Darkness had once again claimed his world sucking him back into the void of his black hole of a life. She was gone, she was gone for good. How did he never see it coming? He had given her everything he thought she needed but one thing he could never give her was a closure. She wanted more from him; she wanted a name for their relationship and he could not give it one and he still did not understand why.
A part of him had thought that the beauty of their relationship was in the fact that it had no name at all. But their relationship was doomed from the day it had begun. His dark world was no place for an angel like her. She deserves better, much better. Then why does even thinking of her with someone else make his blood boil?
It had been days since she had walked out on him and yet he hadn’t made an effort to bring her back. Of course, he had his men follow her making sure she was alright. She was staying at her friend's place, the same friend who had abandoned her in the alleyway with that asshole who had tried to kill her instead of him, he thought bitterly.
She chose to stay with a betraying friend than with a man who had saved her life. The thought irritated him but it also made him think about her question. What was she to him? She was an angel who had shown him how to live. She had made him feel that a man like him too could be happy for once. Will this answer be enough for her?
He hoped it did because he couldn’t live a single minute away from her. He wanted her back and this time he would not let her out even if he had to lock her in his fortress. She was not going to be running away from him ever. A knock at his door dragged him out of his thoughts. “Come in,” he barked, not bothering to mask his frustration.
The door swung open and Kevin stepped in with a worried look on his face. He closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, “Get out of here Kevin, I’m in no mood to talk to you.” he demanded not bothering to tear his eyes off his paperwork. Kevin cleared his throat forcing him to tear his eyes off the documents and look up at him and the girl standing next to him.
He recognized her instantly; she was the girl with whom Ira was staying with. He frowned at both of them waiting for them to explain themselves. Kevin stepped forward, his face blank and expressionless, “Victor, we have a problem.” His tone was clipped and deadly serious and Victor knew instantly that something was not right. He noticed the scared look on the girl's face but couldn’t figure out if she was scared of him or was there any other reason.
Kevin closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. “Victor, we think they took her,” he told him in a no-nonsense tone. For a minute his body went still and his heart stopped beating. What does that supposed to mean? His men had been keeping a watch on her for 24 hours, then how the hell did this happen?
“What the fuck do you mean by they took her? She has guards following her everywhere she went,” he demanded, his voice roared with raw fury and nobody dared step close to him. “Rocky and Jason were the last one at the watch before she… disappeared,” Kevin replied and soon regretted bringing their names up. Now he had brought two of his men’s life and career in danger because if anything happened to her Victor was going to have their balls.
Kajal stepped forward, “She hasn’t come home for three days” Victor’s eyebrows knit as he tried to process what he was hearing. Kajal swallowed hard and continued, “We were short on eggs and she offered to go get some from the general store next to my apartment building but didn’t come back. We looked for her everywhere but there was no trace of her. I even filed a missing persons report for her but even the cops are unable to track her.”
Anger shot to his eyes and it took him everything not to lash out at her. “You should have contacted me the minute she did not come back home instead of going to the police,” he growled at her and she took a wise step back. He had better resources and unlike the cops, he was not bound by the shackles of law but moreover anything related to his angel was his matter of concern and not anybody else's.
She sighed, “Look when my friend does not come back home my first instinct is to call the police and not a mafia don. Plus I don’t trust you so contacting you was not even an option on the plate.” Anger shot to his eyes, she was his girl and it should have been the first thought that occurred to her, he wanted to tell it to her but he held himself back.
He knew who was behind this and he was not going to let him get away with this. Nobody touches his girl and gets away with it. He closed his eyes and took a few deep calming breaths. Anger was not going to help him in any way. He needs to keep his mind clear to think things straight.
“When did it happen and tell us everything and leave no details,” he ordered her, his voice surprisingly calmer now. She nodded in reply. “She came to me that night after she left your place. She had nowhere to go and she looked so broken and vulnerable that I didn’t think twice before taking her in. She didn’t tell me what happened between you guys and…”
“He’s asking you about what happened the night she went missing, just stick to the point.” Kevin snapped at her cutting her off in between her rant. Victor raised his hand, gesturing to him to let her finish. “Say whatever you have to say.” he instructed her and she did as she was told, “She asked me if she could stay at my place till she could find a new apartment and I asked her to stay with me as long as she liked.”
“Things were going on fine for a couple of days, but then she started getting paranoid. She kept telling me that she felt like she was being watched. At first, I did not take it seriously until the night she went missing. I looked for her everywhere and even asked around for her but people just denied even seeing her. I should have listened to her, taken her more seriously,”
Victor’s body throbbed in fury as he digested what she had just said. “She told you she was being followed and you still let her get out at night on her own?” he growled as anger raced through his veins. Kevin stepped before her shielding the poor girl from his wrath. “We can deal with her later; first let's confirm if Markus has anything to do with this.”
Victor narrowed his eyes at him, “Who else could it be?” he snapped at him in a ‘matter of fact’ tone. No one with a right mind would dare to pull off something like that but him. He swore to God if he touches a strand of her hair he would destroy him. And if anything happened to her he would burn the entire city to the ground.
