Russian Roulette (Russkaya Mafiya) (59 page)

Her head shoots up, wide ice blue eyes looking at me with alarm. “Niki, moy brat?” Her mouth gapes. Her cheeks are sunken in and her face has an unhealthy yellowish tint to it.

“Da, Na-na moy say straa?” At ‘my sister’ she leaps at me.

“Oh, Niki! Natasha and Brenna told me so many stories of you!” She rambles excitedly, “They used to say we were princesses and when you were big you would come save us! Oy moy brat!” She finishes in a flourish, hugging me tightly.

I thought she was scared of men. Perhaps my sisters kept me in a good light for all these years and she does not fear me?

“Natasha and Brenna? Where are they and Mother?”

Vishna pulls away, her eyes filled with hurt and sadness. She stays quiet, her gaze shooting to the floor.

“Na-na, where are they?” She stays mute and I can’t help but to shake her. The foolish girl needs to tell me where my family is.

“Na-na! Speak, damn it!” I shout, and she falls to the floor, covering her head with her hands.

“Fuck! I am sorry. I’m such a fool…please, forgive me? I will not hurt you, I promise you. I will never cause you harm. Your fairy tale was right; I will protect you. Now I need to know where they are so I can save them too.”

She wipes away her silent tears, meeting my gaze as she sits crumpled up on the floor. I reach my huge paw-like hand out to her, offering her my help. After a beat she reaches out, slowly taking my hand and lets me pull her to me once again. This time I wrap her in my arms tightly, cocooning her frail body so she knows I love her and try whispering instead.

“Please tell me.”

Her big icy eyes fill again as she murmurs, “They are no more, Niki. It’s been a long time since they were with me.”

“I-I see. That is okay. I will find the men who hurt you all. I have been searching my entire life, and I won’t stop now.”

“No, please,” she chokes out. “No, I-I don’t want them to hurt you too. I have waited many years to see you again.”

“I promise you don’t have to worry about them hurting me. I am much more respected than these men and they will never touch you again.” Her face brightens as she sends me a beautiful smile, and then kisses my cheeks like my mother used to.

Her doing that seals the deal for me that she is who she says. The nickname gave me hope, but her kissing me like my mother, tells me that she was also kissed like that many times for it to be a natural habit.

“They have someone I love though, and I need to find them. If I keep you safe, will you help me?”

“I wish, but I know nothing.” She shakes her head.

“You just relax and eat; I’m betting you know more than you think.”

She nods. “Okay, Niki, I will try for you.”

“Good.” I kiss her forehead and give her hand back to Emily.

“Vishna, why is it you trust me so easily?”

“Because, I have already had everything taken from me, Nikoli. I have nothing to lose but to trust you and be happy inside. Even if you weren’t my brother, just the dream of you being real is enough to give me a small piece of hope that there is more to this life.”

Tears fall from me again at her words but I quickly wipe them away. The men can’t see me so emotional; I have to appear unmoving at all times so no one messes with me or the Boss.

Tate and I have serious shit to talk about.
I need to find out exactly where those containers came from. Never in a million years did I think intercepting that box would bring me my baby sister. I had grown to believe I would never see her again.

It’s a miracle Vishna was spared to being a maid. She’s beautiful; no doubt as to why they had finally sold her to someone. It grates at me imagining what this ‘Chek’ person has done to her. They sold her into sex slavery so I know that she has had to endure being put through some sickening acts of abuse.

The poor mouse. At least she’s here now and I can finally keep her safe. I’ll do everything possible to take care of her and make sure she can live out a happy life.

“Say straa, can you tell me more about this ‘Chek’?” I ask quietly while she eats a slice of bread. When Emily begged her to eat she said she only wanted a slice of bread. Personally I would be asking for a horse by the looks of her tiny body, but she probably isn’t used to eating like I am.

She clears her throat. “Da, umm…He is, well, he is a teacher. He takes girls and shows them how to be perfect so they get new owners.”

I can’t help but to scoff at the new owners bit.
Such bullshit.
I’ll show this prick what it is to be owned when I gut him. “I apologize for the interruption, please continue.”

“He is very mean at first but once you do the right thing, he becomes nice and rewards you. He’s a very handsome man.”

