by LP Lovell
“I don’t have time for your lies. I want those fucking girls back, do you hear me?”
“I don’t know where they are.” Her voice is cracked and weak.
He laughs, a cold sound that sends an icy shiver up my spine. “Oh, don’t you worry, I’ll hunt them down like dogs.”
I have to fight down the bile rising in my throat. I can’t listen to anymore, so I turn and limp up the stairs as quietly as possible, taking care to shut the door behind me. I grab my crutches and move down the hall, rounding the corner and running into Carlos.
“Whoa.” He puts his hands out, grabbing my arms to steady me. “You okay?” he asks, searching my face.
“I’m fine,” I say, shrugging out of his hold and rushing around him. As soon as I’m outside, I drag a cleansing breath into my lungs. Lies. Everything he told me was lies. Rafael’s no different to any of the others, and what does that mean for me? What is he going to do to me? He said he’d protect me, but how can I believe him now. I want those fucking girls back. I squeeze my eyes shut. I was wrong, he is a monster, only much worse than the ones I’ve encountered before. They never pretended to be anything other than what they were. I go into the gardens, passing the flowerbeds that I once loved. The blood-red roses now seem that much more ominous, so I keep walking, passing the barn that Rafael taught me to shoot in. I keep going until I reach the paddocks with the horses in and climb through the fence.
I’ve come here every day in the last week. The horses seem to soothe me. Their quiet presence and the way they trust so easily settles my frayed nerves. On the far side of the paddock, there’s a hill, which drops away to a barn at the bottom. I climb through the fence and sneak inside the barn. The white horse whinnies at me when I walk in, tossing her head as I approach. The name plaque on her door says she’s called Sky. An old man walks around feeding the horses hay and cleaning out stables, but he never seems to care that I’m here.
A banging sound comes from the front of the barn, and I pet Sky once more before walking toward it. A trailer is parked up, and two men are fastening the back closed. The trailer rocks back and forth as the horse inside kicks at the metal box. Another guy slips through a small door at the front before joining the other two. They shake hands and exchange conversation for a moment. I stare at that small door, beckoning to me like the doorway to heaven itself. Indecision plays through my mind before I do something that I know there’s no turning back from. I move quietly across the short distance between the barn and the trailer, placing my crutches down gently so they make less noise. I open the door, and as soon as I step inside, I’m only inches away from the face of an enormous horse. He snorts and stamps his front foot. I swallow heavily and lift a shaky hand to his nose, petting him. He quiets, and I slip into the gap between the metal partition and the wall where another horse would stand. I just hope they don’t look in here. I crouch down, and the horse kicks at the walls again when the engine starts. I can barely breathe as I wait for the trailer to move. When it does, it sways from side to side, bumping over the road until it stops; I guess at the gate. My companion starts kicking the hell out of the trailer again, and I silently thank him because the guards on the gate probably don’t fancy looking in here with an angry horse. No one opens that door, and the trailer jolts forward again.
I don’t know how long we’re moving for, but the trailer bumps uncomfortably over the road until I have a pounding headache. The smell of horse sweat and dung fills the air, making breathing almost unbearable.
Eventually, we stop, and I instantly go on alert. There’s the slamming of car doors and voices talking about getting water for the horse. I rush to the door and open it a crack. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around, so I slip out and hobble around the back of the trailer. I can literally taste freedom when a hand snags the back of my shirt from behind. A yelp of surprise escapes me, and I’m thrown against the side of the trailer. An older man in a cowboy hat glares at me.
“What have we got here then? A stowaway?” His leathery skin wrinkles as he glares at me.
“No, I…please.” I don’t know what else to say. “Just let me go. I’ll be on my way.”
He shakes his head. “Oh no. I’m calling the authorities.” The police? Shit. They’re going to arrest me for…for what? For being sold, several times over? For escaping a captor? Maybe they’ll help me, and send me…home. But I have no home, not anymore.
I sit at a table in a small room. A man sits across from me, a cup of coffee in front of him and a serious expression on his face. He’s clutching a pen in his hand, tapping the end of it rhythmically over his notebook.
