Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
SOFIYA
“ H ow?” Mila asks as we head upstairs. “Will Mikhail let you?”
“No,” I whisper. “Now, we can’t talk about this more. Mikhail is busy during the day, so we’ll leave tomorrow. We’ll have to sneak past Mary, but we can do that. Now, no more talking.”
“But, Sofiya.” Mila grabs my hand. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course, she’s sure,” Vik says. “She wouldn’t be saying it if she weren’t. Where are we going to go?”
“Let’s just focus on getting out of Russia first.” I give Mila a smile. “I’m ok. I’ll be ok.”
Will I? I don’t really want to leave Mikhail. He’s the only person who can truly keep me safe.
But I can’t be his trophy. I can’t let him use my body against me.
I pack a change of clothes in a small suitcase Mikhail has in the closet and store it under the bed. Surely, he won’t check under there. God, I hope not.
If he knew I was leaving him now, after he just punished me, I can’t imagine what he’d do to me.
For the rest of the day, I pace around the bedroom. Mary doesn’t come in here much, so I don’t have to worry about dealing with her. It’s better I don’t talk to my sisters right now. I can’t risk Mary overhearing us again.
When night comes, I force myself to lie in bed and pretend to sleep when Mikhail joins me. He gets under the covers and leans over, kissing me on the cheek. I hold perfectly still.
I can feel him staring at me until he lies back down and turns the light off. I don’t move the rest of the night, even when my shoulder starts to ache from lying on it for so long. Eventually, sleep takes over, and I have no choice but to listen to it.
I gasp when I wake up, thinking I lost track of time, but it’s only eight in the morning. Mikhail isn’t beside me. Good. He’s already up and working, which means he’ll be distracted.
I enter the kitchen, acting as normal as possible, and take the food Mary begrudgingly gives me. Mila and Vik are already there, picking at their food.
I want to tell them not to look suspicious, but then that would only make me look more suspicious.
Once we finish eating, the three of us head back upstairs and huddle in Vik’s room.
“So, now, what?” Vik asks.
“I don’t know,” I hiss. “You were the one who wanted to leave. What was your plan?”
“To go back to New York.”
“Which we can’t do because Boris is there.” I sigh, rubbing my hands down my face. “Ok. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to leave Russia, and we’re going to go to France.”
“France?” Vik scrunches up her face. “Why France?”
“Do you have something against France?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “No. I just don’t know why France.”
“Because Mom’s family is from France. She has family there. If you ever cared to look beyond yourself, you’d know that.”
Vik huffs and stands up, shaking her finger at me. “I’m so tired of you judging me.”
“And I’m tired of you trying to ruin my life.”
“How have I ruined your life?”
“I wanted to stay.”
“So?”
I jump to my feet. “But you wanted to leave, so I just have to leave with you so we stay together. I’m giving up my life here. For you!”
“Hey, guys,” Mila whispers. “Keep your voices down.”
She’s right. We can’t have Mary overhearing us again.
“We’re going to France,” I say. “We’ll get the tickets at the airport. It’s the safest way. We should leave now. It could take us a while.”
“Fine,” Vik says tersely.
I ignore her and quickly go to my room to grab the suitcase. I make sure to wear comfortable shoes, but Mikhail didn’t supply me with anything other than dresses, so I have no choice but to wear one.
I give my suitcase to Vik as we meet in the hallway. “Ok. I’m going to head downstairs and keep an eye out for Mary. I know she tends to clean the bathrooms at this time of day. I’ll signal you to come down.”
Walking on my tiptoes, I sneak downstairs and go to the front door. I don’t spot Mary once. My eyes land on Mikhail’s office door, and all I can think about is that I’ll miss him.
I never thought that would be the case. But I think I care about him.
Ripping my eyes away, I motion for Mila and Vik to hurry downstairs. They keep their steps light as they hold the suitcases up from banging on the steps.
Then, we walk right through the front door without anyone stopping us.
A guard is stationed at the end of the hall—one of Mikhail’s men. Shoot. I didn’t think about that.
He glances at us as we walk past. “Do you need assistance, Mrs. Ivanov?” he asks.
“No. My sisters and I are just going out for coffee. We’ll be right across the street.”
“I’ll let Mr. Ivanov know.” He pulls out his phone.
“My husband already knows. But you can call him. We’ll be going now.”
“I should go with,” he says. “You’ll need protection.”
“It’s just coffee.”
His eyes narrow slightly. “It’s my job, miss.”
“Ok,” I say, forcing my tone to be cheerful. “Let’s go get coffee.”
“Why do you have your suitcase?” he asks as we leave the building.
“It’s more convenient than carrying a purse.”
“Yeah,” Vik adds. “More room for tampons and pads.”
