Chapter 3 #2
“You can’t send him that video. It will only hurt him.”
“That’s the point, sweetheart. You’re my key to Dimitri’s downfall.” I cup her face and she holds still, not even breathing. “I know in time, you’ll join me at my side in doing so.”
“Never,” she hisses.
“Never say never.” I pull her to her feet and throw her over my shoulder again.
This time, Katya doesn’t put up a fight like she did when I pulled her from the cage.
No. Instead, Katya seems to relax the closer we get to the cage and the moment I place her inside of it, she eases to the floor, looking relieved.
An enigma indeed.
Dimitri
It doesn’t take me long to realize that Alice, my new housekeeper, isn’t anywhere in the house, doing the job I’m paying her to do.
Sofiya is still out with her friends for brunch, so I know she doesn’t know anything.
I try calling Alice but she doesn’t pick up.
I just lost Ann over a week ago and now this?
It’s getting ridiculous. I pay Alice good money and she just… leaves?
With a grumble, I go to Katya’s room to see if she knows anything about Alice’s whereabouts when I knock and she doesn’t answer. I knock again but once more, Katya doesn’t reply. Maybe she’s taking a nap but it’s before noon. I’m not sure why she would need to nap this time of day.
I decide to open her door without her permission. Normally, I’m against doing something like that but my gut is telling me to open the door. When I do, I see that she isn’t in her room or the adjoining bathroom. My heart skips a beat. Where is she?
After searching the entire house, I don’t find Katya anywhere. Since she’s always at home, she doesn’t have a cell phone for me to call her. She’s nowhere to be found.
Sofiya returns after that.
“Is Katya with you?” I demand. She stops in the entranceway, staring at me with confusion.
“Katya? Why would she be with me? You know she never leaves the house.”
“So then where is she?”
“She’s not here?”
“No. And neither is Alice. I checked the entire house. I’ve tried calling Alice but she’s not answering. Katya isn’t here. And we both know she wouldn’t just up and leave the house without telling me.”
“Ok,” she says slowly. “So what happened?”
“Something isn’t right. First, Ann just quits without a goodbye, which is unlike her. And then Alice isn’t answering my calls when she’s supposed to be here doing her job and now Katya, my sister who never leaves the house, let alone her room, isn’t here.”
All the color drains from Sofiya’s face. “You think… you think Alice did something to her, didn’t you?”
“Who else? She was left alone with her.” I storm outside and flag down Jake, the one guard who remained behind when Sofiya went out for brunch. “Jake, did you see Katya leave the house? Or Alice?”
“No. I saw Alice’s car was gone when I came back around the house but that was it.”
“You didn’t think anything was strange?”
Jake frowns. “No. Should I have?”
“Fuck,” I grumble and run back inside. “Katya is gone. So is Alice. I hire her and now my sister is gone. She has to be responsible but why? I looked into her past. She was a teacher. Why would she kidnap my sister?” A slow, realization hits me.
“Unless… she was fired. I know that. She would have needed money. Fuck.”
“What are you thinking?” Sofiya asks, reaching out to me but letting her hand fall at the last moment.
“I’m thinking one of my enemies hired Alice and had her take Katya from me. To hurt me.”
“Who would…” Her eyes widen. “Alek did say he wasn’t done with you yet. That he was going to come back again.”
“He did. Alek fucking Morozov is behind this. I know it in my gut. He got one over on me and now he has my sister. Fuck!” I pick up the vase on the sideboard and throw it to the floor. Sofiya backs away with a gasp.
“Dimitri, if Alek has her, you can’t lose your cool like this. You need a clear head to get Katya back. Is she at his house? You know where it is.”
“No. Alek moved. I know he did because I’ve been keeping an eye on him.
But I just don’t know where he moved to.
I had one of my hacker guys look into it but he hasn’t been able to find anything, which tells me Alek paid in cash for his new home.
I don’t know where Katya is. I promised to always protect my sister and… ”
“Dimitri?”
“And I failed,” I breathe out, sinking to my knees. “I failed her, Sofiya. She’s gone.”
“We’ll get her back. I know we will.”
As if on cue, my phone buzzes with an incoming text from a number I don’t recognize. Attached to the text is a video… a video of Katya, on her knees, crying.
I can’t make out the location. Only that someone is filming her. And that’s when I hear his voice. Alek. This confirms it. He’s the one who stole Katya from me just to torture me. My poor sister is collateral damage.
My phone drops from my hand once I’m done watching the video. I’m unable to look at it any longer.
I’ll hunt Alek down until the ends of this earth to get my sister back. Even if it kills me to do so.
Katya
Alek leaves me alone in the cage for hours. At least until the sun sets. It’s the only thing I can tell from the one small window in the room. Otherwise, time has no meaning.
The longer I’m in the cage, the more comforted I feel. This enclosed space will keep me safe. I know it will.
