Anguish

by Elizabeth Knox

  If Jonas had brought me to the hospital, it meant he had changed his mind. It meant that he didn’t want me to be hurt. If he would have me back, I could be reunited with Bianca again. That had to my priority. I couldn’t imagine what she had been going through without me.

  The man was tapping away on his phone, possibly texting Jonas or just playing around on it. Who knew how many hours he had been ordered to sit here with me.

  “Where is Bianca?” I asked him, warranting a strange look from him. Maybe he didn’t understand English. That was certainly a possibility. I’d have to make use of my Romanian.

  “Unde este Bianca?” I asked again, hoping that would get me the answer I was looking for. The man stood up and took a few steps towards me, acting as though he understood this time.

  “Bianca?” he asked.

  I nodded a yes. So, I had been right about the language barrier. His accent was so thick I wondered how long he had been out of Romania.

  “Care esta Bianca?” he asked. He was asking me who Bianca was. That made me feel uneasy. If he had been one of Jonas’ men, he would have known who Bianca was, especially now that Jonas had shown interest and taken her.

  I felt like I was being backed into another corner. I wanted my daughter. I had to know she was safe.

  “Unde este al naibii de fiica mea?!” I yelled at him, the man looked frightened a bit by my outburst and instantly grabbed his phone again, typing at 90 miles an hour. I didn’t know who he was trying to reach, but my panic was reaching a point of no return.

  Before I could think of what else to do or say, I got a glimpse of my wrist, one that was black with bruises from Jonas before he shot me. Now, it was smooth and tan, almost completely free of any marks. I turned back to the man that had been watching me, babysitting me.

  “How long have I been here? De cat timp am fost aici?” He didn’t have the time to answer because the door opened to reveal yet another man coming into my room.

  “Lasa-ne,” the man said, dismissing the guard. I got the feeling, just from the air he had about him that this man was the one in charge or at least the one in charge of the guard. I noted the way he walked, his muscular body, and his green eyes. There was something strangely familiar about him, but I just couldn’t think of what. I looked him up and down, trying to get a read on him before asking my question again.

  “De cat timp am fost aici?” I didn’t know what languages he spoke. He looked more American to me, but I used Romanian just in case.

  “A week and a half,” he answered in perfect English with no accent. He was American, though he understood the language. Wait, a week and a half? Had Bianca been alone with Jonas and his men for a week and a half? I tried to get out of bed, but this man was on me, holding me to the bed before I could even scream from the pain of the movement.

  I knocked his hands off of me, probably thrashing a little harder than I should with my injury. “I don’t appreciate strangers putting their hands on me,” I spat angrily. After what I had been through with Jonas, I didn’t feel like any other man getting grabby, no matter the reasoning.

  The man laughed, and I glared at him for a moment, but I realized his laugh was not a sinister one. “I’m a little offended you don’t remember me,” he said in a teasing tone. I looked him up and down again, noting his tailored black suit and down to his leather shoes. I would have remembered a man like him. I had never met him. Could he have been friends with Jonas?

  “C’mon, Ana,” he said, my childhood nickname rolling off his tongue. It was something my father used to call me, and it pulled at my heart strings to hear it. He had to be someone who my parents knew.

  Another man came into the room, addressing him. “Mr. Petran,” the man said with a respectful bow of his head. That name made it click. I knew who he was now.

  My mouth dropped open in shock. I couldn’t help it. This was something I could never have hoped for or expected.

  “Ion?” I whispered. I hadn’t seen him since I was a young child, but now the dark hair and green eyes clicked. My betrothed had saved me, finally. It was like some real-life prince and princess shit; only it had taken him a bit too long for my taste. Why did he come now, after all this time? There was a chance he had a hard time finding me, but shouldn’t he have given up at some point?

  Knowing he was the one who was with me gave me solace, but I was not naïve enough to think it was all rainbows, especially with my daughter still out there. Seeing his face now, just gave me more questions. I supposed the answers would have to come in time. The only one that mattered right now was the first one I asked about when I woke up.

