Chapter 45 colette
My head pounded as I woke up in a room that was similar to the one in the video, complete with two dog cages and me in one of them. Kathy moaned and blinked at me blearily
I tried to pry the door open and cut my fingers on the sharp edges.
I could possibly be more afraid, but it would be really hard.
Rossi and Ian had no way of finding me or even knowing where to look. Well, that wasn’t completely true. They had a good idea of who had taken me. It was the where that was more problematic.
A sinking pit filled my stomach and only got worse as the metal reinforced door clanged open and two men and three dogs entered the room.
Edmond Kelly entered first.
He was followed by Sergi Petrov Ivanov with three dogs. The big animals were sleek and well cared for. Long, narrow snouts showed sharp teeth as their lips wrinkled back at me and Kathy.
Each dog had a different coat, one white, the second black and silver, and the third pure black. The dogs stared at me and Kathy as they sat at a sharp command in a language I didn’t know.
I really wanted to vomit.
“How nice to see you,”
Edmond said in a conversational tone, sitting down on the bed as if we’d all just met in passing on the street. The little of his Irish accent contrasted with his words.
Sergi silently set up a phone facing me and Kathy. My heart thumped harder in my chest.
Kathy and I were in serious trouble because this man enjoyed hurting people.
“What’s going on?”
Kathy said, her voice trembling.
“Ah, a volunteer.”
Edmond got up.
No, no, no….
He strolled over to the cage holding Kathy. WIth a practiced move, he opened the door and dragged her out by the hair.
She screamed and struggled as he pulled her toward the wall. I hadn’t noticed the manacles on it until he reached up, pulling one off its hook.
“You’re too old and ugly to fuck, so let's try this instead,”
said Edmond, laughter in his voice as he forced her wrists into the shackles.
She tried to kick him and he slapped her. Blood flew as her nose broke and she screamed again.
When she was secure, facing the wall, he undid his belt. Folding his clothing, he laid it on the bed, his cock already half erect as he turned back to her, belt doubled in his hands.
Giving in to cowardice, I covered my eyes. I couldn't block out the sounds or the smells, though. The wire dug into my legs as I knelt, unable to really change position as Edmond beat Kathy until her screams and sobs wound down to tiny hoarse whimpers and moans.
“Don’t worry, your turn will come,”
came a soft voice, flavored with a strong Russian accent. “Ah, here comes the ass fucking. Do you think she’ll be able to scream more, or is her voice gone?”
I couldn’t hear Kathy over the wet slapping noises. Sergi kept talking to me, though, and I wished so much I had a gun or a knife so I could kill him. I’d mislaid my mouth right now.
Sarcasm didn’t work well if you were crying and puking when you delivered it.
A grunt, the quiet broken by Kathy’s faint crying. The rustle of clothing being put back on.
“Set the dogs on her.”
Edmond sounded bored. “That one has no fight. Then pass it on to Holdt.”
Tears leaked out of my eyes. I couldn’t hold onto my tough face as I listened to the dogs rip Kathy apart. The only mercy was that it was quick.
My cage rattled as someone banged on the top of it.
I looked up, startled, and Edmond Kelly's cold green eyes met mine. They were like pebbles, with no human emotion in them.
“What did you think you would accomplish by coming over here to find my daughter? That idiot of a boy thought he could bring her back to the States, but look where that kind of thinking got him. He’s dead, and I still have her. In fact, she’ll be marrying one of my business associates soon.”
He grinned down at me.
“Like you, she is my property. Unlike her, I plan to fuck you long and hard. The look on your master’s face when he realizes I have you and how much he’ll need to pay to get you back used will be hilarious.”
I shivered, not looking at the ruined person hanging from the wall. The dogs lay next to her, watching us alertly.
“I’m so sorry. It’s all a big misunderstanding. I’ll leave the country, and you won’t hear from us again.”
I made my voice wobble. It wasn’t at all hard. I sounded like I was begging. That’s what men like him enjoyed the most. They wanted me to beg for my life, and I was willing to play their game if it bought time for me to be found, because then we would kill all of them.
