Chapter 16 Natasha
NATASHA
We sprinted out of Toxin’s room and tore down the hallway.
We rushed into the kitchen, looking around as we tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.
I didn’t care who saw me coming out of his room.
I didn’t care who grinned or winked or made snide comments.
All I cared about was figuring out what the fuck was going on.
And how I could help.
“Grave. It’s Diesel. He’s… he’s—”
“Let me see the phone.”
“Please get him back. Please.”
“Brynn, we will. Just hand me the phone.”
I watched this little woman and this massive man go back and forth. I wrapped my arms around Toxin as tears rushed my eyes. I felt him jump. Like I had startled him. But soon, he settled his arm around my shoulders. He rubbed my upper arm with his hand, comforting me as the guys gathered around.
Paying us no mind as Brynn wiped at her tears.
“Diesel?” Grave asked.
I saw him press a button and the phone lit up. There was soft chuckling on the other side of the phone. I heard something that sounded like a muffled curse. And then, a voice I didn’t recognize came alive. One that made Brynn cry out before her knees gave way.
A voice I figured was her husband’s.
“Grave, it’s me,” he said.
“Are you all right? Do you know where you are?”
“You really should know better than to ask those kinds of questions on a line like this.”
Grave snickered. “Yep. You’re good. Still as sarcastic as ever.
Then, a voice I did recognize came over the phone.
“Now that I have your attention, I’ll make this quick. Time is running out for you and your little crew. I want that traitor. I want the man who stole my daughter from me. And in exchange for handing them over, you get your precious president.”
“And if we don’t?” Grave asked.
“No, please,” Brynn wailed through her tears.
Lars chuckled. “If you don’t? You’ll break that poor woman’s heart. Because I’ll start sending this bastard back in pieces.”
I drew in a deep breath, ready to say my peace.
Ready to try and reason with the boss of all bosses.
But Toxin clapped his hand over my mouth.
My eyes widened and I whipped my head around, meeting his ferocious glare.
He shook his head curtly as Brynn continued crying in the background.
Her sobs tugging at my soul as Toxin slowly slid his hand from my mouth.
Only for him to put his finger to his lips.
There had to be something I could do. As Grave continued talking with Lars over the phone, both Brynn and I were shuffled out of the room.
I didn’t like it. I didn’t understand how we could hear that part of the phone conversation and not be privy to the rest. But I also knew when to not question things.
I wasn’t an idiot. Just stubborn. I took Brynn into my arms as the guys guided us into the hallway.
Telling us to stay put while they figured out what to do next.
And as Brynn’s tears dripped against my chest, a thought occurred to me.
I was in a prime position to reason with them.
I mean, I’d been their hardest-working employee for a while now.
Constantly being praised for my work. For my selling tactics.
For how well I listened and obeyed rules.
Never once had I needed to be reprimanded for anything.
Hell, they’d been considering me for a promotion at one point!
I had a bit of sway with them. And I knew if I contacted Phillip, I could use that sway.
They weren’t all bad men. They hid me away from Ivan without a second thought.
I have to call Phillip.
After getting Brynn settled down into her room, I went back into mine.
Not Toxin’s, but the one I was afforded before so many things got complicated.
I walked over to my cell phone and sat down.
Shit. I only had fourteen percent left on my battery’s life.
But it was still enough to make this phone call. Still enough to make this work.
So, I dialed Phillip’s number by heart.
The only number I’d ever memorized out of need.
I knew Toxin would be pissed, but only for a little bit.
Because once I proved to them what I could really negotiate with Phillip, I knew they’d be on my side.
He wasn’t bad. Phillip had been my savior.
My angel. My way out in a desperate time of need.
I didn’t know Lars personally. But I knew he’d vouch for me.
Just like he had before he got me that job at the casino.
Come on, pick up.
The phone rang and rang. I pulled it away from my ear just to make sure I’d dialed the right number.
Phillip never wanted me keeping his personal cell phone number in my phone.
Just in case I ever lost it, or it got stolen.
