17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Mikhail
C illian cuts along my chest for the… I’ve lost count how many times. The cuts are all shallow, nothing deep to kill me outright, but enough to cause me pain.
With my arms extended over my head, I’m slowly losing feeling in my hands. But I can still feel my body every time Cillian cuts me.
“Here,” he hands the knife off to Liam. “Give it a go.”
Liam has a swagger to him as he approaches me. It’s a cocky attitude, one that speaks to only ever knowing what it’s like to be on top of the world.
“This is nothing personal,” Liam says to me right before he slices down my chest. I grit my teeth back to keep from screaming.
The only fortunate thing is that they haven’t gone for my waist, specially my cock. If I’m going to die here, I want to die with my manhood intact.
Unless Cillian is saving it for the final end. I wouldn’t put it past him.
“You’re a natural,” I spit out as Liam continues to cut me.
“I’m flattered you think so.”
“So, you’re going to take after Cillian once he’s gone. I hope you’re ready to take over now.”
“Why? Because you’re going to kill him?”
“Precisely.”
Liam smirks. In one quick motion, he brings the knife to my cheek and cuts. That’s going to leave a scar behind. “Not if we kill you first.”
“Liam likes to have fun,” Cillian says. “I like knowing that my successor will know how to torture our enemies once I retire.”
It’s been hours now since they started. There’s no clock around so I don’t know the exact time but the sky has darkened. That much I can see. I’m not sure how much more time I have left.
I keep holding out, thinking of Natalya. She needs me. She needs a man to dominate her. To protect her. To love her.
I was consumed by Natalya the first time I laid eyes on her but I wouldn’t have called it love then.
I would have called it lust. Possession.
But the thought of never seeing her again makes me realize that my feelings have changed.
It’s no longer just possession and lust for her.
It’s no longer just the desire to consume her and to dominate her.
I love her. I love my wife.
And I’ll never see her again.
No one knows where I am. My men might not even know what happened to me. I’m not sure if Natalya would have told them. My hope is that she went straight home and hid herself away. She better not be out there, putting herself in danger to save me. She’ll deserve a spanking for that for sure.
Liam hands the knife over to Cillian.
“How much longer?” I ask.
“As long as it takes to break you.”
“I never knew you were such a ruthless asshole.”
Cillian chuckles as he skims the knife along my skin. “You don’t really know me at all, do you, Mikhail? You never knew that I love to torture people. That I love the game of it. That I love the thrill of it. Guess these were things you should have asked me about before you made a deal with me.”
“Which you lied to me about. You were always working with Nico. Does he know about this?”
“This is for me, not for Nico.”
“So, he doesn’t know.” It’s my turn to chuckle. “Which means that when he finds out, he’s going to be pissed. If anyone wants to kill me himself, it’s Nico. You just made an enemy of your ally.”
Cillian’s eyes darken. “You’re in no position to get into my head. If you don’t stop talking, I’m going to cut out your tongue.”
I know he will too. A part of me is tempted to mock him still but there’s something deep inside of myself saying that I need to be smart about this. That I need to just… wait.
So, I stay silent. Cillian smiles, though I can tell he’s disappointed. There’s a tightening of his eyes that indicates so. He wanted me to mock him and he’s not going to get what he wanted.
He holds up his knife. “Let’s continue.”
I’m going to hold out for as long as I can. For Natalya. I will not give up, no matter what. She needs me and if there’s any chance I can make my way back to her, I will.
So, I bite down on my tongue as Cillian cuts me, stifling my scream. If I’m not careful, I’ll bite off my own tongue, doing Cillian’s dirty work for him.
I picture Natalya in my mind and hold onto it for dear life.
Natalya
Nico gets a call. We’ve been driving around for a while now as his men look into where Cillian took Mikhail.
He’s ignored me the whole time, either speaking on his phone or texting people.
That’s fine by me. Nico is extremely intimidating and not someone I really want to talk with.
And if he finds Mikhail, all the better.
Even though Nico is going to kill Mikhail when he finds him. I’ll just have to deal with that when the time comes.
“Yes,” Nico answers the phone. He listens for a long moment before he hangs up. “Cillian’s car is by a warehouse down by the docks. We’ll go there to check it out.”
“Are you going to kill Mikhail the moment you see him? Or are you…”
“Am I going to what?”
“Torture him?”
“If he’s still alive, then I’m assuming Cillian’s been doing a fine job of that. I don’t need to torture him. I just want him dead.”
“And once you kill him, you don’t need me anymore.”
