Chapter Twenty-Six
GAbrIELLA-ROSE
I WASN'T SURE WHAT the time was. All I knew was that it must be close to lunchtime because I was starting to feel quite hungry. Since coming here, my appetite had returned, and I was able to eat without immediately wanting to throw it back up. In some respects, this would have been a relief if I’d been at home and could just walk into the kitchen to get myself something to eat. However, being locked in this room meant that I had to rely on Vincent to bring me food.
I had spent the past five days trying to think about the men in my life, hoping that they were okay and surviving without me. I thought about Gino’s lifeless body lying on the ground, praying that someone had found him in time and that he was still alive. I wondered how long it would take the three of them to forget about me and get on with their lives. Whether they ever would. On the other hand, would they pine after me until the day that they died?
I hoped that was not the case. I wanted all of them to be happy and hoped they would eventually find a woman they could share their life with.
When I wasn’t thinking about the men in my life because it hurt far too much, I thought about the precious life that was growing inside me. I spoke to them all the time, wanting them to recognize my voice as soon as they were born. I even started to talk to them in Italian as well, explaining exactly what I was saying to them, in the hope they would learn that as well. I knew it was silly, expecting so much of someone so tiny, but it was what got me through the long days and nights on my own.
I was lying in bed when I heard the key turning in the lock. Something about the way Vincent was opening the door instantly put me on edge. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, with my back up against the headboard and my knees pulled up as far as I dared.
As I looked at him as he walked into the room, I could tell that he was high on drugs. His pupils were so dilated that his eyes looked almost black. He closed the door behind him and locked it, something he had never done since we had arrived here five days ago.
I knew my time had come. He didn’t have to say a word for me to know that after today, things would be different – or, in my case, the same. I was going to quickly be flung back to six months ago when my life had consisted of regular beatings and being raped, for want of a better word, daily.
An evil smirk came over his face, one that sent shivers down my spine. “Hello, my Angel. Have you missed me?”
He stood at the foot of the bed as I cowered at the other. I could see his cock was already hard in his pants. He was aroused by my fear. He always had been. I realized now that he wasn’t a Dom. He was a sadist who fed on my fear and pain. I tried to pull some sense of courage from inside me as I spoke, not wanting to feed his sadism any more than it already was.
“What do you want from me, Vincent? I’ve offered you the money that you believe is yours. If it isn’t that, then what is it?”
He stormed around to the side of the bed, and my courage immediately left me as I scooted as far away as possible from him. He smirked seeing the fear in my body language and face. How I instantly placed my hands around my stomach to protect my baby growing inside me.
“I would be very afraid if I were you, Ella. You’ve had five days to get used to being back in my life, and the niceties finish now. Today, you start to pay me back for everything you have put me through. Believe me, it is not going to be pleasant. At least for you, it won’t be. For me? Well, I am going to enjoy every second of it.”
The smirk that came over his face actually turned my stomach.
“Today, I am going to do what I have missed for the past six months. You need retraining on how you should act as a sub, I suspect. I’m sure Hudson treated you as a queen in the bedroom, but me? Well, I am going to treat you like the whore you are and always have been. And at the end of it, you will say thank you, because it will be exactly what you wanted. What you have craved since you left me.”
I didn’t have time to move or even think as he jumped onto the bed and grabbed my wrist with one hand, pulling out a cuff from under the bed that I hadn’t even realized was there. He placed my wrist in the cuff and did it up tight so I could feel the leather biting into my skin. I tried desperately to kick out at him, but he grabbed my foot and proceeded to place that in a cuff at the bottom of the bed, leaving me no way of escaping. He got off the bed and headed around the other side. I tried to lean over with my free hand and release the one in the cuff, but he grabbed it just as I touched the clasp, pulling me back down on the bed and placing it in the other cuff before finally restraining my other leg.
I was tied to the bed completely, with no way to escape or defend myself from him. The tears started to fall down my face as the realization of what was about to happen to me started to hit home. He was going to rape me. Then he would probably beat me like he always did.
