Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Irina
Iwake up in a basement. A dirty one by the look of the mold on the ceiling and the dust everywhere. With a gasp, I sit up, my heartrate spiking. Where am I exactly? And why am I here?
That’s when I remember the hotel and Simone and my head fuzzy after she told me to drink.
But my drink didn’t have alcohol in it. Unless…
she drugged me. My father sheltered me from the world but he told me enough to make me fear it.
He gave me warnings of girls who got drugged when they tried to party.
How it was their fault for being so na?ve and stupid to begin with.
I guess I never expected to be on the receiving end.
The sound of a door opening makes me get to my feet. With a glance down at my body, I look ok, like nothing is out of place. The sound of footsteps on stairs sends goosebumps over my skin.
Simone reaches the bottom of the stairs, entering the room. “Hello there.”
“What is this? Where am I?”
“You’re here to get out of the way.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Nik can’t be married to you if you’re gone.”
It takes me a moment to realize what she’s saying. “So you kidnapped me to make it so Nikolai was available again?”
“Yes.” She doesn’t even try to hide it. “Nik and I were meant to be together.”
“But you were already broken up.”
“He was just confused. But when you’re gone, he’ll be free to be with me again.”
“You’re going to kill me?” I whisper.
“No. He is.”
Another set of footsteps ring throughout the air and a man steps into the basement. He’s no older than his thirties with average features. Slightly pudgy but nothing too extreme.
“This is George. He’s going to do the deed. I don’t want to ruin my manicure. See to it that it’s done, George.” She turns to the stairs.
“Wait,” I call out. The glare she gives me when she turns back around is like a gut punch. “Why didn’t you have me killed when I was drugged? Why wait until I was awake?”
“Because this is more fun. I wanted you to know that you won’t get my man. You don’t deserve a peaceful death for taking Nik from me.”
“You’re crazy,” I whisper.
“Don’t call me crazy. I’m just doing what any woman would do to get her man back.” With that, she leaves the basement.
It’s just me and George.
He has a knife in his hand, I notice. A knife he’s going to use to kill me.
There’s a breath between us for a moment before he runs for me. The basement is big enough for me to dodge out of his way but he keeps coming at me and he’s much bigger and faster. I still feel a little out of it from whatever Simone put in my drink.
I keep running away when George grabs me by the hair and yanks my head back, throwing me to the ground. I scream as he gets on top of me.
But before he can bring the knife to my throat, I use my hand to hit him between the legs.
He groans and flinches back, giving me just enough time to wiggle out from under him.
George only grabs my legs and pulls me back to him though.
Nikolai – who I’m sure is looking for me by now – is not going to find me here in time. I have to save myself.
When George swipes the knife towards my face, I use that moment to grab his wrist and bite down. He growls and his hold on the knife loosens. My fingers fight against his own as I try to grab it.
That’s when he punches me in the gut. I’m still a little achy there from when Alexei hurt me so I can’t stop myself from falling onto my back, giving George the chance to get back on top of me.
He raises the knife high. I muster up all the strength I can and grab onto his hands as he brings the knife down. I just barely keep him from killing me.
“Stop fighting,” he growls. “I am going to win and you know it.”
“No. I have been through too much just to give up now.” And I know in this moment, I never should have left Nikolai’s side again.
I was just so angry with him for making a deal with my dad that I lost sight of everything.
But I know now: Nikolai is the only one who can, for a fact, protect me, and I left him.
If I make it through this, I’ll never leave him again. I’ll put my hatred for my dad aside. I’ll try to be as happy as I can be with my husband.
Just let me make it through this.
George is stronger than me and eventually, my arms give out. He brings the knife down but I manage to roll out of the way to avoid getting stabbed in the heart. George is stunned for a moment and I use that against him.
I grab the knife and slash his arm with it, and after getting to my feet, I back away from him. George comes back at me and I know I’m going to have to get close enough to hurt him. To stop him.
So I don’t run.
He grabs my arms but I’m ready. As he brings me towards him, I use the knife to stab him in the gut. He grunts and backs away from me, shocked I actually managed to stab him.
In his shock, I stab him in the stomach again. I can’t risk him being fine enough to come back at me. He falls to his knees, fear in his eyes. His stomach is bleeding out fast.
