by Eva K. More
Lina watched her with wry amusement. “Don’t worry, that’s normal food. No drugs.” Even if it was plain daylight, and she had no makeup on, the black dress that Lina was wearing left very little to the imagination.
Kat frowned in confusion. Why would there be any drugs? When she still didn’t make an effort to eat, Lina put a slice of bread in her own mouth, chewing demonstratively.
“Just eat already. Beast was clear in his instructions. I need to watch out for you and keep you clean,” Lina said, sitting against the tall headboard of the bed.
Kat’s stomach churned, and she lost her will to fight the hunger. The first slice of bread she ate tasted stale and bitter. Eating was a necessity now, nothing more.
Beast wanted her showered? What was his strange obsession with keeping her clean?
“So, what’s your story?” Lina asked after a moment of companionable silence in which they both cleared the plate off.
Kat blinked in confusion and watched Lina lick her index finger clean off mayonnaise – in comparison to butter, it was a more decadent topping for bread and usually not Kat’s choice for breakfast.
“I mean, why are you here? Did your boyfriend sell you? Do you need the money for your baby?” Lina kept on with the interrogation. Was this all part of a plan? Was she trying to find out who Kat was?
“Nobody sold me. And I don’t have a baby.” There was that incomprehensible talk of selling again. “I was kidnapped. I don’t want to be here.” Where was ‘here’ exactly? She didn’t even know where she was.
“What do you mean, kidnapped?” Kat thought that the other woman was kidding, playing the dumb card to find out about her; how else could she be so dense? Well, there was nothing terrible with telling Lina about how she ended up in that place.
When Kat told her story, the older woman didn’t flinch or change her facial expression. It bothered her that Lina could find equal sympathy for her, no matter the cause of her presence in this room. Being kidnapped and mistreated, Kat thought she deserved more than just a simple understanding nod.
“And I thought for sure they would kill me. But now, here I am,” Kat finished her tale. With Lina being so distant, she managed to compose herself and didn’t cry when reciting the past evening’s events.
“Well, you’re pretty. I can see why Ivo changed his mind,” Lina replied while raising a hand and slightly touching Kat’s face.
“He said it was Beast’s idea to keep me alive. But I don’t even know what I’m doing here!” Kat moved her face away; she didn’t like to be touched by strangers. She began to play nervously with her hands and watched Lina pleadingly, hoping to find some answers.
The small ‘O’ that had formed on the other woman’s lips unsettled her. “Darling…” It was as if this turn of events was something unexpected.
“Kat. My name’s Kat.” As long as people addressed her, she wasn’t just a disposable commodity. She was a person.
“Good, and I’m Lina. So, darling, you really don’t know where you are?” Lina’s brown eyes appeared brighter and sharper than before. For the first time that morning, Kat could see the concern in them. “You’re in the house brothel, darling. One of the most exclusive brothels in the country, if I say so myself. You are beautiful. Selling your services will bring the brothel a lot of money.”
“Ivo said that.” Kat shuddered as a wave of panic mixed with disgust rippled through her body. “But that’s illegal, impossible. I’ll never be a prostitute!”
The crooked smile that graced Lina’s face didn’t reach her eyes. “You don’t have that choice. If you don’t fit into the system, they won’t have a use for you, and if you don’t have a purpose here, they will shut you up… forever.” Those words sent a cold feeling that navigated her insides. Panic started to set in.
“What system? Who are they?” Kat’s brain was working overtime, burning hot with these devastating pieces of information.
“Who do you think? The mafia, of course.” Lina answered, and Kat’s world became black for a second.
When she had been younger, she had heard her classmates talk about the mafia and the corrupt system they were living in. Some stories were so outrageous that they could only classify as nightmarish fables. Like the story of the man who was painfully tortured by having his fingers, then his toes and then his limbs slowly chopped off while fully conscious because he hadn’t paid his protection fee.
Other rumors, like the mafia’s strong bond to some politicians, seemed to hold more truth.
