A drop of sweat trickled down my spine as my blood ran cold. The men pointing their guns at me lowered them and took a step back, but the threat still lingered, dangling above my head like the swords of the Damocles. The room remained eerily calm until they opened the wrecked door and a footstep approached slowly. I had apprehension about something really wrong about to happen. Just last night, I was in Kazimir's arms, feeling like the luckiest woman ever. But no it was this moment. And I have an even stronger feeling it would have happened regardless of my mutiny against Kazimir.
"I got you, my love." Kazimir's father smiled warmly. "Igor Mikhailov." he introduced himself, raising his brows slightly, expecting me to return the welcoming gesture. But nothing in his tone was welcoming. Looking into his hazel eyes to feel a tad bit of comfort didn't work. They didn't hold the warmth Kazimir's does. He is someone I would imagine Kazimir becoming when he reaches his age.
"I don't n-need your help. Leave m-me alone." I heard myself say the feeling was of out-of-body experience for me. I couldn't believe it was my voice or the voice of someone else standing behind me. I wasn't stuttering during the time I had spent with Kazimir. I had talked with him for hours without stuttering and even if I did stutter sometimes, he remained patient.
His brows raised in challenge. "It wasn't a request, myshka." he spat, the others beside him chuckled darkly at me, giving me a once over. I look down at my exposed skin in discomfort. Ruslan's gaze didn't make me feel like I was naked, but these men had undressed me with their eyes from the moment they barged inside.
It was an order from the pakhan I had to follow. Saying no would not have given me any desired result, but I had to keep my ground and stall them in hopes of having Ruslan back.
"I'm already a captive here. Or have you come to an agreement with the Camorra?" I say, standing up from the bed. He wasn't too tall from me. From this distance, I could see him in the eyes without craning my neck.
"An agreement with..." he trails purposely, his hazel eyes shining with mischief. Like a light bulb flicking on, I gather what he was trying to gauge.
"My father, of course," I say with a tight smile, letting him know that I know about my father's release from prison. God forbid what Valerius would have done had they laid their hand on Carina. So with my father back in the picture and Valerius' lack of affection towards me, my father would have been the one to negotiate or propose some kind of peace offering.
"Their so much you don't know. Come with me. I'll tell you a story." He smiled, gesturing towards the door to lead me out.
"I am not going anywhere until Ruslan or Kazimir arrive." I say, stumbling over my words, but my voice laced with confidence. I rounded my shoulders as I made eye contact with his soldiers. Be it a made man of the Camorra or soldiers of the bratva, they were all the same with soulless eyes. Broad shoulders, meaty muscles and a small brain that only functioned to follow orders.
"I tried." he said to himself, looking down at his feet.
My brows pinch in confusion before I can say anything. His head snapped up like a demon rearing its head. The mask he wore to act like a gentle old man slipped off from his face. I could see the flash of inferno burning in his hazel eyes before I could plot my next move as he strode towards me. Pain bloomed across my right cheek, my vision filled with the navy blue comforter with stars dancing across it as my head twisted to the side with the impact of his hand.
A gasp escapes my lips as scorching hot pain spreads across my face. My scalp burns from the pain as Igor tows me out of the room, dragging me down the stairs. In vain attempts, I try to take hold of anything that comes into my view. I knocked down vases, flower pots, and a side table in my wake. Laughter rang out from the hallway. indicating that more of his men were standing downstairs. Even if Ruslan had come early, he couldn't have gone past these many men without alerting his father or his men. I was doomed the moment Igor stepped inside the house. Clearly, he didn't wanted to hurt his son otherwise the trip to the house while Ruslan was here would have done the job.
The ache on my cheek became nothing in front of the pain I was feeling on my scalp. My gaze fleeted towards the men in the majority, laughing at an unarmed woman. Reaching the last step of the stairs, I clutched the handrail with all my strength, the sudden halt made my hair tug harder. biting the inside of my mouth to stifle a cry, I looked Igor dead in the eyes as he turned to see what had caused the stop the walk of shame he wanted to inflict. I straighten my spine and try to pull my head away from his grasp.
