I stare at Kaja in horror. I had imagined her falling, hurting herself, lying in a hospital with a fractured leg, even a concussion, but never this.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. They called her by name and she went with them willingly so I couldn’t even call the police, but they were big and had dangerous eyes.”
“How long ago was this?” I demand
She glances at her wristwatch. “Exactly … twenty-seven minutes ago.”
“Can you describe them?”
“Yes,” she says, and immediately starts describing them in astonishing detail. “Both of them were wearing black leather jackets and very shiny black shoes. One was wearing blue jeans with a white shirt. He had a short, red beard, small pale blue eyes, a broken nose, and his hair was cut close to his head. He was big, even bigger than you and thick around the middle. The other one had black hair, black eyes, a scar here,” her hand points to the apple of her right cheek, “and he was clean shaven. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and black jeans. He was shorter and narrower.”
“Do you know which way they went?”
“That way.” She immediately points in the opposite direction I had come from.
I look in the direction she pointed not really expecting to see anything, but I see the type of plastic bags that Kaja uses in her shop caught between the black metal cover and the bin inside. It is fluttering in the wind like a flag. Even from where I am standing I can tell that there’s still something inside it. I dash over to it and yank it.
There is a bar of dark chocolate in it.
“That’s the bar she bought,” Kaja says next to me.
I turn to look at her. Her eyes are wide and scared.
I take my phone out of my pocket and hit Sofia’s number. I close my eyes when I hear her phone ringing from inside the bin. I want to roar with fury. They took her. They just came and took her.
They fucking took my woman. My heart. Why the fuck did I not see this coming? I should have known. I should have protected her better.
Beside me Kaja speaks. “We should call the police.”
Forty-two
Sofia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_rZ9rHFwGY
I don’t feel anything.
I sit at the back of the car completely numb and detached. There is no desire in me to do anything. I don’t try to signal the drivers of other cars that I am being kidnapped. Even though my hands are not bound I don’t try to open the doors, or try to slam my shoes into the backs of Gorky’s and Bogdan’s heads.
Gorky is driving and Bogdan is smoking a cigarette. He has the window open and cold air rushes into the car. They are so relaxed because they know I will never do anything. I have been warned that if I do anything stupid Jack will suffer the consequences.
Once at a traffic light stop, a sweet kid with pigtails in the backseat of a SUV grins and waves at me. I just stare at her blankly. I watch as the smile dies on her little face and some part of me feels bad. Our car pulls away and she’s gone forever.
I guess, I always knew it was too good to last.
The holiday is over. I’m going back to Valdislav.
There is a lot of rush hour traffic on the road and it takes more than an hour to arrive at our destination. Gorky parks the car on the side of the road and we walk up the path to an end of terrace house with a walled garden. They knock on the front door and a very large, unsmiling bald man I don’t recognize opens it.
“What took you so long?” he barks.
“Traffic,” Bogdan says.
“He’s waiting for you.”
Inside it smells like every brothel I have been to. Perfume and sex. A young woman in shorts and a halter top comes out of a doorway hung with transparent blue curtains. She looks at me then immediately ducks back into the room she had exited.
Through the transparent veils I can see a living room with red couches. We don’t go into it. We take the stairs and go into an L-shaped corridor. There are five doors and they are all closed. They lead me to the farthest one. Gorky knocks and I hear the voice I prayed I’d never hear again.
Gorky opens the door and gives me a slight push.
It is a room like many I have seen before. It has a flogging cross, and the bed has metal implements attached to it. There is a cage in one corner of the room. Yes, I have been in such a room many times before.
He is standing by the window smoking a cigarette. The window is open and soft breezes are blowing in, making the curtains billow. He turns his face and looks at me.
He looks exactly the same. His hair is full of gel and his eyes are dark and hot and cruel, but I’m not afraid. I will never be afraid again. Someone truly loves me. I stare at him blankly. Whatever you do to my body, you will never be able to take that away, because he taught me that. I am more than anything you do to my body.
All the things you did to my body, and yet you could never ruin me. Never. I was beautiful to Jack.
“Hello, Sofia,” he drawls. His voice is like sandpaper.
I say nothing.
“Go,” he tells the men.
They close the door. The dark brown carpet swallows their footsteps.
“You look well,” he notes.
I don’t reply.
“Have you missed me?” he asks.
I shake my head.
He raises an eyebrow. “Not even a tiny bit?”
I shake my head again.
His mouth twists, half sarcastic, half self-deprecating. I’ve never seen him like this. He was always so brutal and unforgiving. The least mistake and … I shiver.
“Well,” he confesses. “I missed you. A lot. I should never have sold you. It was a mistake. You’re mine.”
Automatically my head shakes. I don’t belong to him. I never did. I belong to Jack and only Jack.
Anger flashes in his eyes. “Take your clothes off,” he orders harshly.
I stare at him.
“I said take your fucking clothes off,” he screams, and I jump with an old fear. Something inside me clicks into place. Jack is no longer here to protect me. My chest becomes a nest and memories fly in to roost like blackbirds. The hidden past comes back to life. How could I have forgotten?