Naturally, her grandparents wanted to shield her from this gruesome fact and discouraged her from taking an interest in it. They had never talked to her about it, and she had suppressed all information she heard about them. In the last few years, they hadn’t even existed in her world. In fact, she didn’t believe the mafia was real. She only thought of it in the context of cheesy movies and songs.
But there was nothing romantic about being confronted with them now.
Kat covered her face with her hands. “Oh, God.” What else could she have said? That was the only viable answer her mind could produce after hearing Lina’s words.
Lina stroked her shoulder gently. “It could have been worse. They could have sold you to one of the other brothels they work with, where the girls don’t have many choices. The women kept here have more luxuries. We tend to our men and some of their business partners; in the meantime, we can move freely.”
“That’s horrible!” Kat exclaimed.
“Now, now. Believe me, I’ve been in lotta places, and here it’s somewhat nice. We don’t lack anything. Some men are pretty. And some of them have a lot of money. I guess that’s what Ivo is planning for you, giving you out to one of our more powerful costumers.” The older woman said while extending her hand and grabbing one of Kat’s. “You will get your fair share. Whatever Ivo’s so upset about, he still made a fair deal with you.”
Kat didn’t think so. “But I don’t want this,” she said and fell back on the mattress. After the initial shock, she had braced herself. Kat would not sell her body; she would find a way out and run away, even if it was the last thing she did. Ivo’s disgusting face lit up in her mind, making her stomach revolt.
Looking around, noting the fine linen and sturdy, yet feminine furniture, Kat thought that the description didn’t fit a luxury brothel. The walls in the room were a soft cream color, the bed and cupboard a modern white. The room itself wasn’t fancy, but it did look to hold quality furniture.
Lina was quiet for a moment. “Beast seems to have taken a liking to you. That’s also very good in your position as the new girl.” There must have been other rooms for their business, rooms with brocade beds with red linen, and smelling of heavy perfume.
Kat bit her lip to refrain herself from insulting the other woman. There was nothing, absolutely nothing good in her position. “How so?” she asked dejectedly.
“He’s actually nice to us. You won’t believe it with his appearance, but he doesn’t hurt us or talk to us degradingly.” As opposed to the others? Kat thought that it didn’t sound as lovely as Lina had tried describing the situation here.
“Why is he wearing that mask?” Kat asked. When she thought about it, she shuddered in fear.
“People say he had some accident years ago, and now there is nothing left of the skin on his lower face anymore. But I’ve never seen him without the mask.” Lina shrugged. “Besides, looking so frightening makes his job easier.”
“What is his job exactly?”
Well, besides murdering people on the streets.
Lina shot her a disbelieving look. “Clearly, he is the enforcer. And Ivo’s right hand.” Kat trembled in fear. Is that why he had killed that man? Was this an act of enforcement?
“And why do you think he likes me?” Kat asked. He hadn’t shown any more humanity in dealing with her than Ivo had. The image of his mask hiding a bare, bloody, and bony real skull made her stomach protest in repugnance.
“You said he was th
e one that wanted to keep you alive. That’s not surprising, actually. He always takes a less destructive way.” It was impressive how Lina talked about it… as if she was talking about the weather. “I mean, I’ve seen him kill without blinking, but there is an honorable streak in him. He doesn’t like innocent people getting hurt. He saved me from one of the more violent customers once.” Lina’s voice had taken on an admiring tone, and her expression looked wistful.
How anybody could look so dreamy while thinking about that man was beyond Kat’s imagination.
“He would have killed me if it weren’t for money,” Kat remembered the conversation between him and Ivo. She hadn’t been innocent in their eyes, only a pawn in their bloody game.
Lina shrugged as though it were nothing. “It’s still his job. Besides, he told me to keep you clean; he was adamant not to give you any drugs. Usually, they give drugs to the new girls, you know, to make them more compliant. Sometimes even the girls demand it themselves to ease their nerves, and, of course, it’s much too easy to get hooked.” After hearing that, Kat closed her eyes and envisioned her small apartment and her soft bed.
