Chapter Six
Cerys
“Artur! What are you doing here?” I heard Ilya ask out in the hall.
The next sound was his cry of pain and the sounds of flesh meeting flesh.
Was someone hitting him? I stood, unsure where to go or what to do.
I didn’t think I could find the phone fast enough to call for help.
I felt my way around the side of the couch and moved in the direction of the bedroom.
If I could get there, then maybe I could lock myself inside.
The front door splintered and slammed against the wall.
My body locked up tight. I heard the thunder of steps rushing toward me, but I couldn’t see the man called Artur.
He hit me full force, knocking me off my feet.
The air left my lungs as I smashed into the hard floor, leaving me dazed and gasping.
“So you’re Viktor’s little whore.”
His fist met my cheek and I cried out as pain exploded through my head.
He hit me three more times before I got my wits about me enough to start fighting him off.
I twisted and tried to knock him off, but he was able to easily dodge my blows.
He grabbed a handful of my hair and banged my head against the floor three times.
My ears were ringing and I had a hard time staying alert.
Artur dragged me to my feet, then tossed me in the air.
I landed hard on what I thought was the coffee table, and it broke beneath me.
A piece of it jabbed into my side, breaking the skin and blood flowed freely.
I didn’t know how deep it was, but I nearly passed out from the pain.
Artur pulled me off the broken table and slapped me around some more before tossing me back on the floor.
I finally managed to break free and ran for what I hoped was the bedroom.
My knees hit the side of the mattress and I tried to crawl across it to put more space between us, but his hand wrapped around my ankle.
He dragged me against the mattress, then pressed against my ass.
I twisted and tried to kick at him, but it only made him laugh and grind his hard cock against me. Shock filled me and I went still.
“I like it when they fight. Maybe I should just have my fill of you, then leave you for Viktor to find. Once he sees my cum running out of you, he won’t want you anymore.
” His grip tightened on me to the point of pain.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Dirty little whore like you wants to be used, don’t you? ”
“Not a whore,” I mumbled.
He knocked me to the floor and kicked me several times, landed a few more punches, then pulled at my clothes.
His hands squeezed my breasts until I screamed out in pain.
It only seemed to turn him on more and I made myself be still and quiet, hoping he’d lost interest. It seemed to work because he tossed me over his shoulder and took me down the elevator.
I didn’t know why the men at the front desk didn’t stop him, but he carried me out of the building and tossed me into a small, hard space.
When a lid slammed, I realized I was in a trunk.
I must have blacked out. When I came to, the pain in my head and side was sharp.
The car was in motion and I didn’t know how long I’d been locked in here.
Every bump in the road had me wanting to cry out, but I bit my lip to stifle the sound.
I didn’t want to give the evil man the satisfaction of knowing I was hurting.
I touched every part of the interior, hoping for a way to get out.
The carpeted trunk didn’t yield any hidden latches or any other way to open the lid and escape.
Then again, as fast as the car was moving, I’d likely kill myself if I jumped out right now.
But it didn’t mean I couldn’t try once it stopped.
I exhausted myself, trying to find a way out, and I fought not to cry.
Where was Viktor? Did he know yet that I was missing?
I didn’t know where we were going, or why he’d taken me.
If Ilya had known him, did he work for the Bratva like Viktor?
His name sounded familiar, but I was too nervous and scared to figure out where I’d heard it.
The rocking motion of the car was making my stomach flip and flop.
Every sharp turn sent me hurtling into one of the sides.
I’d slammed my head more than once, but I knew he didn’t care.
The man who had taken me seemed to get off on pain. My pain.
When the car came to a stop and didn’t move again, my heart started beating harder.
What would he do to me? Where had he taken me?
I heard the pop of the trunk opening and smelled the outside air.
Rough hands jerked me from inside the small space and I was dragged along.
I tripped and fell, but Artur only gripped my hair and started pulling, not caring if I got to my feet or not.
I could feel the concrete or sidewalk scrape against my skin, breaking it open.
My hip slammed into some steps and I cried out as he hauled me up and through a door.