  Where was Bianca?

  Chapter Seven

  Mariana

  The car ride to Manhattan had been a silent one. Ion and I had hardly said a word to each other, but what was I supposed to say? I didn’t know where, to begin, with all my questions, and I had been trying to find the right words. I thought I probably owed him a thank you, but I also had Bianca on my mind. I was lost without her by my side. Maybe that was why I was at such a loss for words, even as I saw where I was going to be living now.

  Nothing could hold a candle to the ritzy high-rise that Ion called home. It towered into the sky in the richest part of the city, overlooking everything like a king. It was a bit laughable, though I didn’t dare even let out a giggle. The pain was still there, even though I had been cleared to go home and rest.

  Ion had warned me we would be in the penthouse, but as long as there was an elevator, it wouldn’t be so bad. I had gotten used to living in that dump with Jonas. I could get used to a nice place, even if being up so high did feel like a bit of a trap when I thought about it.

  Ion opened my car door for me, and I worked my way out slowly, headed for the steps that led up to the lobby entrance. Just as my foot landed on the bottom step, I felt an arm come around me and instantly jumped. I guess somewhere inside of me; I was still expecting Jonas to show up and hurt me again. It was hard to think about anyone touching me again just yet.

  “Relax, Ana. It’s just me. I’m just helping you get inside; I know you’re still hurting,” Ion assured me in that silky-smooth voice of his. It made me calm but also cautious at the same time. Trusting was going to be hard, even if this was the man my father had chosen for me to be with. I don’t believe I’d ever trust another man again, how could I after enduring so much for so long? Granted, I know that not all men are like Jonas Masterson, but please, tell that to the girl with the emotional and physical scars.

  I let him help me, trying to remain calm at his touch. His hand never wandered, though, and he let go the moment we were in the elevator and headed up to his apartment. As we rode up several floors, I finally turned to him, feeling the emotional pain much stronger than the physical.

  “I need you to find my daughter,” I said simply, my eyes begging him as his green ones turned towards me. “I know she isn’t yours, but without her, my life is nothing. I have no reason to live without her. Please. She is the only family I have left now.” I watched, assessing his features for something, anything that would give me a clue what he’s thinking, but he didn’t speak.

  Not a peep from him.

  The elevator stopped with an incessant ding, letting me know that we were now on the right floor. Ion nodded and gently led me to his door. It was an ugly burnt orange. All that money and he couldn’t even choose an appealing paint color.

  “I can see she means a lot to you, and she is a Vasile regardless. Why don’t we sit down, and you recount what happened before we arrived and found you at Jonas’ place? Perhaps there might be an indication of where Jonas has taken your daughter,” Ion offered. It was a better answer than I thought I would get from him, but I didn’t think there would be any signs of where Jonas went from what I had to tell. The one thing Ion had already relayed to me is that they had been looking for me the whole time and found not even a clue as to my whereabouts or who had me, even as Jonas continued to show up randomly at the meetings of th
e clans. Jonas knew what he was doing.

  I went through every single gory detail anyway. I didn’t leave anything out; the insults, his hesitation, or that evil laughter which was the last thing I heard. Ion informed me that I had been somehow taken back up the stairs and left in the back of the building.

  Once Ion realized there was nothing to glean from what I could remember, the conversation took a turn. “What is Bianca like?” Ion asked, sounding like he might be trying to get to know me. I was taken aback by it but happy for the subject. I missed her so much.

  “Bianca is a miniature version of myself other than the dark, dark eyes which look more like Jonas’. But she is beautiful already, even at four. Growing up the way she has, I was afraid she would be a scared little weakling, but she is spirited and feisty. She finds a way to have fun, even in the worst of situations, she has such a strong spirit” I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face at the mention of my precious little girl. I couldn’t wait to have her back in my arms.