That makes the guard go red in the face, and he coughs and looks away. “Understood.”
One perk of being a woman—we can always use the tampon excuse to freak men out.
We head across the street to the same café Irina works at and settle down at a table while the guard remains outside. Unfortunately, he has a clear view of us through the large windows out front.
“What are we going to do?” Vik whispers.
“We need to sneak past him,” I respond. I look around the café, and my eyes land on Irina, leaving the back room. I get up and approach her. “I need your help.”
She eyes me over dubiously. “With what?”
“I need to escape out your back door. Can you go outside and distract that man?” I subtly point to the guard.
“Finally had enough of your husband?” she asks.
“You can have him to yourself again if you help me.”
Irina looks me over before sighing. “Fine. You can use the back door.” She heads outside and approaches the guard. I’m not sure what she says to him, but his attention is riveted to her.
I motion for my sisters to follow me. We hurry through the back entrance and out into an alleyway. We deliberately go in the other direction to avoid the guard.
“We need a taxi,” Vik grumbles, limping behind with her cast.
When we reach the main road, I flag down the nearest taxi. It takes a few minutes to do so, and every minute that passes fills me more and more with worry.
A tax starts making its way toward us, but then a black SUV pulls ahead and parks directly in front of us. The window rolls down, revealing Andrei behind the wheel.
I stumble back. “How …”
His smile is wicked. Pure evil. “You didn’t think you could escape, could you?”
“We’ve only been gone minutes,” Vik says.
“And Mikhail has already sent word to his men to keep an eye out for you three. Well, mostly his wife. He doesn’t really care what happens to you two.” He looks directly at Mila and Vik.
“You’re going to take us back to Mikhail?” I ask.
“Yes. Get in. And remember, you can try to run, but you won’t make it far.” He’s right. Vik can’t run with her cast, and I can’t let her or Mila get hurt because Mikhail wants me.
“Fine,” I say, feeling my every ounce of freedom leave my body.
Andrei gets out and opens the back door for us.
“So much for escape,” Vik mutters, getting into the car, followed by Mila. When I try to get in, Andrei stops me.
“You’ll sit up front with me,” he says, opening the passenger door. Without meeting his eyes, I get into the car. The slam of the door shutting makes me jump. Andrei gets back behind the wheel and takes off.
We’re only minutes from Mikhail’s apartment, but Andrei doesn’t take us there. It becomes obvious when we pass Mikhail’s apartment and keep on driving.
“Where are you taking us?” I ask.
“To my home.”
I freeze. It takes me a few seconds before I can speak again. “But why? Mikhail is out looking for us.”
“I didn’t get to finish teaching you girls a lesson.”
His words shock me to my core. Andrei is deranged. Truly deranged.
I glance back at my sisters and see Mila huddled against Vik while Vik holds her head high. She won’t let Andrei embarrass her again. So, if she’s not going to, then I can’t let myself be embarrassed either.
I watch Andrei as he drives, not letting him out of my sight once. Andrei occasionally glances at me, almost like he’s … fearful. He knows Mikhail is looking for me. He’s not supposed to be doing this.
That gives me some small sense of satisfaction.
Andrei eventually pulls up to a house that is quite grand and very Victorian-looking. Mikhail must be paying Andrei well to afford a home like this.
“Get out,” Andrei says.
“No,” Vik replies. I can visibly see Andrei grit his teeth. He hates my sister. It’s obvious. He grabs a gun from his pocket and aims it at her head.
“I said, get out.”
Mila opens the door and pulls Vik along with her. I swear, Vik would choose to get shot in the head before ever submitting to a man. Andrei turns to me. “Your turn.”
I slowly get out of the car, keeping my eyes on Andrei. He grabs my arm once he’s out and tugs me toward his house. Mila grabs my other arm, clinging to both Vik and me.
The inside of the house is quite warm—brown wood tones and low lighting. It would be romantic if Andrei weren’t so scary.
Andrei makes us stand in a line in the living room as he walks back and forth, pointing his gun at his. Mila whimpers as tears stream down her face.
“Andrei,” I say. “Don’t do this. Mikhail will find me, and he won’t like that you’re doing this to me.”
“Shut up,” he growls. “You tried to leave your husband. It was obvious you and your sisters were on the run. He won’t be happy with me, but he definitely won’t be happy with you.” He turns his gun onto Vik. “Get on your knees and crawl to me.”
“No,” she says in a clear voice.
“Get on your knees.”
“No.”
Andrei huffs and grabs Vik by the back of her head, forcing her down. The cry that escapes her shocks me. My older sister is always so stern, sometimes to her own detriment, but that’s her one quality I can depend on.
And Andrei just took that away from her.
He shoves her face against the carpet. “I told you to crawl for me.”
