11. Chapter Eleven #2
I was so angry with her for telling the other girls that I hurt her but all of that is gone in this moment. None of that matters anymore. “Let me help you.”
“Maria,” she sobs. “He killed Maria.”
“I know. I can see that. But you’re safe now. I’m here.” I look at her handcuffs and know this won’t be easy. “Is there a key somewhere? Have you seen anything?”
“I don’t know.”
“All right.” I give her a kiss on the forehead before standing up. A dresser is against one wall. I go rummaging through it but can’t find anything. Lev probably had the key. That fucker. The betrayal hits me hard but I don’t have time to think about it. I just have to get Lana out of here.
Since I don’t have the key to unlock her handcuff, I’m going to have to do this the hard way.
“Cover your ears,” I tell her. She does as I say despite still crying.
I point my gun at the handcuff that’s attached to the pole and fire.
It breaks the handcuff right off. The other cuff is still around Lana’s wrist but I’ll be able to get it off her with the right tools.
“Come here.” I scoop her up into my arms and Lana clings to me like a child.
“Maria,” she sobs again.
“I know. I’ll have her body taken care of.”
“No. Don’t just bury her somewhere. She deserves a proper funeral.”
“Of course. I’ll handle it, Lana. I always do.”
She nods, looking resigned as she leans her head against my shoulder. I carry her out of the basement and to my car. Lev’s car is gone.
It’s then that I see that Lev shot my tires. Fucking asshole.
Thankfully Boris arrives soon after that and I place Lana in the back seat of his car. She’s trembling. “Take her home,” I advise. “Dimitri will be here soon. I have something I need to clean up. Call Ivanov. Have him look Lana over once you’re back at my house.”
“Got it, boss.” Boris shakes his head. “I can’t believe Lev would do this.”
“Neither can I. Just get Lana out of here.”
I watch Boris drive my wife away from Lev’s cabin of horrors before I turn back to the house with a sigh. Another problem to handle.
Lana
Cold. All I feel is cold. For just a moment, I felt warmth when Nikolai found me. I felt hope. But then he remained behind and had Boris take me home.
Boris helps me walk inside the house, his hands awkwardly moving me around like he doesn’t know what to do. I ignore him and head upstairs. All I want is to be in my bed.
The moment I lie down, I curl into a ball and tell myself that I’m fine. That I’m out of that basement. But I can’t get Maria’s death out of my head. Her dead body lying beside me for hours. I screamed for so long until I physically couldn’t scream anymore.
The door to my bedroom opens and in walks Dr. Ivanov. “Lana,” he says in his gentle voice. “I’m here to check on you. Is that all right?”
I can only shrug.
“I’ll take that as confirmation.” He sits down beside me and looks me over. “I don’t see any obvious injuries or bleeding. Do you hurt anywhere?”
I hold up my wrist that’s still bound by the handcuff. It’s all bloody.
He sighs. “Your stitches opened up again. This is horrific. I need to get that handcuff off you.” He opens his bag and pulls out a few needles. “I can try to pick the lock. Ideally, I would call the police but I know Nikolai would not like that.”
He fiddles around with the handcuff for a long time before it clicks open. “There. That’s better.” He sets the handcuff on the bedside table before gently taking my wrist in his hand. “Let me help you with this.”
I hold still as Dr. Ivanov cleans my wound and re-bandages my wrist.
“You won’t need stitches anymore. Your wound is looking better. Just a bandaged will do this time. It will probably feel better anyway.”
I slump onto the bed once he’s done. All my energy just… gone.
“Is there anything else I can do for you? Anyone I can call?”
“Who? Nikolai will be home at some point and my parents don’t want anything to do with me.”
“I’m sure they would be upset if they found out what happened to you. Boris informed me.”
“You don’t know my parents,” I whisper, curling back into a ball. “I’m fine, Dr. Ivanov. I wasn’t hurt anywhere else. You can go.”
“You went through something traumatic. I’m not a psychologist but I can still help.”
“Can you help me with the fact that I saw someone I’ve known for years shot right before my very eyes?”
