Chapter 3 – Kat
If someone had told me that I would be kidnapped today, I would have laughed them to scorn. Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself ever getting kidnapped; it was an absurd reality that I’d never imagined. And that was the exact situation I found myself in.
It was eerily ironic that I had left my apartment earlier today to claim some of my parents’ things and hadn’t even gotten back in before I managed to get myself abducted.
My biggest worry as I stepped out in the morning was being overwhelmed by painful memories; I had gingerly held on to the hope that I wouldn’t break down in public at the thought of my parents.
Little did I know that something way bigger awaited me later in the day.
Aside from the brief explanation the masked men gave me before I passed out, they didn’t breathe a word to me. Not when I came to in the back seat of the car or when they bundled me into the room and locked the door after removing the cloth covering my mouth.
My first instinct was to rush over to the windows to see if there was an escape opportunity- what I found was the opposite. The thick glass of the windows was locked and couldn’t be opened from the inside.
I went to the door and banged until the pain in my hand gave way to numbness. That, also, was hopeless.
The longer I remained in the room, the more terrified I became. My head was filled with different scenarios that my situation could end in. The silence that kept me company further intensified my shock.
I sat on the marbled floor with my back to the door. All I could do was wait.
I wasn’t a criminal, nor did I have anything to do with criminals. I may have bought one or two second-hand goods at prices that were far too cheap, but that was the closest tie I had to any kind of criminal. So, I was sure this was an issue of mistaken identity.
Whatever the archives they were referring to, it had to be a mistake that wrongly linked me to something I knew nothing about. Wolfe wasn’t a very common American name. Chances were high that the person they intended to abduct was another Wolfe, and they came across my name and mistook me for them.
I had no choice but to wait for things to be clarified. It shouldn’t take so long for them to see that I wasn’t the person they wanted. After all, kidnappers usually had the physical features, biodata, and whatnot of their potential abductees.
The thought of them grudgingly giving me a ride back to my apartment didn’t make me feel less scared or shocked. But it gave me something to look forward to.
***
Faded hope.
That was the clearest description of what I had in me after several hours had passed and nothing had happened. I pushed my tired body up and went to the window by the bed. Pushing the curtains aside, I saw that the sky was even darker than I had imagined.
What if I’m the one they really want?
Shaking my head, I muttered, “It can’t be.”
I looked around the room as I sat at the edge of the bed. It was luxurious on a seven-star hotel basis. The cream drapes were just a shade darker than the silk covers on the queen-sized bed that sat against the wall facing the door.
But all the elegance couldn’t change the fact that the room was my prison.
I was a prisoner, even though I wasn’t sporting a steel handcuff or orange uniform.
I went to the door again and turned the knob. It didn’t budge. Sighing, I turned around.
That was when I saw the camera sensor at the left edge of the room.
As I blinked at the tiny light, my mind left the room for somewhere else, somewhere distant.
“When you said, ‘out of here,’ I didn’t think you meant your actual house,” I disclosed as I went ahead of Alex into the narrow hallway.
“There’s nowhere more private,” he answered, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
“That’s true,” I agreed, looking around his small living room. “Your place is nice...makes me wish college wasn’t a whole year away.”
“I don’t think it qualifies as a nice college apartment, but thank you. You can come here whenever you want, though.”
“Not every Friday night would be like this,” I told him, turning around to face him.
Dad and Mom had no idea I had gone partying with my classmates and was currently at the house of a former senior who was now in the community college. To the best of their knowledge, I was having a sleepover at Lucy’s house, which was just a few streets away from ours.
It was the second time I went partying using Lucy, who was also at the party, as a cover.
But it was my first time leaving the party venue with a guy.
I might not have agreed to leave with any other guy, but it was Alex Carson, my crush since forever.
The single fact that he noticed me and even paid me attention put me on cloud nine.
“We’d better make the best use of tonight, then,” he uttered before covering my mouth with his.
He steered me toward the only door to the right and opened it, not breaking the kiss.
We were at the foot of his bed when we broke apart for air.
“Do you…have protection?” I inquired, looking up at him.
“Of course,” he answered, going to his nightstand and pulling out a drawer. “Probably makes me seem like a bad boy.”