It was a better place to be than in a mansion with the mafia’s girls. Not for the first time that morning did anger and hatred rise up in her like a wildfire. If keeping her clean meant not giving her any drugs, then she was in a much gloomier situation than she had envisioned.
Lina had pushed the plate away and was lying on her right side. “Maybe he has special plans for you.” She was now gently stroking Kat’s hair. “You are lovely and have this aura of innocence. Not a lot of girls are like you.” Her hand was now roaming down her arm, and her voice had gotten softer, raspier.
Kat watched Lina wearily. She had wished for a warm, loving shoulder to cry on, but Lina’s caress felt somewhat inappropriate, much too intimate.
“Don’t forget that beauty has its power. If you play your cards right, you have a good chance of living a good life here,” Lina said. A hint of something dark and sultry played out on her face.
“I don’t want that,” Kat told her. Frowning, she thought about the older woman’s words. She would not stay here but find a way out. Could she somehow use her looks to do so?
Unfortunately, Andrea’s lessons hadn’t gone that far, and Kat didn’t even know how to flirt. No doubt, Lina knew what she was talking about; however, on a girl as innocent as Kat, it was kind of a lost cause.
Lina’s husky chuckle invaded her senses like a knife cutting through wood. “For your sake, you should. The mob doesn’t operate a charity.” Her hand continued stroking her in a relaxing gesture.
Instead of falling for the seduction, Kat’s muscles tensed in unease. “Who is Kapov?” Kat asked to break the tension. Her question had the desired effect, and Lina stopped her ministrations.
“That’s the big boss. He doesn’t involve himself in the smaller businesses, but he still controls Ivo. You better forget about him, it’s not like you’ll ever meet him – now, he’s only in the background.” There had been a small spark of fondness before it had vanished into a direct glare.
Kat gulped, trying to decipher Lina’s telling gaze. “And Ivo’s business is….?” She trailed off, unable to voice her thoughts without insulting the other woman. Nevertheless, she wanted to know with whom she was dealing now.
“Kapov’s not into human trafficking, as some of the other players in his league, if that’s what you’re thinking – no, really, I assure you. He takes on the girls that do it voluntarily.” Kat snorted again, but Lina ignored her this time and continued. “Kapov doesn’t care for prostitution, so he has Ivo working the goods if you know what I mean. Among other businesses, of course.”
Kat stored the information in her brain. The goods, she thought bitterly, were human lives. “And what is your part?” She asked the older woman.
“I’m keeping the girls in check.” The smile that formed on Lina’s lips was a little nasty. “And also, I keep our men company, make them happy when they’re feeling down, you know?” When Kat remained silent, Lina stretched and stood up. “You better work on that face,” she drawled. “You might be pretty, but the men will get angry if you look at them like that, as if you want to throw up in their faces.”
Kat’s first impression of Lina had crumbled entirely. She wasn’t kind, at least not in the way Kat had needed her to be. No woman could talk about this deprived sex business like it was no big deal.
The knowledge that she was utterly alone with her fear and sorrow made her courage waver for only a moment.
But she had been without a real confidante her whole life. Neither her grandparents nor her friends had understood her, or known her true self. She could live through this as long as she never gave up. Her will to survive was more potent than her need to cave.
“Come on, let’s meet the others,” Lina said. Kat wanted to object but recognized the opportunity to see the rest of the rooms, so she stood up from the bed and started following.
“What is this place?” Kat asked. If she was going to continue with her escape plans, she needed to grab as much information as she could.
“These are the headquarters for the districts four to nine. The offices are on the other side of the house; the meeting rooms are downstairs.” Lina signaled down with her pointy finger.
“And you women stay here, in this wing?” Kat asked, wondering if she would have access to other parts of the Mansion to create an escape route.
“Yes, and upstairs are the sleeping quarters of the men. Mostly the whole floor is for us girls with several pleasure rooms for special occasions.” Lina raised her eyebrows suggestively.