Nico’s eyes narrow as they rake me over. “I can think of a few ways to use you.”
I swallow hard. “Please. Once Mikhail is dead, you won’t need me anymore. I won’t have any power. You can let me go.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“But you don’t need me,” I practically cry.
“I still need you for now. I need to use you against Mikhail. You’ll make sure he stays in line.”
“And once Mikhail is dead? What then?”
“We’ll just have to see. I’ve heard that you have multiple sisters. Is that true?”
“Why do you want to know?”
He shrugs. “Just humor me.”
“Yes. I have three other sisters.”
“Are they all as beautiful as you are?”
I can’t help but blush under Nico’s heavy gaze. “You’re not getting your hands on my sisters.”
“Fair enough. I could just taste you. See why Mikhail is so obsessed with you.”
“Please. Please just let me go when this is all over. You won’t need me. I won’t be any danger to you. Please.”
For just a moment, Nico shows a touch of softness before his hardness takes back over. “Let’s just find Mikhail first.”
We arrive at the warehouse. All I can think as Nico walks beside me, keeping his hand on my arm so I don’t run, is what will I find in there? Will Mikhail be dead? Or will he be alive, clinging to life?
Nico’s men are with us. Three of them. They burst into the warehouse, shooting off guns. The sounds of screams fill the air.
Nico casually walks behind as we enter the warehouse. The first thing I see is the commotion. Cillian is hiding behind a desk, occasionally shooting off his gun. His man, Liam, is with him. His other men are scattering to the wind as Nico’s men take over.
And that’s when I see Mikhail. Strung up. Covered in blood from cuts all over his chest. There’s even one on his face that hurts my heart.
He can barely keep his head up as he looks around the room. His eyes meet mine and they widen. I know he’s wondering what I’m doing here. His eyes slide over to Nico beside me and they narrow. I’m sure he’s wondering why I’m with his enemy.
Cillian starts firing at Nico’s men and Nico joins the fray, letting me go.
That’s when I decide to make a run for it.
Straight to Mikhail.
No one bothers shooting at me. I’m no threat like the men are, with their weapons and power.
I reach Mikhail, placing my hands gently on his cut up chest. “Mikhail. You’re alive.”
“Just barely. You’re here. I never thought I’d see you again.”
“I’m here.”
“With Nico.”
“He… captured me. But I’m here to get you out. We have to go now while they’re all distracted.”
His hands are tied. The rope around them is over a hook hanging from the ceiling. I jump up but I can’t reach. I’m too short. Nico and Cillian’s men keep fighting each other. So much for allies, I guess.
My eyes land on a chair that’s fallen over in the corner of the room. Running as fast as I can, I reach it and pick it up, using it as a shield from any bullets. Standing on the chair allows me to reach Mikhail’s hands. I push the rope off the hook and he slumps right to the ground.
Using all my strength, I help Mikhail stand up.
“No,” he groans. “I don’t want your help. Baby, you need to run. You need to get out of here.”
“You’ll die otherwise. I’m getting you out.”
Mikhail tries to stand on his own but he slumps right against me. I’ve never seen him weak like this. It’s disorienting. It’s terrifying.
We can’t go for the front door since Nico is still blocking it, firing off his gun. I spy a door on the other side of the warehouse and slowly back away, helping Mikhail walk.
We’re almost to the back door when I hear the gunshots stop.
“Are you done?” Nico asks.
“You surprised me, that’s all,” Cillian responds.
“You took Mikhail for yourself. You wanted to kill him when you knew it was what I wanted!”
With a glance over my shoulder, I see Nico lunge for Cillian and the two of them begin to fight. Both of them are so caught up in their anger with each other, they don’t even notice me and Mikhail getting away.
We make it outside and for a moment, I let the fresh hair soak over me. I let it make me feel safe.
And that’s when I see Liam.
He runs out the back door, holding his gun up. “You can’t leave. Cillian isn’t done with you yet.”
I know the longer Liam stalls us, the more it gives Nico and Cillian a chance to come out here and stop us. The more chance it gives them to kill both me and Mikhail.
“Cillian doesn’t want me dead,” Mikhail says. “So if you shoot me, you’ll be pissing off your boss.”
“He’ll also be pissed if I just let you escape.”
Liam has his eyes trained on Mikhail. He doesn’t even see me. I’m not worth it to these men. I’m no threat. I’m just the innocent white swan they all see me as.
But I’ve grown into the black swan. I’ve grown into a fighter.
I only have one chance of doing this right.