His phone buzzed on his desk dragging everybody’s attention to it. He thought of ignoring it but changed his mind when he saw the name flashing over his screen. It was that bastard. Anger blazed through his veins and with shaky fingers he picked the damn thing and answered the call. “Hello Victor,” the familiar gravelly voice spoke up from the other end of the line.
“You should not have brought her in the middle,” his words were cold and a sense of unsaid warning laced his tone. Markus has made a huge mistake by taking his angel captive and now he is going to pay for it. Markus chuckled, “I was wondering when I would hear that from you.” His reply was smooth and calculative like he had practiced this conversation in his head several times.
Victor ran his finger through his hair, unable to tolerate this mindless game. “Where is she?” he demanded, ignoring the pang of fear that kept clawing through the walls of his heart. Markus was a psychopath; he was capable of anything and the thought that he had his girl under his claws was enough to send chills to him. “Safe for now. But boy, what a beauty she is. I could barely take my eyes off her.”
Anger ran through his veins and his vision turned red, “Don’t you dare put your filthy hands on her.” he growled unable to keep his cool. Markus let out a loud menacing laugh, “Is that a challenge my friend? Because if it is.... I would love to accept it. It would be fun breaking her down inch by inch. I wonder how she would look in my bed wearing nothing but a smile.” he told him in a low tone and laughed.
“STAY AWAY FROM HER.” He growled, his voice was so loud, it shook the core of his existence. “Where did you even find her, man. She’s so perfect like a fallen angel.” shit he gets it too
. She’s like a magnet for guys like him. A glowing candle for worthless moths.
But he was not going to let anything happen to his angel. “Listen to me and listen carefully, if you touch even a strand of her hair I will end you.” he roared into his phone and Markus laughed it off as he had just thrown a vague threat at him.
“I like your spirit old friend, let's play a little game; you have time till sunset find us and maybe I will let you take her home and if you don’t… I will take her to bed.” he hung up letting his words sink into him. Victor was red with rage; he knew what he had to do and nobody was going to stop him from doing that. He turned towards Kevin who watched him with concerned eyes.
“Get the boys ready, let’s go get my girl back home.”
CHAPTER 20
“Time to wake up, little Slut.’ the menacing gravelly voice woke her up the second time this day. She groggily opened her heavy eyelids and glared at her captor. He was a tall well-built man just like Victor but he wasn’t as good looking as him and neither was he as kind as him. He had a really ugly looking scar on his right cheek which stretched from his jaw to his under eyes giving him a dangerous look.
A menacing smirk spread over his mouth as he watched the young girl push herself into a sitting position. She was a lovely girl, all long legs and perfect curves. It would have been a mistake if he had killed her, though that was his initial plan then a thought crossed his brain, why kill the bird when all he needed to do was chop off its wings?
“Good evening, beautiful. Do you still miss your lover or are you ready to forget him and move on with me?” he asked her with a wink and she glared at him with disgust clear in her eyes. “Piss off you moron, I will rather die than be with you.” she spat out in a groggy tired tone. Even in her semi drugged state, she was as feisty as she was when they had brought her here.
The corner of his mouth curled, he walked up to her and sat down on the bed next to her. She immediately sat up straight and backed away against the headboard putting as much distance as she could between them. The chains cuffed to her ankle rattled as she moved and she winced as the metal struck her sore ankle.
“Easy, love. We don’t have to break those nice legs of yours,” he told her quietly, eying her like she was some kind of raw meat.
He leaned into her and put his rough hands on her feet and she kicked his hands off her. “Don’t touch me you swine,” she barked moving away from him which was pointless as her chains were short and she was at the edge of the mattress.
Tears rimmed her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him. She had cried enough for the past three days. The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. She was a feisty little creature; he was going to have so much fun breaking her down.
He let out a little laugh, “Sweetheart, if I wanted to fuck you I would have fucked you the day you were brought here. My plans for you are much more complex than a stupid mindless fuck. Though the thought of you beneath me, screaming my name does sound fascinating.” well that was not the part of a plan but it would be foolish to let go of a girl like this. Now he understands Victor’s obsession with this girl.
Her big beautiful eyes narrowed into slits, “Why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to you?” she demanded her voice soft yet stern. His eyes lit up with excitement, “Who said this has anything to do with you, sweetheart?” he asked her, his voice all mocking and taunting. Her eyes grew wide in confusion. A lazy grin danced on the corner of his lips as he watched her squirm before him.
“You my love are my leverage to lure that son of a bitch here and once he’s here I will end him for good and then you will be mine for the taking.” he moved close to her and caressed her cheek with his clammy fingers. Testing the feel of her soft skin under his rough touch.
Ira cringed as his skin touched hers sending ripples of disgust through her veins. With a sudden surge of energy, her fists collided with his jaw and he stumbled back with impact. She curses at the chains that held her back from the escape that was lying before her on a gift wrap.
