by Erin Trejo
“Alexei?” She’s been down here a week. A week of me missing her touch. A week of me wanting to hurt her as I took her. Seven days of me stalking her in the dark. It’s a sick thrill that I get when I sit here knowing there is nothing she can do, that she is indeed helpless to me.
“You were the first thing I thought I actually cared for.”
“Alexei, I wasn’t going to do it. Why do you think I wanted to kill myself?” She pleads through the darkness.
“You were afraid that I would torture you. I would make you pay for what you’ve done. How, after everything we’ve shared could you do that?” I’m drunk. I’m not thinking clearly and as I lift the bottle to my lips, I know this fact. I’m rambling and giving her pieces of me that she doesn’t deserve. She has no right to them but that doesn’t stop me.
“I didn’t do it, Alexei! You are alive and well,” she says.
“Alive, yes. Well, no. I’m very sick, воробей. There is a monster that lives in me and I can’t fight him much longer. Do you know what he’d like to do to you?” I ask as images of her naked body are laid out before me.
“Alexei,” she begs once more.
“I want to lay you out. I want to fuck you until you can’t walk. I want you to scream for me, say that you’re mine. All my darkness could have been yours. I gave you the pain you so desperately needed, and you gave me the pleasure that I was missing. Now you fucking ruined it! All I want now is to watch you bleed that beautiful crimson. The very same color of your hair as I paint your body in it.” Her sobs rip my chest apart. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her like this, and now that’s the only option I have. She chose wrong when she decided to help her father work against me.
“He will kill me. If you don’t, he will. I’ve known this from the beginning and yet I still love you, Alexei.” She what? I stand up now, pissed at the world and her words. I reach for the light switch and flip it on. Blinking rapidly, I try to regain my composure as I stumble toward the cage, I had Dmitry make for her.
“Мой маленький ирландский воробей.” I look down at her, huddled in the corner. Her bright blue eyes now so pale.
“You don’t know what love is. You are a liar of the worst kind.” She shakes her head rapidly, tears streaming down that porcelain skin that I love to touch, to taste.
“I do love you. You are the only one that has made me feel alive, Alexei.”
“And yet you wish me dead,” I tell her, grabbing the bars in my hands. Clara slowly rises to her feet, her much too thin frame making me internally cringe. She moves slowly bringing her hands up to cover mine. Jolts of electricity shoot through my body, my cock hardens just from her touch. I’m losing the battle with my sanity.
“If anyone were to die, I’d wish it was me,” she says softly. We stare into each other’s eyes and I find a softness in her that I didn’t when she first got here. I also find the girl she is now after being torn apart by Timur and his men. Although I’d like to look away, I find that I’m hypnotized by her. I reach through the bars and cup her cheek before sliding my hand lower. Holding her throat tightly, her eyes widen. Her hands move, clawing at mine, desperate to get free of my hold and to get the much-needed oxygen into her system. I tilt my head and watch her eyes widen in terror as she realizes what’s happening right now. That ache in my chest is worse and only grows as I watch the life slowly leaving her body. Her lips are parted and the thought of taking them with mine slips into my mind causing me to briefly loosen my grip. Clara pulls in the much-needed air before I shake my head and refocus. My hand tightens as she tries to speak, begging me with her eyes. Love me? How could she love me? I hurt her at every turn but it’s what she wants from me. In the back of my mind, I wonder if it could be true. Could she love me? Is it possible? Her eyelids begin to flutter when a loud explosion rocks the room. My hand falls from her neck as her body drops to the floor. Smoke fills the basement making it hard to breathe or see.
“Dmitry!” I call out for him but in seconds I can hear footsteps racing into the room and right before I can call out again, something hits me in the back of the head. Darkness creeps into my vision before it all fades to nothing.
Chapter 26
Clara
I wake up startled, my hand coming to my throat. It’s raw and painful but I’m breathing.
