by Cora Blu
“I don’t—”
“I said shut up.” He came closer, the unibrow curled in like a caterpillar, and she geared herself up for a fight. “You keep mouthing off and I’ll stuff that sheet down your throat. Now. Shut. Up.” They both looked down as he flexed the phone along his leg then he shoved it in his pocket. Her heart sank. He moved toward her.
She drew her knee up ready to protect herself, from the man in front of her. Luckasz scrubbed a hand down his face. She didn’t like the look that rose from his face as he brought his head up.
“What? You gonna kick me?”
“I plan to stay alive,” she returned.
“Think you can take me on?”
“If it means I stay alive,” she told him, bracing for whatever was coming. But she was proud she kept her voice steady. The look he gave her said he had no qualms about hitting a woman. That deadpan cold stare from his dark, deep-set eyes. And the awning-like way his brows bore down over those eyes said murder was just a word to him. Something to pass the time away between catching CSI and Masterpiece Theater on T.V. Her skin crawled with the thought of him even touching her.
The sound of feet scratching across the barn’s wood floor brought her head up in time to see the other man fill the doorway. Black cargo pants and black sweater added to his dark brown complexion set off by hair dyed platinum blond. The slug from the nightclub that hit on her last night.
“Luckasz, leave her alone,” Gregori snapped and her body tightened. The tension flaring off the two men filled the room. He nodded at her. “Not worth twenty-five grand.”
She bit her tongue to keep the words from coming out and making her situation worse. Instead, she ran a hand over her hip, feeling for her cell as Luckasz pushed off his knees to stand. All she needed was a few minutes to try to get a signal so she could call Seth. The two men stood face-to-face. She swallowed as the veins in his temple pulsed. Lord don’t let them start to fight. The winner will be all roused and crazed left in there with her chained to the bed and bleeding.
“I’m going out.” Luckasz pushed past the other man, and indicated Simone. “Do something about her leg. She’s no good dead.”
~~~
Alone with Gregori, the threat shifted from mutilation to molestation. This man liked her. Evident when he left the room then returned with a clean rag for her leg, tossing it to her.
“You’ll need to…”
“I know what to do,” she grumbled. Peeling back the makeshift bandage, she sucked in a breath. Her raw skin was stuck to her jeans. The big man reached for her leg. “I got it,” she snapped and waited for the sting of his hand across her face. Instead, he sat back on his haunches, arms out over his knees just as Luckasz had been, studying her.
“Good. Need anything? Water or food?”
“Why am I here?” Her eyes trailed the wood walls looking for a crack, any place to see outside, before settling on her new warden. “This has to be a mistake.” She set the bloody rag on the floor beside the bed. “I’ve been here less than a week. What could I know?”
“No, we got the right woman,” he told her and nodded at the sheet on the bed. “You cold?”
The muscle jumped in her jaw at that stupid question. There was no heat and her thigh was wet. Of course she was cold. She dismissed his offer of getting her something to eat. He’d probably spit in it.
“When will I know why I’m here?”
“You ask too many questions.” He crossed the short space and held the door open. “Leaving this open so don’t try anything stupid. You won’t like how I stop you.” He licked his lips and bile crept up her throat till she could taste it in her mouth. His stare held weight. She could almost feel him groping his meaty hands down her body as he said, “Or maybe you will. Your thugs aren’t here to stop me.”
She will never leave Michigan again. Ever.
~~~
Mikhail eyed his brother, seeing the pain on his stern face. “Let’s get back up to the house and get your parents.” Mikhail was impatient.
“Wait.” Seth looked up as he walked back to the concierge, tucking the non-descript paper in his coat pocket. “Is there a Notary Public around here anywhere?”
The concierge watched the two men. “I believe so. Allow me to do a search for you, sir.” He was efficient in manner and eager to help. He worked the keyboard with finesse. His steady composure would’ve impressed Seth on any other day, but not right now. Fast wasn’t fast enough when Simone was missing.
“I’m calling the house. It’ll be faster if they come down here and sign it, then we can get to the Notary faster,” Mikhail said, placing a hand on Seth’s shoulder.
Seth’s cable-knit sweater couldn’t keep the chill off his bones. The thought of Simone being held anywhere made him sick. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes closed, staving off a headache as they waited.
“Sir,” the concierge began, “there is a Notary within two miles east of the hotel. Allow me to call and have them remain open until your family arrives.”
“I’ll compensate them for the trouble,” Mikhail said.
Seth looked at his brother, held his fist in the air. Mikhail hit it with his. They were family.
~~~
Mikhail stood tapping Seth on the shoulder. Both parents came across the lobby.
“Son, what did the detective have to say? Where is Simone?” Sergei asked Seth.
“The blackmailers have her.” He gripped a hand over the edge of the stone mantle above the fireplace. The weighted reality of that comment choked the room of air.
“How do you know who has her? Can we get her back, son?” Josef asked.
“Here, read this,” he said, handing the envelope to his father. The parents huddled around the piece of paper, like it were a warm flame. Larissa reeled back as if her face had been slapped. Shaking her head from side to side, she closed a hand over her stomach. “No! I can’t do that,” she murmured, taking a step away from them to stand in front of the large window. “Honey, they stole Mikhail from us. You’re asking me to say I gave my child away.” She pressed her hands to her face, continuing to shaking her head.
