10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Inessa
I n all the commotion of everything, I realize I’ve forgotten to pay for another week at the motel for my dad. It’s something I can’t seem to stop doing even if I would be better off without him. But he’s still my dad and he always will be.
“Where are you going?” Viktor asks as I head for the front door. After he came back from Natasha’s, he’s been in a bad mood. I’ve been giving him his space.
“I… to see my dad.”
“Where is he?”
“Staying at a motel. I’ve been paying for it to make sure he has some place to live.”
His hard eyes soften. “You’re a good daughter.”
“I try to be.”
“I’ll go with you.”
I squeak. “Uh… why?”
“Why not? It would be good to meet your dad. Make sure you’re safe. I promised I would keep you safe after all.”
The last thing that can happen is for Viktor to meet my dad.
“Um… I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with you meeting my dad. It’s just… you’re my boss. It might be weird. I want some alone time with him. If that’s ok?”
“That’s understandable. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’ve been going to this motel for the past month since I’ve been working here. It’s safe. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
I hesitate by the door and look back at Viktor but he nods me on my way. Letting out a relieved sigh, I leave the house.
I pay for the motel room right away, then go in to see my dad. He’s asleep on the bed with a beer bottle in his hand. Half of it is spilled onto the blanket. Great. An extra charge.
“Dad?” I poke him and he jerks awake.
“What’s going on?” His eyes focus on me and a wide smile spreads across his face. “Inessa. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”
“It’s been four days.”
“Feels like forever.”
“How have you been?” I nod at the beer in his hand. “Getting along? Eating real food?”
“As real as it gets.” He lets out a loud, gross burp. “Honestly, I’m not even hungry.”
“Have you just been drinking? You need food, Dad.”
“The beer fills me up. But I do eat.” He nods at a potato chip bag on the nightstand. “That was my dinner.”
“You’re going to kill yourself eating like this.” Tears form in my eyes and my throat gets choked up. “I’m trying to help you by giving you a place to live. Can’t you at least try to keep yourself alive?”
“You left me,” he says so sadly, it breaks my heart. “You left me here alone. And after your mother died too. How could you do this to me?”
“I’m here, Dad. I’m trying. You’re just drunk. Please, get help. I’ll buy you some real food tomorrow. Ok? I’ll bring it over. You need to eat.”
“Don’t leave me, Inessa.” He holds out his hand to me and like the fool I am, I take it. My dad has a hold over me and I can’t let that go. I need to know that he’s safe.
“I’ll stay with you until you fall back asleep. Then I need to leave. But I’ll bring you food tomorrow, ok?”
“Ok,” he sniffles. His grip on my hand tightens before it loosens as he falls back asleep.
I wipe my own tears away, then leave the motel room. It’s so hard seeing him like this. My dad used to be full of so much life and happiness. Then my mom died and he turned to gambling and now he’s like this.
I head back to my car when I freeze. A van is parked right behind my car, blocking me into my parking spot. I look around to see if anyone is nearby who can help me but the motel is silent. It’s dark out. No one else is out tonight.
The van behind my car is dark, so I can’t see if anyone is inside or not.
I go to the front office. “Excuse me.”
The man behind the counter gives me a lazy look. “Yes?”
“A car is blocking me in. Could you go ask the people in it to move their car?”
“Why can’t you?”
“Because… I’m afraid,” I admit. “As a man, could you do it for me?”
With a sigh, like I’m inconveniencing him, he follows me outside and over to the van where he pounds on the door. No one answers.
Up close, I don’t see anyone in the driver’s seat. The back windows are too dark to see into.
The clerk shrugs. “No one there.”
“Can you call for a tow truck? Make them move.”
“I guess. I’m going back inside. I’ll call from there.” He quickly heads back to the front office, leaving me outside on my own. Something in my gut tells me to get inside so I hurry after him.
And then I hear the sound of a car door opening and closing.
When I look over my shoulder, I see two men heading right in my direction.
It’s nothing , I tell myself. But I pick up my speed anyway.
I’m almost to the front office door when the men grab me. I try to scream but they clamp their hand over my mouth and drag me to their van. I’m powerless against two men.
They throw me into the back of the van, then drive away from the motel. The clerk doesn’t even come out to check on me.
It dawns on me that I’m being kidnapped.
“Let me go,” I scream to the two men in the front seats. They only laugh.
“You’re not going anywhere, baby,” one of them says. “We were hired to do our jobs and we’re going to do our jobs.”
“What job?” I whisper, as ice covers my entire body.
The one in the passenger seat turns around to look at me. “To make you pay.”