“One job, Zia. One. That is all I’ve ever asked of you,” my father’s voice makes me nauseous. I push myself up and see him standing next to my bed. My old bed in his house. What the hell happened?
“What’s going on?”
“I thought about leaving you there to die but then what kind of father would I be?” Did he really ask me that question? He left me to be raped and didn’t blink an eye.
“I was trying, father. In case you didn’t notice I was being held captive,” I tell him as the pounding in my head increases. I sit up and rub my temples as he laughs.
“Yes, yes, it seems you were. Well, that’s all changed now, hasn’t it? You are now here, at home and I have him primed and ready for you to finish the job at hand.” When the words leave his mouth, I’m unsure that I heard him correctly. He has Alexei here? In our house?
“What do you mean?” My eyes shoot to his and I can see the amusement there.
“Just as I said. Put on some clothing and meet me in the living room,” he says with a smile before turning to leave me alone. I climb off the bed as the room spins and sways. I must have hit my head hard. The pounding in my ears is loud as I walk into my closet. Grabbing a pair of jeans, I slide them on along with my shoes before grabbing a shirt. Just as I’m about to pull it over my head a hand clamps over my mouth. I’m about to fight and try to scream when warm breath hits my ear.
“You can play nicely, or I can snap your neck. Are you going to scream?” I shake my head no and the hand lowers as I turn to face Dmitry.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?” He lowers his eyes to my chest and I instantly pull my shirt over my head to cover myself.
“Your father came for you. Took Alexei. He has him tied up downstairs and I have this place wired to blow.” My eyes widen, and I gasp as I look at him. He doesn’t know?
“You don’t know do you?”
“Yes, I do. Alexei is my best friend and has been for a very long time which is why you are going to help me get him out of here,” he says calmly.
“He tried to kill me,” I hiss under my breath.
“Do you blame him?” I look at Dmitry and I know he’s right. After what I did, he should have killed me. I can’t let him die at the hands of my father. I love him far too much for that.
“How long do we have?”
“Not long. Seven minutes tops.” I nod my head and shove past him, but Dmitry grabs my arm jerking me back.
“You care about him, yes?” I swallow hard through the pain in my throat and nod.
“More than I should. I will get him out, Dmitry. Trust me. Go wait out front out of sight,” I tell him. He nods his head and passes me a knife that I shove in my jeans moving as I do so. I’m down the hall and taking the stairs two at a time before running into the living room. I stop and gasp when I see Alexei’s swollen, bruised, and bloodied face. Tears fill my eyes until I notice my father standing there watching. I close my mouth and harden myself for what I’m about to do.
“Glad you could join us,” my father says walking toward me.
“What is this?” I ask pointing to Alexei. He won’t even look at me and that’s the part that hurts the most. My chest hurts, my heart breaking.
“This is what we started, and you will finish,” he says passing me a gun. I hold it in my hand, Alexei’s eyes slowly coming to meet mine. I hold his gaze for a long second as he smirks at me. Even when his death is upon him, he still finds it in him to smirk.
“What if I don’t want to?” I ask. My father moves quickly, his fist slamming into my face. Stars flash behind my eyes as I fall to the floor from the impact. I blink and try to focus w
hen I hear the low growl from Alexei’s throat. My father only laughs.
“You will die with him. Make your choice,” my father says as his men laugh.
“Can I have a moment with him first?” I ask. My father chuckles and glances at his men. After a long second, he turns back to me.
“Make it count, Zia. You only have minutes.” I watch him leave the room taking most of his men with him. the one that remains stands near the doorway looking away from me. I move slowly behind Alexei, bending down to whisper in his ear.
“You have to run. The house is going to blow. Dmitry is waiting for you,” I tell him as I work the knife through the rope.
“What do you mean? What are you doing?” He asks glancing over his shoulder at me. I look up at the guard and continue cutting away at the rope. I can hear an internal clock ticking in my ears. Seven minutes. That’s all we have and a majority of that is already gone.