I startle when I see tears run down Vik’s face. I’ve never seen her cry before.
Andrei lets Vik go and backs up. After a moment, Vik slowly begins to crawl toward him. It’s humiliating what Andrei is doing to my sister. It’s disgusting.
“How does that feel?” he taunts. “You tried to reject me. You’re nothing.”
Mila cries against my shoulder.
I watch as Vik reaches Andrei’s feet. He grabs the back of her head and shoves her against the floor again.
My strong older sister. I may not always get along with Vik—we tend to fight more than anything— but she’s still my sister. And Andrei has no right to treat her this way.
No one does.
We are not playthings for these men. We’re women. Human beings. And we should be treated as such.
Acting on instinct, I walk up to Andrei and slap him across the face.
The room goes silent.
Andrei turns his cold gaze onto me. “Oh. So, you want to play now, is that it?”
“I do,” I snarl and reach for his gun. My fingers wrap around it as he tries jerking it away. We fight for the gun. It ends up pointed at the ceiling, and a round is fired.
“Run!” I shout at my sisters. “Run!”
Mila helps Vik up, and they hurry for the front door. Even with her cast on, Vik is still moving fast.
Andrei rips the gun away from me and shoves me onto the ground. I land with a huff.
“You think you’re so smart.” He stands over me, pointing his gun at my face. “But you are nothing.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing to die.
But instead of a gunshot, I feel Andrei’s hands. He reaches down and tears my dress off me. I scramble away in my bra and underwear.
He laughs—it’s dark and twisted. “Run, plaything. Run! I’m going to catch you.”
I get up and do as he says. I run.
My eyes land on the front door swinging open. My sisters made it out. Thank god. That gives me some satisfaction, at least.
I try running for the door, but Andrei catches me. “You’re going to be my sub now,” he says into my ear.
VIKTORIYA
Mila and I stop at the end of the street, catching our breath.
“We have to go back for Sofiya,” Mila says.
“No way. We could die.”
“And so could she!”
I stare at my baby sister, seeing the fear on her face. “No. We need to be smart about this. Andrei works for Mikhail. Sofiya will be ok.”
“Did it look like she’d be ok? He kidnapped us at gunpoint!”
“Ok, ok.” I raise my hands in surrender. “You’re right. So, what do we do? We can’t save her from a crazy man with a gun.”
Mila stands up straighter. “We can’t. But Mikhail can.”
A sinking sensation enters my stomach. “But Sofiya just tried to leave him. He’ll hurt her. He’ll hurt us for making her go with us. He’s more dangerous than Andrei.”
“No. He’s Sofiya’s husband, and he’ll save her. We need to go to him. Before it’s too late.”
I glance down the street, my eyes landing on Andrei’s house, where Sofiya still is, alone with him.
And I know Mila is right.
“Fine,” I say. “Let’s go get Mikhail.”
MIKHAIL
She tried to leave me. Again. Even after I made it clear she’s mine.
It didn’t take long for my guard, Sergio, to realize Sofiya and her sisters tried to escape after they went to the coffee shop across the street. He called me right away when he noticed them gone.
And even after an hour, they’re still gone.
Sofiya is gone.
And I don’t know where the fuck she is.
I pace around my office, waiting for a call, any call, from my men that they’ve seen her. I’ll have her back in my arms again.
I won’t lose her like I lost Natasha. Like I lost … I stop my train of thought from going there. That person is the one person I will never allow myself to talk or think about again.
A commotion in the hallway makes me leave my office.
It’s Viktoriya and Mila, with Mary following behind.
“You girls cannot just come back in here,” Mary lectures.
“Shut up!” Vik yells at her. It’s the first time I’ve seen her look so frazzled.
“Where’s Sofiya?” I ask.
Vik turns to me with a guilty expression. “Andrei has her.”
I immediately walk past her and run out the front door. Andrei has shown himself to be untrustworthy when it comes to Sofiya. He tried hurting her at the party, and he’s probably already hurt her since he’s had her. I don’t ask Viktoryia for answers. There’s no time.
I reach Andrei’s house within minutes. I own half the police force in the city. No one will pull me over for a speeding ticket.
When I burst inside, what I see sets my insides on fire. It’s Sofiya lying on the couch, completely naked. Andrei stands in front of her, a whip in his hand.
The sound that escapes me is inhuman.
Andrei’s eyes widen, and he tries running from me, but I grab him and slam him to the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growl.
“We always share women,” Andrei says.
“Did you touch her?”
Andrei doesn’t respond.
“Did you touch her?” I yell, shaking him.
“No.” It’s Sofiya who responds. “He just made me lie on the couch. He didn’t touch me.”
Some of the tension leaves my body, but that doesn’t mean I’m ok. “You’re lucky,” I say to Andrei. “I could have made this even worse for you. But seeing as you already disobeyed me when I said to leave Sofiya alone, I’m going to have to make my message clearer.”
