by Dee Garcia
Fingertips running up my legs snapped my attention away from my surrounds. Idly, I noted my ankles were restrained too, but I was more focused on the hand as it rose up my inner thigh and disappeared under my dress. A litter of goose bumps dotted my skin. I scrunched my eyes closed and willed myself to stay calm, but as a finger traced the seam of my most intimate area, I whimpered in pure fear.
Make it stop, please.
“Mishka,” the voice I’d been dreading growled.
My eyes snapped open to find Dimitri standing beside me. Clad in his usual attire of a suit and tie, his arctic green stare pinned me, forcing a burning lump down my throat. The sleeves of his black dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, his dark tie loosely undone around his neck. With his finger still working over my panties, he leaned in closely and pressed his lips to my neck, inhaling me deeply. I cringed, which drew an unappeased growl from deep in his chest.
“I told you that you could not hide,” he murmured villainously.
A second later, my panties were gone, ripped right at the seams by his bare hand. Pain from the fabric digging into my skin didn’t even register, my focus solely placed on the fact that two thick fingers were now forcing their way inside me. My body tensed at the intrusion and a lone tear rolled free as fear proved – once again – just how powerful of an emotion it was, leaving me speechless, with nothing but a hum of disapproval and a jerk of my legs in defense. Shockingly, my resistance drew his arm back quickly rather than provoking him to continue his assault, but not before he slapped my cunt.
Hushed laughter detonated around me, reminding me that Dimitri and I were not alone. Embarrassment and mortification washed over me. I was on display to strange, wicked men, and there was nothing I could do about it. Tears shot up to the rims of my eyes anew, but I forced them back as I noticed that aside from the puppeteers, another three men in pristinely-kept suits sat around the table, a glass tumbler with a clear liquid nestled in their hands. Their expressions were as twisted and malevolent as the rest.
“You see these men, Mishka?” Dimitri asked, setting my ankles free from their bindings. “They are men I had to cancel very important meetings with last minute to come deal with you. So, now you explain...why did you leave?”
Tipping his head toward our audience, he held his hands up and effortlessly caught the rope ends as though he did it often. I’d heard the question loud and clear, but words failed me. I couldn't even open my mouth, completely stunned to silence...and Dimitri didn’t like it. The chilling gleam in his eyes as he yanked me to a sitting position and pried my legs apart churned my stomach in a nauseating fashion. I was waiting for the blow that followed my silence, but it never came. Instead, he settled himself between my legs and brought his face mere inches from mine, his breath hot on my skin, reeking of vodka and cigars.
“Tell me why you left,” he demanded once more.
“Be-because,” I stammered, knowing if I didn't answer with something he'd become more angry. “Because you s-scare me.”
“Because I scare you?”
The question was uttered in disbelief and I instantly regretted blurting out the truth. Again, I was expecting the sting of a strike, but he threw his head back and howled a laugh that prompted the other men to indulge in a good chuckle as well.
“I scare her,” he said to them, wiping fake, amused tears from his eyes. Then, he shook his head and tsked between his teeth, pulling me onto my feet. “Now you should be scared.”
Bang, bang, bang!
The loud sound startled me worse than Dimitri’s admission. I whipped my head in its direction as the door flew open. Through it came Maksim, who dragged Hazel in right behind him, spiking my heart rate all the more.
Hazel…
I gasped.
In my harrowed state, I'd forgotten all about her. But now, as she stood here before me, in as much danger as I was, the last words I’d heard before blacking out instantly rung out in my head.
Don't forget the little blonde one too.
“She was banging on the door, boss,” said Maksim, in explanation for their abrupt entrance.
Dimitri nodded in understanding and cocked his head to one side, his focus swiftly shifting to Hazel in a way I knew too well. “Not a fan of the dark?”
Everyone waited in silence for her answer, but it never came, her frightful brown eyes trained on me, and me only. The distress swimming within them wasn’t fear for herself, though; no, it was fear for me because she knew. She knew the extent of Dimitri’s madness and now, she was caught in the eye of the storm. I prayed to whatever God might hear me that she wouldn’t have to live through it too. Her being here was enough of a nightmare, a nightmare that was my fault, and if she had to endure what I knew was undoubtedly coming my way, I didn’t know that I could live with myself after the fact.
The seconds ticked by until finally Dimitri sighed profoundly. “Very well, seat her over there,” he instructed Maksim, motioning toward a dingy couch in the corner.
Doing as he was bid, Maksim tossed Hazel onto the couch and dropped down beside her, crossing a trouser-clad leg over his knee at the ankle as Dimitri turned back to me, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
“Where were we?”
“Let her go,” Hazel gritted out, stilling Dimitri in place.
No.
He swiveled his head toward her. “You’re lucky you are of value to me, Miss Perry. I do not tolerate women speaking out of place.”
“Well then, Mr. Petrova, welcome to the twenty-first century, where women are allowed to speak whenever the hell they want,” she countered, seemingly unfazed.
Shocked gasps resounded around the room and I felt myself blanch. This was going to get very ugly, very quickly if I didn’t warn her. But what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t very well just belt it out.
“Let this be your last warning… You were safer in the hold, but you make too much noise, so now you are here. Take a moment to realize, you are no longer alone. Don’t be foolish, little girl,” he growled lethally.
Please don’t answer back, please don’t answer back, I pleaded with her silently, willing her with my stare to look my way. And she did, thank fuck, biting her cheeks together when I shook my head as subtly as possible.
“Much better,” Dimitri purred in satisfaction, pivoting toward his guests. “Now, gentleman. My apologies for yet another delay. I realize our time has been cut a bit short, but shall we proceed?”