“He’s mean? How? Please explain.”

“Well he pours this cold water on you and your bones freeze, and he will keep you hungry. I was always hungry cleaning for the master, but never hungry like that. If you upset Mr. Chek he will kick you or hit you. That was okay though, but the cold is what made it bad.”

“Vishna, how is it okay that he kicked you? You know I would tear his insides out if I saw him touch you like that?”

She giggles like it’s silly for me to be angry. She’s fucked up, and I have a new name on my hit list, only he’s not getting it from a weapon, but from my bare hands.

“Can you tell me more about where this place was or did you ever hear a last name? Does the name Kolya Minski sound familiar to you at all?”

“I do not know this place. Our say straa’s said we were once in Moscow, that one of the men took them to see the giant babushkas and how they were filled with colors beyond what I could imagine. I wish to go there some day.” Her eyes grow excited like a child’s and the pang hits my chest again. I had a rough time growing up, but she missed everything, all the little bits of good I
was
able to have, she didn’t get.

Tate interrupts, smiling kindly. “I know where you’re talking about, and if you wish to go, we will. I have a plane that can take us. Nikoli and Emily, along with a few of our other friends, would love to all go if it would make you happy?”

“Yes, please!”

“Okay then as soon as we get Sabrina back, we’ll make it happen.”

Vishna smiles broadly at him and Emily.

“You know you’re in America now, right?”

“Yes, I thought so, you all sound so funny. Even you too, Niki. You can tell you are Russian man, but you sound so different.”

“I sound different than the men you are normally around?”

“Well yes, Mr. Chek, he is Russian man too but his is slower, like he makes his words longer…Kind of like you and Mr. Masterson.” She nods towards Tate and a light bulb goes off inside. I’m betting this guy has been to the south before—enough so, that he has gotten part of the southern drawl. “The other men sound like they are from Russia and a few speak other words entirely.”

“Do you know what the other languages are?”

“No, I’m sorry, but I didn’t get to take any kind of classes like you and our sisters. I was too young, and I was not of importance at the master’s house. Our sisters taught me all they could before…well, just before.”

“It’s no problem, what about the other name I mentioned?”

“I know of a man called Kolya. I pretend like I not pay attention to him, but I did.”

“Really, so if I showed you a photo, you could tell me if it was him? What was said when you saw him, do you remember?”

“Yes, I could tell you. I’m so sorry I couldn’t help when Mr. Masterson showed me the photo of the pretty girl.”

“Boss, you showed her Bina?”

“Yeah, man, it was one of the first things I did.”

“Thank you.”

He nods and I turn back to Vishna. “What did Kolya say around you?”

“He and the Master were talking about a man named Gizya’s sons getting in their way and about a partner in the UK who wanted to expand their business. I wish there was more but the cook found me listening and sent me away. She threatened to tell on me and I lied, telling her I thought the man visiting was handsome. She shushed me and said he was evil.”

I glance at Tate to see him wearing the same expression. Gizya’s sons could mean only one thing: Tate and Viktor. “Yes, Kolya is very evil. Thank you for your help. If you think of anything, please let us know.”

“I promise I will.”

“Good. I have to talk to Tate and do a few things.”

“Wait, you’ll come back right?”

“Of course. I just found you. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, but you need to get some rest. Emily will help you. I love her like a say straa. I know she will take good care of you. You’re going to live with me now for as long as you like, and you will never be harmed or hungry again.”

She nods, wearing a shaky smile and then Tate and I head out.

SEVEN

SABRINA

I don’t need a knight in shining armor.

A stubborn Russian in a suit will do just fine.

-Sapphire Knight

“I have a treat for you today.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chek.” I say just above a whisper. I’ve developed a nasty cough being here and it’s stolen away most of my voice. My throat is raw and in serious need of a cough drop or twenty.

He bends down to me lying on the ground and lightly pets my face. I no longer flinch at his touch; I’m just used to it. He’s a smart man, putting the body through so much discomfort so that when it’s offered just a smidge of tenderness, it jumps on it like a money hungry whore. His touch is the only thing I’ve felt besides pain in who knows how long. I’ve stopped keeping track. I no longer care how long I’ve been away.