Cowering between his legs. Choking on his dick. Tears streaming down my face. All while he holds my nose and spits on me. My eyes popping. My lungs bursting. Fainting on the cold floor of his bedroom. Then being kicked into consciousness.
Bravery is for the inexperienced. A baby will crawl curiously towards a brightly colored snake, or try to catch an open flame because it doesn’t understand the danger.
I have suffered the poison and experienced the burn.
My eyes dart to his free hand. It is relaxed and tapping against his thigh. Slowly, I lift my hands up. They feel so heavy. I take my coat off and let it drop to the floor. I take off my silly purple hat, my baggy sweater, my T-shirt, my shoes, my black jeans, and the new underwear that I had planned to surprise Jack with. The cold air from the window makes my skin prickle with goose bumps.
He sucks at his cigarette and lets his eyes rove over my body greedily. When he exhales, smoke veils his eyes.
“You were living with a man?”
I nod.
“Don’t act like a fool, Sofia. Speak up,” he orders, barely holding onto his irritation.
I flinch. It’s so cold I have started shivering. I clench my teeth to keep them from chattering. “How did you find me?” I ask.
His mouth curves cruelly. “Little fool. You attended a Bratva wedding. Someone recognized my whore all dressed up like royalty.” He flicks his cigarette butt out of the open window and turns to face me. “Haven’t I told you before, you’re not a normal woman, sweet Sofia? You’re a whore. A prostitute. Your lot in life is not to marry and have kids and get fat. Your lot is to pleasure men. Lots of men … while I watch.”
I shake my head. “No. No, I’m not a whore.”
His eyes narrow and his voice is taunting. “You didn’t t
ell him what you were, did you?”
“He knows,” I say defensively.
He laughs a maniacal sound that seems to echo around us. “Then you won’t mind that he’ll be getting a naughty little surprise in his post box tomorrow? Hmmm.”
My body becomes rigid with horror. “No. Please. Don’t. Please,” I beg.
“What’s the matter, my little whore? Don’t you want him to see how talented you are? How many cocks you can service at the same time. It’s been so long even I have forgotten. How many, Sofia?”
“Please don’t. Please.”
“If you don’t do exactly what I want he will get the videos. I’m feeling generous so I might even give him a box set.”
“I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Good. Now answer me. How many men can you service at the same time?”
“Five,” I cry. “Five.”
“He doesn’t know that, does he?”
I shake my head. Tears are pouring from my eyes. My teeth are chattering and my skin is getting red.
“Turn around,” he orders.
There. There is that first jolt of real fear.
“Go on,” he says silkily.
Slowly, my feet turn. My heart is pounding so hard I feel faint. For what feels like eternity there is absolutely no sound in the room but the blood roaring in my ears. Then I hear his footsteps cross the room.
“Well, well, my masochistic whore,” he murmurs against my hair. “I guess I’ll have to mark you all over again.”
Forty-three
Jack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0nmHymgM7Y
(I’m Ready, My Lord)
I look at either side of the street in a kind of helpless daze. My mind is a blank. I can’t think. It feels like I am in a dream. Unreal, slow moving, terrifying. There’s a monster coming for you. You can hear its dragging footsteps, but you’re immobilized. A sitting duck shaking with dread.
Kaja is saying something else, but I can’t make out the words.
“We should call the police,” she repeats, raising her voice.
Cold rain falls on my face and soaks through my shirt. Kaja is looking at me anxiously and people are staring at us, but I can’t do a thing. I’m just frozen with panic. Inside me things are shattering. My skin is crawling with horror and revulsion. I clench my hair on either side of my head while my world narrows around me. This can’t be fucking happening.
Something starts ringing. For a couple of seconds I don’t even recognize what the sound is.
“Your phone,” Kaja shouts.
My phone. I fumble in my jacket, lay my hands on it and pull it out. The rain is in my eyes and I have to squint at the screen to see it. Lena. On autopilot I press reply and put the phone to my ear.
“Have you found her yet?” she asks.
The urgency and worry in her voice is like a bolt of lightning in a dark sky. I snap out of my crazy descent into hell. My voice when it comes out is hoarse. “Not yet. I’m just going to look for her.”
“Why do you mean you’re going to look for her?” she cries. Her voice is so shrill it goes right through me.
“Lena. Just sit tight and let me find her, okay. I’ll call you as soon as I have some information.”
Lena is still saying something in that same borderline hysterical voice, but I kill the connection. I can’t deal with her right now. I need to find Sofia. I need to think. I turn to Kaja. Her hair is plastered to her head and she is staring at me worriedly.
“Go back to your shop, Kaja. I’ll find her.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod.
Yeah, I’m fucking sure. They messed with the wrong fucking man.
Kaja touches my arm and turns away. I call Guy.
“Yes,” he says briskly.
“Sofia has been kidnapped.” My voice is hard and emotionless.
“What?” he explodes.