Ivanov opens his mouth before he shakes his head no. “I probably can’t help you with that except to offer you the chance to talk about it. Time does heal all wounds though. This will take time.”
“I don’t want time. I want everything to be perfect and nothing is perfect. Everything is all… wrong.”
He pats my arm. “I’m sorry there’s nothing more I can do for you. But I can sit here with you until your husband returns. Do you want that?”
I think on it for a moment and then nod. The last thing I want is to be alone right now.
Ivanov is quiet and doesn’t force conversation. My throat hurts too much to talk anyway.
This is how Nikolai finds us. Ivanov sitting with me while I’m curled into a ball. “Doctor,” he says in his deep voice that makes my body shiver.
“She’s all right,” Ivanov says, getting to his feet. “Physically, I mean.”
“I’ve got it from here. I don’t need you to comfort my wife. That’s my job.”
“I was just offering help.”
Nikolai storms over to him and grabs Ivanov’s jacket. “She is my wife. I didn’t ask you to comfort her. I asked you to make sure she was all right.”
“Nikolai, why are you upset with me? I haven’t done anything.”
“How can I trust anyone right now?” he hisses. “After Lev…”
Ivanov peels Nikolai’s fingers from his jacket and grabs his bag from the floor. “I’ll be off. Call me if you need anything else. But remember: I am not your enemy.”
The room feels less warm after Ivanov leaves.
Nikolai hovers beside me. “Lana?”
Seeing my strong, handsome husband makes a jolt of energy course through me. “I want to go back.” I whisper.
“Back to when?”
“Back to our wedding night. I want to forget. Just for a moment.”
“What are you asking me?”
I force myself to sit up and grab his hand. “Make me forget, Nikolai. Touch me.”
“Lana…” He sighs. “I don’t think now is a good time.”
“What about what I want?”
“I know what’s best for you and right now is not a good time. Let me hold you. That’s what you need.”
I fling his hand away. “You don’t know what I need. I know what I need.”
“I’m not going to fuck you after you just went through something traumatic. I’m just not, Lana.”
“I thought you were a bad man who did bad things.” I know saying that is a low blow but in this moment, I don’t care.
“I am a bad man but I am not going to be a bad husband to you. If you’re going to act like this, then maybe you need a spanking.”
“Don’t treat me like I’m a child.”
“Then don’t act like one.” He kneels on the bed and leans over me. My breath hitches. “I came in here to comfort you. But I don’t like how you’re acting right now.”
“I’m sorry my trauma is making me less perfect.”
With a low sound, he grabs my waist and rolls me onto my stomach before spanking me hard across my backside. I raise my hips for more.
“You really need this right now?” he asks, spanking me again.
“You said you would handle it. So handle it. Handle me. Take away my pain. Please,” I cry.
Nikolai hesitates for only a moment before he spanks me again. The pain is a wakeup call. I arch my spine, pressing my backside into his hand.
“Please,” I moan. I’m not sure if it’s a moan of pleasure or pain. “Please.”
“You want me to take your pain away, sweetheart?”
“Yes. Please!”
He flips me onto my back and I can’t help but wince. He spanked me hard.
Nikolai grabs the waistband of my sweatpants and rips them down. My ballet tights are still on. Because I was going to dance practice… with Maria. I squeeze my eyes shut. The last thing I want is to think of her right now. I just want to be lost with my husband and nothing else.
Nikolai makes quick work of my tights and then pulls my panties down before parting my legs. “You’re wet for me?” His fingers slide along my inner thighs.
“Yes,” I moan. “Just make me forget. Please. Make me forget.”
Darkness enters Nikolai’s eyes as he leans down and kisses my lower stomach. I suck in a breath. “All right. I’ll make you forget, baby. You need me right now, don’t you?”
“I do. I really do.” My brain feels broken. I’ve completely cracked after what Lev did to me. No longer an ice princess even though all I feel is cold.
He plants his face right between my legs. His tongue licks over my folds and nub, turning the coldness in my body to warmth.