“Will you kneel before me and call me your Master?”
She stared at the soup as she shook her head. “No.”
He nodded like yesterday, and settled himself to eat. Laura felt as though she were wobbling on her feet but kept silent as he ate. He said nothing more to her before motioning to the guard and she was returned to the cell and the silence.
Chapter 31
Stomach pain, more intense than the hunger pains she’d become accustomed to, began the next day. She tried to think how many days it had been since she’d eaten but couldn’t manage to do the math in her head, and it didn’t matter anyway. She drank water as much as she could to try to ease the hunger, but it stopped helping after a while. And she was getting colder. There was no blanket on her pallet so she took to huddling in the corner, her arms wrapped around her knees.
She couldn’t get her mind together enough to wash by herself, so Jin helped her, and the guards had to steady her as she was walked to DeLeo’s office. Standing seemed almost too much effort, but she forced herself to keep her legs straight as she gave him her answer and watched him eat grilled steak, the smell drifting across the room and tempting her like a lover.
When she got back to her cell, the water had been turned off. Her time had suddenly grown much shorter.
~ ~ ~
The hunger seemed to be going away, but now the thirst consumed her. She shivered all the time. She started having bizarre and frightening dreams. Perhaps they were hallucinations; she wasn’t sure. The rational part of her mind understood that it wasn’t just the lack of food or water, it was also the sensory deprivation of the utterly silent cell that was causing it. She treasured the thirty minutes in DeLeo’s office each day just to hear some noise and see something that wasn’t the four gray walls of her cell that seemed to close in around her. She soaked in the sight of the sun-lit gardens out of his windows, losing herself in the riot of color while she clung to the edge of a desk in an effort to stay upright, and he ate baked fish and drank a large glass of ice water.
~ ~ ~
Two nights later, she saw insects crawling over the walls and floor of her cell. She frantically batted them away as they advanced on her but they began crawling all over her skin. She lost all rational thought and started screaming over and over as she cowered in a corner, even as a tiny sliver of her rational mind told her these were delusions. She whispered over and over They aren’t real––they aren’t real—even as she frantically scraped her fingernails over her body in a desperate attempt to wipe them off. A few minutes later she opened her eyes to find them gone, the only evidence of her nightmare the long red fingernail scratches down her arms and legs. She spent the rest of the night in the corner, crying dry tears, regretting that she wasn’t stronger, and knowing the time had come for her to surrender.
~ ~ ~
Dan knew that time was running short. He knew Laura was strong, but she couldn’t fight DeLeo forever, and he was afraid she’d die trying. The team’s flight to London had been trouble-free, and they arrived to find all their gear ready just as Murphy promised, thanks to more of his contacts. The next flight was where the trouble started. The commercial plane that was going to fly them to Latvia hadn’t actually left Latvia yet due to mechanical problems.
Once more, Murphy came through for them. Safely ensconced in his bungalow at home, he was weaving magic for them the whole way. A private jet was suddenly made available for their use, and not only would it remain at their disposal until they returned; it would fly them to within a couple of miles of the border to a tiny airport. Dan didn’t even want to think about where Murphy was coming up with the money for this, but he suspected all the brass in the agency would be a few dollars short on their next paychecks.
They landed without trouble late at night just outside Ziguri, Latvia. And trouble came at them again. An armed guard met them as they rolled to a stop. The airport was closed for the night.
“Closed? So, what does that mean?”
“You cannot leave the plane until tomorrow morning.”
“What? You’re fucking kidding, right?” A semiautomatic rifle gave the guard’s answer and Anders pulled him back.
“You will remain on board until the airport opens in the morning. Then you can go through customs, like regular people.”
Dan knew he was thwarted for now. They needed the good will of the local government in case something happened. He nodded and headed back up the stairs. He hoped the seats at least reclined most of the way.
~ ~ ~
Customs opened at 8am and they were the first ones in line. They were the only ones in line. In fact, they were the only plane expected all day. Dan gritted his teeth in frustration but kept it in check as he went through the red tape. They all had diplomatic passports which, when combined with a handful of American dollars, smoothed their path out of the airport.
They met their contact in a small hotel bar. There had been rumors for years, the contact told them, of a very rich man who lived across the border in Russia. He was reported to live above the local laws, and the government officials who dealt with him whispered about the women brought to their beds at night as thanks. Women who were not from Russia.
“Can your guides take us there?” Dan held his breath.
“Ja,” the man assured him.
“What about these?” Dan handed a list of supplies.
“Ja. The list is no problem. It will be here this afternoon. The guides will be here tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? We’re kind of running short on time. If you need something to help them show up faster…” Dan let the bribe hang in the air.
“You think these men sit around all day and wait for rich Americans to show up and wave their money around? They have jobs. Families. And some of them are out there guiding.” He waved in the general direction of the border.
Once more, Dan reined in the frustration and sent a mental message to Laura. Hang on, honey. I’m coming.
