CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHARLIE
Drip. Drip.
Cold. All I feel is cold. Straight down to my bones. Heavy arms try to move but can’t.
“You need to get the hell out of here before he suspects… Distract the bastard anyway you can…” Hungy! So hungry! Mind wandering and confused.
“…want to get as much out of the bitch as I can before… realize she's gone.” Someone snarls, I know that voice. Who is it?
Tired. Try to wake but can’t.
“I’ll do what I can but he is obsessed... He is going to notice she’s gone... not sure how long I will be able to give you.” Another man whispers-shouts back, another familiar voice. Can’t place it.
Wake up. Charlie. Wake up.
“Don’t make me… Distract him! … if he finds her, she will be nothing but used up rat food… men are interested in her.” He chuckles darkly. “I want him to suffer.... I will take him down and it will start with that whore! Out!”
Drip. Drip.
Drip. Drip.
Trying to wake up. Legs stiff. Headaches. Everything just hurts.
“Yes, I have her but I have questions for her first. Once I am done with her I will take the pictures and add her to the auction.”
Silence…
“I know how this works! The auction isn’t for a few days. I have time to question her and clean her up. I don’t care who gets her, no restrictions.” Dark laughter echoes. “They can do whatever they want with her, just have them reach out and I can send over what they want. They wanna sample the goods, fine by me.”
Silence…
“Perfect. I gotta go.”
I am so tired. My head hurts. I can’t seem to open my eyes or move. I feel weighed down and heavy. Something is not right. I don’t feel right. All I want to do is sleep...
Drip. Drip.
Achey. My entire body is stiff and my head is pounding. It smells dusty and moldy, which is confusing. My apartment doesn’t smell this bad. I try to move and realize I don’t have much room. I slowly start to open my dry, heavy eyes and blink away blurry vision.
When I finally get my eyes open, I see a dark, empty room. Or what was once a room. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness that surrounds me.
“What… the hell?” I choke out. My throat is dry, like I haven't spoken or drank anything in days. “What happened?” I try to look around but my neck is stiff. I try to stretch it out and realize my hands are tied behind my back and my ankles are tied to a chair. I am tied to a damn chair! Above me is one dim light bulb attached to an old wire.
As I’m searching the room, I remember leaving my apartment and Andrey shoving me against a wall.
“Wakey, wakey C.C.” Someone laughs darkly. He’s standing in the shadows. I try to focus my eyes to make out his features, but it’s still too dark to see, the light above me only illuminating me and maybe a foot around me.
I hear heavy footsteps. The man is walking closer so I ask, “What… is going on?”
Dominic, fucking Dominic, steps out of the darkness and just stares at me. He takes a few more steps in my direction and reaches for my face. He starts stroking my cheek with an unfamiliar gentleness and I try to lean away, but the chair isn’t letting me.
He chuckles then says, “You and I are going to have a little chat about your boyfriend.” He’s talking to me like I am a toddler. He starts stalking around the chair in an agonizingly slow circle. Once he’s behind me, he grabs me by the hair and pulls my head back hard. “You're going to tell me everything I need to know or I am going to kill you.” He grunts in my ear, his disgusting breath fanning in my face. “Slowly…” he says, slithering his tongue like a snake. “And then I will send you back to Yuri in pieces. Is that what you want C.C?” he asks, condescension dripping from him with an assurance that makes me want to throw up.
“Why am I here Dominic?” I am trying very hard not to panic, but I am pretty sure Andrey drugged me and brought me here - wherever here is - and now I am tied to a fucking chair. I have no idea how long I have been out of it or if Yuri even knows I have been taken. I have a bad feeling I’m not going to escape and Yuri’s not going to show up just in time to save me like I’ve seen in the movies. I. Am. Fucked!
“Do you even know who he is?” Dominic yells, releasing my hair forcefully, moving around the chair, and pacing in front of me. The relief on my scalp is instant, making it difficult to focus on what he is saying. “Do you know what he is? What has he done? Or did you just see his pretty face and fall to your knees the second he said your name?” He barks out at lightning speed.
Now I see it. What Yuri was trying to warn me against. My stubborn independence is going to be the literal death of me.
The realization that Dom was never my friend stings. He just used me to get to Yuri… But how the hell did he know who Yuri was? How did he know about our childhood friendship? Or that we felt more for each other when I didn’t even know until a few weeks ago?
Determination hits me like a tidal wave. I can’t tell him anything. I won’t. I need to figure this out and somehow get the hell out of here. Alive.
“Why the hell do you even care?” I spit out, “We were never friends, right? So what’s it to you if I know who he is?” raising my voice, I try to sound strong, but the waver behind my words gives me away, my fear slipping through. “I should have known!” I sigh, getting a little choked up. “How was I so blind?”