I grab the whip from his hands and roll him onto his back. Andrei tries standing up, but I bring the whip down hard on his back, and he slumps to the ground. I become an animal as I whip him over and over again.
My world is red. My world is black. And Andrei is now my enemy.
“Sofiya is mine!” I shout. Whip. Whip. Whip.
Andrei isn’t even putting up a fight anymore. The only sounds escaping him are low groans. His back is soaked in blood.
After minutes of whipping him, I step back. My vision comes back into focus. I hear a sound from the other side of the room and look. It’s Sofiya. She’s covered in her dress, which is almost torn to shreds, and she’s hiding behind the couch, watching me with complete fear in her eyes.
I look back down at the whip in my hands, and all I can think about is the day my son looked at me with that same fear in his eyes.
My son.
Natasha and I had a son, and I lost him after Natasha died. He was only five years old.
The day he died, he saw me lose my temper. He was terrified of me.
And now, I can never make it up to him since he’s dead.
I look back at Sofiya. She gasps when I step toward her. I drop the whip and open my arms wide.
Her eyes flit between Andreis’ prone body on the ground and me. He’s still groaning in pain.
Then she steps from around the couch and approaches me slowly before her breath hitches, and she’s in my arms. I wrap them around her tightly.
She’s shaking and trembling. Andrei hurt her, but I know I share some of the blame.
Picking her up, I carry her to my car and place her in the passenger seat. I even buckle her seatbelt for her. Then I get behind the wheel and drive us home.
Where she belongs.
SOFIYA
I keep looking at Mikhail out of the corner of my eye. “How did you find me?”
His hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Your sisters.”
“They’re ok?”
“They looked fine to me.” Even though he’s answering my questions in a calm voice, there’s a simmering anger underneath. Anger directed at me.
“I’m sorry,” is all I can think to say.
“Why did you leave?”
“I didn’t want to.”
“But you did. So, why did you leave?”
I swallow hard. How can I tell Mikhail what’s on my mind when I don’t even fully understand it myself? “I don’t want to be your trophy.”
He frowns, clear confusion in his eyes. “What?”
“You said you’d only let my sisters stay if I gave you my virginity in front of other people. You want me for my body. I’m not your equal.”
“So, you left because of that?”
“I left because my sisters were going to leave anyway, and I wanted to protect them. We deserve our freedom. You don’t own my body, Mikhail.”
He stops the car so suddenly that I jerk forward in my seat. “I do own you, Sofiya. You’re mine now. And you disobeyed me. Were you trying to hurt me?”
“I …” Hurt him? “I didn’t think you cared about me.”
The laugh that escapes him is without humor. “Care about you? You’re my wife. You’re my everything now. Of course, I fucking care about you.”
I flinch. “I didn’t know.”
He inhales deeply and runs his hand down his face. “I know you’re scared right now. I don’t want you to fear me, but I do want you to respect me. I want you to give me your body because you desire me as I desire you. I never wanted you to leave.” After a painfully quiet moment, he restarts the car.
I stare out the window, watching the houses and apartments zip by. I hurt Mikhail more than I thought I would by leaving.
And that hurts me.
Because I just want to make him proud of me. But I also don’t know how to give him all of me without losing a part of myself. And I can’t lose that part of myself. The part that is intrinsically me.
Mikhail pulls into the parking garage of our apartment building. “Here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going inside. You’re going to check in on your sisters because I know you’ll want to. And then we’re going into my play room, and I’m going to teach you another lesson. I will push your body in ways I haven’t before, Sofiya. You can, of course, say stop at any time. But if you want to feel better about leaving me, then you will do this. It’s the only way we can move forward. I will forgive you afterward.” He pauses, then says, “Your sisters will leave. I will not have them here causing issues. You are partly responsible for this. I am not angry with you. But I am disappointed.”
I flinch again. Hearing that makes me feel a million times worse.
“Now, we’re going inside. Are you ok with all this?”
Seeing as I have no choice? I am. I’m going to lose my sisters again, and that hurts more than anything. But I messed up by trying to leave, and I need to pay the price.
Mikhail opens his door, but before he gets out, I speak. “He didn’t touch me.”
He goes still.
“Andrei,” I explain. “He ripped my dress off, but then he made me lie on the couch. He didn’t touch me yet. I think he was … trying to savor the moment.” I shudder at the memory. The sight of his disgusting, lust-filled face looking down at me. “But he didn’t touch me.”
“Good.” Mikhail doesn’t look at me as he gets out of the car. “Now, let’s go inside.”
My legs tremble as I step out of the car, but they manage to stay strong enough to carry me inside, where my punishment awaits.