Chapter 16 - Danica
DANICA
The lunch rush has finally died down and my feet are screaming as I slide into the booth across from Mina and she pushes a plate of fried potatoes toward me. The smell makes my stomach growl. I can't believe how hungry I am.
"When's the last time you ate?" She steals one of the potatoes off my plate.
"Breakfast. Vadim made scrambled eggs before he left this morning." I find myself smiling though I'm not really sure if I like what it means. Vadim and I have been playing this game of tug-of-war, back and forth with how hot the chemistry is and how cold I feel toward him sometimes.
I'm not pleased with his line of work, and I'm not happy that his "job" is taking so long, but I don't mind being held at night. And the way he makes my coffee in the morning is sweet.
Mina's eyebrows shoot up and she leans forward. Her eyes are bright with curiosity.
"He cooks for you?" she asks. "How very domestic." One eyebrow rises at me, though I can't tell if it's skepticism or disdain. She's been pretty vocal about how much she dislikes him.
I roll my eyes and reach for the salt shaker. The potatoes need more seasoning and I dump too much onto my plate. Mina watches me with that knowing look.
"It's not a big deal." I take another bite. "He happens to be awake before me."
"That's all?" Mina's voice drips with sarcasm. "Come on, it's been what, three weeks since the wedding? How's married life treating you?"
A month, actually, but I'm not about to correct her.
Trying to pretend this whole thing is something I'm thrilled about is hard enough.
I don't need to have to keep track of days and hours like a normal married person.
Besides, I don't think she wants a real answer anyway.
She's not really asking me about him. She is insinuating that she knows I'm not happy.
I don’t like that people make assumptions about me. Not her, not Petr, and definitely not Vadim.
"It's fine," I say, trying to keep my tone sounding honest as I take a bite of food.
Mina reaches across the table and puts her hand over mine. Her palm is warm and her fingers squeeze gently. "What's really going on?" she asks quietly. "And don't give me that 'fine' bullshit."
I pull my hand away and grab my water glass. The condensation drips onto the table where a puddle has collected, and I know I can't keep putting her off. I can't tell her the whole truth, but I can't keep lying to her. She's my friend, and I need someone to talk to.
"He needed help with something." My conscience won't allow me to look her in the eye, so I focus on the water glass. "Immigration stuff. His visa was expiring and he needed to stay for work."
Mina's thoughtful but she pulls her hand back and sighs lightly. I'm confessing to a crime that could get me in a lot of trouble, but I need my best friend's support on this.
"So you married him to help him get citizenship?" She leans back in the booth and glances around, but her voice stays quiet and compassionate. "Danica, that's fraud. You know you could go to jail."
"I know," I almost whimper. "But I didn't have a choice.
He offered to help me with something I can't handle on my own and this was the price.
" I feel foolish and I shouldn't have to.
If I told her what a monster Vadim was when he propositioned me, she'd understand why I had no choice. But then, he's not all bad.
He makes me breakfast, and he confessed his heart to me, why he is even after that man to hunt him down. Vadim is just misunderstood, even by me sometimes. I get so angry, but really, he's just trying to do what he thinks is right. He's not bad for that, just misguided.
"What kind of help?"
I glance up at her, but I know I can't tell her about how he offered to pay me. It only makes me look worse and I feel ashamed enough as it is.
"It doesn't matter." I push my plate away. "The point is I'm stuck now until his job runs its course, and then we'll get an annulment and I'll be free."
Mina reaches for my hand again and this time, I let her take it. Her thumb rubs across my knuckles.
"You made a stupid choice." Her words are blunt but her tone is kind. "But you're not the first person to do something desperate when they're backed into a corner."
"I know it was stupid." I blink hard. "I just don't know what else I could've done."
"Okay." Mina squeezes my hand. "Then let's talk about the silver lining. You've got a roof over your head that's nicer than your old apartment. You've got a husband who cooks you breakfast. And from what you're not saying, I'm guessing the situation isn't completely terrible."
The situation isn't terrible is probably the understatement of the year.
