, they took me seriously.
“Thank you, Momma. If Jessa has nothing else to add, I need to get off the phone. Make sure we don’t get it discovered. It, too, is a present from Arkady.” I directed the last statement at Turo. Even though he couldn’t see me, I figured he’d get the message.
“Sips of water, T. I can’t express that enough. Just sips. You don’t want to overtax your kidneys. If you could get to an ER without too much hassle, that would be best. They could give you a definitive answer that way. But until that point, that’s all I have for. Oh! No NSAIDs or Tylenol derivatives. Just the water.”
Arkady pointed at the phone.
I held it out to him.
“I have access to antibiotics. Would those help at all?”
I smiled at him.
“Not without knowing what the actual issue with the kidneys, no. If there are any infections from any of the other wounds, then we’ll need to figure something else out. Otherwise let’s keep those in reserve.”
Arkady nodded. “So ice packs and sipping water.”
“Yes. Perfect. That’s it, unless we can get some imaging in there.”
“Thanks, Jessa. I’ll try to call you all later. I’m shutting the phone off again.”