by Sadie Jacks
Walking back out into the main room, I saw that Svetlana wasn’t alone. A big man had his face in hers, an angry expression darkening his features. They spoke softly in Russian.
“Svetlana?” I called out as I exited the bathroom.
They both turned.
The man’s dark look turned positively murderous when he saw me.
Svetlana’s eyes were wide as she shook her head slightly.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man asked. His voice was a lovely tenor. Much higher than I would have expected from a man his size. Dark brown hair matched the brows and piercing yellow eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a demon.
I shook my hair back, settled my shoulders. “Talia. And you are?” I raised an eyebrow as I walked over to him.
He snorted. “Ah, the belle of the ball. Welcome to Castle Kuznetsov.” He dipped into a low bow, his snickers destroying any appearance of respect.
I moved forward as quickly as I could. Hoped I got there before he stood back up from his mocking stance.
Just as he raised his body, I struck out. With a sharp spear hand, I hit his trachea. Excitement and no small amount of pride surged through me as he clutched at his neck. His mouth gaped like a fish.
“That’s right. I am the belle of the ball. Get away from her. She doesn’t like you.”
Svetlana grabbed my arm, pulled me back. “She didn’t mean it, Mikhail.” She hip checked me to the side, grabbed at Mikhail’s arm.
He shook her off. Pushed her down. “Get off me.” With a brilliant flare of anger in his eyes, he locked his gaze on me. “You are a stupid cunt. You know this?”
I shrugged. “Better to be a stupid cunt than being you, Mikhail.”
Svetlana moaned and curled herself into a little ball. She shook her head, covered her ears.
Mikhail stepped over her.
I kicked off my shoes. If nothing else, they could be used as weapons. Sharp, stabby stabby weapons.
The door burst open behind the giant man. Arkady rushed in, a gun in his hand. Locked and loaded. “She’s under the brothers’ protection, Mikhail. Touch her and die.” Arkady laid his gun against the back of Mikhail’s head.
Mikhail’s glare ratcheted even higher. I hadn’t known a face could ooze that much malice and hatred.
I gave him a little finger wave. “Run back to your masters, Mikhail. Give them an extra leg hump for me, yeah? Dogs do that in Russia, too, right?”
Svetlana let out a little buzzing sound.
Arkady rolled his eyes at me over Mikhail’s shoulder. He lifted his hand, rammed the butt of the gun against Mikhail’s head.
The big man fell to the floor in a heap of arms and legs.
Arkady released the hammer on his gun. “You just can’t keep your mouth closed.” He kicked the door shut behind him.
“Svetlana, quit cowering on the floor like you’re helpless. We both know you could have taken him if you wanted.” Arkady rolled his eyes again. Stepped over the woman.
Immediately, she got to her feet. A peppy bounce in her step. “You ruin all my fun, Arkady.”
I blinked. “You were faking?”
Her smile was blinding. “Honey, I’m one of the top bitches around here. You don’t get to my station without being a –”
“Vicious cunt,” Arkady answered. He stooped down, got my shoes. He thrust them into my hands. Reaching out, he grabbed my hand. “You’ve been ordered back to your cell until they call you for dinner.”
“Damnit, Arkady.” Svetlana stomped her foot, gave him a sexy pout.
“Stow it, Lana. Have fun with Mikhail when he wakes up though.” With that, he steered me around the fallen man. He paused at the door, opened it. Shoving me through it, he pulled the towering door closed behind him.
“What the fuck was that?” he said. His voice was a waspish murmur.
“I didn’t know she was the Black Widow. After I set her on her ass for stabbing her fingers into my chest, she turned into a meek little shadow.” I hurried to keep up with Arkady. “She’s an excellent actor.”
“And don’t ever forget it,” he snarled as he propelled me down a new hallway. “She’ll sell her own child to these men just to curry favor.” I could hear the venom in his voice. His sheer disdain for the woman.
I blinked. “She should get an Oscar then.”
