Chapter 20 - Dmitri
Chapter 20 – Dmitri
My head pounds as I slowly regain consciousness. A string of curses escapes my lips as I realize I'm sitting upright on the floor, my hands bound tightly behind me. I tug at the rope, testing its strength, but it's solid. The knot doesn't give an inch. My vision swims for a moment before I manage to focus.
"Dmitri!" Valentina's voice cuts through the haze, frantic and thick with tears. I look up and see her, eyes red and cheeks streaked with fresh tears. She's just a few feet away, but it feels like miles.
"Valentina," I rasp, trying to shake off the disorientation. "Are you okay?"
She nods quickly, though her body trembles. "I'm okay... they haven't done anything to me. I'm so sorry, Dmitri. This is all my fault." She starts repeating herself.
"I'm fine, Val. And none of these is your fault," I say firmly, though my head feels like it's being split open.
I lock eyes with her, trying to convey every ounce of determination I have left. "Listen to me," I say, my voice steadier now. "I will get you out of this. I promise."
Her sobs quiet, and for now, that's enough to keep me going.
The door creaks open, and Mikhail strides in with a grin. His laugh echoes off the walls, mocking and filled with dark amusement.
"A very rich promise from someone who won't see tomorrow," he sneers, his eyes cold and calculating as they flicker between Valentina and me.
My jaw clenches, every muscle in my body tensing as he saunters over to Valentina. She recoils slightly, her fear palpable. He tilts her chin up with a finger, forcing her to look at him. "You know," he says casually, "I could do so many things to her while you watch. Such... delightful things."
"Don't you fucking touch her!" I roar, my voice cracking with rage. I pull against the ropes binding me, the coarse fibers biting into my wrists. "If you lay a hand on her—if you so much as touch a strand of her hair—I'll fucking kill you!"
Mikhail's laugh grows louder, more deranged. He steps back from Valentina, but not before brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear, his eyes never leaving mine. "Ah, love," he muses, shaking his head in mock sympathy. "It really does make people do stupid things."
He turns away from Valentina and walks toward me slowly, his smile widening as he takes in my fury and helplessness. The satisfaction on his face is sickening.
"You see," he continues, leaning in close enough for me to smell the faint scent of cologne mixed with blood, "this is the beauty of it all. Your rage, your desperation is what I feed on. I need it. I crave it, and I'll do anything to make you beg."
Valentina whimpers softly behind him, and it takes every ounce of control I have not to lunge at him right then and there.
Mikhail straightens up and turns back to Valentina, his demeanor shifting from amused to predatory. He reaches out again as if to touch her cheek.
"Mikhail!" I scream, my voice raw with desperation. "I'll kill you! Do you hear me? I'll fucking kill you!"
Mikhail's grin widens as he steps closer to Valentina. "I wonder," he muses, his voice dripping with malice, "what you'd do if I flushed out your seed from inside her?"
The words hit me like a freight train. My mind goes blank for a split second before I look at Valentina, searching her eyes for some kind of denial, some assurance that this is just another one of Mikhail's sick games. But all I see are tears streaming down her face, her body trembling with fear.
"Valentina," I whisper, my voice breaking. "Are you... are you pregnant?"
She nods, biting her lip to stifle a sob. "Yes," she manages to say, her voice barely audible. "I was going to tell you when you came back."
My heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest. Valentina is pregnant—carrying my child—my child. The realization leaves me breathless, and all of a sudden, my world narrows down to the woman I love and the life growing inside her.
"So," Mikhail says, his tone almost gleeful. "You didn't know. That makes this so much better." He takes a step back, his eyes alight with sadistic pleasure. "You shouldn't be too angry if I take the baby away then."
"You're a crazy bastard," I spit out, fury coursing through me like wildfire. "You'll be the one to fucking rot in hell at the end of this."
Mikhail's expression darkens instantly, the smug smile wiped off his face. He strides over to me and kicks me hard in the stomach. Pain explodes through my midsection as he continues his assault, each kick driving the air out of my lungs.
Valentina's cries echo around the room as Mikhail beats me mercilessly. I grit my teeth against the pain.
Right now, all I can do is endure.
And endure I will—until my last breath, if that's what it takes.
Valentina's sobs grow louder as Mikhail's kicks become more brutal. My vision blurs with pain, but I force myself to stay conscious, to stay present for her. For our child. I'm going to be a father.