I can only watch as he falls over and bleeds out before me. It takes a few minutes and then he’s gone. I killed him.
With a gasp, I drop the knife and back away from him. I have to get out of here. I have to get back to Nik.
I run up the stairs and reach the basement door… only to find that it’s locked with a keypad. I need the code to get out of here. Going back to George, it takes all my courage to rummage through his pockets, searching for the code, but I don’t find it. I’m stuck in here with a dead body.
And I’m not sure I’ll ever be found.
Nikolai
It takes me a few hours to realize that Irina is gone.
I go to check on her in the guest room, see if she’s cooled down, but what I find is that she’s not there. After checking the entire house, I realize she ran again. Sergei, my guard out front, tells me he hasn’t seen her either. Clever girl must have snuck away somehow.
But she’s also na?ve. Alexei could get his hands on her again and I will do anything to protect my wife.
My phone dings, letting me know that Irina has used the credit card I gave her. She checked into a hotel not far from here. I don’t hesitate to hurry over there.
“I need the room for Irina Volkov,” I say to the woman behind the front desk. “I’m her husband.”
“I’ll need to see some ID.”
After showing it to her, the woman seems more at ease. She tells me that Irina is in room 501. I practically run to the elevators. People walking past me give me a wide berth. Good. My wife left me again, so I know I’m radiating anger. I need to get her back.
But when I knock on her door, she doesn’t answer. “Irina. Come on.”
Nothing. No sound. It is dark out. Maybe she’s asleep. I keep knocking and knocking… but nothing.
A maid walks past, pushing a cart.
“Excuse me,” I say. “I think my wife might be hurt. Can you open this door for me to check? I lost my key.” I give her my most charming smile and it warms her up to me.
“All right.” She knocks on the door before using her card to open it. I check inside the room to find that Irina isn’t here. Where is she then?
I go back into the lobby and look around. Security cameras. I can see where she went. I call one of my men to access the files of the hotel and to make it fast.
I pace around the lobby for an hour before he gets back to me. “She was seen going into the hotel bar with your ex-girlfriend, Simone.”
“What? Anything else?”
“She and Simone were seen leaving together. But Irina didn’t look good, like she had been drinking too much. Or…”
“Or she was drugged. Anything else?”
“I got the license plate of the car out front Simone put her into. And that’s it.”
“Thank you.” I hang up after he gives me the number. So, Simone kidnapped my wife. I broke up with her a few years ago now because I knew she had problems. Too clingy. To obsessed.
Then again, I guess I’m obsessed with my wife so I don’t have the right to judge. I drive over to Simone’s apartment and pound on her door.
She gives me a sultry grin when she opens it. “Nik. I wasn’t expecting you tonight.”
I grab her neck and slam her into the wall. “Where is my wife?”
“Nik?”
“Where is my wife?” I tighten the hold on her throat. “I know you took her. I won’t kill you if you tell me where she is.”
“You… belong with… me,” she gasps out.
“I want nothing to do with you. The only thing keeping you alive is that I don’t know where Irina is. So tell me and I’ll let you live.”
“Please.”
“Tell me.”
She scrambles at my hand but I’m not letting go. Not until I find Irina. “Fine. I’ll… tell you.”
I loosen my grip but I still hold onto her throat.
“She’s at my mother’s house. The one she gave me after she died.”
“You’re coming with me to make sure.” I force Simone out of her apartment and into my car. I tie her hands with rope I keep in my car to avoid her causing problems. Then I drive to the address she gives me.
I bring Simone with me into the house and look around, not finding Irina anywhere. But that’s when I hear a banging sound coming from one of the walls. I find a panel in the wall that opens up, revealing a door with a keypad on it.
“What’s the code?” I snarl.
Simone sighs. “5147.”
I put it in and the keypad lights up green. Irina is on the other side of the door. “Thank god,” I say, pulling her into my arms.
Irina goes still for a moment before she hugs me back tightly, like she’ll never let me go again. “Nik?” There’s hope in her voice, like she can’t quite believe it.
“I’m here, baby. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
“I killed someone. I had to. To save my life.”
“It’s ok. I’ll handle it. You’re safe now, I promise.”
She looks into my eyes. “I believe you.” It’s the first time Irina has looked at me with something akin to love.