by Serena James
Then it stopped as quickly as it started. She felt her blood pump noisily in her head. She sucked in air as her eyes shot over to the man who was leaning against a chair watching the spectacle with his arms folded. She felt blood trickle down her face from her nose. It tickled her skin as it mixed with the blood coming from her mouth. She slipped her tongue around her teeth undetected. Amazingly they were all still intact.
He was giving her an approving look. He said, “I admire your bravery Rebecca. You are living up to your reputation and my expectations of you being, I think the Americans call it... yes, a hard ass. But I will break you. I just have to change my tactics. Find something that really frightens you. Something more personal.”
She watched him walk purposefully towards her. He had a limp. It was the first time she’d noticed. He stood over her, looking down at the gape in her shirt that partially revealed a small amount of cleavage. She looked up into his eyes. They had a glazed aroused look to them. She strained to move away from him. He continued, “Something more intimate, a favourite of the female political prisoners of South Bundhara. Works every time.”
Inside her mind Rebecca screamed. This is where his men rape you. She stared at him with horror. She trembled as she asked him, “Are you going to rape me now?” She despised the fear in her tone. But she couldn’t help it. He didn’t answer her. His expression was blank, devoid of any emotion when he took hold of her shirt. He ripped it open with a force that sent all of the buttons popping and flying from the garment. One of the soldiers handed him a knife. The other one held her steady as he cut through the middle of her bra. Her breasts sprang out of the material into his waiting hands. He handed the knife back to his officer.
She felt his long cold fingers curl around her breasts. His fingertips brushed her skin making her think of furry spider legs. It was the only way she could describe the vile sensation. He squeezed them painfully so much she cried out. He appeared pleased with her reaction. His fingers dug into her flesh as he told her, “First things first. I always enjoy a bit of foreplay. Don’t you? Maybe you would like to talk to me first.” Her body screamed at her to give him what he wanted. Stop the pain and the humiliation but her stubbornness cruelly refused. Other people were depending on her silence. This wasn’t just about her. Jed was also counting on her. She wouldn’t let him down.
Her voice sounded strange coming from her swollen mouth, “I told you I have nothing to say.” If she had been a soldier she would have given them rank and serial number.
“As you wish.”
He brutally pulled at her nipples and landed several punches to her chest before he moved away from her. He told his men, “Show her what it means for a woman to disobey a man in this country.” One of them approached her with the knife. He roughly grabbed her breast and started making a neat cut around her nipple. She cried out, terrified he was going to mutilate her. She squirmed and struggled but the other held her firm.
A sudden large sharp deep cut above her right breast had her screaming the loudest when he threatened to give her a mastectomy. She screamed for Dominic to come and help her. She only realised what she was doing when she suddenly became aware of a distant voice shouting. It didn’t sound like her.
There was a pause. The ropes around her hands and feet were being untied. What’s happening? Is it all over? No he said he wouldn’t give up. Dominic, Captain Caveman, I need you. I need you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I love you. I never meant to hurt you. My pride was hurt. I’m sorry. I won’t ever get to tell you.
She was forced to stand with the aid of the two soldiers on either side. It was an effort to keep her head up. Blood dripped heavily between her breasts, down her stomach and on to the floor. Her vision was blurry once more. Her mouth was full of blood again. Her body was cold, shaking, in shock. The man lifted her head back by her hair. He said very gently, soothingly, “This can all be over, Rebecca. Don’t you want to give up? Tell me what I want to know.”
“No. There are people you will kill. I won’t be responsible for any one’s death.”
“I can’t help admiring your bravery and your faultless care of others, however weak it is in this world. Do you think any of them would do the same for you? No. Can you really endure such brutality every waking hour, because as I said there will be no sleep, no respite, not for one moment.”
Anger made her shout defiantly at him, “I told you I am not going to allow you to kill anyone else. Not because of me.” She spat blood in his face. He wiped it away with disgust. It was the first time she heard him raise his voice with anger. She’d got to him. It was a small triumph.
He shouted, “Strip her.”
She cried helplessly as the two soldiers pulled and ripped at her trousers and underwear. She watched the man stand back as one of his men started to undo his trousers in front of her. She sobbed and despite herself began to plead with him.
He sounded excited. She knew he believed he had nearly broken her down. “All you have to do is tell me what went on between you and Somwan. What does she know? What is she planning? Where is she? You could start by telling me where the laptop is?”
She thought about it hard. Thought about the relief she might experience. Could she even trust him? Her mouth opened. Then she thought about the young teenage boy and what this man would do to him if he got his hands on him. There was also every chance that he would torch the village that Niran lived in as retribution. That was what the Elite Squad did. She bit her bruised swollen lip hard and resigned herself to her fate. She shook her head at him.
* * * * *
Eventually the man appeared to tire of watching his officers rape and sodomise her. He told her he needed to contact someone but he would be back for her and it would all start again. He would devise another method of coercion. Maybe she didn’t like small spaces. Maybe he should try burying her alive, that might work. She spat blood on him again. Her face felt so rubbery she couldn’t feel the blow from his hand.