Which I understood. I double-checked the numbers before putting the phone back up to my ear, waiting for his voice mailbox to pick up.
Until I heard his voice.
“Natasha. Where are you?” Phillip asked.
I smiled. “Oh, it’s good to hear your voice. We need to talk.”
“Where. Are. You.”
I furrowed my brow. “It’s okay. I’m safe. I wanted to call you and try to figure something out now that the heat has died down.”
“I’m not going to ask you again. This is dangerous. Where the hell are you? I’m coming to get you.”
“No, no, no. You have to listen. I don’t have a lot of time to talk.”
“Natasha, you don’t get it. Just—”
His statement was cut off by shuffling around. I furrowed my brow and softly called his name, trying to get him back on the phone. I heard murmuring voices. Many of them. Two, or three different voices. Where the fuck was he? Had something gone wrong?
“Phillip? Phillip, are you there?”
Then, a voice came alive in my ear. But not the one I wanted. Not the one I needed.
The one I’d been running from.
“Hello, Nat.”
I felt faint. “I—Ivan?”
“I really have missed that voice of yours.”
Tears rushed my eyes. “Ivan.”
“It’s been a while, beautiful.”
“Where’s—what did you do with Phillip?”
He chuckled softly. “You mean my friend?”
“He’s not your friend anymore. He’s—”
“Your friend? Oh, Nat. I really thought you were more perceptive than that.”
I felt nauseous. “What?”
“Did you really think I hadn’t known where you were this entire time? Working for the mafia, in that rundown casino, stuffing ones and fives into your bras every night?”
Tears streaked my cheeks. “What?”
“You’re cute, but you’re dumb. Always been your downfall, beautiful.”
“You—Phillip, he—”
“You’ve never met Lars in person, have you?”
I swallowed hard. “No.”
“Ah, well. You’d see the familial resemblance if you did.”
I paused. “Fa—familial?”
He snickered. “Yes, Nat. Lars is my brother. Older, to be exact. Always willing to do me favors. Like keep an eye on my toys that run away.”
I swallowed the bile working its way up my throat. Ivan was Lars’ brother?
What kind of nightmare had I stepped into?
“I know where you are, Nat. I know where all my toys run to. And I know who you’re hiding with. It’s never been hard to track you down, and it never will be. So, I’ll make this deal a bit more tantalizing for you.”
I licked my lips. “What—what deal?”
“You’re so cute when you sound scared. It’s my favorite side of you.”
I sniffled. “What do you want, Ivan?”
“I want you back, beautiful. I’ve always wanted you back.
So, if you come back, I’ll release this Diesel friend of yours.
No harm, no foul. Your new girlfriend gets her husband back, and his children don’t grow up without a father.
However, if you choose not to come back, I’ll be the one personally slicing him up and sending him back in pieces.
One piece for every other member of that crew I’ll slaughter until you’re back at my side where you belong. ”
I whimpered. “Please, don’t. Ivan, there has to be some other way that—”
“And if you really want to fight me, I’ll make you watch as I slit every single one of their throats in front of their own fucking children. Do you hear me, Nat?”
I hung my head as soft sobs fell from my lips.
“That’s it. It’s okay, beautiful. I’m right here. You let it out,” Ivan said.
I drew in a sharp breath. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
“Okay, I’ll come back.”
“You will?”
It’s the only way out of all this. “Yes.”
Ivan snickered. “You promise?”
I can save Toxin this way. “I promise, Ivan.”
“You know what happened the last time you broke your promise.”
I stomach turned. “I do, yes.”
“Don’t make me fork over all that money for another hospital visit. It can all be avoided if you simply do as I’m asking you to do.”
“And I just gave you my word.”
He tsked. “We’ll have to work on that mouth once you get back. Captivity suits you, beautiful. Remember that.”
Then, he hung up the phone. Leaving me to question the whole of the past two years as I sat on the edge of the bed. Crying silently, listening to the guys yell at one another, and catching the muted sounds of Brynn crying on her bed from across the hall.