He snorted. “She deserves a bullet in the brain, not some stupid trophy.”
Turning another corner that wasn’t familiar, he slowed for the briefest of moments at a new door. Once he had it open, he shoved me through it. He grabbed my arms, stood me next to a large planter full of fake greenery. “Stay there, exactly in that spot. Don’t touch anything. Don’t talk.” He glared at me. “I’m deadly serious.”
I nodded, stood quietly just inside the door. Setting my shoes on the floor, I stepped into them. Winced as the shoe seemed to bite my toe. “What the hell?” I whispered. I picked the shoe up, turned it towards the light.
When I couldn’t see anything in the toe of the shoe, I shrugged and set it back on the floor. Slid my foot in. Just like the first time, nothing stabbed at me. Weird.
Arkady was pacing around the room. The huge room. I blinked as I took in the room that was almost as large as the entire first floor of our lofts back home. A huge four-poster bed sat on one end while a massive computer setup occupied the opposite wall.
Screen upon screen showed security footage. Arkady was bent over the edge of the desk. One particular screen blew up to cover an entire monitor. He made a low sound in his throat.
Between one breath and the next, he blanked the screen. Sent it back to nestle back in line with the other camera feeds. As he spun back towards me, I saw his movement captured and repeated on one of the smaller screens.
I looked up towards the ceilings. Saw the cameras immediately. “Your room is bugged.”
He just looked at me with a glare. “No one can be trusted. Not in this organization.” He was standing ramrod straight, his mouth barely moving as he talked.
I looked over his shoulder. Searched the feed for myself. When I didn’t see my image, I looked back at him.
He walked away, ran his hands through his hair. “Like I said, don’t speak, don’t touch anything, don’t move.”
I nodded.
For what felt like hours, I watched him pace across the massive room. He was talking to himself.
“Arkady,” I began.
“Uhhn,” he snarled without breaking his pace. “Keep your mouth shut.” His words were garbled.
So I stood there in silence while I waited to hear what was actually wrong. If I’d known I wouldn’t be allowed to move, I would have stayed barefoot. Now, I tried to subtly rock back and forth to keep the shoes from pinching my feet.
Finally, he diverged from his path. He stomped over to the bed, flung himself on it, face up. He scrubbed a hand over his face. He shot a glance up and to the left. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
I didn’t know if he was talking to me or to himself, and since I didn’t want to get scolded like a child again, I kept my mouth shut.
“Talia, I’m talking to you,” he said without looking at me.
“Oh. No. What have I done now?” I felt like I had been pulled into a conference with Momma, Papa, and Turo.
“You’ve ruined seven years of hard work.”
I blinked. Tried to process what he said. “I’m sorry?”
He laughed, the sound hoarse and broken. “If only that were true.”
Getting up from the bed, he rooted around by his pillow for a few seconds. When he pulled a small bottle out from under his pillow, he opened it. Shook out a small pill. Popped it into his mouth. Swallowed it dry.
With a heavy scowl, he pushed back to his feet. Stomped back across the room. Got right in my space. “Sorry,” he said softly.
I could barely hear him.
“This is the only blind spot in the room.”
I nodded. “Is it safe to talk now?” I tried to match the v
olume of his voice.
He shook his head. “See the camera up to the left?”
I looked where he indicated. Nodded.
“The green light tells you if the audio is being recorded.”
I watched the light blink off. “What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?”
“Because I just found out what the dinner is for tonight.” Standing this close to him, I felt his breath puff across my cheeks.
“And?”
He shook his head. “It’s not good.”
I chuckled slightly. Felt the sound catch through my throat like I had a cheese grater in there instead of tissue. “Has any part of this been good?”
Arkady’s golden eyes flinched. “This is worse.”
“Just tell me, Ark. I can’t handle the tension.” I settled my hand on his chest. His heart was pounding. I looked up at him, my brow furrowed.