He got onto the bed in between my legs and ripped off the clothes I was wearing, leaving me lying there naked.
“I must say your body isn’t as repulsive as it used to be. It looks as though you have lost a bit of weight since I last had you.”
The tears were now pouring down my face and I couldn’t hold back the sobs as I started to plead with him for the sake of my unborn child.
“Please, Vincent. Don’t do this to me. I know you hate me and always have. But I have a new life, one that I am happy with. One where I am going to become a mother like I have always wanted. You may not have wanted it, but I do. I’ll do anything, give you anything, but please don’t hurt my baby.”
He started to remove his shirt as he loomed over me and let out a sadistic laugh. “Do you really think that you lying there pleading and begging is going to stop me? You really do not know me that well, do you, Angel? The fear just makes me want you more. I would have thought by now you would realize that. Do you think I give a fuck if you lose the bastard child or not? Because I really don’t. You will never become a mother anyway, because my plans for you don’t involve you leaving and going away to live a happy life. No, once I’m finished with you, I am going to pass you over to a friend of mine, and his orders are quite clear: to kill you and the baby. Now that I have made that clear, it’s time to start your punishment.”
I watched as he started to remove his pants, freeing his cock from the confines of them. I struggled to try to get myself free from the restraints he had put me in. I felt his warm breath on my skin as he lowered himself down onto me, his cock rubbing down toward my opening.
I couldn’t stop the scream that left my mouth as he placed his hand around my neck. All of a sudden, there was a crash as the door to the bedroom was smashed in and six men rushed into the room. At first, I wondered who the hell had come in until I heard his voice.
Viktor.
“Get the fuck off of her NOW!”
Vincent immediately lifted off me and turned to face the men who had entered the bedroom.
“Who the fuck are you, and what the hell are you doing here? Get the fuck out of my house now!”
Four men instantly grabbed Vincent and started to punch him as he cried out in pain. Viktor grabbed a blanket and covered me over while he and another gentleman removed the restraints. The men were now holding a bloodied and bruised Vincent in their arms.
“Are you alright, malyshka? Did he do anything to you or hurt you or the baby?”
I had moved back up to the top of the bed, unsure of the man with Viktor, and covered my entire body. I shook my head at Viktor as the tears continued to fall.
“Let me just deal with this bastard, and then I can help you.”
I nodded, and Viktor turned to Vincent walking up to him.
“You don’t realize who I am, do you Mr. Forbes-Stuart? Well, let me enlighten you. I am Viktor Koslov. I find it funny that you don’t know me, seeing as we have been talking all day.”
A look of horror came over his face.
“I see you realize exactly who I am now. I’m sorry you were unable to speak to Nikolai today. However, he met with a terrible accident the other day. Somehow, he managed to come into contact with a sword and a bullet from a gun. A very messy situation. I thought I would help him out by taking his phone for him to keep his traitorous side business going. Now, as fun as this is to talk to you, I really need to deal with my malyshka here and get her home. Don’t worry, though. I will be seeing you again very soon, and what happened to Nikolai will be tame compared to what happens to you.”
Viktor walked right up to Vincent and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. He slumped in the arms of the men that were holding him.
Viktor spoke to them both. “Uberite ego s glaz moich.”
With that, the men carried Vincent out of the room, leaving me alone with Viktor and the other man.
“You don’t have to fear Aleksandr. He is my second in command, like Gino. He is also good friends with Nico and Gino.”
It was only then that I thought about Gino and whether he was still alive. I quickly turned to Viktor and went to speak, but he answered my question before I even asked it.
“Gino is alive. Aleksandr and his men found him in time. All three of them are on their way up here now. I’m going to take you to a hotel and wait for them with you. Aleksandr will accompany me, but he can wait outside if you would like.”
I looked over at Aleksandr, who now looked a lot less menacing than I first thought.
He smiled at me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Quinn.”