  “She sounded a lot like you when you were a child,” Ion commented, sipping at the glass of brandy he had poured for himself. I looked him over for a moment, feeling strange at his interest. I didn’t exactly understand why he still wanted anything to do with me. In theory, I was still the key to his throne, but I was no longer the pure young woman Ion had been promised.

  Every summer since I had turned eight, my mother had pulled out the marriage contract and gone over it with me for understanding and told me one fact about the man I would marry. Sometimes, it was as simple as his name or the color of his hair. Other times, it was about his favorite toy or his favorite sport. One thing I knew for certain, from pouring over it so many times, was that the arrangement was supposed to mean I had never been touched by another man. I was to be pure and a virgin for Ion. That was not the case. I had been taken, used, and abused in every way possible. Why would Ion even still want me after Jonas had his way with me for eight years?

  After a light lunch, Ion led me through his home, showing me where everything was. It was a large and very nice place. Once Bianca was with me, I would have no trouble getting comfortable with all the expensive furniture and endless food that was available in the kitchen or through delivery. The building had a concierge for goodness sake. Ion definitely had the means to care for the two of us. But I sort of wondered what he had in store for me emotionally. I had been on a roller coaster of hell for eight years with an old, dirty snake. I didn’t want history repeating itself, even if Ion was so much younger and more attractive.

  Ion was so attractive; I can’t help but wonder what we would’ve been like if everything worked out the way it was supposed to. If my parents were still alive, if we had been married when I was eighteen, if I would be madly in love with him, or if he would drive me insane through constant banter. I was stupid for even letting my thoughts get the best of me – me wondering would do no good, life worked out the way it did, and we’d both have to deal with what I’d gone through in our own ways, even if I was a disappointment, a failure even at what he was promised.

  The last place he showed me was the large master bedroom. “This is my room, and this is where you will be sleeping,” he told me, his voice turning stern as it had been with the Romanian man at the hospital. He was dominant, a true clan leader. I didn’t expect much less than that, but I didn’t know what to think about his statement considering what he had just rescued me from.

  “You are going to be my wife. I have already begun arrangements for the wedding. You will be sleeping in my bed every night.” His voice rose, sounding almost irritated as he began to rattle off what sounded like rules to me. Instead of making me scared, it made me angry. “You will do as I say and only go where I tell you that you can. You are to follow all the doctor’s orders and keep yourself healthy. You will fuck me anytime I want, as you were promised.”

  I glared up at him, my jaw set in frustration. After knowing what Jonas had done, I was appalled he would bring any of this up now. “So, I am nothing more than your personal slave? So much for respecting the last of my bloodline or my father’s wishes to care for me.”

  Ion was silent for a moment, blocking me into the doorway and trying to tower over me with his height in a move of intimidation. “I guess it won’t be much different than your time with Jonas.”

  Chapter Eight

  Mariana

  It had been three days now since I had been taken to live with Ion and his house full of men in the same way that Jonas always had his seedy associates around. I did have to give these guys credit; they didn’t try to harm or insult me. They did not play games with me or ask if they could have me too since I was so damn easy. They were just big, silent men, watching me like a hawk when Ion could not be around to do so. It was a bit exhausting, though, after what I had been through, to be rescued from a situation where I was little more than a slave only to find myself still not free, and it pissed me off. If my daughter was not out there somewhere, waiting to see me again and be saved from Jonas, then I would have ended my life already. It wouldn’t be too hard since I was not fully recovered.

  It was hard to think, as I sat up in the bed which I had not been sharing with Ion since he knew I needed space with my injury, that the sun still rose and set like always when my child was not with me. Bianca was my sun, and yet there was daylight, streaming in through the window of Ion’s bedroom. I still called it that, not seeing it as mine yet. I didn’t know if I ever would, especially with the threat that as soon as I healed, I would be ordered to sleep next to Ion and offer him a good fuck whenever he wanted. I was so sick of men using my body that way. When was it going to be my choice to share that part of me? It would never be my choice, that was the thing. One thing has changed, I’m not with Jonas Masterson. I’m with Ion Petran, and I will demand respect, my name gives me that, and I will have it.