Viktor
When Inessa doesn’t return, even after many hours have passed, I know something is wrong. She’s visited her father before and always comes back within two hours. Not this time.
I ask Mrs. Green if she knows anything.
“Why would I know anything, sir? I don’t know the comings and goings of that child.”
“She didn’t tell you anything? Like if she was staying with her dad tonight?”
“No. Not at all.”
“You don’t happen to know who her dad is? Or what motel he’s staying at?”
She shakes her head. “No, sir. Now, can I go back to bed?”
“Of course.”
She shuts her bedroom door in my face.
The problem with Inessa is that I pay her in cash, so I know she uses cash to pay for the motel room for her dad. That makes it impossible to track. I’ve never followed her or sent any of my men to follow her because I do believe in giving my staff some privacy.
Now, I regret not knowing what motel her dad stays at, or what his name is. I never bothered digging into Inessa’s past. It didn’t seem worth my time. She’s a good girl who does her job well. I’ve never needed to worry about her whereabouts.
But now I’m worried.
There is someone who’s good at tracking people and that’s Finn. But I don’t like the way he looked at Inessa in the past: part lust and part distrust.
I worry he’d hurt her if I sent him after her.
Maybe I’m just being paranoid. It’s only because I care about Inessa. I’ll give it until morning and if she’s not return, then I’ll go looking for her.
Inessa
The men bring me to an old abandoned warehouse.
“You don’t have to do this,” I say as one of them drags me from the van. “You can let me go. Whoever paid you to do this, I can pay more. I can give you seven thousand dollars.” It’s all my money but worth it for my life.
The one holding me snorts. “We were paid a hundred grand each to do this. Seven thousand dollars ain’t worth shit.”
“Who paid you? Who’s doing this?” My first thought is Natasha. She did say she would hurt me. But would she really do this?
My father owes people money. I know that for a fact. There’s a chance one of those people is behind this. But who would that be? I don’t know all the people my father has upset.
“We’re not telling you anything,” the one walking ahead of me says. “Now, be a good girl and shut the fuck up.”
They bring me inside the warehouse and down into a cold basement. A rusty dog cage sits in the middle of the room.
Instinctually, my body begins to fight back. “No!” I start kicking and clawing at the man holding me. My fingers rake down his cheek and he flinches back, his hold loosening just enough for me to make a run for it.
But I don’t make it far before he grabs me again and hauls me towards the cage. He throws me so hard into the cage that my head hits the ceiling of it, making stars shine in front of my eyes.
“Stay there,” he growls, slamming the door shut and locking it. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Are you going to let me starve down here? Are you going to kill me?”
“We do have orders to kill you. We also have orders to hurt you. But this will do for now.”
Both men go upstairs and shut the door behind them, submerging me into complete darkness. It’s super chilly down here. Shivers rack my body. I hold myself for warmth but it doesn’t do anything. This sort of cold, once it seeps into your body, is hard to get out.
I try to unlock the cage. It doesn’t crack open at all, no matter how hard I hit it or use my fingernails to pick the lock. I’m not getting out of here.
I test the bars and see if I can bend any of them but it’s a sturdy cage.
I’m stuck.
With nothing to do but sit there, I try to conserve the warmth in my body. There’s no point in screaming for help. No one will hear me down here.
The only hope I have is that someone will save me. My father? No. He’s wasted back at the motel. He won’t notice I’m gone for at least a week and even then, he won’t be able to help me. He can barely help himself.
That leaves Viktor.
I know he would come save me if he knew where I was. But the question is: does he know where I am?
I don’t know who these men are and I’m running out of time to find out. I’ll freeze down here if I don’t get out soon.
I’m not sure how much time has passed before the men come back down the stairs. Time moves differently in complete darkness.
“Our boss wants you to hurt.” They open the cage door and drag me out. Before I can even try to stand up and run away, one of them kicks me right in the stomach.
The pain is excruciating. I cry out but that only makes the men laugh. The other one kicks me in the back.
Then the front. Then the back again.
“Slow down,” one of them growls. I can barely make out who in the darkness. “If we keep going like this, she’ll die. Our boss wants her to suffer for as long as possible before we kill her. She wants to be here to see it happen.”
She.
That confirms it for me. Natasha is behind this.
“Natasha Morozov?” I ask.
The two men go still.
That double confirms it.
“She’s behind this?” I gasp out, clutching my stomach. I’ve never known physical pain like this.
“Shut up.” A kick to my face makes me go quiet. Nothing feels broken but the pain in my body doesn’t care about that.
“If you kick her in the head, she might die. Don’t do that.”