I smiled back. “And you, Aleksandr. Please call me Gaby. Thank you for saving Gino. When I saw him lying on the ground, covered in blood…”
I couldn’t finish the sentence without the tears starting to fall. Two arms engulfed me and held me. I heard Aleksandr speak as Viktor held me.
“You’re welcome, Gaby. I’m just sorry we didn’t get there sooner. I will wait for you outside, Viktor.”
I heard Aleksandr leave the room and close the door behind him.
“Are you alright, malyshka? Did he hurt you in any way before we got here?”
My tears slowed, and I started to get my emotions under control.
“No, that was the first time he tried anything. Up until that point, he had treated me quite well.”
Viktor pressed a kiss to my head. “I’m sorry it took us so long to get to you. Let’s get you into something comfortable and then get you out of here.”
There really wasn’t anything that I wanted to wear in here. It had all been purchased by Vincent, and I didn’t want to be reminded of him. There was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Aleksandr walked back into the room holding what appeared to be a t-shirt. “I thought you might like something to wear that hadn’t been brought here by him. One of the men had a spare t- shirt he said you could have. I can also see a robe over there, so I thought you could wear that as well. I suspect the guys will bring some clothes with them, so it will only be until they arrive.”
I smiled at him as he passed the shirt to me. “Thank you, Aleksandr. Please thank your man for me as well. It was very kind to think of me.”
He gave me a quick nod and left the room again.
“I’ll wait outside while you get dressed,” Viktor said. “I will be just outside if you want to come out when you are ready.”
I didn’t want to walk out there if I was going to come face-to-face with Vincent again. Viktor must have seen my concerns.
“Don’t worry. Vincent is already on his way back to New York. You won’t see him.”
“Thank you, Viktor, for everything.”
He gave me another kiss – on the cheek this time – and headed out of the room. I quickly put on the t-shirt, grabbed the robe, and put that on, along with the pair of shoes I had been wearing the day Vincent took me. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed out of the room to find Viktor and Aleksandr both standing there waiting for me.
Viktor walked over to me and placed his arm around my waist. “Let’s get you out of here, shall we?”
Viktor helped me down the stairs and out the front door to the waiting car. One man was waiting by the car, and a second car was behind it with two more in the front. As we arrived next to the first car, the man standing there opened the door for me, and Viktor helped me inside. He closed the door and then walked around to get into the other side while Aleksandr got into the front passenger seat.
“Gaby, this is my younger brother, Ivan. He was the one that gave you his spare shirt.”
I looked at Aleksandr and then at Ivan. “Thank you, Ivan. It was very kind of you and much appreciated.”
“You are welcome, Miss Quinn. Like Aleksandr and our cousin Alexei, who is in the other car, we all promised Nico and Gino that we would keep you safe. I personally know Nico and Gino quite well, so I hope that gives you some comfort.”
He turned back and started to drive us to the hotel. It did give me some comfort to know that Nico and Gino knew all these men. At least I now knew that I was safe and I could start to relax. The hotel was only a few miles away, and we arrived in about ten minutes. Ivan parked in the underground parking garage and got out to help me out of the car.
“Thank you Ivan, and thank you again for the t-shirt.”
“It was my pleasure, Miss Quinn.”
Viktor came around and placed his arm around me. He led me with Aleksandr over to the elevator. Aleksandr placed a key card against the panel next to the door. The doors opened and we all stepped inside. I noticed that Aleksandr pressed the button for the top floor. I guessed I shouldn’t be surprised. It made sense that they would pay for the best room in the hotel. The elevator doors opened, and we walked into the hallway to the only door on the floor. Aleksandr opened the door and we entered an amazing suite.
“Viktor, this is gorgeous. You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”
“It’s no trouble, malyshka. Now, do you want me to ask Aleksandr to leave? He won’t be offended and will understand after what you have been through.”
“No, it’s fine. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to lay my head down for a while. Munchkin here is telling me I need to get some rest.”
I walked over to Viktor and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then did the same to Aleksandr, to his obvious shock. I left them both standing there and headed into one of the bedrooms. I lay my head down, and in a matter of moments, I had fallen into a restful sleep.