“You have to run, do you understand? The front door is unlocked. You don’t have long.”
“Clara?”
“Alexei, please. I love you. I can’t watch you die. Just run, yes?” As soon as the rope falls, I press a kiss to his ear. “Now.” Alexei moves quickly running toward the door. I pick the gun up my father gave me and shoot as soon as the guard turns around.
“What have you done?” My father roars as he rushes toward me, a gun aimed directly at me. I raise my own and fire until I can’t fire anymore. Then I turn and run for the door.
Only I’m too late. The sounds of the blast could be heard for miles. My body burns as I’m thrown through the air. I hit the ground roughly and after that, there is nothing.
Chapter 27
Alexei
My body aches from the broken ribs they gave me. The cuts and bruises will all heal. It’s her though. It’s her that kills me. She saved me. She turned against her own father for me. What does that mean? That what she said was true? She loves me? I can’t comprehend it all, I don’t know how.
“How are you feeling?” I clear my throat and look over at Vera standing next to my bed. Thank God Dmitry didn’t take me to the hospital.
“I’ll live.” I don’t feel like talking. I don’t feel like having the reminder of what happened there. I failed her. The one person that I showed my heart to. I messed up and now there is nothing I can do to repair it.
“You will. Our guys have sifted through the mess. There’s an issue,” Dmitry says pulling my attention to him. There’s anger in his eyes, even more so than usual.
“What is it?” I ask shifting so I can sit up in the bed. I wince at the pain that rips through my body, but I push forward anyway. Vera moves quickly passing me a glass of water. I take a drink and pass it back giving her a nod of thanks.
“Bartley O’Kelly and one of his men were not accounted for,” he says. Irritation runs through my veins. Vengeance sits idly in my mind.
“How the hell did that happen?” I growl. “The fucking house exploded!”
“There’s more,” Dmitry says keeping his head held high, a passive look crossing his features.
“What else could there be?” I roar.
“Clara wasn’t accounted for either.” Those few little words unhinge me. I tear the blanket off my body and stand quickly. The room spins and my body screams in anger over the pain. I reach for my shirt and tug it over my head.
“What are you doing? You need to rest!” Dmitry protests. I shrug him off and head down the hall to my office. I need to get my men on this. This bastard came after me, had his men beat me and blew a hole in my basement. They also took a big piece of my security wall out but more importantly they could have killed Clara or taken her for helping me.
“I’ve placed calls already, Alexei. Even our contacts at the FBI.”
“I don’t give a shit who you contacted,” I snap. I pull up my laptop and begin pounding at the keys. Every person I can reach out to I do. Emails are on rapid fire.
“What is this, Alexei? Anger over the house? Over being beaten? It isn’t the first time.” His words only serve to piss me off further. I shove out of my chair, wrapping my hand around his throat before slamming him against the wall. He never saw me coming. He never had the chance.
“It isn’t your business. She saved my life, Dmitry. Should I allow her to be killed by him?”
“You forget that she was in on this, yes? She was supposed to kill you, Alexei,” he says through strangled breaths.
“And yet she didn’t.”
“You locked her in a cell,” he reminds me. I loosen my grip and take a step back before fully releasing him. Running my hand through my hair, I sigh. I don’t know what the hell this ache is in my chest and I don’t like it. It all feels wrong. She should be here next to me, under me. I should be taking her, marking that pale flesh of hers. Images of her naked flesh splayed out before me, a contrast to my dark comforter. Fuck! Dmitry’s phone rings and I turn to head to the bar. Pouring myself a drink, I listen to his conversation although it’s one-sided.
“Yes, I understand that. Thank you,” he says before turning to look at me, a smirk on his face. “Timur and his men were in the back room when that explosion occurred.” His smirk widens and so does mine.
“All of them?”
“Yes, including Zakhar. He was the leader of all of it. The kidnapping and rape. He orchestrated it all.”