~ ~ ~
The small arms and other supplies arrived that afternoon; the trucks and drivers were waiting the next morning as promised. There was another problem, though. A border guard from the Latvian side had been kidnapped. The Latvians blamed the Russians. The Russians said they didn’t have him, but if they did he was probably a spy. Tensions were very high and there were extra patrols on both sides of the border. The team would have to detour south to get across, adding hours to the journey.
At least they were on their way.
As they rode south, Dan reflected on the beauty of the area and the architecture. The area was green and rolling, alternating with heavy woods; the people were friendly, and the food looked amazing. Ten American men descending on a restaurant, though, wouldn’t look like a typical tourist group, so they ate the sandwiches their contact had supplied instead of stopping.
Travel felt agonizingly slow. Twice they were caught behind lumbering cargo trucks and could do nothing but decrease their speed and stay behind, the roads being too narrow, the trucks too wide, and the oncoming traffic too fast, to move around.
Dan’s experience with the Agency had been mostly in the US, but Anders had years of in-country covert ops experience. He cautioned Dan that it might take another day or two to get there. Dan fought down the rising panic he was feeling. He told Anders why it was so important to get there as soon as possible and the older man just stared at him.
“Well, day-am. That was probably a stupid decision, but definitely a ballsy one. All right, we push hard. But we aren’t going over those hills tonight in the dark, I can tell you that. We’d have to travel with our headlights off and that’s suicide. Not to mention highly suspicious.”
Dan nodded. Patience. She’s strong. But in the back of his mind, he hoped he hadn’t made a reckless decision that would probably give her a death sentence.
~ ~ ~
They spent the night near the border town of Zilupe. The next day there were no more delays and they slipped over the border with surprising
ease through the dense woods at last. Now dressed in local clothing and with various levels of unshaven faces, they would resemble any group of workmen if anyone had cared to give them a second look.
This was unfriendly territory, though. They had no permission to be there, and if they disappeared, no one would officially protest. Mindful of that, they were all armed to the teeth, prepared to fight their way out of a situation that probably wouldn’t end well no matter how they approached it.
Traveling down south to avoid the conflict, then crossing and coming back north meant another whole day of weary travel on the Russian side. It went without incident, though. They arrived at a safe house outside Tuzherino and just a few miles from DeLeo’s estate just before sundown. They’d do reconnaissance early tomorrow morning, then figure out a plan from there.
Knowing he was just a few miles from Laura was torture to Dan, and he tossed and turned all night long.
Chapter 32
By now, Laura had been without food for a week, and without water for four days. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered from her training that five days was about as long as someone could last without water. It didn’t matter, though; she knew this was the day it had to end for her, and she was resigned. When Jin came to help her wash, Laura was unable to assist her at all. She lay on the pallet, begging Jin with her cracked and split lips to let her drink some of the soapy water from the bucket. But the presence of the two guards ensured Jin’s obedience, and Laura was too weak to even try to reach for it. The guards sat her up as Jin pulled the dress over her head, and supported most of her weight as they moved down the hall. She tried to remember where she was going but her mind couldn’t hold onto a thought more than a few seconds.
Once she was in the office, she tried to focus on the large man in front of her. His words bounced around in her mind but she had forgotten what he said by the time he finished saying it, so she just stared out the windows at the pretty flowers and ignored him.
“Laura,” she heard him say. He was right in front of her. She hadn’t noticed him standing up. “Laura, are you thirsty?”
She fought to focus on his eyes. She nodded.
“Hungry, too?”
“Please can I have something to drink?” It came out as nothing more than a whisper, her thick tongue making the words almost unintelligible.
“All you have to do is kneel here and tell me I’m your Master now.”
She tried to think about his order, but she was so tired of fighting. It didn’t matter anyway, anymore. She nodded. The guards let go of her arms and she managed not to fall. She used the edge of his desk to lower herself to her knees. And then she waited.
“What are you going to tell me?” the large man asked from far above her.
She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
His face clouded over and she shrank back.
“Tell me I’m your Master.”
“You’re my…” She stopped. She tried again. “You are my…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. There was something very wrong about that statement and it wouldn’t come out of her mouth. She lowered her head almost to the floor. Maybe if she could sleep for a while…
“Goddammit! I’ve just about had it from you! I’ve been patient for a week!” The voice exploded over her head. “Maybe this brand will show you that I own your body and soul now.” He reached down and tore the dressing from her hip. There was silence in the room and she knew something was very wrong. She tried to twist around to see the brand but it was too far back.
When DeLeo finally spoke, his voice held no emotion at all. “Take her down to the lake. Shoot her, and dispose of her body there.” He turned and walked back behind his desk. “NOW!”
