My Russian Nightmare (10 page)

Chapter 10        

“Fuck!”

I push up and away from Dante. I’m trembling. I think somewhere in the last thirty seconds, my heart froze and he smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. My head is spinning like a fucking top. No, I heard wrong. He’s wrong. It can’t be. My whole body is covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

“Me? That makes no sense. Zero. Fucking. Sense. I have nothing to do with them.”

“Your parents helped us out. My mother worked for them. Ivan blamed them for losing out on what she would have brought in for them. He’s been hung up on the idea of using you as payback for the prime years he lost on her.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

I run my hands through my hair for lack of knowing what else to do with them.

“Kiera?” He turns so his legs are hanging off the bed and his feet are on the floor.

Ignoring him, I pace back and forth in the small area. My heart beats frantically, sounding in my ears, pulsing so hard I feel it in my gums. I’m so fucked, I can’t even fathom an escape. Not a real one. They’re going to chase after me for the rest of my life. The sudden weight on my chest makes it difficult to breathe. Fuck difficult, it’s near impossible.

“It’s never going to end.” I mutter under my breath. “Never. Until they have me exactly where they want me, or I’m dead.”

“That’s not going to happen.” He’s off the bed and standing in front of me.

“Yes, it is.” I struggle to find the words, to get the words soaring through my head out. I sound incoherent and hysterical. I
am
hysterical. “And the bitch of it is, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

“Don’t say that.” He doesn’t want to show it, but he knows it’s true. I see the fear in his eyes. 

“The man that kept coming to the diner to grab me when we were kids, did Ivan send him?”

Dimitri’s eyes won’t meet mine. He won’t answer. He doesn’t have to. His silence is answer enough.

“Since I was eight? They’ve been after me since I was eight years old?” I shove at his rock-hard chest.

“Yes,” he says after releasing a long sigh. “We didn’t know there was a connection when it happened.”

“Oh my God!” I turn away because I can’t look at him the same way. He’s the reason I’m here. The reason I’ve always been in danger, and he didn’t even bother to warn me.

“My mother never saw the man before. Ivan didn’t want to risk doing it himself or sending someone she’d recognize because we would’ve gone back into hiding.”

I wring my hands. “Wouldn’t it be poetic justice if they have you do it?”

“What?”

I know he’s close, he’s almost touching me. I feel his body heat covering me, smothering me. Bile rises in my stomach as I say it. “Kill me.”

“No one is going to kill you. I promise,” he says, grabbing my shoulders and turning me to face him again.

“You promise? Sorry if that doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. If your father couldn’t keep your mother safe, what chance do you have?”

“Things have changed. Sammy and I, we’ve been buying time. That’s the main reason I’ve kept away from you, and why he’s on you all the time about not going out and partying—”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. Sammy?” I ask, struggling to find a weak spot in his unbreakable grasp. “My brother was in on this? No fucking way. You’re lying. You have to be because he’d never team up with the enemy. And, you’re…you’re the enemy. You’re one of them!”

“Kiera!” he pleads as he pulls me close, desperation coloring his tone. “You need to stop!” he orders. “Right now! Do you understand?”

“Fuck you.” I twist and turn trying to break free, but his fingers dig harder into my shoulders and bite into my skin.

“You need to calm the fuck down, or you’re going to get us all killed,” he growls.

I shake my head. “Don’t you dare pin one bit of this on me.”

“Don’t make me do this, Kiera. I don’t want restrain you.”

I fight harder. Son of a bitch is threatening me again. I can’t believe I’m so stupid that I let my guard down with him. I’m such an idiot.

“Please,” he pleads one last time.

Not about to give in, I pound at his chest.

“Blyat!” he curses as he turns me around and pushes me facedown on the bed, bending me in half at the waist.

I elbow him in the ribs, as retaliation, but miss. Instead he’s able to grab my hand easily. My other arm is trapped under my chest, and he’s using his body as a weight to hold me in place. His legs are on the outside of mine, with his feet hooked around my ankles. He’s so fucking strong, I can’t do anything. I’m pinned to the bed, unable to pull my other hand free. He restrains the free hand first, then the other before wrapping my feet up together and once again tying me to the bed.