“Is there no other way?” Sergei asked from beside Larissa.
Seth positioned himself so only they heard his comments and not the crowd still hovering around the stairwell. The police left long ago, yet the tape remained. He spoke low. “I wish there was. I swear I do.” He turned to his mother. “I know signing this and agreeing to their terms is asking a lot. But Simone is being tortured. I can’t believe you have to decide if she’s worth it.”
“Son, that’s not it at all. Your mom and I had our child stolen from us and no one wants to be held responsible for it.”
He paced, stopped, and pinned him with a harsh stare. “So we make an innocent woman pay the price? Dad, is anyone listening to me? The woman I love is being tortured, damn it!” He did love Simone and, sterile or not, she was going to know it once he got her back.
His father’s back stiffened at his tone of voice.
“Why didn’t I stay with her this morning? I knew she could be in danger. It’s my fault they got to her.” He chastised himself for not being there.
“Seth, you can’t blame yourself. We knew something was up, but you don’t know what could’ve happened had you been there,” Mikhail said.
Seth was at a loss. What was his parents’ problem? “Tell you what, forget I asked for your help. I’ll get her back my way. If a piece of paper means more to you than a human life, then please don’t let it concern you,” he said in a tight voice.
“Can’t we get the authorities involved? What about the American Embassy? They work with these kinds of cases,” Larissa said behind saddened eyes.
“Did you not hear me? I love her. The woman I love is being held for ransom because she had the misfortune of being involved with me. I can’t believe I’m standing her arguing with you over this.” A thought crossed his mind along with disbelief. “Oh, tell me it’s not be
cause Simone is black or American. Tell me my parents aren‘t prejudice.”
“Seth, now relax, son. Neither of those things matter right now.”
“Right now? But it is a concern for you? That’s why you won’t help her.” He looked around the room and pierced his mom with a harsh stare that she refused to keep connected.
“What if we go through all this and they don’t let her go? Then what?” Sergei watched his son.
“Then this will be the last time you see me as a free man.”
“Seth, don’t say things like that,” Larissa blurted out.
“Larissa, we can’t let this young lady pay for the doctor’s and attorney’s actions. We have to sign those papers,” Sergei admonished.
“If she means this much to you, Seth, I will sign the paper,” Larissa said and her voice was tired and weary. But Seth couldn’t stop to care at that point. They needed to go and he needed to call in some back up. He wasn’t taking any chances with Simone’s life. He knew just the man to call.
In the car Seth eyed his mother in the back seat and saw another blow coming.
“What’s wrong, Mother?”
“Seth, I forgot to tell you something. That nice young lady you use to go out with, a Grace, Gloria…”
He glanced back. “Gretchen, her name was Gretchen. What about her?”
“She called about a week or so ago. She said you two knew of some mutual friends that wanted to get in touch with you. She wanted to give them your number. I told her she should contact you first.”
“Mutual friends? Gretchen never contacted me. I’d rather not have her in my life.”
“What happened between you two, son?” Sergei asked.
“Being with a man who’s sterile was a disappointment for her. She broke off the engagement.” His knuckles creased as the blood left his hands him squeezing the steering wheel.
“Son, I’m sorry. Adoption wasn’t an option?”
“Apparently not.”
“Does Simone know you can’t have children, honey?” Larissa asked.
He wasn’t having this conversation with them. “Did Gretchen say who the friends were?”
“No just…..” His mom paused. “I take that back. She did mention a Gregori. She said that he wanted your number, but I know you don’t like giving your number to strangers.”
His blood lost mobility within the vein, gelling. “Did you say Gregori?”
“What’s wrong? You’re as white as milk. Who is Gregori?”
“Gregori is the guy that tried to get Sim in the nightclub. Mom, Gregori is one of the guys who has her.” He hit his fist against the dashboard, cursing low.
“Oh no! That can’t be right. Why…” She leaned forward touching Sergei’s shoulder.
“What, honey?” Sergei leaned back and held his wife’s hand from the front seat.
“Gretchen asked if you would be out of town long. She said if you were, she would meet you out here. Oh, Sergei, I sent them here.” She curled into her seat and began crying.
“Mother, you couldn’t have known what she was up to. How much does she know?”
She was crying so hard that Seth strained to make out that Gretchen knew the hotel name and what room he stayed in.
“But, son, if they knew what room you’re in, why go after Simone?” Sergei asked, leaning back and rubbing his wife’s knee.
“Who would you try to kidnap, Father? The six foot, two hundred pound man or the woman he loves, who isn’t quite five foot six and might weigh a hundred and ten with that damn backpack of Ziplocs?” In all his pain, he felt warm thinking about her and her affection for Ziploc bags.
“This’s terrible. Your mother had no way of knowing.”
He skimmed his mother‘s face in the rearview. “I think Gretchen was setup to find me. This doesn’t sound like her. As much as I despise her, I don’t think she did this without coercion.”
“Honey, I never thought that finding out would put so many lives in danger. I’m so sorry.”