He gripped her throat and laughed when she found herself unable to breathe. He said, “You can be as defiant as you want but I will break you in time. I always win.” She grabbed at his hand feeling suffocated. It seemed to make him press on her throat all the harder. It was clear that he found her humiliating helplessness sexually gratifying. “You are turning a lovely blue colour Rebecca. I suppose I better stop before I kill you or we won’t be able to have any more fun together.”
He let go. She sucked in air. She panted, “You won’t win.” She expected him to fly at her but he stood still and smiled.
He simply said, “Oh I will and I will make sure you will see me in your dreams every night for the rest of your life.” She couldn’t argue with the last part. She had no doubt she would.
The man who filled her nightmares stood in front of her now.
Chapter Seventeen
Srisai appeared to be amused by her fear of him. He told her with humour, “Thanks for that Rebecca. Tom Cromwell was a nuisance who couldn’t get the job done. I suppose it was fortunate he didn’t succeed because my orders have now changed. You are now not supposed to die after all. Somebody needs another organ from you. The last one was not entirely successful.”
Two soldiers came over to hold both her and Charles. Her heart was thudding. It increased its harsh rhythm when Charles struggled and was violently hit. One of the soldiers picked up the laptop. Instinctively she tried to reach for it. She didn’t want Srisai to touch her, but he did. He pulled her to him. She reeled away in fear and disgust.
“Have you missed me?” He laughed at her silence.
There was a tremble in her voice. She felt weak again. Her vision was blurred and she felt incredibly hot. She said shakily, “Let Charles go. It’s me you want.”
“No. I can’t do that.” He motioned to one of the soldiers. “Carry her. One of the doctors wants to have a look at her before we leave.”
Before she could say anything else the soldier manhandled her over his shoulder. The other dragged
Charles off the ground and led him by his collar after her. She could see they were heading to the farmhouse. She wondered where Dominic was - she needed to know he was safe. Maybe Srisai had caught him? She stared at the ground and prayed he hadn’t. The laptop was lost. She had to work out a way to get it back.
It was as though Srisai had sensed her thoughts. He said, “Don’t count on the man Kane who was sent to protect you. I know he is around here somewhere. He won’t get far. There are plenty of my men and only two of them.”
She sneered over the soldier’s shoulder, “Dominic was a Royal Marine. I would say for him the odds are evenly matched with your sorry band of soldiers. You should give up now. You won’t stand a chance when he comes to kick your butt.”
Srisai gave a small laugh. “Dominic, that name is more than familiar. You shouted for him during our previous time together.”
Her silence made him laugh again. “You know I like you Rebecca. I enjoyed the time I spent with you.”
“Who wants my organs? I didn’t receive the courtesy of being told who the last one went to.”
“I don’t know. I can’t help you there. Only Professor Quayle knows that.”
“The bastard who took my kidney.”
“You remember now. I’d heard you’d lost your memory.”
A man came rushing to the door of the small house. Rebecca tried to lift her head. The man was English. One of Quayle’s doctors.
He snapped at Srisai. “Where the hell have you been? The client has gone critical. Her body has rejected the new kidney. We need this woman back in London as soon as possible. Quayle will have my head if we don’t move it. Put her on the kitchen table.”
There were soldiers milling about all over. Two vehicles had arrived with more men. She felt weary. She couldn’t think straight. She was exhausted and her body was aching more than ever. She hoped Dominic was safe. Srisai was probably right; they all wouldn’t make it out. She hoped he would.
Rebecca was lowered without ceremony onto a long wood table. The doctor picked up a bag from the floor. She heard Charles’s voice. He sounded worried. “What are you going to do to her?”
Charles was ignored. The doctor told a soldier to take off her jacket and pull open her shirt. Charles shouted again. She turned her head on the table to see him being struck once more and then pushed into a chair. She moved her head from side to side wishing she could focus better. She tried to speak but she felt as though power had been drained from her voice.
The soldier practically ripped her jacket off and roughly pulled open her shirt. Her bruises and injuries were bared for all to see. The doctor put his bag down next to her. He pulled out a pair of surgical gloves and moved his hands on to her side. He lifted up the bandage. She squirmed as his fingers examined the wound, turning her over to her side. She groaned with the pressure his fingers exerted as he prodded its soreness.
The doctor was agitated. He was in his fifties, a similar age to Quayle. She couldn’t help thinking he looked like your friendly GP type yet he was a killer. He said to Srisai, “She’s bleeding. It’s containable. There’s still some infection there. It’s flaring up. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I will give her a strong dose of antibiotic, then I will sedate her. That will make transporting her easier. I just want to check her eyes. The client needs a cornea as well.”
He took out a torch and began roughly pulling back her eyelids. Rebecca writhed trying to turn from the sharp glare. She felt like a piece of meat and she knew that was exactly how he would see her. She was an incubator of organs just waiting to be opened like a can and harvested. He took out a clean needle from his bag and began filling it with a clear substance from a small vial. Charles was stirring in his seat, wanting to come to her aid. The doctor chastised Srisai, “You certainly beat her well. Do you have to be so brutal? I hope none of her other organs have been affected. We can harvest the lot as long as they are healthy.”