“Are you not?” I asked, a small laugh leaving my lips as he approached with a foil packet in his right hand.
Coming to stand in front of me, he threw the packet to the edge of the bed.
“You think I am? Do my bad boy charms make you want me?” he questioned, his tone low.
My cheeks heated as I scrambled for what to say in response.
“Don’t mind me. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he implored, his right hand cupping the side of my face. “I like your free spirit. And you’re very pretty.”
His lips claimed mine again before I could speak. Not that I had anything to say.
His right hand moved to my neck while the other grabbed my hips, pulling me closer to his body. I couldn’t hold back a moan when his fingers traced the side of my breast through my satin top. His tongue dove into my mouth, exploring and tantalizing.
I brought my hands around his neck, urging him impossibly closer. He rubbed his lower body against my stomach, giving me an unmissable feel of his erection.
My top went over my head before I could register his hands doing it. My hands went downward to the zipper of his jeans. His hand came over mine as I pulled his zipper down.
“I want to,” I told him, my gaze on the floor.
“Let me do it first,” he said, dropping a quick kiss to my lips.
I nodded in agreement, earning a slow smile from him.
His lips latched onto the nape of my neck, making me draw in a breath. He undid the buttons on my denim skirt before easing me onto the bed.
Pulling my skirt up, he rubbed me through my moist panties, making me gasp in shock and pleasure.
Just as his fingers hooked around both sides of my panties, I looked up, and my eyes landed on a lens. My body went rigid as alarms rang in my head.
“Is that a camera?” I questioned, hoping I was wrong.
“Um, well…” he started, kneeling up as my upper body jerked off the bed.
“You…you were…filming me?”
The idea filled me with a fairly equal mix of shock, fear, anger, and shame.
He came to sit at the edge of the bed as I picked my top up.
“It’s not that serious, Kat. Now that you know, you could make some money out of it,” he remarked as I put on my top and buttoned my skirt up.
“Are you insane?” I asked, practically yelling. “You filmed me without my knowledge. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I….” He shook his head, “I didn’t intend to hurt you. Others are always cool with it when I tell them it’s anonymously shared. Some even agree to make more videos, and we split the money.”
“To think I was about to give myself to a guy I thought liked me,” I uttered, my voice low, before turning around and heading toward the door.
He followed me.
“Kat, I really do like you, okay? I’m sorry. We don’t have to do anything anymore. Let’s just see a movie or something,” he jabbered.
“Fuck you,” I spat as I marched down the hallway, unable to hold in the tears.
Thanks to Mom, who always insisted I take some cash with me whenever I stepped out of the house, I got into a cab once I came out of Alex’s apartment building.
As the cab pulled over, my phone vibrated. I saw a text notification.
The text read:
“I deleted the video. I’m sorry. Can I see you tomorrow? To talk.”
The review segment on the e-hailing app must be the only reason the cab driver didn’t curse when I slammed the back door.
The fear and anger of being watched washed over me.
I found myself praying to the powers that be that I wasn’t the one they wanted as I went to sit at the edge of the bed.
I desperately hoped I wouldn’t have to spend the night in this luxurious prison.
Or that someone would walk in to give me a much-needed explanation for my being here, at least.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps from the other side of the door. I moved away from the door as the lock clicked.
The powers that be must be in a good mood today.
The door opened, and a man in a dark suit entered the room. With his blue eyes, commanding height, and fit body that his bespoke suit couldn’t hide, he could easily be a model or an actor. Well, if his eyes weren’t so deep yet icy and unreadable. But my gaze stayed on him for a different reason.
His face struck a chord; it felt like I had seen him before.
Realizing that his gaze mirrored mine, I swallowed, folding my arms across my chest.
“What the fuck am I doing here? Who are you?” I asked.
Unfazed, he answered, “I’m Danil Yezhov…of the Russian Mafia, the Bratva.”
I blinked hard, willing myself to be in bed and right in the middle of a bad dream.
But he was still standing in front of me.
It dawned on me that there was no mistaken identity. My whole world came crashing down in that moment.