“Miss Vasiliev, there is no record of you ever entering the country. All I can find in your name is a birth certificate. No passport. Nothing.”
I sigh, pressing my elbows against the cool metal surface of the table in front of me. “I told you. I was sold.”
He leans back in his chair and raps his knuckles over the table. “And you won’t tell me who you ran from?” I shake my head. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to give them Rafael’s name. Of all the people I’ve had dealings with, in the last ten years, he’s the only one that ever made me feel like a person rather than an object—even if it was all lies and pretense... I can’t help but feel a sense of loyalty to him because whatever his reasons, he dragged me from hell. He saved me, even if it was only to serve his own gains. I could tell them that I was with the Sinaloa cartel, but I know how these things work. I utter their name to the police, and I’m signing my own death warrant. The man across from me releases a heavy breath. “Well, then I have no choice but to arrest you for being in the country illegally.”
I blanch. “What?”
He shrugs. “You can’t give me any names or tell me where you’ve been for the last ten years.”
“I told you…”
“Without names, I can’t take your story as anything more than that…a story you made up to get out of a bad spot.”
“I…” I don’t know what to say. What can I say? I bow my head, and my eyes prickle with tears. “Okay,” I say, accepting whatever comes next because whatever it is, I’ve had worse. That I know.
Twenty-Four
Rafael
There’s a knock on my office door.
“Yeah.”
Carlos walks in, his face serious.
“Where’s Anna?” he asks.
I lean back in my chair and take out a cigarette. “How the fuck would I know?” I haven’t spoken to her or seen her since that night.
He lifts one brow. “Yeah, well, I just got a call from my guy down at the La Cantos station. They have a girl called Anna Vasiliev in custody. Some guy picked up a horse from the stables and found her in the back of his trailer…”
“Fuck’s sake.” I push to my feet and storm from the office. Carlos trails behind me as I walk to the car. I get in the passenger side, and he jumps behind the wheel, pulling away from the house.
That fucking girl. How the hell did she even get out without being seen? “What the fuck were the guys on the gate doing? They didn’t even check the damn trailer?”
“Boss, they’re more accustomed to keeping people out than in.”
“That’s no excuse!” I snap. I take a cigar from the inside jacket of my pocket and light it, inhaling smoke deep into my lungs. Carlos cracks the window, and I glare at him. This is a fucking shit show. Where the hell would she even go? She has no one. When I get my hands on Anna, she’ll be lucky if I don’t chain her to my bed and fucking spank her.
We drive out into the desert until we reach a small town full of nothing but farmers. Carlos pulls the car into the lot of the small police station, and I’m out of the car before it’s even stopped. The acrid heat of the desert soaks through my suit until my skin is coated in a sheen of sweat. A whirlwind of sand rises in front of me as I reach the steps. I’ve been out here for only seconds, and I already feel dirty.
The second I step into the police station, the few officers
there fall into silence. The cool caress of the air conditioner makes my mood marginally better. Marginally.
The officer on the desk leaps to his feet. “Mr. D’Cruze,” he splutters. Everyone in this station knows me because they all work for me.
“Get me the Russian girl,” I growl.
A few minutes later and the same officer walks into the room, shoving Anna in front of him like a sacrificial offering. The second her eyes meet mine, they go wide, and she stops, trying to back up. The cop collides into her back, shoving her forward a step. He uncuffs her and Carlos moves forward, grabbing her arm as if she may bolt at any moment.
“Who interviewed her?” I ask the officer.
“Me,” he says shakily. “I did.”
I eye him up and down. Middle-aged, standard washed-up cop. “What did she tell you?”
“That she was sold from Russia and had been a slave, but that she escaped.” I eye Anna through narrowed eyes.
“Did she give you any names?”
He shakes his head. “None.” Interesting.
“Good. You’ll wipe her name and arrest from the records.” He doesn’t respond. “Won’t you?”
“Yes. Absolutely,” he blurts quickly.