Until Alek comes back, carrying a tray of food with him. “Here.” He opens the door and sets the tray by my knees. “Eat. I don’t want you dying of starvation.”
I stare at him until he sighs. “It’s not poisoned,” he explains. “If I had wanted you dead, I would have shot you in the head. Much faster and easier. Here.” He sits down beside me and scoops up a large portion of the potato dish and takes a bite. I continue to watch him until he swallows it.
“There.” He shows me his tongue. “All gone. It’s not poisoned. Eat.”
Slowly, I sit up and start to eat. I could let myself die of starvation in here but that would take weeks and I can’t bear the hunger inside of me. I’ll need my strength to escape the first chance I get.
But to escape means entering the world. Means going outside. Means talking to people and asking for help. All of which terrifies me almost as much as Alek does.
We don’t say a word until I’m finished eating.
“Good,” Alek says, taking the tray from me.
“How long are you going to keep me for?”
“Until Dimitri loses his mind.”
“But that could take a while.”
He flashes me a cold smile. “So I guess you’ll be staying with me for a while then. I have plans for you, Katya. Big plans. Come on. You’re not staying in the cage for tonight.”
My heart picks up its pace. “What? But I want to stay here.”
“You are truly strange. Who wants to stay inside a cold cage in a dank basement?”
I shrug because what else can I do?
He cups my face with both of his hands. “You’re going to become mine, Katya. What better way to hurt your brother than take the thing most precious to him?”
“I’ll never be yours. I can’t be anybody’s.”
“Because you don’t want to be? Or because you already belong to someone else?”
“No. I’ve never dated anyone before.” My face burns at the admission. My lack of experience is something that has always bothered me. And yet, I cannot get myself to leave my room of my own accord and change that fact.
He drops his hands from my face but his eyes study mine in a way that makes my blush burn hotter. “You are truly innocent, aren’t you? I haven’t met that many women like you.”
“I’m not sure I’m a woman sometimes.”
“Then what are you?”
“A little girl,” I whisper. Why am I admitting these things to him? It makes no sense.
“You’re not a little girl.”
“I feel it though.”
“Then we should change that. You want to feel like a woman? Want to know what it feels like to be desired?”
“I don’t know,” I mumble. It would be nice but it’s also so embarrassing. Why do I have to be this way?
“You’re leaving this cage, Katya. No objections. Come on.” He gets up and stands outside the cage door, waiting for me to move. “I’m going to remain right here until you leave this cage.”
“Are you going to hurt me if I don’t?”
“Do you want to test that guess?”
I scramble to my feet and force my legs out of the cage. It takes all the energy inside of me. Already, I’m drained.
“Come along.” He starts walking and expects me to follow. My gaze finds the cage again. Alek comes back and grabs my chin – not rough but not gentle either. “You’ve spent all your life inside a room. That makes you intriguing I have to admit. But it also isn’t normal. You are not normal.”
I can’t help but flinch and fight back the tears that threaten to spill down my face. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because you seem angry that I’m not normal.”
“I’m not angry. I’m just stating a fact. I like that you’re not normal. Now, come along, Katya. Do you want to be seen as a little girl forever?”
“No,” I whisper.
“So come on.” He lets my chin go and stalks towards the door and tentatively, I follow behind. He leads me through the house and to a large master bedroom. I stop dead in my tracks when I see the large bed.
“Don’t worry,” he says, noticing my eyes widening.
“I’m not going to touch you. While you were in the cage today, I went out and bought you some clothes since you’re going to be staying here for a while.
” He walks over to a closet and comes out with multiple shopping bags.
“I estimated your size. Let’s see if they’ll fit. ”
He hands me a simple blue dress from one of them. It’s cute and feminine. But still young looking.
“You don’t look pleased,” he comments.
“It’s just… you said I could be a woman. What if I want to wear clothing a woman would wear?”
He holds the dress up. “A woman would wear this.”
“I know. But…”
“But what?” He continues to look at me with eyes that seem to be studying me, like he’s trying to learn everything there is about me.
“I want to wear something more sophisticated.”
“Ah.” He reaches into another bag and pulls out a white, slim dress with black buttons down the front. “Something like this?”
My heart races at the sight of the dress. It’s beautiful and exactly what I was talking about. A casual day dress but it still oozes glamour and femininity in a womanly way and not a little girl way.
“Yes. Something like that.”
“Good. Then try it on.”
I grab the dress from him and head for the closet when he stops me.
“Try it on right here.”
It takes me a moment to realize what he’s saying and then I gasp and clutch the dress to my body. “But that would mean…”
“Taking your clothes off for me. Yes. You said you wanted to know what it feels like to be a woman. To know what it’s like to be desired. This is the way.”
“But I’ve never…”
“Never what?” A teasing smile plays on his lips. He knows what I’m going to say.
“I’ve never gotten naked in front of a man before.”
“I figured. So that’s why I’ll be the first. Take your dress off for me, Katya.”