"I can walk." I say. The sudden pause had made all his men cease their laughter. Bitches! Igor's nose flared in fury. I braced myself to endure another one of his slap to my face. But the hand he had woven on my hair dropped and closed around my biceps, again tugging me with him outside. But this time, I had my head held high.
My gaze flees across the neighbourhood to give a stress sign to any snoopy neighbour if there were any. I can try to alert people if they don't push me inside a trunk again.
His hand around my biceps turned even harder, fingernails dug into the naked skin on my arm. I had to bite my lips to stop my tears as he whispered in my ear, "You don't want innocent blood in your hands."
When he didn't move, I met his gaze in challenge, but ultimately shook my head. If the crazy woman with the stroller was still hanging around, she and her child could get caught in the crossfire.
When the backdoor to the SUV was opened by Igor's man, who was like others, dressed in a dark suit, I moved to get inside with dignity but Igor still shoved me roughly inside the car. Giving him a death, I fumbled to my side to grab the seatbelt before he could bound my hands. He walked to the passenger seat in front and ordered the driver in Russian.
From the rearview mirror, I saw the other black SUVs heading in different directions, a classic distraction technique. Our car was at a moderate speed, obeying every traffic law. My lips part to scream for help as I spot Ruslan's car driving toward the house. It was the shock that registered first. My mouth parted instead of screaming, I took a sharp inhale in shock, my mouth filled with metallic liquid. My nose hurt like a thousand tiny cockroaches were crawling inside. He chose to land a blow over my mouth with his open palm.
Igor's face was fuming with unrestrained anger. I was worried he would strike back and hit me again. I blanched, glueing my skin to the backseat to get as far away from him as possible. He straightened his jacket and gave his back to me.
"I see my son has treated you well." He said, his voice laced with disapproval and disappointment.
"Jumping from one sheltered life to another. I had a blast, Mr. Mikhailov." I mutter, chuckling to myself. My tongue rolled inside my mouth to find a tooth had turned mobile.
"Just a few more days..." He turned to see, giving me a once over. He flashed a pitied smile before turning his back to look ahead.
My world started spinning. This is it. He is going to kill me. For the first time in weeks, I was sure of destiny. I didn't get trafficked, I didn't get assaulted by those men in the club. Kazimir never laid a hand on me. Because those are the things done to someone who you wanted to keep alive, making sure they didn't leave. But their end game is to kill me.
Are they taking me somewhere Valerius or the other Cammoristas could be waiting for me? I bit my lips to stop the tears from rolling down. I will scream at them to leave. Maybe that will save some of them from meeting the same fate as mine.
I was blacking out from the pain. As all the fight drains from my body I closed my eyes. When I heard the car door opening and closing, the pain was the only reminder of the situation. I blink in confusion as I look above and see trees swallowing the view of the sky. The leaves were so big and thick, they didn't allow even a tiny dot of the sun rays to pass.
In my haze, I slowly moved my gaze to look straight as my head remained glued to the window. After refocusing my gaze, I could outline a house built like an ancient castle. My brows furrow in confusion. Had they just brought me into the backyard of Ruslan's house.
My head bobbed in agreement with my thoughts. They must be hiding me in plain sight. Ruslan will look everywhere except for his own neighbourhood area. Maybe if I run or scream, I can alert him. I take a deep inhale, filling my lungs with the much-needed oxygen so it can clear the haze I have in my brain. It's showtime.
Namaste. It will be really helpful to me if you share the story link on your Conversation Board or social media. And thank you for reading. Please don't forget to VOTE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐for the chapter and leave your COMMENTS below.
I would love it if you checked out my other stories, 'Aurora's Aura' 'Billion Dollar Wedding' 'Violet Hues' 'Becoming Romeo' & ''Mafia & Miss Honey'. The story link is on my profile