Loud angry sobs rip through me. My body convulses from anger and sorrow.

“I didn’t want to do this,” he yells. “You need to stop.”

I don’t answer him. Instead I cry harder.

“I hate you!” I scream over and over until he leaves the room. “I fucking hate your guts!” If he does care, if any of what he said earlier is true, then maybe my words are hurting him. Maybe. I hope they are because they’re the only weapon I have, and he deserves it. He should’ve been honest with me from the beginning. He should’ve told me everything the moment I woke up.

I cry and scream until my throat is raw and hoarse. Until my head is pounding harder than a jackhammer. I cry until darkness surrounds and comforts me. As I close my eyes and drift off, I hope I never wake again.

Chapter 11

I wiggle my fingers. They’re tingling to the point that it’s painful. I need to change the position I’m in. I haven’t moved since I fell asleep, and everything hurts. As I try to move my hands, I’m stopped. I forgot I’m restrained. No wonder why I feel so crappy.

I wish I had some way to tell how long I’ve been asleep. Or how long I’ve been trapped in this room.

“I’ll free one hand and the opposite foot if you promise to behave.”

I turn toward Dimitri’s voice. He’s lying on the air mattress, staring up at me.

I wish someone else were here. Anyone but him. I know better than to trust the other animals. But Dante…it hurts too much to even think about him as Dante, as the boy that took up so much time and space in my heart and mind over the years. Now I know why my parents and Sammy wouldn’t let me talk about him.

I understand why every time I mentioned the friend I missed so much, my brother would tell me “Dante doesn’t exist.” He doesn’t. He was a lie. Everything between us then and now, it was all a fucking lie. One lie piled onto another. I was just too gullible to believe what was right in front of me, what even he himself tried to tell me.

“You’re not talking to me?” he says while releasing my right hand from the restraint.

He sounds hurt, but how do I know that’s real? When so much between us was make believe, how can I trust that anything is true?

I don’t answer him. I just stare, wishing I could burn a hole through him with my eyes.

“If I can’t trust you, I can’t untie you. I can’t risk you doing something stupid that will get us all killed.” He sits on the side of the bed and leans forward while stroking my hair. I can swat him away, but all that will do is get me tied up again.

“Sammy’s off the ventilator.” I feel myself lighten up in spite of my anger with him. “He’s awake and doing well. He’s still weak, but he’s able to be moved now.”

Dimitri reaches over for a bottle of water on the table next to the bed and unscrews the cap. “Drink,” he says, lifting my head with one hand while bringing the bottle to my lips with the other.

I shake my head in protest.

“It’s not a request, Kiera. You need to be healthy and strong when we leave tonight.”

“Tonight?” I ask, my interest peaked.

His lips curl up, not into a smile, but it softens the harsh look on his face. “I told you we had to wait for Sammy to get strong enough. Once he’s taken out of intensive care, we can move him. And once he disappears, we have to disappear as well. We have to go together, at the same time. There can’t be any delay. Now drink.”

I do as I’m told. I want to get the hell out of here. I wonder though, when we’re deemed safe, what are Dimitri’s plans. Is he going to continue to hold me as his prisoner, using my brother as leverage over me, or will he let me go?

I don’t ask, because I’m not ready to hear the answer. Even if he does try to control me, once Sammy is strong enough, we can double-team him if necessary.

When Dimitri’s done forcing the water on me, he sits at the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry you’ve been hurt by my family and all their bullshit.”

“This isn’t hurt. This is what betrayal looks like.”

“At least you’re talking to me.” The corner of his mouth ticks up and hope shines in his eyes.

The silent treatment worked. Good. I look away and fall right back into it.

“I’m sorry
I
hurt you. That’s the one thing I never want to do.” He takes my free hand and massages my wrist and then my palm and fingers. “But once we leave, we have a clean slate. We get to start over, and I’ll be able to keep you safe because we’ll be far away from here and no one will find us. And then, I’ll never lie to you or hurt you again.”

I don’t answer him. I can’t even look at him. I turn my head.

“I promise, Kiera. I’ll make it all up to you. I’ll give you everything you deserve.” He waits and watches me as an awkward silence fills the air around us. I know he wants me to say something. I think he’ll settle for anything, as long as I speak to him, but I don’t give him the satisfaction. I’m not willing to give him one bit of reassurance.