Kathy’s last moments kept running through my head. I didn’t want to die like that.
“Eh, I don’t think so. No idea what he sees in you, but I have pills to get it up if needed.”
He shook his head in disgust.
“You’re mine until I get recompensed for my time and effortl. I really don’t want to kill you, but if you don’t make them stop, I’ll let Sergi and his dogs have their way with you.”
I gagged.
“We’ll see if he’ll pay to have you back after that. If not, they won’t recognize your dead body, so no one will be able to do anything about it.”
Edmond stared into my eyes. It was like meeting the gaze of a shark. “Think about what I’ve said.”
He turned to leave the room. “Sergi, set up a call so she can talk to her boyfriend, and if she doesn’t do what I’ve asked, then you may exert a little more pressure.”
The door closed on his words.
“Where exactly is here? I don’t want to be nosy or anything, but a location would be wonderful.”
I held no illusions that Sergi would give me the location, but it couldn’t hurt to try.
Sergi kicked the cage. It tipped on its side, s;lamming me against the wires since I had no way to brace.
“Looking forward to hearing you scream.”
Sergi walked closer to me and held the phone up near me. He showed me he was sending the video he’s taken, everything they’d done to Kathy, up to the end.
It took a while to send.
“Remember what we talked about. Do exactly what he told you, and you might get to see them again one day.”
Sergi reminded me, petting the black dog. It panted, tongue lolling out..
“Ian?”
I whispered. My body wouldn’t stop shaking.
“Collette. Where are you? Are you ok?”
Ian sounded cold and bored. Good.
“Sergi Petrov Ivanov and Edmond Kelly are graciously hosting me. They’ve said that I may not make it home if you and Rossi contact their rival. You need to cut all ties and go home. I’ll be there as soon as possible. We’ll have to give up on finding Andrew’s killer. I’m sure they’ve fled the country.”
I wanted them to get the message and leave things behind if they could.
“I see. You should inform them if they want a fee for returning you it would be helpful if they contacted me.”
Ian sounded like this was annoying, like getting stopped in traffic. “And I will not be happy if you’re injured. I like your skin in one piece.”
“I’ll let them know.”
I grimaced at Sergi’s amused smirk. “They'll be contacting you.”
Sergi hung up the phone.
“Well, it seems that you can listen to reason and follow directions. It’s bought you a couple hours in a bigger cage. We’ll see how you like life on the lower end of things. I’ve heard it’s pretty comfortable compared to death, that is.”
Sergi burst out laughing at his own humor.
He grunted as he dragged my cage through the dark underground halls. He dropped it in a room with a teeth rattling thump, and walked out, slamming the door.
I reached out and felt the edges of the small cage. My legs were curled up, and I was going to be unable to stretch or move more than an inch or two.
Determination filled me. I would survive and they would pay.
“They let you live. For Sergi, that’s a pretty big deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re going to sell you off.”
I heard someone from the next cage speak in the darkness. “I really thought they would torture you more than they did.”
“Oh, I’m sure they will. They’re just weighing how much money they can get.”
I was under no illusions that I was going to make it through this in one piece.
“Here, I saved a bit of water from yesterday. You’re going to need it.”
A bottle was held through the cage and I took it, drinking greedily.
“Thank you.”
I had no idea why the person next to me was being nice, but I knew that I needed to find out as much information as possible.
“What are you in here for?”
I handed the empty bottle back.
There wasn’t anything in my cage, but I supposed they’d bring something to feed us with, eventually.
“I went against the boss’s orders. He wasn’t happy about it, but he can’t kill me. So I’m taken out and tortured for a while every couple of days. One day he’ll forget about it, but until then, I’m stuck here.”
I could hear the shrug in the darkness.
“There are many things that Edmond Kelly could do instead of letting me sit in the dark.”
“I’m really sorry.”
I apologized because I knew how bad things could get. Darkness and loneliness was its own torment.
“It’s not your fault.”
Her voice was resigned to her situation.
“Still doesn’t make it right.”
I sighed before closing my eyes. I’d rest while I could.