Why is this my life? How did I get here? I start to panic, then remember Yuri. I can’t lose my cool. I need to get Dom talking so I can figure out how the hell I am going to get out of this place, get back to Yuri, and warn him about Dominic. I won’t be able to do that if I freak out. I have to get out of here. I have to get back to Yuri.
Dominic growls and stalks back up to me and grabs my jaw hard with one hand. “Answer my questions you fucking bitch! Do you know who Yuri is and what he has done!?” He squeezes my face, which causes my head to pound even harder, nausea comes over me in waves, and black spots start to cover my vision. Something isn't right. I look into Dominic’s blurry face as everything goes black.
When I come to, I hear Dominic talking. I try to open my eyes, but they won’t stay open!
“Something is wrong with her! She’s white as a sheet and she just passed out for no reason! I haven’t even touched her yet!”
There is a ringing in my ears and when I try to move it’s like my body is stuck in wet sand.
“She’s got a nasty bump on her head…”
I feel fingers digging into my hair and I try really hard not to wince at the pain.
“...definitely a welt. It’s the size of a fucking baseball!” he shouts causing me to twitch involuntarily. “That fucking idiot had one job!”
A few heartbeats of silence cause me to panic and I try and fail again to open my eyes. With every passing second I feel like my arms and legs get heavier.
“Well she is no use to me if she can't stay conscious… No, send the doctor before the auction. She is no good to me dead.”
My head is pounding. I can feel it pulsing. I groan and go to reach for the spot on the back of my head that hurts but I can’t move my arms. Everything comes floating back. I’m not in my apartment. I have no clue where I am. Shit! I slowly open my eyes and realize I have been moved from a chair to a bed.
Fuck! Note to self: Don’t pass out when kidnapped!
I look around, or try too anyway seeing I am tied to the bed and no longer in the clothes I wore when I got here. I am in some silky white, nearly see-through, sleeping dress with a lace-lined neckline that plunges in a V down my chest and a matching lace hem.
“What the hell?!” I whisper-shout. The bed is a basic metal frame with a shitty twin mattress on top. I move my head around slowly so I don’t get dizzy again and that’s when I see him, Dom, just sitting there with a sleazy smirk on his face. Shit! “What happened?” I say, waiting for an explanation. When he doesn’t give one, I ask “Why am I on a bed and where are my clothes?” trying and failing to keep my voice from breaking. It’s then I start to wonder what his real intentions are. Before, I would have never thought Dominic would hurt me, but now, I don’t know what to expect and my stomach drops. “What are you going to do with me Dominic?”
He laughs. He fucking laughs, making my fear kick into high gear. “You have a concussion. That is why you are on the bed. You’ve been cleaned, prepped, and medicated. Now, you will answer my questions. How you answer them depends on how intact I leave you.” His eyes have grown dark and now I am even more terrified. He starts walking towards me and I try not to cower. He braces his hands on the bed and leans in so his face is so close to mine I can feel his breath slide across my face.
“How long have you known who Yuri is?” he whispers in my ear, breathing heavily.
I try to shrink away but the ties just pull a little tighter pinching the skin around my wrists making me gasp with the pain. He laughs at my reaction.
Then, before I see it coming, SMACK !
“Ahh!” I let out a breathy shout as a stinging pain radiates the side of my face and my vision goes hazy. “I just found out he was still alive a month ago you psychopath!” I say breathing erratically. “I think I am going to be sick.” I blurt out. My stomach rolling and my head pounding.
“You’ll be fine you stupid slut! Now tell me,” He growls gripping my jaw so tight I can feel the bruises beginning to form under the pads of his fingers. “He and his father are making plans. I know you know what they are. I know they are trying to stop our expansion. WHAT. IS. HE. PLANNING !” he spits out his grip growing tighter.
I force out. “Can’t. Speak.” With how hard he’s got me I can barely form the words. He releases his hold on my face gripping my neck. Further emphasising his control over whether I live or die. “He kept me in the dark about everything...” I tried to speak forcefully and confidently as I glared daggers at him. I think I know where this is going and I won’t die here. “...for my protection. I don’t know anything!” Making sure to put emphasis on the fact I know nothing! I can feel his grip getting tighter and then he lets go.
He is walking away, but stays in my line of vision. Then, he spins around quickly on the wet cement floor. I need to figure out how to loosen these restraints to get the hell off this bed! I look around for any identifying features: doors, windows, anything to help me figure out where I am, but all I see is darkness. All I hear are the echoes of his feet as he makes his way close to me again.
I try with every fiber of my being not to react to his closeness, but he can see the subtle flinch on my face. Then he spits at me, he just fucking spat on my face! Then he takes out his phone and starts taking pictures of me. I’m trussed up like a lamb being left for the slaughter, and I try to hold back the tears.
No! I tell myself, determination filling my body as I begin to rage silently. I won’t let him make me feel this way. I can’t stay here. I won’t let him win.