Vadim's demanding and controlling, but he's also protective over me, which is sort of nice.
And he touches me like he owns me but also like he's afraid I'll break.
The stark contrast seems impossible, but it's who he is. How do I explain that?
"It's complicated." That's the closest thing to being honest that I can manage. "I don't hate him. I probably should, but I don't."
"Do you like him?" Mina's grin is back and she looks mischievous. "Is the sex good, at least?"
Heat floods my face. Mina laughs loud enough that a couple at the next table turns to look at us. I kick her shin under the table. Then I grin at her and snicker under my breath.
"What makes you think I'm having sex with him?" I say around a sip of water.
"You glow, Danica… You positively glow some days, like this morning. You did it this morning, didn't you?" Now she's seriously crossing a line, but that's what best friends do. "Oh, my God, it is good. Your face just told me everything. How good are we talking?"
"I'm not discussing this with you." I grab my water and gulp it, hiding behind the glass.
"That means mind-blowing." Mina sits back looking pleased. "See? Silver lining. Fake marriage. Real orgasms. Could be worse."
I join her in a chuckle for a moment as I breathe in the encouragement she offers, but the front door opens and a man walks in who makes every muscle in my body go rigid.
Marko Boskovi? looks exactly the same as he did the last time I saw him over a month ago.
And his scowling face still searches for me like I’m his prey.
Our eyes meet across the diner and his mouth curves into a smile that makes my blood run cold. He starts walking toward our booth and I grab Mina's wrist hard enough that she winces.
"What's wrong?" She follows my gaze and her expression shifts from curious to concerned. "Who's that?"
"Trouble." I don't take my eyes off Marko. "Big trouble."
He slides into the booth next to Mina, and she immediately scoots as far away from him as she can get. He doesn't seem to notice or care. His attention is locked on me and the smile hasn't left his face.
"Danica," he rasps salaciously. "I've been looking for you. You're a hard woman to find these days."
"I've been working." I force myself to meet his eyes even though everything in me wants to look away. He terrifies me, and it's impossible to hide that from anyone.
"Not at home, though." He drums his fingers on the table. "I went by your house. Several times, actually, and nobody answered. So I let myself in to check if you were dead or just avoiding me."
I feel a sliver of fear snake around my chest and clamp down, causing my belly to turn. He's been in my house which means he knows I’m not living there currently. If he decides to come after Vadim, what sort of war will that start?
"I've been staying with, uh… family." The lie comes quickly, though I may die regretting that one.
If Vadim is sinister, this man makes him look like the Archangel Michael.
Marko is death incarnate. "My aunt got sick and I've been helping take care of her.
" I flick a glance at Mina, who still gawks at the man with a pale face and a blank expression.
"That's interesting." Marko tilts his head. "Because when I searched your house, I couldn't find anything. It's like you packed up and disappeared."
"I didn't disappear," I snip, though I know better than to get hasty with him, so I calm myself. "I'm right here."
"You are." He leans forward, and I can smell cigarettes on his breath. "But you haven't been making your payments. We had an arrangement—you're supposed to be making payments. You've paid less than half."
"I'll get you the money." I glance at Mina, who's now staring with wide eyes. "I just need a few more days."
"You've had weeks." His expression turns to a snarl and all the false friendliness disappears. "Your brother racked up a debt and then ran off. That debt doesn't disappear just because he did. Someone has to pay, and that someone is you."
"I understand that." I'm shaking now, shivering thanks to the surge of adrenaline pumping through my chest. He doesn't have to remind me again of the threats he's made. I've just been surviving the past month and I forgot he'd be coming around to collect. "And I'm going to pay."
"Time's something you don't have." Marko reaches into his jacket and for one horrible second, I think he's going to pull out a gun. Instead, he pulls out a folded piece of paper. "That's the full amount your brother owed me. Plus interest."
I unfold the paper with shaking hands. The number at the bottom makes my vision swim. Thirty thousand euro? Now it's my turn to gawk and let my jaw drop.