Srisai was non-committal, “I did as I was told. I was to get as much information from her as I could.”
“Yeah, well you got nothing. It was a waste of time.”
Srisai narrowed his eyes at the man but to Rebecca’s surprise he made no comment. “I avoided her stomach and back area. She is fine. My source at the hospital told me all her scans checked out clear.”
The doctor finished filling the needle. He tapped it. “She’s a bloody mess. Hold her arm.” He injected her quickly and painlessly. He began cleaning her wound with antiseptic and covered it with a new bandage. At that point there was a sudden noise. A loud bang followed by the distinct sound of a gunshot. The doctor questioned Srisai sharply, “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know. Finish up and be ready to move out when I come back.” He ordered two of the soldiers to stay with them and took the other with him. He ordered the laptop to be brought. Rebecca struggled all the more furiously. He mustn’t take the laptop. It held the key to everything. There were more single shots. The doctor’s hands shook as he took out another needle and hurriedly filled it with another liquid. She had to try and move before he sedated her and she woke up under Quayle’s knife again.
She tried to make it as difficult as she possibly could for him. She rolled her body back and forth so he couldn’t put the needle in anywhere. She heard sporadic gunfire and loud voices. She feverishly called out for Charles to help. He answered her call by struggling with the guard to get to her. The soldier next to her went to help the other with Charles but the doctor yelled at him to help hold her.
The soldier’s grip was tight as he held her by her shoulders. Rebecca kicked out at the doctor, gave it everything she had. The voices were getting louder as was the gunfire. This would be her last chance. The soldier suddenly slapped her face with the back of his hand. It was enough to daze her. Her movement stilled for a moment. She saw the needle approach as the doctor took his cue and inserted it into her arm. The voices were so loud now and the shots were so close. It sounded as though they were next-door or even in the same room. She couldn’t be sure.
The liquid started to seep into her arm when the door to the room burst open. The doctor shouted “Damn it. Pick her up,” to the soldier. The doctor pulled the needle from her arm. She was sure he still had some liquid left in it. The soldier made to lift her up. But something stopped him dead. She saw his body crumple to the floor. Dominic stood in his place. The doctor looked terrified. Dominic was fiercely glaring at him with blazing eyes. She watched him raise his hand and strike the side of the man’s face with the back of his handgun. He was out cold before he hit the floor.
She tried to fight the effects of the sedation and attempted to raise her head from the table. But she couldn’t seem to manage it. Dominic caught the back of her head and lifted her up against his chest. She felt him cradle her there. He held her tightly. She could hear his heart thudding loudly. She wanted to put her arms around him but she couldn’t move, her limbs felt weighted down.
“Dominic, I thought...”
He said softly, “Shhh, I told you I would come back for you. God, I thought they were going to kill you.” His lips kissed the top of her head. He ruffled her hair. She snuggled against his chest. She felt treasured and safe in his arms.
“Dominic, I remember everything. I need to tell you... Srisai, where is he? Did he get away? He’s got the laptop.”
She tried to look up at Dominic. She was frantic. “He may still be here. He’s always in the shadows waiting, ready to... He is going to take me back to Quayle. He wants to kill me. He wants my organs. He said they were compatible. Someone in my family needs them more than I do. I am not really Michael’s sister. I’ve always known...” She felt his hand smooth around her jaw and hold her still. He was frowning intently at her.
He said gently, “Shh. Slow down. What do you mean you aren’t Michael’s sister? What’s going on honey? Who are Srisai and Quayle?”
“I don’t know, I can’t think straight. Srisai was here. He’s the man who... What are
we going to do without the laptop? “ She kept feeling her eyes close, the injection was starting to take effect.
Dominic’s voice sounded far away and fearful as she felt him gently tap her face. “Rebecca, try and stay awake. What did they give you?”
“They were sedating me. Don’t let me sleep. I’m frightened about where I am going to wake up. I don’t want to see the men in white. The laptop?” She sounded delirious.
“Rebecca, who is Srisai? The laptop might be gone but you’ve got your memory back. Try not to worry.”
“He’s the one who tortured me. He brought me here. Quayle is the man who took my kidney for someone in my family. Who does he mean?”
“I don’t know but we’ll find out. Some of the soldiers retreated when we took the farmhouse. They didn’t appear to have much of an appetite for a fight.”
“Dominic, I can’t... I remember everything. I need to tell...” Her words were slurring a little and her voice was draining away.
He interrupted her. “I know but I need to get you to the plane first. I want you safe. Besides you can’t keep your eyes open.”
“How did you and Connor get in here?”
“We had help. The rest of my team made it to the airfield and have been looking for us. We captured a radio and made contact with them. We saw you being brought in while we were scouting the place. They arrived just in time.”
“I’m sorry about Tom. I had no choice...”
She felt his fingers weave tenderly through her hair and stroke it. His voice smoothed over her agitation in a velvet caress, “Shhh. Quiet now. Let’s get you out of here. Put your jacket on.” He put it around her shoulders and helped her into it, using his body to shield her nakedness. He fastened the two buttons on it. “Can you put your arms around my neck?”
