Chapter 6
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Julia
I find myself in a mansion that seems to belong to royalty, given the opulence and decor surrounding me. Are the frames actually gold?
Por Dios, Julia, do you really care about the frames?
I close my eyes for a moment and follow the man who took me from that room down an endless hallway.
For the past seven days since waking up in Martin’s bed, all I’ve felt is emptiness. A great, gaping void. I had blood on my thighs, and when I tried to move, every nerve ending in my body screamed. I was a virgin.
I was.
I kept telling myself it didn’t matter. That I was alive. That I needed to get to the twins.
After Martin almost dragged me into the bathroom to clean up, he handed me some clothes and threw me back into the same car. I was never left alone until I arrived in Russia.
How will I go back to the girls? God, my uncle must be terrified. What if my parents managed to escape and don't know about me?
A voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and when I lift my gaze, I look into his gray eyes, which are narrowed in frustration.
He has such beautiful eyes, like the color of the sky before a storm.
“Excuse me, I didn’t hear,” I say in a low voice.
I need to be submissive. I shouldn’t be seen as a problem. This is the only way I’ll be able to escape this place. Maybe I can even set the whole house on fire when I leave. Hmm…
The man closes in, and despite being taller and strong enough to crush me with one hand, there’s something in his eyes that tells me he’s different from the others.
My mom always said you can tell a person’s goodness by their gaze; his eyes aren’t cruel.
They’re not like Martin’s or that brute’s earlier.
His eyes are like two mirrors reflecting the soul, and if you look closely, you can see a flicker of light in the corner.
And that light is good. Maybe I wasn’t fully aware when I was raped, but I know that light no longer shines the same in my eyes now.
I feel tainted. Dirty.
“I asked where you are from.” His face is inches from mine.
I swallow hard and respond.
“Mexico.” I know he catches the accent too.
I speak English fluently, but I never left my home country until now, and my accent is evident in every word.
“Rogelio?” he asks, his tone carrying a hint of threat.
“Sí,” I reply, bowing my head.
His gaze is too heavy for my soul, and I know it wouldn’t take much for him to see that I’m left with only shards; nothing remains whole. And for whatever reason, it bothers me.
He gestures for me to enter a bedroom on the left. Unlike the room before, this one is clean and impersonal. A large bed with black linens sits in the middle, and there are two concrete nightstands, a library covering an entire wall, and a desk with some computers. That’s about it.
He signals for me to be quiet, and I frown. He pulls out a device resembling a pen and scans the room, passing over all objects and walls, even climbing onto a chair to check the ceiling.
Okay. What the hell is going on?
I’m convinced these people are involved in human trafficking, and during the entire journey here, I vowed to survive anything. Anything to go back to my family. But this guy scares me now.
Maybe he’s insane.
When he seems satisfied with his brief stint of espionage, he turns to me and catches my “ Did you take your pills today, pal? ” gaze.
“I had to make sure no one planted bugs while I was away,” he explains.
The surprise is written all over my face. He scanned the room for microphones?
Diosito, what kind of Matrix have I stumbled into?
“You mean the man from earlier?” I ask to ensure we’re talking about the same person.
His nod is all I get. He sits on the bed with his hands on his knees.
“What will you do with me?” I whisper, unable to focus on anything else.
He lifts his head, and once again, his intense gaze pierces through me. He appears a few years older than me, and compared to Martin, there’s a certain allure to him.
But that doesn’t matter. He’ll still hurt you!
I see the tremble in my hands, and he notices it too. His breathing changes.
“Nothing. But he mustn't know that. Look, Julia, normally I wouldn't have come back for you. But since I have, they’ll expect me to deliver you broken, physically and emotionally. That’s what they want from me.”
Every word is laced with weight, making me struggle to understand what he’s trying to say. What does he mean he won’t do anything to me? Why is he here with these people then?
I have so many questions for him, but the only one I manage to articulate is, “What’s your name?”
He looks at me as if trying to grasp the relevance of this information before answering, “Maksim.”
I like his name.
