CHAPTER 22
IRIS
The room is cold and empty. Its only furnishing is a metal table and two chairs, while a huge mirror covers one whole wall to hide the eyes I know are watching us.
They have the kind of technology that takes away all our privacy, and as I sit there with Tessa beside me, I can feel their stares pressing against my skin.
Tessa sits with her arms crossed tight against her chest as she glares at her reflection in the glass like she wants to break it just by looking at it.
"This is so stupid," she mutters while shaking her head. "I don’t even know anything. Why am I here?"
"Because you were with me," I answer softly. I feel sick to my stomach because I know she is only in this mess because of my choices.
"Great," she sighs and rolls her eyes. "Guilt by association. I love that for me." I almost smile, but then the heavy metal door opens.
Two men walk inside and change the feeling in the room right away.
The first is Roman, one of the redheaded twins, who leans against the wall looking bored but dangerous as he watches us with eyes I cannot read.
The second man is an older man with a fighters built.
He does not sit down. He just looks me square in the eyes.
"I am Andrei," he says, gruffly. "That is all you need to know. "
He pulls a notepad from his pocket and looks at me with cold eyes. "How old are you?" I scoff and lean back in my chair. "You kidnapped me and didn't even know how old I was? You just picked a random person off the street, didn't you?"
That shuts him up for a second. His jaw tightens, but he keeps going.
"Where is your mother? Who is your family?
Where do you live?" I lock my jaw and stare at the wall refusing to give him a single answer.
He sighs and turns his attention to Tessa.
"What about you? Where does your family live? Give me an address."
"Nope," Tessa says, popping the p like she does not care at all. "That is not happening." Andrei steps closer to the table. "You are in a lot of trouble, girl. You need to talk."
"And I keep telling you, I literally don't know anything," Tessa says while looking him right in the eye. "I am an NGO worker. I help people for a living. I was just helping my friend, and that is it. I don't know anything about your mafia business or whatever shady crap you have going on."
Roman pushes off the wall then. He stares at her with a look of surprise. "You expect us to believe that?" Tessa turns her glare on him. "I don't care what you believe. It’s the truth."
Roman stares at her for a long moment and looks like he is actually impressed by her attitude before he looks away. Andrei tries again. "Where did you meet Ilay? What do you know about the case? What were you doing in Montana?"
We stay completely silent like stone statues.
Eventually, Andrei sighs and snaps his notebook shut. "This is going nowhere."
Roman nods toward the door. "Let's go. Give them some time to sit in the quiet and think about their future."
They walk out, and the heavy lock clicks shut behind them to leave us alone in the silence.
Time feels like it is moving in slow motion as we wait.
It stretches ten minutes into an hour while they play mind games with us.
I stand up and start pacing around the small room to burn off the nervous energy in my body, while Tessa drums her fingers on the table.
The sound echoes like a clock ticking down.
"This is so messed up," Tessa mutters while staring at the table.
"I know," I say as I stop to look at her. "I am so sorry I dragged you into this."
"You didn't drag me into anything," she says firmly and looks up at me. "I chose to come with you. And I would do it again."
"But look where we are," I say and gesture to the cold room. "You could get hurt because of me."
"We will get through this," she says and reaches out to squeeze my hand. "We are tough, remember?"
I smile at her, grateful that she is so brave. "Yeah. We are."
But before I can say anything else, the handle turns, and the door opens once more.
The feeling in the room turns bad instantly because these are not the guards from before. Five men walk in who look mean and hungry like wolves let off a leash. The tallest one looks me up and down in a slow and gross way, while a shorter man smiles at Tessa making my skin crawl.
"Boss left you two all alone?" the short one tks as he stands in front of the door to block our way out. "That is not very nice of him."
I back toward the chair with my heart pounding against my ribs like a hammer as the men begin to circle us like hunters cornering a trapped animal.
"We just thought you ladies might be lonely," the tall one says with a fake sweetness as he steps too close to me. "We figured we would keep you company."
Tessa crosses her arms tight over her chest. "We are fine. You can leave now."
That makes them laugh, the sound ugly filling the small room and making the air feel heavy.
"Feisty," one of them says while eyeing Tessa like she is a piece of meat. "I like that."
Another one leans against the wall and looks at me. "You know, you are really pretty. That red hair… I bet it looks even better spread out on a pillow."
He trails off and grins, his face makes me want to hurl.
"Don't," I say with my voice shaking. He grins wider.
"Don't what? I am just making conversation.
" Tessa glares at him. "No, you are being a creep.
There is a difference." The tall one laughs and steps even closer to invade our personal space until I can smell the old cigarettes on his breath.