"That's not the amount we agreed on." I push the paper back. "You said twelve thousand."
"We said that six weeks ago." Marko folds the paper.
"Interest accumulates… And when you don't make payments, the amount goes up.
I've added penalties and handling charges.
" His thumb pushes against his nostril and he blows hard, splattering mucus on the table and onto my food.
It's disgusting and I cringe, but I can't just get up and run away like I want to.
"I don't have thirty thousand euro." My voice cracks. "I barely have a thousand saved. You know I can't pay this." I push the plate toward him and grit my teeth.
Why the fuck is life trying to shit on me so bad right now? This is insanity. If I could just whip out thirty grand, I wouldn't need this job.
"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" Marko stands, and I cower, but when he grabs my arm and yanks me out of the booth, there's not much I can do but drop my phone and go with him.
He's too strong to fight, and I've learned the hard way more than once not to back talk him. So I look over my shoulder at Mina, who's on her feet with my phone in her hands, and I mouth, "Call Vadim," before Marko has me out the door onto the street.
He stuffs me into the back of a car and climbs in after me, and it takes off down the street, squealing tires.
I'm trembling, curling inward on myself and hoping Mina understood what I said.
I pray she doesn't call the police. I don’t want Marko thinking I snitched on him.
God only knows what he'd do if that happened.
This situation is bad enough without that making things worse.
When we pull up in front of my home, I'm not surprised.
He probably thinks I have money stashed here, and I do, but not thirty grand.
I had four thousand euro saved up for a rainy day thinking maybe I'd have a down payment for a house I could buy myself, or if I had a medical emergency, it would help me.
If I get him that, maybe he will back off for a while. Or maybe not. Who knows.
Marko forces me out of the car and up the walk toward the house.
The front door is unlocked when I try the handle, and my stomach twists as I push it open and step inside.
The apartment looks like a tornado hit it—furniture overturned, drawers pulled out and dumped on the floor, pictures torn off the walls.
They really did search every inch of this place looking for money.
I pick my way through the debris toward the kitchen. The cabinets are all standing open with their contents scattered across the counter and floor. I find the cabinet where I kept the coffee can and my heart sinks. It's empty—not just the can. The whole cabinet has been cleaned out.
"Looking for this?" Marko is standing in the doorway holding my coffee can when I spin around to face him. He shakes it, and I can hear coins rattling inside. Not bills. Just coins. Everything else is gone.
"Where's the rest?" I take a step toward him thinking naively that he'll let me see, but he glares at me. "There was almost four thousand euro in there."
"Was there?" He sets the can on the counter. "Funny. When we searched this place, we only found about three hundred in change. Not nearly enough to cover what you owe."
"You're lying." I can't believe that lying sack. His men came in here and took my money and now he wants me to cough up more! "That money was there. I know it was."
"Maybe your brother came back for it." Marko shrugs. "Or maybe you're lying about how much you had saved. Either way, you're standing here with nothing to give me, and I'm still owed twelve thousand euro."
"I'll get it." I'm backing up without realizing it until my hip hits the counter. "Just give me more time."
"Time's up." Marko reaches behind his back and pulls out a gun, raising it up to point it right at me. "I told you I'd start collecting in other ways if you didn't pay. You should've taken me seriously."
I cringe as he moves toward me, and I see the gun coming toward me, but I can't move fast enough. Metal connects with my cheekbone and the world explodes into white-hot pain. I hit the floor hard and taste copper in my mouth. Blood runs down my face and drips onto the dirty linoleum.
Marko crouches down next to me with the gun still in his hand, pointed at my head. His face swims in and out of focus.
"Consider this a down payment on what you owe." His voice sounds far away like I'm underwater. "Next time, I won't be so gentle."
I try to respond, but nothing comes out except a wet, gurgling sound. The pain in my face is overwhelming everything else and I can't even think straight. It's hard to keep my eyes open, but I hear another set of footsteps, and then Marko's breath isn’t in my face anymore.
What the fuck am I going to do? And what's he going to do next?