“It looks like she’s been taken by the men you bought her from.”
“How do you know that?”
I take a deep breath. “Just go with my instinct, Guy. I haven’t got much time. Can you tell me everything you know about them?”
“Give me a few minutes, I’ll make some calls,” he says, and hangs up.
I scroll through my address book and hit the number for Noah Abramovich. I never thought I’d ever need a favor from him.
“Jack,” his deep voice says on the second ring. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for a Russian brothel owner called Valdislav.”
“Valdislav?” he repeats incredulously. “What do you want with him?”
“He has my woman and I want her back.”
There is a slight pause. “You have to give me some backstory to this.”
“I don’t have much time so here’s the short version. She used to belong to him. Then he sold her to her sister’s husband, but for whatever reason he sent two men to steal her back this afternoon.”
“I see.” There is a short pause. “Valdislav has a brothel in King’s Cross, but if he has kidnapped her he will take her to his unofficial parlor in Tower Bridge. That place is more secure and hardly anyone knows of its existence. You will have to move fast because he probably won’t keep her in this country long. His influence here is weak so he will try to move her back to his little fiefdom in Brussels at the first opportunity. He has bought the protection of the local cops and getting her back from there will be a whole lot harder.”
“Give me the address of his brothel here.”
“You cannot go there on your own, it’s too well guarded. Wait until later tonight and I will arrange for some men to go with you.”
My brain picks up on an oddity. “Why would they strongly guard a brothel?”
“It’s a place for specialist perversions. The women in there are all trafficked. For the right price you can even kill them during your session.”
“Fuck. I’m not waiting for one fucking second more. Just give me the address,” I shout.
“Jack, you have no idea what you are dealing with. These people are ruthless. They’ll kill you.” His voice is hard and final.
“Whatever. Just give me the address.”
“That would be stupid. You’re taking a knife to a gun fight.”
I frown. “How do you know I carry a knife?”
“Have you forgotten, Jack? My men followed you around for months after you rescued me. Please. Give me a chance to come up with a workable plan. I promise you it will be done tonight.”
“Once I saved your life. You said if I even needed help all I had to do was ask. I’m asking now, you owe me this favor. Give me his address and we are quits.”
He tries to dissuade me a little longer, but I am so adamant and impatient he reluctantly gives it to me.
“Now tell me as much as you can about this place and the security system,” I say.
“I don’t know that much about it. Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back with as much information as I can get.”
“Thanks. Oh, can you text me a photo of him.”
“Sure.”
I walk back to my apartment completely cold and calm inside. I don’t think about Sofia, because that will only make me weak. I think about exactly what I have to do, and I try to lay my plan as meticulously as possible. With a plan B for every eventuality.
Once inside our home, I switch off the oven. Mika whines pitifully at my heels. I pick her up, look into her innocent eyes, and feel a stab of pain. I may never see this sweet dog again. I stroke her head and tip food into her bowl. All the while my mind is swirling with ideas on how best to proceed.
Forty-four
Jack
My phone rings. It’s Guy.
“Yes,” I reply.
“There’s not much I could find. He has a brothel here in London, but as far as everyone knows he is still in Belgium. I have people working flat out to try and find out more.”
“Okay, let me know if you get any more informat
ion.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“Not yet. Call the police if I don’t contact you by the morning.”
“Jack, what are you planning?”
“I haven’t got time to explain, Guy.”
“Do you need me to do anything?”
“No. Just come around in the morning and take Mika back to Lena if you don’t hear from me by then. I’ll leave the key under the mat. I’ve got another call coming through, I’ve got to go.”
I get rid of Guy and accept Noah’s call.
“Tell me,” I say, walking into my bedroom.
“There are at least two pitbulls and a rottweiler patrolling the grounds, and three to four highly trained men on the premises at any given time. Business doesn’t pick up until a bit later so there will be girls, but probably no more than one or two johns for the next couple of hours. There is a closed-circuit security system and cameras in every room. The chance of you getting in and out alive are zero.”
I let the comment pass, kill the call, and phone my friend Harry, the vet. We went to school together. I haven’t seen him in years, but he used to hero worship me. He was a grade A kid and I was the cool gangster.
“JackfuckingIrish,” he says. “What’s going on with you, my man?”
“Are you still at work?” I ask as I strip my wet clothes off.
“I’m married to the job, man,” he says with a laugh.
“Can I come around for some supplies?”
“Supplies?”
“Tell you when I get there.”
“Mi casa, Su casa,” he says with a laugh.
I cut the connection and call my mother.
“What you doing, Ma,” I ask as I grab a towel and start drying myself.
“Cleaning the downstairs cupboard. You won’t believe the rubbish I’ve been hoarding. I’ve still got stuff from your schooling days.”
“Yeah?” I can almost see her. Wearing her apron and her blue rubber gloves. Her hair tied back in a scarf.
“Did the stew turn out good?” she asks.
My hand clenches. “I don’t know. It’s not ready yet.”
Beauty and the Dark Page 16