“Then we should do other things.” I hear a zipper come undone and pants being pushed down.
Oh no. Not that. Anything but that.
I kick and scream and my foot manages to land a hit to one of the men’s faces. He grunts and stumbles back, falling onto his butt.
I manage to jump to my feet and run for the stairs but the other man grabs me around the waist and throws me to the floor. I smash onto it. All the air leaves my body, making it impossible for me to get up.
Footsteps on the stairs make all three of us turn to see who it is.
Natasha reaches the bottom stair and smiles down at me, victory written on her face. “You thought you could steal my man from me.”
“You’re really going to do this?” I gasp out.
“Yes. I’m going to watch these men beat you and rape you to your death. It’s going to be so much fun.”
“Please.” A single tear runs down my cheek. It stings. I must have a cut on my cheek from where I was kicked. “Please don’t do this.”
“Viktor should have fired you.”
“Then be mad at him. I’m innocent.”
She scoffs. “You’re not innocent. You’re a seductress. Women like you only pretend to be innocent while you steal another woman’s man.”
“I never stole Viktor. He doesn’t want to be with you.”
“Shut up,” she hisses, slapping me across the face. “You can try to play innocent all you like but I know the real you. I know the secrets you’re hiding.”
I go still. Secrets? She can’t mean…
“I know that you pretend to be innocent. I know that you only took that job to get close to Viktor so you could seduce him.”
So, she doesn’t know who I really am. That’s one thing at least. Even though it’s not going to help me in this situation.
“I took the job because I needed the money.” My voice sounds so pathetic in the echo-y room.
“A pretty girl like you could have gotten a job anywhere. It never had to be as Viktor’s maid.”
“Natasha, please. You have to believe me. I never took that job to seduce him. I took the job because I needed the money. That was the only reason.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you made him break up with me. And I don’t like that. I’m going to have Viktor for myself.”
“What happens when he finds out what you did to me?” It’s taking all of my energy to speak but I have to say this. I can’t go down without a fight.
She scoffs. “He’ll never find out.”
“He’ll wonder where I went. He’ll look into it. Somehow, he will find out you’re connected. You think he’ll be with you then? Because he won’t be. You know that, Natasha.”
Her face contorts into pure fury. “You don’t know anything.” Her fist connects with my nose and it cracks. Pain explodes behind my eyes.
I cry and moan and clutch at my face.
“You hurt my knuckles,” she hisses. “How dare you do that. One more thing I can blame you for.”
“Please,” I say, even though my voice sounds muffled. I’m fairly positive my nose is broken and already swollen.
“You’re begging will do nothing for me. I’m going to kill you and throw you away like the trash you are.”
She nods at the two men. “You can have your way with her. I’m going to watch.”
They descend on me.
Natasha’s phone rings. “Stop,” she orders, answering it. “Viktor!” Her tone is instantly warm and welcoming. So different from the cold hearted bitch she just was.
The men remove their hands from my body. I still have my dress and underwear on. But I know once those are gone, there will be nothing in the way to stop these men from raping me.
“You want to meet?” she asks sweetly. “We can meet. Of course.” She’s silent for a moment. “Uh-huh. I’ll be there.” She hangs up. “Don’t touch her until I’m back. Put her in the cage. I don’t want to see her suffer unless I’m here to see it myself.”
The men do as they’re told and toss me back into the cage. Once again, my head bangs against the bars, causing me to see stars. I think I have a concussion. It might even be worse than that.
Natasha leaves with one last wicked smile in my direction.
Viktor
I have Natasha come to my house.
It’s early morning and Inessa still hasn’t returned. Either she decided to leave, which if that was the case, she would have taken her money with her. I checked her room. Her stash of money is still there, hidden under her bed.
Or, someone kidnaped her.
It’s common in the Bratva world. People kidnap kids and wives and girlfriends and boyfriends all the time to hurt the people they want to hurt. I know Erik himself kidnapped one of Dante’s friends, a girl named Aria, years ago, back when they were enemies.
Last I heard of her, she was eighteen now. She was someone I could have kidnapped to hurt Dante for hurting me when he kidnapped Nadia but I never considered it. I don’t believe in kidnapping people for gain.
It’s tacky to me. There are other ways to scare your opponent.
I know for a fact that Inessa told me she was worried Natasha would hurt her. I never thought that would happen but I’m starting to think the opposite.
I have no other leads. I need to make sure Natasha didn’t do anything.
And if she did, then I’m going to find Inessa and fucking murder Natasha for pissing me off.
She arrives at my house, taking way too long in my opinion.
“Viktor. Welcomed me back, did you?” She waltzes right into my home.