I knew exactly who the Yezhovs were. They were the Bratva my dad worked for. The Russian Mafia that killed him right in my presence.
Cold dread made me take a step back as the recognition struck.
The man in front of me was the same man from that night. He was the man who gave the orders for my dad to be killed. I could feel the coldness that radiated from him that night.
Although he never said much about the Mafia at home, I vividly remembered my dad mentioning Danil’s name a few times.
I could almost hear his voice as he told my mom and me at the dining table that Danil never spoke until someone was about to die.
Of course, the first time I heard him speak was the day my dad died.
“Why did you bring me here?” I asked, suppressing my fear as I looked back up at him.
He casually leaned against the wall as he slipped his hands into his pockets, his expression cool.
He didn’t say anything as my gaze remained intent on him. My heart raced with fear and hatred. I would do anything to get out of the room in the blink of an eye.
“You made a mistake,” he revealed, eventually breaking the minute-long silence.
“Mistake? What are you talking about?”
“You activated a dormant financial trail that doesn’t bode well for the Yezhovs.
This same trail has put a target on your back.
A very big target, considering the fortune that has now become yours and the information you now have about Sivella Holdings,” he dropped, his face without a hint of emotion.
Sivella Holdings.
My mind immediately went to the envelope with the strange device from earlier. I remembered how the device blinked when I pressed a button on it.
Oh, no.
It was a burner phone.
Why didn’t I just leave the damn device alone?
As much as I hated to admit it, Danil Yezhov was right. All this activation nonsense wouldn’t have happened if I’d had the common sense to avoid the burner phone.
Stupid, stupid Katria.
“Apparently, you had no knowledge of what you were doing when you activated the trigger,” he uttered, moving his back away from the wall. “But that doesn’t change the consequences of your actions. You’ve put a target on your back. Once you’re out there, they’ll come at you from different corners.”
I blinked, trying to look anything but overwhelmed.
“Many people are currently planning to kill or kidnap you,” he informed.
My response was a bitter laugh.
“You beat them to it, clearly,” I remarked.
If either my laughter or words had any effect on him, he didn’t show it.
“You’re the key to Sivella Holdings since Kyle listed…” he started before I cut him off.
“Don’t you dare take my dad’s name when his blood is on your hands, you murderer!”
There was a flicker of something I couldn’t name in his eyes, but he didn’t flinch.
“Your father wasn’t murdered. His death was an unavoidable fate, given his betrayal. He knew what was coming for him, I assure you,” he said.
Like my mom didn’t give me the same explanation.
He took another step toward me while I remained rooted to my spot.
Then his hands were holding my waist like it was the most ordinary thing. I clenched my teeth in anger but refused to react, as if his touch was significant enough to disturb me. But I couldn’t stop my body from going stiff.
“There is only one way you can survive,” he disclosed, bringing his mouth down to my right ear.
I threw my head to the side, disgusted at the urge to melt into his touch.
“You’re going to marry me, Miss Wolfe.”
My sarcastic laugh was louder this time as I pushed him away.
“Are you crazy or just strung out on coke?” I spat.
His steady gaze held mine, and I realized the marriage he mentioned was really the solution he had to offer.
“You must be delusional to think I’ll marry a man who practically seized me with a knife to my throat.”
He shook his head in the negative, his right forefinger pointing at me.
“You’re going to marry me because I’m the one to make the other knives disappear,” he argued, his voice cool as he stepped closer again with his hands in his pockets. “You have no fighting or living chance without the Bratva’s shield.”
“You’ll have to drag me to the damn altar to marry you,” I told him, my eyes not moving away from his.
“I’ll do just that,” he replied, shrugging.
The confidence in his expression fired me up. I lunged for the tumbler on the small table to my left and broke it on the wall. The shard of glass was just a few inches from his throat when he caught my wrist mid-air.
His calm expression contrasted with the anger rolling off of me in waves as the half-broken tumbler dropped to the ground.
“I won’t die that easily. Not when you’re in need of my protection,” he said, releasing my hand.
“I can fucking protect myself!”
Without a word, he turned around and walked toward the door.
Then, just before he turned the knob, he stopped.
“We’ll get married in a week’s time.”