“Good.” I give him a look that makes it clear he doesn’t want to cross me. The guy is practically trembling. All that fear mongering works in my favor at times.
I hear the door click open behind me and feel the wash of blazing air over the back of my neck before it closes again. The police officer glances over my shoulder, his face washing-white and his eyes widening as he takes a slow step backward.
Turning around, I come face to face with none other than Dominges. His salt and pepper hair is perfectly combed back, his three-piece suit in place. Two of his men linger behind him, guns in hand.
“Ah, Rafael. How are you?” he asks, but his eyes are locked on Anna like she’s the Golden Goose.
“Dominges. I just came to pick up some lost property.”
He smirks. “Ah, but she’s not your property is she?” I glare at him. “Imagine my shock when I received a call to say one of my whores had turned up here.” He gestures around the station. “In the middle of nowhere.” Damn it, he’s got someone in here. “Those tattoos are so very handy.” He lifts a brow, taking a cigarette packet from his pocket and sliding one free.
The tension hangs in the air, thick and cloying. He came here for her, and I’m all too aware how much he wants her—enough to risk my wrath without blinking.
I glance at Anna where she stands with Carlos, halfway between Dominges and me. She wriggles in Carlos’s grasp, and he loosens his grip, his attention focused on the threat in the room. Dominges also watches her, a twisted little smile on his lips.
“You don’t own her, and she’s not for sale, so what are you going to do? Steal her?”
He tilts his head to the side. “Do you know what she is yet, Rafael?” I clench my jaw and say nothing. His face cracks into a wide grin. “Oh, I never would have sold her had I known. She’s worth so much more than ten million.” His gaze slides to her, and there’s that longing look again. “She’s priceless.” In my peripheral, I see Anna break loose and dart away from Carlos, her cast seemingly forgotten. I’m ready to make a grab for her, but she throws herself at me, so hard that I grunt.
Taking her wrists, I pry her away from me, shifting her behind me.
“How sweet,” Dominges says with a smirk, snapping his fingers. His men raise their guns, one pointing at me, the other at Carlos who pulls his own, aiming at Dominges.
I cock a brow. “Mexican standoff? A little cliché don’t you think?” Anna presses tighter against my back until there’s not an inch of space between us. I can feel her trembling breaths through the material of my jacket. Apparently, the thought of going back to Dominges scares her far more than I do.
I lift my hand and hear the shuffling of feet behind me. A quick glance shows five cops, all armed and ready to kill on my order. Dominges may have a rat or two in here, but I pay their wages. I own them. Dominges expression changes from smug to furious in mere seconds.
“What did you think was going to happen here?” I smile. He growls. “I’m going to walk out of here with the girl, and you’re going to behave. I’m not in the mood for a shootout today.”
Carlos steps forward and presses his gun against Dominges’ temple. “I will get her, Rafael. It’s only a matter of time,” he says through gritted teeth. His men look confused, unsure of what to do in this situation. Reaching behind me, I tightly grab one of Anna’s wrists and pull her to my side as I walk past Carlos and Dominges.
The hot desert air outside actually feels like a relief after the tension in the police station. I allow the warm breeze to wash over my face, the tiny little grains of sand caressing my clammy skin. That was close. Too close.
Opening the back door of the car, I shove Anna inside and slide in behind her, struggling to maintain any possible façade of calm. Carlos appears through the front door of the police station and jogs to the car, hopping in before he pulls away in a spray of sand and spinning tires.
Anna stares out of the window, saying nothing for long miles. The longer I sit here, the angrier I get until it almost becomes a physical thing, taking up every inch of space between us. Tense silence reigns as we drive back to the house. As soon as we pull up to the gate, Anna shifts, climbing closer to the door as though she can escape me. She can’t.
Carlos drives through the gate and stops by the front door. He turns and glances over his shoulder at me, a hint of worry in his expression, before he gets out without a word. He knows better than to try and rationalize with me right now. I throw the door open, and Anna slowly gets out, rounding the back of the car. She goes to duck around me, but I grab her arm hard and yank her into my side. She gasps and fights against me. “Oh no, avecita. You and I need a little chat.”