Without waiting a beat, I shove her against the wall. “Did you do something to Inessa?”
She tenses for just a moment before she frowns. “No. What happened?”
“Don’t lie to me,” I growl, taking my gun out and placing it right under her chin. “I will kill you if you lie to me.”
“I never thought you were one to kill a woman. I have guards, you know. Men who will kill you if I’m dead.”
“I can deal with them. Where is Inessa? If anyone knew where she’d be last night, it would be you. You have a vendetta against her. Did you follow her? Kidnap her?”
“I did no such thing.”
“I don’t believe you. I can tell you’re lying to me. I will spare your life, Natasha, if you tell me where Inessa is.”
She pouts. “It’s not fair. You promised to marry me. I’m just making sure there’s no obstacles in the way of that happening.”
I shove her harder against the wall, making her wince. “So, you did take her. Where?”
“She’ll be dead soon if she isn’t already. Give her up, Viktor. Be with me.”
“Take me to her or-,”
“Or what?” She raises an eyebrow. “If you kill me, you’ll never figure out where she is. You need me. I’ll tell you where Inessa is if… if you marry me.”
I scoff. “Marry you? Why the fuck would I do that? I can’t stand the sight of you any longer, Natasha. You disgust me. Why the ever fuck would I marry you?”
“To save your precious Inessa.”
“I would rather shove a hot poker into my eye. I know you have your parents you care about. How about I visit them? Do you want that?”
All the bravado falls from her face. “Leave my parents out of this.”
“So, you don’t want me to kill them then. Understood. I won’t have to kill them if you just tell me where Inessa is.”
“Never.”
“Mr. Smirnov?” Mrs. Green’s voice interrupts us.
I glance over at her to find her looking between me and Natasha, an afraid expression on her face.
And that’s my mistake.
Natasha knees me in the balls and shoves me back as she runs for the front door.
“Damn it.” Once I compose myself, I chase after her. She makes it to her car before I can reach her. Without hesitating, I dive into my own car and follow her.
It’s hard to follow when she keeps trying to lose me but eventually, she gives up and takes me to a warehouse. She’s running inside, on her phone, by the time I pull up.
I run as fast and hard as I can.
“Kill her!” I hear Natasha’s voice saying. “Kill her now, you understand!”
I follow her voice down a set of stairs into a freezing cold basement.
Inessa is on the ground, beaten and bloody, while a man holds a gun to her head. I don’t think. I just act.
I shoot the man in the head, then turn my gun on the other man. They’re both dead within seconds.
Natasha screams and runs at Inessa, kicking and punching her. I wrench Natasha to the side and throw her to the ground where I place my foot onto her throat.
“You fucked up,” I growl, lifting my gun to her head.
“Viktor, no,” Inessa groans. Her voice sounds muffled. “Don’t kill her.”
“What? She tortured you. She kidnapped you. She deserves to die.”
“I don’t want to see you kill another person. Just let her go.”
Natasha smirks up at me, knowing she’s won. I’m not going to kill Natasha in front of Inessa. She’s already been through enough.
I lift my boot from her throat. “Go. And if you try anything in the future, you’re fucking dead.”
“You should have married me, Viktor.” She runs up the stairs and disappears from view.
I hurry to Inessa’s side. “Oh, Inessa.”
She’s bruised all over. Her nose is clearly broken.
“I need to get you to the hospital. This is too much for my own private doctor.”
She grips my jacket as I carry her outside. She seems so fragile in my arms. So broken. All I want to do is protect her. I know that with all of my fucking being.
“You saved me,” she whispers as tears spill down her eyes.
“Don’t talk. Just let me get you to the hospital.”
Inessa cries the whole way there and it breaks my fucking heart. The heart I didn’t even know I had.
A nurse runs to our side the moment we enter the ER. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asks as Inessa is placed on a gurney and wheeled away.
“She was kicked and punched and beaten by a few people. I found her like this.”
“Ok. We’ll help her. But you need to stay here.”
“Like hell. I need to know that she’s going to be all right.”
The nurse gently shoves me back. “Sir, you need to stay here. Let us do our job. The police will be by to question you about what happened.”
Shit. The police. Never a good thing when they’re involved. But for Inessa, I’ll deal with the fucking police. If it means she’ll be saved, I’ll do it.
And then I wait and wait with nothing else to do except worry about her.
A police officer comes by and I make up a lie that I found her in an alleyway like this. They take my word for it, write a statement, then leave.
The nurse finds me a few hours later. “She was severely beat but we managed to save her. You can go in and see her if you want.”
I don’t hesitate to rush to Inessa’s room.