Some might believe I’m weak to give in so easily, but they haven’t been kidnapped, frozen, starved, beaten, and taunted for weeks on end either. So fuck their judgment; they don’t know shit. My entire life has been centered around being perfect for someone else, being constantly judged by my family, by men, and I’m so damn sick of it.

Why is it wrong to just be me? Why can’t these deranged people just leave me alone? No one cares what I want for myself.

Growing up, all I ever dreamed about was happiness, freedom, and Nikoli. I’ve prayed for him to be mine every single night since the first time I met him.

Now this…I’m freaking the fuck out inside over Chek’s latest treat. He decided the tiny flower tattoo that surrounds one of my black diamond studs on my earlobe wasn’t ‘appropriate’ so he kindly used a wire brush to try and scrub it off of me.

That was the day I discovered that my body was still capable of moving. Being kicked and hit is
nothing
compared to being held down while having wires ruthlessly scrubbed into your flesh to remove a permanent marking. I don’t think I’ve ever screamed so loud in my life.

He wasn’t joking when he first said he was going to hurt me. I’ve replayed the day of the wedding over in my mind so many times now that it feels more like a dream than reality. Kendall would have loved to see me like this. I wonder what I ever did to make them hate me so much. I’m beginning to wonder if this was my father’s plans for me all along. I’ve always believed my father was evil and this certainly confirms it.

Not only does Chek put me through physical torture, but he loves to mess with my mind the most. I’m to the point where I’m beginning to believe him when he says no one will find me here. It’s been too long. This is either a really good hiding place or no one cares enough to look hard. If they would just dig down towards hell, I’m sure they’d find this place on the way down.

I could really use that knight in shining armor I used to always read about. Too bad they don’t seem to exist—at least not for helpless women who’ve been beaten and trapped like me.

If I’m ever getting out of this god-awful place, I have to do absolutely as he says and hope that the next place is somewhere I can get away from. I can’t be sick or starving to death either. My chances pretty much suck.

But one thing my father has always hated about me, is that I’m a fighter and it looks like I have to be the hero of my own story.

“Ready beautiful?” Chek inquires like I’m privy to have some sort of choice about it and my skin crawls. If I never hear that pet name again, it would still be too soon. How can I possibly be beautiful after being trapped here and living like this? No, not living; at this point I’m simply existing.

He cuts away what’s left of the back of my thin, cami undershirt and washes an area on my back with a rough dish pad and then pats it dry. I have no idea what he plans to do; it could be a tattoo or he could be stealing my organs. Nothing would really surprise me anymore. I just know that one will hurt remarkably more than the other.

“Yes, Mr. Chek,” I respond automatically and feel the tip of something sharp on my back.

“You’re getting your mark Sabrina. It means that if you stay on track, once it heals you get to see Kolya. He will be very pleased with how tame you’ve become.”

“Thank you.” I gasp out as the sharp blade digs further into my flesh. The ripping sensation of skin and meat making me hold my breath to keep myself from retching what little is left in my stomach.

The tears come and I suck on my bottom lip until it hurts to keep myself from crying out. His deathly grip on my side keeps me from twitching away. Although as much as it hurts, I know he could drive that blade into my back at any time and it keeps me still.

“Ah, the mark of belonging to a Minski.” He sounds almost as if he’s in a lustful trance as the blood drips down my naked back. I feel something wet wipe one of the long drops off, and I’m trying hard not to believe it was just his tongue.

A tiny whimper escapes as the blade goes in a little too deep, my nose clogs and I wonder if this may be it. If I’ll somehow suffocate myself.

I’ll never belong to a Minski.

Nikoli

“You heard my sister; she mentioned your father’s
name.”

“Fuck! I know. I just wish I knew who it was that was saying his fucking name,” Tate grumbles. Hell I do too; right now we could possibly be on our way to finding Sabrina.

I lean back in my desk chair. We’re in the club office that we share. It’s large enough that we each have our own big black desks, chairs, filing cabinets, etc. I thought we should just get a couple couches for in here, maybe a rug and coffee table, but apparently since it’s an office, Tate thinks we need to do actual work in it. I thought it would be a great spot to take secret naps when we needed them, but he didn’t quite agree.