Chapter Six #2
“You look lost, love,” he said with what I thought was an Irish accent.
“Help. Please.”
I reached out, my hand patting at his chest before curling into the material of his shirt.
“Your husband do that?”
I shook my head, then wished I hadn’t. I nearly collapsed, only the building holding me up.
“I was taken from our home. The man who took me did this.”
My sightless gaze scanned the area, as I listened for any other sounds of life. I heard him put the cigarette out with his foot, then a hand gently took my arm. I went with him, hoping it wasn’t a mistake.
“Come on, love. Let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll get a look at the damage that fucker did. Then you can decide if you want me to call your man.”
Did he not believe me when I said that Viktor hadn’t done this?
“What’s your name? I’m Mac,” he said. “Well, it’s technically Ian MacKenzie.”
So not Irish, then. Likely Scottish. I’d never really spoken to anyone from either place before, but I enjoyed the sound of his voice. It set me at ease, and I hoped it wasn’t a mistake to let down my guard.
“Cerys,” I said. “Cerys Petrov.”
His steps faltered, then he grunted and kept moving, gently tugging me along with him.
I wondered if he recognized my last name and might know Viktor?
If I was anywhere near my old neighborhood it was possible.
The Bratva had a heavy influence there. When I stumbled a few times, Mac stopped and gently lifted me into his arms.
“Easy, love. Just going to carry you the rest of the way.”
I lost all sense of time, but eventually Mac stopped and I heard a door open. He carried me inside and down what seemed to be a hall or vast empty room, judging the echo of his steps. When he set me down on a cool, padded table, I was confused.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“At the Southside Clinic,” he said.
I’d heard of it, and knew it wasn’t far from my old home.
Less than a mile in fact. I just didn’t know why we were here.
Yes, I was in rough shape, but I just wanted Viktor.
I had no doubt he’d see that I was taken care of once I was back at his side.
While he might not love me, I knew that he did want me, enough so that he’d married me to ensure no one would take me from him.
That hadn’t worked out the way he’d planned.
Artur hadn’t cared about our marriage. Instead of just trying to make me disappear or pay me to leave, he’d wanted me dead.
I didn’t think Viktor had considered that when he’d married me, or he’d thought he could protect me better.
If he’d known Artur would come for me, I was certain he’d have asked more men to stay with me.
Ilya had called to me through the door to let me know he was standing watch, but I knew Viktor had others who could have helped.
“Love, I need to see what I’m working with. Going to clean off the blood on your face and we’ll go from there. All right?”
I nodded, then regretted the action. I swayed and nearly threw up.
Whatever he used to wash away the blood was slightly rough, but the water was warm.
I thought he might be using some sort of soap.
It had an antiseptic smell to it and burned.
It wouldn’t surprise me if I were bleeding in several places, possibly more than that.
Artur hadn’t held back in his attack. He’d wanted me to hurt, to stop breathing.
My heart ached. Why was there such evil in the world? What purpose did men like Artur serve?
“I don’t think any of the lacerations on your face need sutures. I’m going to glue two of them shut. The rest will heal with time,” Mac said.
I didn’t know how much time passed before he’d finished with my face. I could feel the tension as everything went quiet. My body was screaming in pain, and it would make sense that he would need to see the rest. For whatever reason, he wasn’t asking, or demanding that I remove any clothing.
“Mac? Are you still here?”
“So, I was right. You’re blind.”
“Yes,” I said softly. Should I not have let him know that? I knew it made me even more vulnerable. In my current state I was at a disadvantage anyway.
“Christ,” Mac muttered. “I need to call your husband, love. Swear to me he didn’t do this?”
“Viktor would never hurt me like this,” I said. “It was Artur. I think he said his last name was Orlov, or something like that.”
Maybe. I’d had so many names thrown at me since the day the Bratva burst into our home.
I couldn’t have picked any of them out by their voice, except for Viktor.
It was almost too much for me to handle.
I could feel my body starting to shake, and I worried I’d finally met the breaking point.
I’d handled everything my father dished out over the years, but now someone wanted me dead.