Tears rolled down her cheeks but she did not utter a word. He closed his eyes and sucked in a calming breath. “Don’t piss me off baby, I’m not a weakling like that bastard who couldn’t even protect his girl.” Ira sighed, it wasn’t his fault, she thought. She was the one who was stupid enough to run away from him when he had made it clear that all he wanted was to protect her.
She had foolishly shooed off the guys he had sent to protect her and the next thing she knew she was grabbed by two masked men and stuffed into an SUV, and now here she was, God knows where chained to the bed with a monster who can destroy her any time he wants. But she was not scared; she knew that Victor would never let anything happen to her. He had promised to protect her and deep down she knew he would never break his promise.
The corner of her mouth curled into a smile and a little giggle escaped her lips. His eyes narrowed to slits and he glared at her, “What are you laughing at?” he demanded and her smile widened, “You are the one who is using a helpless girl as bait and calling him a weakling?” she replied with no ounce of hesitation. She was well aware of the consequences of her sudden surge of confidence but she did not care.
“Mind what you say, love or I…” he warned her, his voice cold as ice. “Or what? Hit me? Guys like you think they are strong by raising their hand at women. While in reality, they are nothing but cowards who can only show their power on helpless innocent women.” he raised his hand to hit her and she didn’t even flinch. “Go ahead and hit me, you will only be proving my point.”
He roughly grabbed her chin and tried to force his lips on hers but she sank her teeth into his wrist making him grunt in pain, he slapped her hard and she almost fell off the bed. “You bitch,” he shouted as he nursed his bleeding hand. She spat out his blood and laughed; “He’s going to come for me you know and when he does he’s going to make you regret ever bringing me here.” she spoke with so much confidence that he almost believed her.
“I’ve already invited him here; I’ve issued a little challenge for him. If he finds us before sunset he can take you with him and if he fails I will make you mine whether you like it or not,” he replied with a devilish grin on his face. He pointed to the wall clock and her heart dropped to her stomach. It was almost six thirty in the evening and she knew that the sun would be setting soon.
But it wasn't dark yet, and she knew her time was slipping. She closed her eyes and made a silent prayer to whoever was listening, begging them to send her angel to her.
“You are going to be mine soon love and I’m going to have a lot of fun breaking you down inch by inch.” she paid no attention to him and focused her eyes on the window watching the sky as it kept growing darker and darker.
A loud explosion erupted from somewhere in the building startling both of them. Markus stood up instantly alarmed by the sudden intrusion. Loud shouts and gunshots started coming from everywhere and a ghost of a smile spread across her beautiful face, “He’s here, what are you going to do now?” she mocked him and he glared at her.
Anger shot to his eyes and he ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at his strands as he processed what was happening. He hadn't expected him to find them so soon. This was one of his lesser-known safe houses and barely anybody knew about it. Hell, half of his men did not know about this place. That was one of the reasons why he had brought her here in the first place. Then how the hell did that son of a bitch find them?
But most importantly how the hell was he going to get out of here? He did not have enough men here to deal with the mess that he had voluntarily brought up on himself. He glanced at the girl and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. She was going to be his passport to walk out of here without a scratch.
He put his hands into his jeans pocket and took out the keys and quickly unchained her. Ira watched him carefully as his fingers worked on the cuffs attached to her feet and the minute the chains were off her feet she quickly slid off the mattress and ran t
o the door but he caught her before she could run out.
“Not so fast little slut, first let's say hello to your lover.” he pulled out a gun from the back pocket of his jeans and pointed it at her head. “Now be a good girl and start walking. You are going to be my gate pass from here.” She tried to free herself from his grip but he was too strong to fight off and she did not have the strength to fight back.
He kicked the door open and stepped into the commotion outside, his hands securely wrapped around her. Victor's men were everywhere and he knew that he and his men were completely outnumbered. But he still had the trump card in his hands. The game was not yet over and he was the one who was going to have the last laugh.
He dragged her through the long corridors punching and kicking any guy who tried to block his way. She kept wriggling in his arms trying her best to get out of his grip but he tightened his hold on her making her yelp in pain.
Her dizziness returned making it difficult for her to stay focussed, “Let go of me you bastard,” she managed to shriek and he dug his filthy nails into her flesh quieting her instantly. He dragged her down the set of stairs and to the main courtyard of the complex.
He shot two guys who came after him and made his way towards the back exit making sure nobody noticed him. His men were doing a great job in keeping those losers busy. All he had to do is get out of the building using the back door where he had arranged for a car to be parked there at all time in case a situation like this happened.
“Time to run away into the sunset with me princess,” he told her, stopping on his track for a brief minute. Even before she could register what he said he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and started to hurry towards the tiny passage that led to the back door. She kept pounding over his shoulder demanding him to drop her down but he ignored her and kept moving. He kicked the door open and stepped outside and his body froze in shock.
Victor's Girl: A Mafia Romance Page 16