He covered his hand with mine. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t let it happen.” He raised his chin, pressed his lips to my forehead. “I couldn’t stop them the first time. I will stop them this time.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. “They want to rape me again.”
He nodded. His chin rubbed lightly against my nose. “Gang rape. Their entire upper level. Then they’re going to kill you. They plan to film it. Broadcast it out to the highest bidders.”
My knees gave out.
Arkady’s arms caught me, pulled me into the safety of his body. “I won’t let it happen, Talia. I promise you that.”
I nodded, my head against his chest bone. “How are you going to stop it?” I asked. “They raped me right in front of you last time.”
His arms tightened around my back briefly. “And I’ll go to my grave with that guilt.” He pulled back, put a finger under my chin. Raising my face to look me in the eye, he swallowed. “I need you to trust me.”
This close, I could see the flecks of amber in his eyes. The speckles of brown that gave him that liquid gold look. I also saw his heart and determination in his gaze. He would save me or die trying.
I shook my head. “I can’t let you sacrifice yourself for me, Ark.”
He leaned down, pressed his mouth to mine.
I winced as he hit the puffy, bruised flesh. But I held him against me. Sank into his warmth and strength.
For just a second, I wished I were different. That my family was different. That I had more to offer this man than friendship.
He pulled back as the tears gathered under my lids. “Look at me, Talia.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t look at him. Not and see that awful resignation in his gaze. If I was stubborn, this man was a boulder of granite in a shallow grave. There was no way to move him without heavy equipment and explosives.
He brushed his lips over my nose in a soft kiss. “Look at me.”
Flicking my lids open, I glared up at him. Dared him to say something else stupid.
He smiled. Rubbed his thumb as light as a feather over my lower lip. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You and what army?”
The corner of his mouth kicked up at the corner. “Me and Interpol.”
My mouth fell open.
His chuckle was low and rumbling through his chest.
I narrowed my eyes at him and his sexy laugh. “Is your name really Arkady?”
He shook his head. “I can’t tell you my real name. And if you use it, you could get us both killed.”
I nodded. The phone call with my family rushed through my mind. “I let you talk to my parents. My family.” Horror and shame rushed through me.
“I didn’t tell anyone.” He grabbed my chin, pinched it as he looked at me. “I didn’t tell anyone. Not even my handler.”
I searched his gaze. Felt the truth of his statement in my belly. In my heart. “How the hell is Interpol supposed to get here? By tonight?”
He shrugged. “We’ve still got two hours before the party starts.”
He made it seem like we had a year to plan this. Not one hundred and twenty minutes. Asshole.
“Your friend. That you called. Do you think they would answer a call from a different phone number?”
My eyes wide and wild. “I don’t know. I was surprised Chase answered the first time. I’d planned to leave a message on her bakery line’s phone.”
“Then we’ll have to try again. I need to talk to the one with all the computer knowledge.” He dipped his knees, looked me right in the eye. “I swear I’m not looking to get anyone in trouble.”
My brain was a swarm of thoughts, feelings, emotions. I didn’t know which way was up. The only thing I knew for certain was that I felt like I was upside down.
“Talia. I need an answer. If we can’t get in touch with them, I need to call Interpol directly. My handler has been…off, lately.”
His handler had been acting off lately? What the fuck, Chuck? We were both in the deep end of the shit pool and he wanted to make a phone call.
“Talia!” He growled it right in my face. “We don’t have time for you not to be strong and stubborn right now. Yes or no. Those are the only answers you have to worry about.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He heaved a sigh. “Finally.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “Dial out.” He handed me the phone.
With my brain this foggy, I was going to be lucky to hit the right numbers in the right sequence at the right time. My hands trembled as I pulled up the phone app. Blowing out a breath, I tried to get myself under control.
Arkady squeezed my arms tightly. “Easy, kitten. Easy.”
