Chapter Thirty-One
Thirty minutes earlier
MILA
The cell they locked me in was stereotypical, with bars painted black, a metal bench and a steel toilet in the corner that lacked a seat.
There was also a chipped porcelain sink no bigger than a fountain.
I touched none of it except to perch myself on the edge of the bench.
The entire space smelled like urine, bleach and anguish.
After they had put me in the van, I had watched as they loaded my uncle and aunt into separate vehicles, not even letting either of them get dressed. My aunt had been put in the back of the car with curlers in her hair and her housecoat on.
They had confiscated my phone from the dresser but, as promised, had left Bandit alone, barking nonstop from the closet.
I was so worried about him. Did they take him away too?
Had they hurt him? No one would talk to me or tell me what was going on.
When I repeatedly asked to make a phone call, they ignored my pleas.
Axel hadn’t been at home when the police came in, but I imagine they had arrested him as well.
He was as involved in this business as anyone, and for that alone he was probably in a cell somewhere in this building.
Even if they did give me a phone call, I didn’t know who I would call. Selena and Tanya were barely surviving themselves, and everyone else I knew was most likely locked up with me.
It was shortly after 3 p.m. when two female guards came to my cell and started to unlock it.
“Turn around and put your hands on the back wall,” one of them told me.
“Where are you taking me?” I could hear the fear in my voice, but I complied and put my hands against the back of the cold cell. Strong hands padded over my body, down my sides and then up between my legs.
“Hands behind your back,” she instructed.
I felt the cold metal of handcuffs tighten around my wrists. “Where am I going?”
“Follow us, please. Don’t speak or look at anyone.”
They led me down a long brick hallway before steering me into another sterile room. This room had two doors, one at each end.
“Face against the wall, please.”
I turned and felt the cuffs being removed. And then, without saying another word, they walked out and shut the door behind them with a resounding click of a lock.
There was a metal table and two metal chairs, but I was tired of sitting.
A moment later, a police officer in uniform opened the door. “Mila?”
“Yes.”
“Come with me, please.”
I followed her out of the room to another holding area. She walked me over to a counter that was protected by Plexiglas. “Mila?”
The officer behind the counter stood up, placed some items in a plastic bin and then shoved the bin under the Plexiglas. “We have one set of house keys and one phone.” They shoved a clipboard at me. “Sign here.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, as I signed the form without reading it.
“You’re being released.”
My heart sang. The only person who would come and rescue me was Axel. I couldn’t wait to see him.
“Please take your belongings and move through that gray door.”
I picked up my phone and keys with haste. Axel would know what to do now.
I burst through the door and looked around for him.
But the only person standing in the room was Giselle.
“Where’s Axel?” I blurted out.
“We’ll talk in the car,” she spoke in a low voice. “Come quick.”
She turned and started to walk.
I stared after her momentarily. Had Axel sent her to come and get me? Was he imprisoned? In hiding? I didn’t understand why he had sent her, but maybe she was the only one who hadn’t been arrested.
As I followed her, I remembered Axel telling me at our last dinner that she could be trusted and that she was one of the good ones.
She walked through the front of the station without pausing, and I had to work to catch up with her. She strode outside into the rain, then walked across the wet pedestrian bridge and into the car park across the street.
I caught up to her. “Where are we going?”
“I’ll explain later.”
I did not like this woman, nor did I trust her, but she also had just bailed me out of jail.
And she seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on.
I was going to have to put my differences aside and work with her.
If she brought me to Axel, then I might need to start considering her an ally.
She didn’t talk in the car. I sat in silence beside her, and the only sound was the squeak of the windshield wipers. I watched where she was driving and after a few moments, I started to suspect that we were heading to my home. After another few minutes, I was sure of it.
“Are you taking me home?”
She didn’t acknowledge me.
“Do you know where Axel is?”
“Yes.”
“Did Axel ask you to bail me out?”
“I told you I’d explain everything later.”
I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t communicate with me, but maybe Axel wanted to be the one to explain. I didn’t know. All I knew was that each moment that passed brought me closer to finding out if Bandit was okay.
The weather had shifted to a downpour and the heavy rain reflected off her headlights when we pulled up to my home.
The house looked completely deserted except for the bright yellow police tape that it wore in shame across its gate and front door.
There were no police cars, no guards, no one watching.
Now it was just a dark, empty house that no longer had life.
Giselle got out of the car and, ignoring me, walked toward the front door in the rain. I dashed after her, pulling my hood up over my hair. She took the keys from my hand and used them to open the door before ripping away the yellow tape that crossed it.
She tossed the keys on the side table and, without a care for the water that streamed off her boots, walked into the kitchen.
I used that opportunity to run upstairs to the master bedroom. I could hear Bandit whining against the closet doors. On the door was an official note that read, “Waiting for animal control, don’t open door. Live dog.”
I ripped open the door and found Bandit crouched on the floor, whining.
I dropped to my knees. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
He whimpered with joy and nearly knocked me over with his enthusiasm, licking my face and jumping all over me.
“Bandit, you must need to go outside so bad.”
He paused, circled twice and then bolted down the stairs. I ran after him. Giselle stood next to the island texting something on her phone.
“I’m just letting Bandit outside.”
She ignored me, so I slipped outside and watched as Bandit quickly ran out to the grass. He ignored the rain, and I stood off to the side to avoid the downpour.