Once they left the Notary’s and dropped off the signed affidavit to be delivered, Seth paced the lobby waiting for the next instructions.
Until he had something new, he was stuck.
Three hours later, they received a call at the desk.
“Mr. Dragoslava, you have a call.”
He jumped to his feet. “Seth speaking.”
“Very good, Mr. Dragoslava.” The voice from the other end was female. “You follow directions well. I need to contact my third party, and the file has been authenticated and it will be filed with the courts. I will be contacting you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow! We gave you everything you asked for. Where is Simone?” Anger began to burn up through his body. With extreme effort he tried to bring himself back down to stay calm.
“Temper, temper. Once I have filed it with the courts, your precious Simone will be returned to you. The courts do not stay open all night, Mr. Dragoslava.”
“I need to speak to her. We've come through on our end.”
“Alright. Just to show you that I do appreciate those who follow directions, I will let you speak with her for two minutes. I will have someone call you. Do not leave. I would hate to kill your mother, she looks so content sitting beside your father.” She disconnected the line.
“Damnit, they’re watching us from somewhere,” he said, angling his head around the room. “We don’t get Sim back until tomorrow.” He faced the stares focused on him.
“Why the hell not?” Mikhail grabbed Seth’s arm.
The concierge stepped toward the men. “Sir, may I suggest a drink by the fire? I will alert you when the call comes in.”
Acknowledging the suggestion with an acceptance, they seated themselves in front of the fire.
“Why don’t we get her back tonight?” Mikhail accepted the snifter of brandy from the host.
Seth composed himself and took a soothing drink. “It’s too late to file the papers with the court. We get two minutes to speak with her.”
“Sir, you have a call.” They return to the desk taking the phone from the concierge.
“Hello.”
“Seth.”
“Sim, hang in there, liebling. We're doing everything we can. We're gonna get you back home. Are you okay?”
“I'm okay. I'm just worried about your parents and Mikhail.”
“Where’d they shoot you, Sim?”
“In my thigh. Just listen, Seth.”
“I’m gonna get you out of there.”
“Just listen to me. If I don’t make it out, I wanted you to know—I love you.”
“Sim, I’m getting you out.” He took a breath ran a hand through his hair, facing his family. Scrubbing his jaw he said, “I love you, Sim.”
“I want you to do whatever it takes to keep your parents safe,” she said and he could hear the slight change in her breathing like when he told her to get in the lake and she hesitated. She had a plan. “Seth, make sure to put the horses, Chaney and Nowendohere, back in the old barn. I left them out in the back. They seem to prefer the dampness.” Luckasz grabbed the phone from her.
“Say good-bye.” The call ended.
Seth shoved a hand through his hair and ran the other over his face. “I need a piece of paper,” he said and the concierge handed him a note pad. Leaning over the marble counter he replayed her words back.
“Seth, what did she say? Is she okay?” Mikhail asked, watching him jot down what Simone said to him. When she said it, it made no sense.
“What’s that?” Sergei asked, looking over Seth’s shoulder.
“Simone said it just before they took the phone from her.”
“It’s a code,” Sergei said. “She’s trying to tell you where she is. Break the letters down into words.”
Seth felt his love for Simone spreading over his face. His lady was brave and cunning. “That’s my girl… She said she left the horses out back, Chaney and Nowendohere.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
He listene
d as they all made suggestions on what they meant and then Seth saw it.
“Chaney, she’s chained to something or the doors are chained. The other word, No-wen-do-here…”
“No window in here,” Sergei said. “She’s in a building with no windows. Let me think.”
“How do you know they’re clues?”
“She and her brother used code words when they camped... military father. He taught her quite a bit about survival.”
“So you two did talk in the cabin. I thought you were bullshitting me.”
“She’s a smart girl, Seth,” Anya said.
“That’s my Sim,” he said and looked at the faces around the lobby. Someone could be watching from the inside and listening to their conversation.
“How’d Simone sound, Seth?” Mikhail asked.
“Honestly? Scared as hell. What upsets me more is that she’s pissed off.”
“Why more?” Mikhail asked.
“You don’t know her like I do. I watched her kill two wolves because she was protecting me. She reacts, not runs.”
“I’m holding whomever I find with her responsible.” Seth paced the marble floors. He pulled his cell back out and replayed Simone’s message from the stairwell. She’d been shot, but pretended to be okay. The captors must not have known she sent the message earlier. Smart girl, Sim. He excused himself and went to the corner.
Seth dialed his friend from his military days. Dmitri lived for stuff like this and was in the area.
“Hello.”
“Dmitri, it’s Seth, I need your help, bro.”
“Name it. What’s up?”
Seth filled him in on all the details and hung up with him.
“Who’s Dmitri?” Mikhail asked coming over to him.
“A friend. If anyone can find Sim from these clues, he can.”
“We’re waiting for him to all back?”
“Unless you got a better idea.” He tossed back the remainder of his brandy.
He shook his head. “How long will he take to find her?”
“Depends, but he’s always accurate.”
“So he’ll find her?”
“Yeah, he’ll find where she is and we’ll handle it my way.”