I drag her through the front door and along the hall until we’re in my office. Tossing her inside, I lock the door and brace my palms against it. I inhale several deep breaths, trying to force this feral rage back down.
“You fucking ran.” Silence. I round on her, pressing my back to the door as though the contact might keep me rooted here. She stands there, trembling, and yet staring back at me with that bulletproof defiance. Her hair hangs over her face, and her white tank top is covered in dirt. “Why the fuck would you run? Where the hell would you even go?” I sneer, moving closer to her. I grab a handful of her hair, wrenching her head back. She grits her teeth, her eyes spitting fire and hatred. I lean in until my face is just inches from hers. “You have no one, Anna.”
“And nothing to lose,” she says, her voice steady and strong.
I smirk. “Oh, you’re wrong. You have everything to lose. Do you have any idea what Dominges would do to you?” She says nothing, clenching her jaw. “Don’t I keep you safe? Are you not well treated here?”
She looks me straight in the eye. “For how long, Rafael? Until you hand me over to your friend? Or until you’ve decided to cut the bullshit and show your true colors?” She lifts a daring brow. “After all, girls like me are worth something, aren’t they?”
My blood pressure spikes, my pulse hammering like the angry beat of a war drum. I take a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. “I suggest you tread carefully, little bird.”
She flicks her eyes over my face, her expression full of disgust. “You’re no better than Dominges.”
My grip on her hair tightens, and she hisses through her teeth. “The fuck did you just say to me?”
“You’d probably have fucked me as well, but I’m guessing that’s not part of the agreement.” I snap, like a rubber band pulled too tight. I release her hair and slam my hand around her throat, shoving her down on the desk. She gasps, struggling against my hold as I pin her to the wood.
“My patience is not fucking infinite, Anna,” I growl in her face. “And my rage is not something you should invite.”
Tension winds betwe
en us, an electrical charge sparking the air, just waiting for something to set it in motion. She breathes heavily and with each inhale, her tits push against my chest. Every one of her curves presses against me, her legs sitting either side of my hips. I become painfully aware of every beautiful inch of her body beneath mine. Her lips part and her tongue swipes over the bottom one nervously. I track the movement, pulse racing as I war with the more animalistic side of my nature. “What are you going to do to me?” she asks, and I hear the tremor in her voice, though she tries so hard to hide it. Such a loaded question. What am I going to do to her?
There are a hundred things I should do, but I do none of them. My fingers flinch against the soft skin of her throat, my last attempt at control before it all goes to shit. I slam my lips over hers. The taste of her, the scent of her skin…it’s infectious, taking hold of me like a damn fever. “I’ll do whatever it takes to remind you of your fucking place,” I growl against her lips.
She drags in a sharp breath. “A slave.”
I slide my grip from her neck to her jaw, forcing her to look straight at me. “No, it’s right fucking here.” I kiss her again, caging her small body against the desk. I don’t know what I’m doing. There’s something about her that I can’t leave alone. Her strength, the tenacity she shows despite all that’s happened to her… I crave the moments when she glares at me. When I see the fight in her eyes. I need her anger. I want her trust.
I pull back, my lips hovering just over hers as my chest heaves with ragged breaths. Tentatively, she presses her hand to my cheek, and then tilts her chin up and brushes her lips over mine. I swallow a groan at the small contact. She’s so pure, so broken… a chaste kiss from her feels like she just offered me a priceless gift. My pulse thrums in my ears, and my muscles start to ache with tension as I keep myself in check. The urge to rip her clothes off and fuck her on this desk has me pressing between her legs. She stiffens, and I instantly pull back. Her eyes are closed, and she’s inhaling deep breaths. “Avecita, look at me.” She doesn’t. “Don’t make me ask twice,” I warn. Her eyes snap open, meeting mine. I see the battle waging through her mind, flight warring against innocent curiosity. “Don’t look away from me.”