The tight grip helped settle me somehow. It cleared my mind, let me focus. I nodded. Hit the numbers I needed to make the call. As I hit the button to connect the call, a thought occurred to me. “Won’t they be able to track the call?” I flicked my gaze over to the computers.
He smiled wolfishly. “Not in here they won’t.”
“Speak,” the man said through the phone.
“Turo, it’s Tali.”
“Give me a second, Talia. I need to conference everyone in. Don’t hang up,” my older brother said immediately.
“What the fuck, Turo? We’re almost a go,” Foster said over the line.
“Foster?” I said, the word got caught in my throat.
“Hellcat?” he asked softly.
Arkady snickered.
I glared at him.
“Fits better than kitten,” Arkady said softly.
“Who the fuck is that?” Foster demanded.
“That’s Arkady. He’s helping me. Don’t be the asshole I know and kinda hate right now, Foster,” I said down the line.
“What the hell?” Ryker said. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, bossman,” Nik called. “Seems we get another conference call today.”
“Yeah, what day isn’t complete without conference calls.” I could almost see my adopted brother-in-law roll his grass green eyes.
“If you’d all shut up, Arkady needs to talk to you,” I said.
The line went quiet.
I handed the phone back to Arkady. Put my head next to his so I could hear the conversation as well.
“This is Arkady,” he said.
“Speak then,” Turo said, his tone biting and angry.
“I need to speak to the one with the computer knowledge.”
“That would be me,” Nik said. “You can call me Grasshopper.”
Arkady looked at me, one eyebrow raised.
I nodded.
“I’m going to give you a string of numbers. I need you to call it, search it. Call me back in five minutes once you verify.” He rattled off so many numbers I went a little cross-eyed. When he was done, he ended the call.
He denied every single call that came rushing back in. His chuckle was warm when he rejected the tenth call from Turo’s number. “This man is very upset.”
I giggled. “Yeah, he can get that way pretty quickly. Just be glad it isn’t Momma you’re hanging up on.”
&nb
sp; Once five minutes had passed, he accepted the call.
“You pull shit like that again, I’ll rip your heart out of your body while it’s still beating,” Turo snarled.
Arkady ignored my older brother. “Grasshopper. Are you there?”
“Yes, I am, Secret Agent Man.” She gave a low whistle.
Arkady smiled. “Do not use my name. But you have verified that I am part of Interpol, yes? Could you please convince your compatriots?”
“He’s legit, guys. I borrowed a voice print from his file.”
Arkady’s eyes went wide. “H-h-how…”
Nik laughed. “I’ve got my own tricks. And you better be thankful. Now, what’s so urgent you had to call at this moment?”
Arkady shook himself. “One of the brother’s was talking to a new person in the compound. They were speaking of broadcast signal and bandwidth speeds.”
The line stayed silent.
“Go on,” Turo said. His voice had lost the fiery edge. But I knew he was probably still brewing.
“The dinner tonight, I told you this already.”
“Yes, you did. Explain in greater detail,” Ryker said, his voice hard.
A low feminine moan came over the line. “Tali,” Chase said. I heard the knowledge in her voice.
“Someone better fucking share with the class,” Foster bit out.
“They’re going to kill her and broadcast it,” Chase said. “That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
Arkady nodded. “Yes. I overheard the plans for the after-dinner entertainment.” The edge in his voice made goosebumps raise up all over my body. “Gang rape. All of the high ranking men are invited to partake if they wish.”
“A snuff film,” Nik said in a whisper.
“Yeah. Apparently, my childhood dreams of being an actress are finally going to be realized,” I said, a catch in my throat.
Everyone started talking over everyone else as Arkady pulled me into his arms. He pressed a kiss to my head. “I won’t let that happen.”
“What do you need from me?” Nik asked. “From us?” Her voice was pitched a little higher than everyone else’s.
“We need—”
Arkady’s voice got cut off by Foster’s yelling. At least, I think it was Foster. But since everyone was shouting and yelling over the single line, I couldn’t be sure.