  I refuse to be his toy.

  I was agitated as I slid out of bed and looked around me. I had nothing to keep me going, and it was going to drive me insane. I remembered the gym I had seen during the little tour of the house that had ended terribly. I knew I wasn’t supposed to do anything physical yet, but I didn’t feel too bad. I was apparently a fast healer, or maybe it was my determination to help assist in any way that I could to find my daughter. I knew I couldn’t do that without being healed. I had no issues with my side yet, so I thought I could run for a while and clear my head.

  I went to the closet that had since been stocked with clothes for me. Most of the clothes were dresses, meant for special events. There were also nice clothes that were more casual, meant to be worn when I was seen in public with Ion. I dug through it in frustration, hoping to find something comfortable before I had to resort to wearing my pajamas. That’s when I saw two designer outfits for working out. They were sweat wicking material and the kind of thing I would imagine one of those housewives on television wearing on their morning run or at their exercise classes. It wasn’t me, but it would work.

  I snatched one of them down and quickly got dressed. I didn’t know if Ion was around that morning to catch me or not. I hoped I would get to the gym unseen, at least by him, so that I could run in peace before I had to hear his next lecture or scathing insult.

  Luckily, I did not run into him on my way upstairs to the gym. A couple of his men were hanging around, trying not to look like they were watching me, but that was all. The gym was happily empty, and the treadmill looked like a solace I had not had in too long. I got on it, starting slowly at first as I pictured I was walking towards my daughter. I was a mother on a mission, and suddenly the pain was gone.

  All I knew or could hear was the sound of my feet pounding down on the treadmill, and it drowned out all the sorrow and anger, even if just for a few moments. I was no longer the useless woman that wasn’t worth any more than the power my blood gave to a man.

  I tried to ignore him as Ion came into the room, but I doubted he would allow that for long. He immediately came up to me, pressing th
e button to stop the treadmill. I grasped the sides quickly so I wouldn’t be disoriented and fall off. He said nothing to me immediately, only glared like his eyes could burn right through me. Here’s the thing: I didn’t care. I had enough to think about, to ponder and run through my mind. I couldn’t give a damn if he was upset with me, but I had the feeling all hell was about to break loose, but I was in no mood. I would stand my ground, injury or not.

  I didn’t know what to say, though, as his laser eyes continued up and down my body like I might be something he could easily throw in the trash. It wasn’t the first time I had been made to feel that way; I should be used to it by now.

  “What are you doing?” he snarled at me, sounding more animal than human. What the fuck did it look like I was doing? I waited, hoping it was a rhetorical question, but as he crossed his arms over his body, I knew he expected a response. So, I gave him the worst one possible, hoping he choked on my words.

  “Staying fit and pretty for when you decide it’s time to spread my legs,” I said back, not caring about what might happen next. If he wanted his position heading the clans, he couldn’t exactly kill me. Besides, if Bianca never came back to me, I was as good as dead anyway.

  Ion clenched his jaw tightly like many men did when they were angry. It was something I had seen my own father do. However, he did not respond to me at all. I thought maybe he was holding his tongue because he had nothing to refute what I was saying. Maybe I had finally won one. So, I turned the treadmill back on, beginning to run again as if he was not there. It was easier to do than I expected. That was until I found myself flying off the treadmill, my back landing against the wall.

  Ion had lifted me off the treadmill in a split second like I weighed nothing and pinned me to the wall. I could still hear the sound of the treadmill belt spinning fast behind him. My eyes locked with his, and he began to speak to me in a quiet tone, one I was not about to mistake for his calmness. I could tell he was beyond furious at that point. “You will learn to listen to me,” he began.