“You rest up. You had a restless night. I have calls I need to make, some final touches that need to be arranged,” he says as he gets to his feet and kisses the top of my head.

I feel the ache in my chest as he leaves the room. I hope he’s only going to the other room and not leaving me alone. It’s not that I’m afraid to be alone, even though I am. As hurt and angry as I am, I don’t want him too far. Especially not now, with the promise of escape so close.

I hear him on the phone in his mother tongue and reach over to my still-restrained hand. I have no leverage over the knot and find it difficult to even reach it. Now that I’ve had some time to absorb what he said, I have more questions, but they can wait. Right now, I’m excited to think I’ll be reunited with my brother.

Frustrated, I stop trying to free myself. I decide to wait for him to get off the phone, then I’ll assure him I won’t do anything stupid. At least not until I’m out of here and back with Sammy. Maybe not at all. I don’t know.

It sounds like he’s had a pretty fucked-up life. I think of Dimitri as a child, always on the run. Did he even know? Or did he believe he was Dante and his father was a political ambassador like he told me?

If he did know the truth, that’s even worse. I can’t imagine always going by a false name, never having a real family celebration, or needing to have secret meetings with your father. It’s not the life any child should lead.

Sudden pounding on the door breaks through my thoughts. It’s hard and heavy. Angry. Fear strikes my heart as I catch a glimpse of concern on Dimitri’s face as he passes the room. Whoever is on the other side isn’t only unhappy, they aren’t expected.

“Open the fucking door before I shoot through it.”

“Yuri?” I hear Dimitri’s voice. “What’s—”

He’s cut off, and instead of hearing words, I hear grunts, and a scuffle, and other voices. I can’t tell how many of them are here. It’s more than Dimitri and Yuri though. My throat tightens and it’s hard to breathe. This is it. Dimitri didn’t make good on his promise. He didn’t get me out of here on time.

“Motherfucker,” I hear Yuri yell. “It was you. You’re the reason he was shot. You’re the reason he’s dead. It’s time you get what you deserve.” I make out the unmistakable sound of something being pounded. Tears prick my eyes. It’s Dimitri. I struggle once again to free my hand from its binding.

“Come on Yuri, you don’t want to do this.”

“Fuck you!”

Something clicks into place. It’s a gun, I know it. I feel it in my bones, in the terror coursing through my body. Shit, I need to get the hell out of these bindings. I thrash around on the bed frantically.

A loud crack sounds from the other room, like a firecracker just went off indoors.

“NO!” I scream. The sound comes out of my mouth before I realize what I’m doing.

His unmistakable cry of pain wrings my heart.

“Dimitri!”

My throat is raw from screaming. He doesn’t answer. I don’t know what’s running wilder inside me, fear or panic. I only know I need to gather every bit of strength I have to free myself.

Yuri comes stalking through the door with a smug smile, gun in hand.

“Now I get to have some fun.”

“Get away from me!” I shout as he encroaches the bed and licks his lips.

“I see you’re ready for me.” He opens his pants and lets them drop around his ankles. “Decisions, decisions. What do you think I should do? Have you blow me first then fuck you? Or fuck you first then have you blow me while my friends in the other room fuck you?”

Anger burns in my eyes. They’re tearing up, and I hate that I look weak, like I’m crying. I yank my bound arm to no avail. Damn Dimitri for being so good at tying knots.

“Are you scared?” Yuri taunts. “You should be. I’ll do my best to make sure it hurts,” he snickers.

He reeks of alcohol.

“Dimitri!” I call out. I don’t know why. I know it’s no use. “What did you do to him?”

Yuri bends down at the side of the bed, bringing his face closer to mine. His eyes are glassed over, and I have no doubt he’s drunk and maybe even stoned.

“Don’t you worry,” he laughs. “I didn’t kill him. Yet.”

His accent is stronger than it was when he showed up in Sammy’s room. And he’s slurring his words. “He’s unconscious. When my friends are done tying him up, they’ll bring him in here to join us. I’m sure he’ll like a good view of the show. And when we’re done with you, I’ll put a bullet right in that thick skull of his so you can see what happens when you disobey me.”