Kat shivered. “The men stay here, in this mansion?” she asked, while Lina turned around a corner into a big open kitchen area.
“Sometimes. Most of them have numerous apartments around the city. Hush now, you shouldn’t be so nosy. They don’t like us girls asking so many questions.” Kat followed her into the room where a handful of women in different stages of undress were mingling around.
“Good morning, girls. I’d like you to meet our newcomer,” Lina said.
The other women looked mildly disinterested. Some of them gave Kat a cautious look, and some didn’t even bother looking up. Most of them appeared to be her age or younger. Strangely, she noted, there were no other women of Lina’s age.
What happened to them once they got older?
The kitchen was modern, and there was a big coffee machine on its island. Next to it stood a big glass cabinet filled with various alcoholic beverages. Curiously, Kat looked out the window only to be met with a depressing sight. There was nothing she could see except a field and lots of trees. Where the heck was she?
If it weren’t for the girl in a skimpy, satiny nightie sniffing a line of white powder from a hand mirror on the table, one would have thought that it was a casual meeting of a group of friends. The women were lounging on the sofas, chatting, or eating. The girl, having finished with her line, looked at Kat with wild eyes and a sick smile.
Lina left her side and stomped over to another woman sitting on the table. Her bathrobe was short, showing off her slender legs. She had pulled up her long, brunette hair in a messy bun and already had makeup as though she was a showgirl, ready to be on stage anytime soon. Lina gripped her chin and lifted the girl’s head.
It was then that Kat noticed the myriad of dark blue spots on her dainty throat. Instinctively she touched her own.
“I didn’t see Ivo yesterday evening.” The note in Lina’s voice was slightly alarming. The woman turned her head away and coldly looked at Lina.
Would that also happen to Kat? Would she become as lifeless and aloof as all those girls appeared to be if she didn’t manage to escape?
“I came home late; he saw me in the hall.” The woman shrugged. “He was especially volatile last night.” Her hard gaze landed on Kat.
Lina pursed her lips. “Ivo is more of an animal than Beast,” she hissed in Kat’s direction.
“Why… why are you staying here then? Why don’t you go away?” This time Kat caught the interest of every girl in the room. Eventually, Lina had told her that most of the girls were here on their own accord, although Kat couldn’t believe it even for a second.
It was Lina that broke the silence with a haughty laugh. “Darling, I told you that this is the mafia. No one here gets out alive.”
at had spent the better part of the afternoon sitting in the big room, feeling like an outcast, lost in her depressing thoughts. Would her Baba know that she was missing already? Was she worried?
She had listened in on the conversations around her, and couldn’t find any hint that would help her escape somehow, but a lot of the talk made her gut clench in fear.
The girls talked about their experiences in hushed voices, but Kat heard one or two familiar political names. She was sort of left alone, but once in a while, she felt their intimidating gazes on her.
The one that had taken the coke earlier sat down next to her. She looked pretty in a used-up way… as if she might have been a real shining beauty before she had lost her appetite or had poisoned her skin with toxic drugs.
“I heard Beast brought you in.” Her voice was raspy from too many cigarettes, Kat presumed. The kitchen now smelled of heavy smoke, and she had seen nearly every girl light one up. The smell made her want to retch. “We don’t see him often. He usually doesn’t care about us,” the woman continued talking.
Kat felt uncomfortable by the woman’s proximity and her uninhibited scrutiny. The big brown eyes that once might have been beautiful and innocent were now shallow and empty.
“You are a real beauty. I bet once they’ve sold your services, Ivo will take you in for a while. He sometimes does that.” The woman had moved her face close to Kat’s. Her breath smelled faintly of smoke and acid. “The last girl was also a blonde; she didn’t survive him, though.”
“Star!” Lina’s harsh voice interrupted the one-sided conversation. “Stop scaring her.” Star cackled in response.
“Just talking, Lina, no harm done.” She stood up. Her sparkling eyes met Kat once again. “I bet you’re regretting the decision that brought you here, and yet, you haven’t even seen how gruesome this life can be.”