“What do you want with me Dom?” I rush out trying to keep a steady and even tone. Pushing down the fear. His face shifts and darkens. My stomach drops and I have a feeling this is way worse than just getting revenge on a family.
“What do I want with you?” he laughs so hard it echoes off the concrete walls. “I am going to sell you off to the highest bidder.” He laughs out the sentence and I feel my face drop as his smile gets bigger. “I want to watch you bleed, scream, and beg for it to stop. Then I want to watch it happen all over again.” His voice is getting deeper. “I want to see you break. Then return you to him. Just to see his face when he realizes you will never be his again.” My stomach is rolling, and I feel the color drain from my face. I think I am going to be sick.
“Why?” I whisper completely dumbfounded by the situation I find myself in. This can’t be real.
With fire in his eyes and a wide smile spreading like a crack across his face, he lets out a villainous laugh. “Why dear C.C. because I can! Because I want him broken.”
I begin to shake and it’s getting harder to fight to keep my tears at bay, but I will not cry in front of this asshole. I won't.
He continues, “I want him so broken that he has NO chance to destroy what I have built. I want him out of my way!” He comes closer and I see a light reflect in his hands. I dart my eyes in a quick glance toward his hands and see it, a knife. He’s going to kill me!
He goes for the bed. Launching himself at me like a possessed spider monkey. He’s on top of me so quickly, before I know it his legs on either side of my thighs and one hand is braced on my shoulder. I don’t waste any time! I buck my hips to prevent him from putting his whole weight on top of me. He tilts forward just enough that when I swing my elbow up it makes contact with his eye!
Yes! I nearly shout, but I stop myself.
He lets out a frustrated growl and moves to reposition himself on top of me again, but I keep squirming and wiggling around as much as I can hoping he’ll drop the damn knife. I need to keep moving and keep him off balance. Maybe he’ll even accidently cut my ties. I am doing everything in my power to get the hell out of here.
He grunts again, “Stop moving your stupid bitch!”
A nervous giggle slips from me, “What? Too afraid of a fair fight?” I say while thrashing, “Are you so afraid I’ll beat you that you had to tie me up? You’re a coward! You’re weak!” I snarl, “It doesn’t take a strong man to slice up a girl when she’s tied to a bed!” I goad him trying to get him to untie my hands. If I can get the knife from him. I can run.
He’s still on me, but I keep using his momentum against him. Everytime he tries to straddle me, I buck him off. He leans in and I use my knees to propel him face first into the headboard. I can feel the ties on my hands loosening. No. Fucking. Way. I keep moving my arms and hands. I can feel the rope burning my skin, but I push through the pain trying to loosen the restraints.
“Stop fucking moving!” He grinds out in frustration through clenched teeth. Then he grabs me by the neck with one hand and starts to squeeze. I move to buck him off again. I knee him hard in the ass, causing him to flail. One hand lands on the wall above me, the other is at my side. All of a sudden, I feel a burning pain and gasp for air. The pain is so sharp it takes my breath away.
“Wh- What…what did…you…do?” I continue gasping for breath and see his eyes go wide. He seems shocked.
“Now look at what you did!” he yells.
Smack! He backhands me across the face.
“You’re going to ruin everything you stupid bitch!”
Smack! He hits me again and I see stars cascade across my vision.
I feel dizzy. I feel Dominic loosening the restraints on my wrist, then he unties my ankles. I’ll only get one chance to escape! I fight through the pain as adrenaline fills my veins. I touch my stomach at the source of the pain and wince. I pull my hand away and see blood. FUCK!
“You stabbed me?!” I shout, my pitch so high I let out a squeak. I try to stand but have to sit because the room starts to spin. I look at him, horrified, “You really fucking stabbed me!” I place my hand firmly over the wound to try and stop the flow of blood.
He walks away from the bed and quickly returns with a cloth and throws it in my face. I grab it with my free hand, in shock. I quickly examine it, but I can’t tell if it’s clean. In a place like this, I doubt it, but I take the chance and press it firmly to my side.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll get the doc in here and he’ll stitch you right up, good as new.” He says matter-of-factly. I feel more blood seeping through the cloth and try to stand again. I’m wobbly on my feet and the room starts to spin again, but I focus on centering myself.
Move Charlie, you have to move! My inner voice yells at me.
I take a step and almost fall but manage to stay upright. I take one, two more steps before my breath becomes labored and my vision starts to go. I begin to feel cold and know this isn't a minor flesh wound. He hit something vital. I’m dying.
I.
Am.
I hear a loud bang as my world continues to darken. I fall and my knees hit the floor with a crack and I land hard on my shoulder. Throwing the useless cloth I start to crawl. I have to keep moving! It’s so dark, I can’t see where I’m going but I just keep crawling!