With a hard shove, he sent me sprawling across a wood floor.
“Who is that?” a woman asked.
“That is your betrothed’s wife,” Artur said.
There was a moment of silence. “Viktor is married?”
“Yes, but never fear, my pet. He’ll marry you, just like I promised. The daughter of Artur Orlov is a much better choice than this piece of gutter trash. Who knows where he found her? Fucking bitch is defective anyway. Can’t see.”
Wait. What? All this was because the man wanted Viktor to marry his daughter?
We were already married! I didn’t see Viktor willingly signing divorce papers.
Especially not if I could possibly be pregnant already.
Oh, God ! I wanted to press a hand to my belly, but the last thing I needed to do was alert them to a possible kink in their plan.
I hoped that the beating I’d gotten today hadn’t hurt my baby, if there was one.
I remembered him speaking of a man who wanted Viktor to marry his daughter. I just hadn’t realized it was this man. Maybe fear had addled my brains a bit.
I curled in on myself, hoping to give them less of a target if either of them got violent. Artur seemed to enjoy inflicting pain. A hand gripped my hair and jerked my head back. I stifled a scream as my neck was wrenched. The cloying scent of perfume stung my nose.
“You took my Viktor from me? How? You’re nothing compared to me.”
I kept silent, but it might have been a mistake.
She slammed her foot down on my hip, a sharp heel from a dress shoe stabbing into me hard enough I could feel the skin break.
She jammed the heel into my calf next, then one of them kicked me in the face.
Blow after blow left me dazed and hurting so much I didn’t even want to breathe.
When they finished, I was lifted and carried back outside, then down the sidewalk.
I must have blacked out because when I came to it was to the jolt of my body hitting the ground and slamming into something metal that smelled bad.
A dumpster? Had they left me in an alley?
“Be a good girl and die,” Artur said. The man sounded like he was stark raving mad!
How did he think he would get away with this?
Did he honestly think Viktor would just let him kill me and there wouldn’t be repercussions?
“You’re nothing. A plaything. Viktor won’t even miss you once my daughter is in his bed.
She’s been well-versed in how to please a man. ”
Bile rose in my throat as I wondered if he’d been the one to teach her.
The tone of his voice when he spoke of her was…
more that of a lover than a parent. The thought made my stomach turn.
I heard his steps move away from me, and then I couldn’t hear them at all.
I felt the ground around me, and hoped I wasn’t about to put my hand on a used needle.
Depending on the part of town where he’d taken me, anything was possible.
I slowly crawled in what I hoped was the direction of the street.
I didn’t make it very far before the pain was too much and I collapsed onto my side.
I hurt everywhere. Even breathing was difficult.
I didn’t hear a single sound, which frightened me even more.
No cars. No people walking by. I struggled to crawl a little farther, hoping I’d find a street, or someone who might at least help me.
My hands found the curb and I wanted to cry in both relief and frustration because I still didn’t hear a single car going by.
Trying to find a door and knocking on it could be dangerous depending on my location.
Then again, so was lying by the street. I made it to my feet and nearly passed out from the pain.
Hands outstretched, I walked forward and found the brick surface of a building.
Banging my hand on the door, I waited but no one answered.
I tried again. And again. Then I moved on.
After four more doors and no one answering, I didn’t know if they were fearful of Artur, or if I’d been dropped in a deserted area.
Certain areas I’d been told were boarded up and abandoned. Was that where I was?
How would Viktor ever find me here?
Then I heard it. Footsteps. I tensed, not knowing if it was Artur returning to finish the job of killing me, or if it was someone else who would hurt me.
The heavy tread and confidence of the person’s walk made me think it was a man.
I knew there was evil in the world, and it would be foolish to think a stranger wouldn’t be dangerous.
I pressed my back to the brick and hoped that something worse wasn’t about to happen to me.
The footsteps halted directly in front of me, and I smelled cigarette smoke.
He must have blown it directly into my face because I coughed and my sightless eyes burned.
Or he was just smoking something strong.