“How old are you?”
His brow furrows at the question. “Nineteen.”
“Okay. Just a year apart. You look older.”
I don’t understand why I can’t keep my mouth shut.
“Lucky for you, they prefer younger ones,” he murmurs. A thread of fear seeps into my veins.
“Maksim, do I have any chance of escaping from here?” Normally, I wouldn’t voice my plans, but he did check the room for microphones.
He told me he wouldn’t hurt me and wants to deceive the old man from earlier.
That means he doesn’t trust these people, and he’s probably the best ally I have here.
His eyebrows rise slightly, seemingly surprised by my directness, but my heart is constricted as I think about the twins alone in an unfamiliar city without me or our parents.
I know our uncle will take care of them, but they're at an age where they understand things.
They understand what it means to lose your family overnight.
“None,” he says, and my heart is crushed outright.
I believe him. It’s a certainty when he says it, and I know I have no way to escape from here.
I feel all the exhaustion and trauma from the last few days weighing on me, and my legs give out. In a moment, Maksim is by my side, supporting me around the waist.
“Hey, Julia. When did you last eat?” he asks.
I don’t know. I don’t even remember the last time I drank water, por el amor de Dios. After Martin put me on that boat that brought me here, all I could think about was escaping. And now I have no way to.
He pulls a pack of cream-filled vanilla sandwich cookies from a drawer, opens it, and hands it to me.
I inhale the first two. They’re the first things I’ve eaten in a while. I split each cookie in half and eat the cream first. It’s something I used to do with my sisters at home, and somehow, it makes me feel closer to them now.
A small laugh escapes him, and I look at him to see what’s so funny. He looks at me too.
“Something amusing?” I ask, the sarcasm in my voice evident.
He shakes his head.
“You look like a wildcat,” he says, and I freeze again. Because the voice in my head keeps telling me how much I like it when he smiles.
I finish the cookies and feel a little better. Sugar does wonders for anyone.
“Julia, you need to stay in this room when you’re not with me until I say otherwise. When we go out, keep your head down. They need to think you’re scared of me. We’ll find a way to fake some bruises on your arms and neck so they believe I’m rough with you.”
I nod along.
I don’t know what relationship he has with these people, but it’s clear it’s not a good one. All I know is that if I want to get to the girls, my only chance is to stick with Maksim. There must be an opportunity. There must be a way.
A sudden thought makes my stomach churn as I try to voice my request to Maksim.
“Maksim, can I ask you something?” My voice is steady though, inside, revulsion is twisting my gut.
He looks at me, not responding, but I sense from his expression that I can continue.
“I need a pregnancy test.”
I know Martin didn’t use protection, and while the risk of disease is there, my first thought is to ensure I’m not carrying that monster's child.
His gaze turns ironhard, and I almost drop my eyes but don’t. Not because I’m not ashamed, but because it wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t your fault, Julia!
A few seconds pass, and then his voice cuts through the air in the room.
“Who?” A single word, but one that holds a promise.
I don’t know this man, but somehow, I feel that the name I give will never breathe again.
“Martin. He’s one of Rogelio’s men.” I see him nod, and there’s something in his eyes, a mix of compassion and understanding, though I can’t quite name the feeling.
“I’ll take care of it. We'll need to figure out how to get you a birth control implant,” he says, and my eyes widen.
“You said you wouldn’t do anything to me.” And now my voice is slightly indignant. I trusted him.
“You don’t need to fear me, Julia. But there are other men here, and I can’t guarantee you’ll always be safe. Better to be sure.”
Something in his confession both calms and alarms me. At least I wasn’t wrong about him, though the thought that anyone else could try to force themselves on me makes my vision blur.
“I’ll go find you some clothes and whatever else you need. Close the door behind me. Don’t open it for anyone, understood?”
I nod silently and watch him head for the door.
He wears a black leather jacket that stretches across his back. He’s not overly muscular, but the way his muscles are defined under the leather suggests he's physically fit.
“Julia, do me a favor. Scream for one minute.”