“Definitely calling Mr. Petrov,” Mac muttered. “Wait here, love. I’m going down the hall to my office. No one’s here but us. You’re safe.”
“Office?”
“It’s technically Dr. Ian MacKenzie,” he said. “But just call me Mac.”
My lips parted and I blinked a few times. Doctor? At least I now understood why we were at the clinic, and why he seemed to know how to patch me up. For a moment, I’d worried he might have broken in.
“I mean it, Cerys. Don’t move from that spot.”
I nodded and placed my hands in my lap, trying not to wince as the motion made pain shoot through me.
I could hear his steps, then a door opening and shutting.
Minutes passed, and still Mac didn’t return.
Listening intently, I tried to pick up any sounds at all.
Voices. Footsteps. I didn’t hear a single sound in the entire building.
Unease pricked at me. What was taking Mac so long? Why hadn’t he returned?
He’d said to stay put. Not knowing the layout of the room much less the building, that seemed like good advice.
Unless something had happened to Mac and Artur was after me again.
What if he’d been watching and waiting? What if someone knew I was here and had told Artur?
I didn’t want Mac to get hurt because he’d tried to help me.
I didn’t think a doctor would have the skills to deal with someone like the Russian. Mac saved lives, but Artur took them.
Click . My body went tight. What was that?
Something cold and hard was pressed to my temple.
“Couldn’t die, could you?” Artur asked. “Stupid bitch. All you had to do was lie in that alley until you breathed your last, or someone came along to finish what I started.”
“Why?” I asked. “What do you get from this? Where’s Mac? What did you do to him?”
He gave a humorless laugh. “That poor excuse for a doctor is taking a nap thanks to some drugs, and a few kicks to some important places once he was down. As for what I get? Everything. Viktor is younger than me. Weaker. With my daughter by his side, I’ll hold sway over him.
She’ll do whatever I tell her, and get Viktor to fall in line. ”
Power? This was all about power? I’d known that most people cared about things like that, or money, but neither really mattered to me. All I’d ever wanted was to be loved and happy. With Viktor, I doubted I’d ever have love, but he’d made me feel safe.
“He’ll never listen to her,” I said.
“Of course he will. My daughter knows how to work that pussy of hers. Taught her everything she knows. She’ll have him eating out of her hand in no time. And once he’s under her spell, then I’ll pull the strings.”
Bile rose in my throat. That was the second time he’d inferred he knew personally about his daughter’s sexual expertise.
It nauseated me, and I felt sorry for her.
To have suffered at this man’s hands. Yes, she’d attacked me, but having Artur for a father had likely warped her.
Granted, living with my dad hadn’t turned me into a monster, but then he hadn’t tried to touch me sexually.
“You disgust me,” I said. “I feel sorry for your daughter.”
Probably not the best thing to say. The gun was removed from my head, only for his fist to slam into my cheek. I felt one of my cuts break open, and I wanted to cry from the pain that exploded across my face.
“It’s just you and me,” Artur said. “Took care of that doctor. He should have never stopped to help you.”
The cold barrel of his gun pressed under my chin, then he slid it down my throat and farther still. He brushed it down between my breasts and kept going. I whimpered and tried to move away from him, but he quickly grabbed my arm, holding me still.
“This time, I’m going to finish the job. But first, maybe I should see why Viktor thought you were good enough to marry.”
He released me, only to rip my shirt in half.
The cool air of the room ghosted over my skin and I screamed as I tried to fight him off.
As I tipped over the back of the padded table and landed on the hard floor, the breath was knocked from my lungs and I lay stunned.
I heard something slam hard -- maybe the door into the wall? -- then a roar of rage.
“Maybe the good doc isn’t as weak as I’d thought,” Artur said. “Can’t stop a bullet, though, can you, doctor?”
A sinister laugh filled the air before the gun went off.
Not once, but twice. I heard a scream and only realized as my throat grew sore that it was me.
I’d gotten that man killed! If I’d stayed in that alley, then Mac would have never found me.
I sobbed and curled into a ball on the floor.
With every tear that fell, I lost a little more hope.
Viktor wasn’t coming, and now Mac was most likely dead.
I just wanted it all to be over. I needed it to end before someone else got hurt.