The guards hauled her to her feet. She tried to fight but in her weak state, she was no match for the burly men. They dragged her backwards out the door as she begged and pleaded. She passed Jin in the hall. The tiny woman held a hand over her mouth as she shook her head and cried. The journey out of the house and down to the lake was the longest of Laura’s life. The guards made no comment and their step never faltered as she desperately tried to pry their fingers from her arms. At the bottom of the hill, in a small grassy space between the reeds and cattails that surrounded the lake, they dumped her onto the ground. Survival instincts kicked in and she scrambled to get to her feet, but a fist made contact with her stomach and she fell down on all fours, gasping for air. She felt the barrel of a gun being pressed to her temple and she closed her eyes and waited for the end…
And waited. A strange grunt came from above her and the pressure of the gun disappeared. After a moment, she opened her eyes to see the guard, and his companion, lying on the ground. She looked around wildly but couldn’t see anything.
“Dan?” she called quietly, her mind racing to understand what had just happened and grasping onto the only explanation she could bear to think of.
“Here,” a voice called off to the other side in the weeds. She whipped her head around, an action that caused her to lose her balance and fall to the dirt. A moment later, he was on the ground beside her, cradling her head against his chest. She reached up to his face.
“Are you real?” she whispered, her tongue thick and her lips barely able to form the words.
Strong arms tightened around her. “Yes. But we need to get you out of sight before anyone sees you.” As he started to stand up, he turned her towards the lake and she caught sight of the body of water for the first time. The sparkling waters that were to be her grave now became the focus of a desire so fierce it consumed her mind. She struggled in Dan’s arms.
“I need to get to the water. Please, Dan. I need water!” He ignored her pleas as he dragged her away from the thing she was desperate for. She tried to get louder and he clamped his hand over her mouth as he dragged her behind a large bush.
She was still fighting him as he pressed something to her mouth and when she opened to protest, something wet and cold splashed in. It was the most glorious thing and she gulped it down greedily, but he pulled it away.
“More,” she begged.
“How long since you had water?”
“I don’t know. Days.”
“Days? I am going to make that bastard pay. Laura, if I give you more you’ll…” His words were lost as her body rebelled and she vomited it all right back up into the grass.
“Sorry,” she whimpered. He shushed her and held her tight.
“Please can I have more?”
He gave her just a sip this time and she managed to keep it down and not beg.
“Dan, I gave in.” She whispered her confession. It was so difficult to talk, but she had to tell him.
“What do you mean?”
“I-I couldn’t go on. He told me to kneel and call him Master and I started to. I was so desperate!” She let out a sob, but there was no liquid anywhere in her body to waste on tears. “I couldn’t say the words, though, and then he got angry and they dragged me outside.” She struggled to remember the events.
“Laura, it’s okay. You had to survive.”
“I didn’t want to call anyone else Master…” her voice faded out. She glanced up at Dan who was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t interpret. He cleared his throat.
“I have to check on things. Finding you outside was unexpected and we’ve had to change our plans. I promise I’m not going far, and you’ll be safe, okay?”
“Are you going to kill that man?”
“I hope so.”
“Then I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her hard on her dry cracked lips, and was gone.
Chapter 33
Her mind wandered as she lay on the damp grass. She rolled onto her back and stared at the clouds drifting across the sky, thinking that it was odd that the sky looked the same despite how far from home she was. She knew it was summer and the day was warm, but she shivered in the heat. She listened dispassionately to the noises around her—the pops that she a
ssumed were silencers, and the mostly male screams. She heard a few feminine ones but they seemed to be of fear, not pain. She was startled several times by someone peering over the bushes, but they all gave her a jaunty salute and disappeared again. She prayed for Dan, and for each of the men who appeared and disappeared like avenging angels waging war against the evil that had its genesis in that grand house.
After there had been no noise for a while, Dan appeared again. He was dirty and there was blood on his arm, and she tried to get to her feet to look at him. He dropped down to the ground instead, letting his head fall.
“Are you all right?” she breathed with fear, reaching to the wound.
He grabbed her wrist. “It’s bleeding a little but I’m fine, Laura, I’m fine.” He wiped a hand across his brow. “Most of the guards are dead, and we have the couple that remain rounded up in the front hall. All of our guys are okay and searching the house for any more slaves. Did you see any?” He handed her the canteen and let her take just one sip before pulling it away. She lunged for it but he caught her and held her close.
“One sip at a time. I know this is hard.”
“Please, Dan!”
“No. Laura, you need to listen to me.” His voice had changed and echoed with a firmness she’d heard often at The Farm. She responded to it and obediently sat back. In reward, he gave her another gulp and this time she managed to hand it back to him without trying to guzzle it down.
“Tell me what you know about the women,” he repeated.
“All I saw was one small Asian woman. Her name is Jin. But I heard screams. Were there more?”
He nodded. “Three that we know of, including Jin. She seems fine. The other two are… I don’t know what the word is.”
“Broken?” she asked quietly. She’d almost been there herself.
He nodded again. “That’s exactly what they are. They’re both from Poland. I think Jin is from the Philippines.”
A Captive of Fear and Desire Page 21