Mikhail finally stops, his breathing heavy from exertion. He glares down at me, and I can see the barely contained fury in his eyes. "Stop getting on my nerves, Dmitri," he growls. "I hate losing control."
He turns to Valentina, who is still sobbing uncontrollably. "You're scared now, but everything will be over very soon," he says, his voice sickeningly gentle. "You'll be brand new for me again. I forgive you for your past sins, but I cannot forgive the baby."
Valentina's eyes widen in horror as she understands the full weight of his words. "Please, Mikhail," she begs, her voice cracking with desperation. "Leave my baby alone. Please, I'm begging you."
My heart clenches at her pleading tone, a mixture of rage and helplessness surging through me. I struggle against my bonds, feeling the rope bite deeper into my wrists, but it's useless.
Mikhail smirks at my futile efforts before calling out for someone. The door opens, and a man in a white coat enters the room. He greets Mikhail with a nod.
"Get it over with," Mikhail orders, his tone icy.
Valentina's cries intensify as the man in the white coat approaches her.
"There are two ways," he says, his voice unnervingly calm. "The easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer?"
Valentina's eyes widen, and she struggles against her restraints, her movements frantic and desperate. She doesn't answer him, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps.
The man sighs, as if disappointed by her silence. "I see," he says softly. "I know you may not like pain, so you can take the pill. But if you refuse..." He trails off, letting the implication hang in the air.
"No!" I shout, my voice raw with desperation. "Don't go near her!"
The man ignores me. Mikhail watches with an almost bored expression, as if this is all a mere inconvenience.
"Give her the drugs," Mikhail orders, his tone cold and impatient. "What if she dies in surgery? I need her alive."
The man nods and reaches into his coat pocket, pulling out a small bottle of pills. He shakes ten of them into his gloved hand and holds them out toward Valentina.
"That'll kill her!" I yell, my voice breaking with panic. "You can't give her that many!"
Mikhail shushes me with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're not a doctor, Dmitri. Let the man do his job."
Just as the man grabs a glass of water from a nearby table and starts moving toward Valentina again, gunshots ring out in the air. The sudden burst of noise makes me freeze. Mikhail's eyes widen in surprise as he turns toward the source of the gunfire.
The man in the white coat drops both the pills and the glass of water in shock, his face going pale as he stares at the doorway where the shots came from.
Mikhail marches out toward it.
"Finish it," he commands over his shoulder, not bothering to look back. "Get rid of it before I come back."
The man in the white coat steps closer to Valentina, his expression turning grim. "Don't make this hard for either of us," he says softly, though there's no kindness in his voice. He retrieves the pills from the floor, one by one. "Just take the pills."
Valentina's eyes dart frantically around the room, searching for an escape that isn't there. I struggle against my bonds with renewed desperation.
"Please," she whispers, her voice trembling. "Don't do this."
The man shakes his head and reaches out to force the pills into her mouth. Just as his hand approaches her pursed lips, a deafening crack splits the air.
Two shots.
The man crumples to the floor, a look of shock frozen on his face. Blood pools beneath him, spreading like a dark halo.
Alexei stands in the doorway, gun still raised, a cocky grin on his face.
"You always have to make things dramatic, don't you?" he says, lowering the weapon.
"Alexei," I breathe out, relief flooding my veins. "What the hell took you so long?"
He shrugs nonchalantly as he steps into the room. "Traffic was a bitch," he says with a smirk. "And I had to stop for coffee."
Valentina lets out a choked sob of relief and dissolves into tears.
"Everything will be fine now," I say firmly, locking eyes with her even though I can't move to comfort her just yet. "You're safe now."
Alexei quickly moves to untie her restraints. As soon as she's free, Valentina rushes into my arms, burying her face against my chest and crying uncontrollably. My hands are still bound behind me, but I lean into her touch as much as I can.
"Alexei," I say urgently over her shoulder.
He chuckles lightly and walks over to me with a swagger in his step. "Ohh sorry," he says teasingly as he starts working on the knots around my wrists. "I didn't want to interrupt your moment."
As soon as my hands are free, I wrap them around Valentina tightly, pulling her closer against me. She sobs harder into my chest, and I whisper softly into her ear.
"You're safe now," I murmur over and over again, trying to soothe her fears with every word. "You're safe."
Her cries slowly begin to subside as she clings to me desperately. Alexei stands nearby with an almost fond smile on his face as he watches us.
I hold Valentina tighter, feeling every tremor that runs through her body as she releases all the pent-up fear and tension from the past few days. Everything went according to plan.