“And you’re sure they are all dead?” He nods his head.
“Dental records proved it. They were thorough. I have no doubts.” Nodding my head, that’s good news although I would have loved to get them in the basement once it’s rebuilt. I have men working on that as we speak as well as the security wall. Vera walks into the office placing a sandwich on my desk before giving me a look. I shake my head and she raises an eyebrow making me laugh.
“I will eat,” I tell her if only to get her out of the room. I know Vera cares very deeply and has always taken care of me. I take a bite and sigh after she leaves the room.
“What do we know? Where could they be?” I ask when I hear the scream. It’s Vera. Dmitry and I share a look before rushing from the room. I’m down the stairs in seconds when I see her lying on the floor. Blood coats her skin and for the first time since I’ve met her, I don’t like what I see.
“She just fell in the door!” Vera cries dropping to her knees next to Clara. My heart rate spikes and my nerves burn. Dmitry is on his phone kneeling next to her. His hand comes to check for a pulse and that’s when I lose control.
“Don’t touch her!” I roar as I race to her, dropping down and lifting her in my arms. I stand up and carry her upstairs all the while my body protests. It’s her, she’s in my arms and here. How is she here? So many questions run wild in my head but the main one is what happened to her? I know she was inside in that explosion, but she doesn’t appear to be burnt. I lay her gently on the bed and start removing all the bloodied clothes from her body. She doesn’t stir and that worries me.
“Doc is ten minutes out,” Dmitry says from his position at the door.
“What is she doing here? Who let her past the gates?” I roar but she still doesn’t move.
“I’m checking the feeds now, but it appears she was alone,” he tells me. I nod my head and move into the bathroom grabbing a towel and wetting it. Heading back into the room I begin to wash the blood away. She has cuts and bruises, but I don’t see anything serious. Once I have her body cleaned, I stand there in shock staring at her.
“What did you do that for? Why did you free me if only to hurt yourself?” I know she can’t answer me but that doesn’t mean she can’t hear me.
“You made a mistake, воробей.”
Chapter 28
Clara
The throbbing in my head is worse than it was before. I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus. I couldn’t believe that I made it out of the house before it exploded. I was just so glad that Alexei did. If Dmitry hadn’t been there, I don’t know what I would have done.
“Oh God,” I gr
umble as I try to push myself up. The room spins and bile rises in my throat. I start to heave when a bucket is thrust under my face. The room is a complete blur, but I throw up until my ribs ache. Dropping back onto the pillow, I blink trying to get the room to come into focus. As soon as I do, I jolt.
“You should stop doing that.” His voice sends chills down my spine. I turn my head slowly until he comes into view.
“What’s happening?” He stands from the chair and moves toward me with ease in his stride.
“You have a concussion that is pretty bad. You’re dehydrated which is partially Alexei’s fault. Right now, you are hooked up to some pain medication for a headache and fluids. The doctor seems to think you’ll be fine in a few days. How did you get here?”
“I don’t know,” I say softly.
“The doctor said it could have been your brain remembering this place. The man that let you in has been taken care of though,” he says causing me to shudder.
“I want to leave. Now,” I state pushing myself up on the bed. I can smell Alexei on the sheets and it makes my chest constrict. Dmitry steps closer to the bed, his eyes holding so much anger. Not that I can blame him. I messed up. I know I did. I should have told him from the beginning.
“I don’t think so,” he says.
“I do. I’m not a prisoner anymore,” I protest.
“Oh, that is exactly what you are,” Alexei’s voice washes over me, so dark and sensual holding so much authority. Over me. Over my body. Over my heart. I turn to see him standing in the doorway. His face has bruises and a cut above his eye. I can tell by the way he moves that he is far more injured than he’s letting on.
“No, I’m not. I shouldn’t be here, I don’t know why I came back here,” I plead. I don’t want to be a prisoner again, I can’t. My body can’t handle it and knowing that Alexei hates me is even worse.