“Fuck you!” I shout back at him.

“Da. I intend to.”

The rope around my wrist and ankles is biting into my skin. I don’t care. I fight. I’m not going to give in and go down willingly.

Yuri steps out of his boxers and climbs on the bed. As he lowers himself, I ball my free hand up into a fist and hit him square in the jaw with all my might. He sounds off with a string of Russian words I’ve never heard before.

“Stupid bitch!” he yells before bringing his fist down on my cheekbone, right below my eye. Pain screams through my head, almost as loud and shrill as the scream sounding in my mouth. I suck in a large breath, but it does no good.

My free hand is no longer free. He has a hold of it and is reaching for the rope with the other. I manage to rip it free from his hand, only for him to retake it again.

“No! Stop!” I scream, pulling and thrashing at my bindings frantically. “Dimitri! Help me! Please!” I know it will do no good, but I’m unable to just lie here and let this happen.

“Shut the fuck up!” Yuri covers my mouth with his hand. I can’t breathe. I try to bite him, but his hand is cupped enough that I am unable to sink my teeth into his skin. Tears blur my eyes, clouding my vision. With his other hand, Yuri reaches between my legs, gathers my underwear, and shoves them to the side, making room to enter me.

I wriggle beneath him, buying myself some time. I hold my breath and pray. I pray for Dimitri. And for me. I pray that he is still alive and that this part of the nightmare will end quickly for me. I close my eyes and try to conjure the image of Dimitri and the gentle, loving way he looked at me. The way his hands and mouth moved over my body. It’s no use. It isn’t working.

Luckily, neither is Yuri’s dick, and it’s pissing him off.

He grabs a handful of my hair and yanks hard, for no other reason than he wants to hurt me. I’m sure that’s how he gets hard. I scream again, calling out for Dimitri, yelling, screaming for the animal on top of me to stop.

And then he does.

His weight on me grows lighter. I open my eyes to see Dimitri squeezing a cord tight around his neck. Yuri struggles against Dimitri until he loses consciousness. Once he does, Dimitri lets his body fall to the floor. He killed him. I just watched Dimitri kill someone with his bare hands.

A raw, guttural scream starts at my toes and tests the strength and volume of my vocal cords.

“Kiera,” Dimitri’s voice breaks through my hysteria. Bossy. Commanding. It’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. “Come on!” Using a knife dripping with blood, he cuts me out of the ropes keeping me tied to the bed. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

I look down at my bloodied t-shirt. The sight keeps me frozen in place.

He tosses me my pants. “Put these on.”

“I can’t…I can’t go like this.”

Dimitri curses under his breath and grabs my hand. “We need to go now! Right now! So either you put on your pants or you’re going like that.”

With my body trembling in fear, I do as I’m told. Once they’re on, I look up. That’s when I see the open wound on his right shoulder and reach out for him.

“Dimitri!” I shriek. “You’ve been shot.”

I heard the shot go off. I knew he’d been hit or Yuri would never have made it in here, but still, seeing it with my own eyes makes it real. It brings the danger surrounding us to a whole new level. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.

“Not now,” he says, holding his good hand up to keep me at a distance. “Just take my hand and don’t look down.”

In the other room, two men lie on the floor, motionless, blood all around them. One looks as if his throat has been sliced open. The other is facedown on the floor, still as a rock. I can’t help but let fear take over as I stare and stand frozen in place.

The man that owns my heart is a cold-blooded killer. And I know he did it for me. I’m the reason all three of those men are dead. I feel bile rise up in the back of my throat and swallow down hard.

“Talk to me,” he says, tugging on my hand, reminding me that he’s here with me.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Anything. Are you okay?”

I sniffle and nod. My throat’s sore and dry. It’s difficult to speak, but I manage to get out a single word. “Yes.”

“Good. Just keep going and don’t look back.”

I follow him out of the room and discover we’ve been holed up in the back of a warehouse. It must have been some sort of employee bunk area. The lighting in the main area is poor, dim. I’m afraid a rat is going to jump out of the shadows. Stacks of crates are piled up on either side of the large windowless room.