"A creep? Come on, sweetheart. We are just trying to be friendly. "
"Friendly would be leaving us alone," Tessa spits out, but her bravery only seems to make them more excited.
"Where is the fun in that?" another one says as he moves to stand behind our chairs.
I feel my skin crawl because I can feel his body heat right against my back, which makes it hard to breathe.
The short man crouches down in front of Tessa and looks up at her with a disgusting smile.
"You know, you have a smart mouth," he says.
"I wonder what else that mouth can do." Tessa’s face twists in disgust. "Get away from me.
" He laughs. "See? Feisty. I told you guys.
" The one behind me puts his hand on the back of my chair so his rough fingers brush my shoulder, and I flinch violently.
"Relax," he says, his voice low and oily.
"We are not going to hurt you. We just want to have a little fun.
You girls look so tense. We can help with that. "
"We don't want your help," I whisper with my throat tight with fear.
"Sure you do," the tall one says. He reaches out and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, and his fingers stay on my skin long enough to make my stomach turn.
I pull away from his touch like he burned me.
"Don't touch me," I whimper. "Why not?" he asks and leans in closer.
"You are going to be here a while. We might as well make the most of it.
Boss isn't coming back for hours, and we have all the time in the world. "
Tessa stands up suddenly, and her chair scrapes loud against the floor. "Get away from us." The short one stands too and blocks her path. "Where are you going? We are just getting started."
"I said get away," Tessa repeats, louder . "Or what?" he asks as he steps closer. "What are you going to do?" The one behind me grabs my shoulder hard. I try to stand, but he shoves me back down into the chair.
"Sit," he orders. My breath catches in my throat, and fear claws at my chest to make it hard to think. The tall one looks at his friends and grins. "I think it’s time we stop being so polite. What do you guys think?"
"Yeah," another one agrees. "I’m tired of talking.
" The short one reaches for Tessa’s arm.
"Come here, sweetheart." Tessa yanks her arm away.
"Don't touch me!" He grabs her wrist anyway and pulls her toward him.
She twists her body and punches him in the face with a loud crack.
He stumbles back as blood pours from his nose.
"You bitch!" Chaos breaks out instantly.
The one behind me grabs my hair and yanks my head back hard until a scream tears from my throat.
Another one grabs Tessa from behind and wraps his arms around her to pin her down.
She kicks and fights as she throws her body weight around, but he throws her against the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her.
I try to get to her, but the one holding my hair yanks harder to force me back.
"Stop fighting," he hisses in my ear with his wet breath against my neck making me sick.
"It will be easier if you just relax." I bite his hand as hard as I can until I taste blood.
He screams and lets go. I try to crawl toward Tessa, but two other men grab me before I can take a step, pinning my arms to my sides with strength I can't fight against.
Tessa is still fighting like a wild animal as she punches one man in the throat and kicks another, but there are too many of them. The short man grabs her wrist and twists it behind her back until she cries out in pain. "Tessa!" I sob.
One of them slaps me across the face to send a burst of hot pain through my head, and I hit the ground hard and taste blood in my mouth.
Tessa kicks backward to catch one of them between the legs.
He howls and lets go, but another one punches her in the ribs.
She crumples to the floor and gasps for air.
They shove her down. One of them plants a heavy boot on her back and presses down hard so she can't move.
She claws at the ground while trying to get up, but he presses harder. She screams. Another one grabs me by the throat and slams me against the table leg. I can't breathe. Black spots dance in my vision. One of them reaches for my skirt with hands that are rough and eager.
I kick him in the face as hard as I can. He staggers back while cursing. But another one takes his place right away. He starts unbuckling his belt. The sound of the metal opening cuts through the room like a gunshot. "No!" I scream with tears blurring my vision. "No, please!"
Tessa is sobbing and gasping for air under that boot, but she is still trying to fight.
The one standing over her starts unbuttoning his pants.
"Stop!" Tessa screams. "Get off me!" The one holding me down starts pulling at my clothes.
I fight against him while crying and begging, but he is too strong.
I realize with horror that no one is coming to save us. I kick blindly and hit a face, but his weight crushes the air from my lungs as he forces my legs apart. "Please," I sob with my voice shaking. "Please don't." He doesn't stop.
And then, the world explodes.
A huge BANG fills the air, my eyes go blurry as more gunshots ring out. Crack. Crack. Crack. They are followed by the heavy sounds of bodies hitting the floor. The weight on top of me is gone instantly and is replaced by the smell of smoke and blood.
Gentle hands are suddenly on me and lift me from the cold floor, but my mind is too messed up to know who it is. I can't keep my eyes open as the room spins around me, and the darkness finally takes over.
Somewhere far away I hear a voice that sounds broken or screaming or maybe crying, but the sound fades away as I pass out.