What was going to happen next? I needed Giselle to tell me what was going on.
The way she was acting, I knew there was no way she was helping me on her own volition.
The only reason she’d bail me out would be to help Axel.
I was almost sure she wasn’t telling me what was going on just to torture me.
Axel was the only reason she’d help me get out of jail. I just needed to relax and go along with her games, and I was sure he’d show up eventually.
I was just about to lead Bandit back inside when Sergei stepped around the corner of the backyard.
My whole body jolted. For a split second, I couldn’t even breathe. Bandit felt it too, and his entire body went rigid. A low growl rumbled out of him. I grabbed his collar and worked to contain my panic.
“Quiet, Bandit,” I hushed him, knowing that Sergei wouldn’t hesitate to harm my dog.
“Inside the house,” Sergei said to me in Russian. “And leave the animal in the backyard.”
I hated to leave Bandit outside, but when it came to Sergei, it was the only way I knew to keep Bandit safe and alive. Bandit wasn’t happy. He fought me, trying to get in through my legs, mostly because he wanted to stay with me.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I pleaded with him as I held him back and then quickly shut the door. The look of betrayal Bandit gave me as he stood in the rain almost broke my heart.
Sergei impatiently motioned to one of the kitchen chairs. “Sit.”
I was too scared to do anything but comply.
Sergei moved behind me and, without ceremony, handcuffed one of my wrists to a bar beneath the table.
Giselle watched impassively from beside the island.
I stared back at her numbly. This brutal day had started with a team of cops streaming into my home and arresting me.
Then I’d spent the entire day in a jail cell, contemplating my fate.
Giselle had been the only familiar face, and though I’d never trusted her, I needed someone so bad.
She bailed me out of jail, and I had played right into her hands.
“Axel told me I could trust you.” My voice was cold, tight with hurt.
She flinched. “I’m sorry. He has my boyfriend.”
Sergei looked back at her and spoke sharply. “Shut up.”
“I did what you asked.”
“Did you get the cash I asked for?”
“It’s in the bag. On the island.”
Sergei pulled the bag toward him and opened it.
This was an absolute nightmare. I couldn’t believe this was happening. “Where is Axel? Was he arrested?”
Sergei looked up. “Shut up.”
She flinched and looked at the ground.
Sergei tossed the last of the counted money back into the bag and then he moved over to Giselle. He grabbed her by the back of her hair and roughly pulled her back so her face was lifted to his. “You did as I asked.”
She looked terrified. “Yes.”
“You got the money and Mila.”
“As promised.”
She gave a surprised scream as he used her hair to unceremoniously drag her out of the kitchen.
“Sergei, what are you doing?” Giselle’s voice was raw with fear.
I fought the handcuff that bound me, working with both of my hands, trying to find a way to unhook myself. I paused momentarily when I heard a lot of scuffling in the pantry, but then I heard nothing else. No squeaks or screams or anything that might be construed as fighting.
I didn’t take my eyes off that pantry door while I fought against my bondage.
Call it instinct or stupidity, but I grabbed the necklace that held the key Axel had given me.
I snapped it off my neck and dropped it to the floor just before Sergei reappeared.
He walked into the kitchen like nothing had happened.
I waited for Giselle to appear behind him, but there was nothing but silence from the pantry.
Maybe he’d tied her up? Maybe she was handcuffed to a shelf? Why couldn’t I hear her? Maybe she was listening to see what was happening out here. Fear threatened to overtake me, and I had to work not to lose my shit.
He wouldn’t really hurt her. He’d probably gagged her and tied her up. And that’s why I couldn’t hear anything.
Ignoring me, Sergei opened the fridge, took out a stout beer and cracked it open.
After an excruciating moment while he drank, he finally looked at me. “I’ll kill your dog if you don’t do what I say.”
I knew two things in that moment. One, he meant what he said. Two, I couldn’t live with myself if he hurt Bandit. In that moment, the only thing that mattered was Bandit’s safety.
My voice came out subdued, calm. A soothing tone that was careful not to anger the beast. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
I didn’t want to imagine the horrors I would face, but it didn’t matter. As long as Bandit didn’t die.
He gave me a cold smile. “You’re coming with me, but we’re leaving the fucking dog behind.”
My mind raced. I’d comply with Sergei until we got away from here. When we were far away from Bandit, I could try to escape. And the further away we got from Bandit, the more his leverage over me would decrease. “I’ll do whatever you ask as long as you let my dog live.”
He nodded and took out a key. He unlocked the handcuffs and freed my hand, knowing that he had complete control over me now. “Let’s go.”
With one last look at Bandit, who was barking and frantically pawing at the glass patio doors, I turned and walked away from my beloved dog.
I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again, and that thought almost killed me.
Bandit was frantic, near hysterics, as he watched me leave him for the second time that day.
I felt tears coming on, but I knew they would only piss Sergei off, so I worked to keep my face free of emotion.
We passed the pantry and I glanced in, fully expecting to see Giselle gagged and bound.
A small scream ripped out of me when I took in the scene. Giselle’s lifeless body was lying in the corner of the pantry, her unseeing eyes staring up at the ceiling.
“Oh my god,” I exclaimed, as bile came up my throat.
Sergei gave me a push from behind. “Keep moving, or you’re next.”
I was in shock when he made me climb into the back seat of the car. Then he reached down, stuck a needle in my neck, and everything went black.