I guess a simple grunt and a clink of their glasses was the universal code for ‘yes’ amongst these men because seconds later, I found myself face front onto the metal table with Dimitri looming behind me. His length, though not nearly erect, pressed into my backside, shooting bile up my throat. At this angle, I could see the audience clearly. They were intrigued, some sipping from their tumblers, others reclined comfortably in their seats. Was he really about to do this in front of them?
Yes, yes, he was.
Hands that once felt so familiar skimmed up my legs, hiking my dress up with them the higher they went, until the fabric no longer covered my ass. He fondled me roughly, spreading my ass cheeks apart, spanking me with harsh slaps. At one point, he even dropped a glob of saliva right at the tightened entrance and massaged it in, which in turn drew a mortified whimper from my throat.
“Up on the table, Mishka,” he demanded, ensuring every set of eyes was on me.
Belittled as I felt, I did as I was told, climbing onto the metal surface. Dimitri whistled and my blood ran cold as the two puppeteers rose from their seats and started toward us.
God, no. Please. One is enough.
But they didn’t touch me, instead taking hold of the rope ends once more and promptly returning the way they came.
I breathed a slight sigh of relief, but relief didn’t last long. In fact, relief turned into agony as Dimitri slid his finger into my rectum without warning. I gasped at the sudden invasion and cringed through the burn as he pumped it in and out, trying my damndest to relax. It hurt le
ss when I wasn’t so tense, but even then, it hurt from the lack of lubrication.
“Lay your head down,” he ordered, his voice hushed, and although I couldn’t see him, I knew he was thoroughly enjoying this.
But his demand called for more. A finger wasn’t suffice...
‘Dimitri, p-please,” I pleaded softly, regardless of the fact I knew better.
“I will not ask again, Maya. Lay down.”
“Please don’t do this; not in front of all these people. I’m sorry I ran. I won’t ever do it ag-”
Thud!
My face slammed into the table, radiating a sharp pain through the left side of my head, white stars shooting like fireworks behind my eyes. This wasn’t Dimitri’s doing, though. The men he’d entrusted with the ends of the ropes had tugged them at the same time, giving out all of my support. They simply hummed appreciatively while the others snickered, both of them pleased with their handiwork. I heard Hazel protest mildly but she stopped short, the dead air that followed her silence racking a shiver down my spine.
Something was coming, I could feel it, but I didn’t know what that something was. Aside from the slaps to my ass, Dimitri had yet to hit me, throwing all predictability out the window. Usually he would’ve roughed me up a few times by now, and I wondered if our audience had anything to do with it. I didn’t dare ask, though, and I certainly didn’t move, not even an inch. What I did do was wait...and wait, squinting through the dull throb in my head at the men before me for a clue, but their expressions gave nothing away, other than they were delighted.
That's when he struck…
In one swift move, he yanked me back down to the end of the table by my ankles, spread my ass cheeks apart, and pushed himself inside. Every. Last. Inch. I screamed violently, uncontrollable tears springing from my eyes as the burn spread further and further. I had nothing to grab onto for support either, siphoning scream after excruciating scream from the deepest depths of my soul. And it only got worse.
With one hand digging into my hip, he leaned forward and pressed my face into the table with such force, I was positive my skull would crush under the pressure.
“See what happens when you don't listen, Mishka,” he growled, plowing me senseless. “Not only is this for your inability to follow directions, but also for your attempt to flee. And for those ridiculous divorce papers too. You don't get to leave me. I own you, forever.”
Just kill me, please. Just fucking kill me, I thought to myself, because even death would be better than this. I couldn't do this forever, and I was foolish to think I could escape him in the first place.
“No, stop it! You're hurting her,” Hazel wailed behind me as the scene playing out before her escalated with every passing minute. “Stop! STOP!”
“Silence her,” Dimitri gritted out straightaway, ramming into me harder and faster, with no intention to stop.
“Stop it! No! Don't touch me, don't fucking touch me!”
Hazel’s screams, Dimitri’s grunts, the men snickering, the lights above, the sheer amount of pain; it was too much.
Too fucking much.
But my body saved me from despair, shutting down little by little. First the sounds went, then my vision blurred.
Black.
The second Hazel hung up on me was the second I ripped open my laptop and bought the earliest possible ticket to Miami. Why hadn't I seen this coming? How did I not know she was hurting? Unfortunately for me, it wasn't early enough. I was going to miss her fight by two hours, but I hoped like hell the fact I showed up at all would restore even a smidge of her trust in me. If I'd known the overtime and Brie’s persistent ways were going to drive her to believe I was cheating, I never would've done it. Not even for Luis, who was the one and only reason I'd done it in the first place. Why? Because he'd done it for me when I up and left L.A. last year to finishing touring the nation with Hazel. This was me returning him the favor. But with Brie precariously stuck in the picture, said favor had been a screw up of royal proportions. A screw up that had the power to rip away the most precious thing in my life.
Not on my fucking watch, I thought for the upteenth time, after we’d landed and I raced through the airport like the entire building was seconds away from exploding. I hightailed it right past baggage claim – perks of only carrying a duffle – and shot out the doors to pick up. Despite the fact the sun had long since disappeared before my arrival, the humid Miami heat clung to my skin the second I stepped foot outside. Small beads of sweat formed on my brow as I pulled my phone out from my pocket and powered it on to give Manny a call. But apparently, he'd beat me to it...fifty times over. Fifty missed calls from Manny, all continuously displayed in red over the last two hours. I almost threw up. Alarm bells blared in my mind, my hands shaky as I clicked on his name and waited for him to answer.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Carr, there you are. I've called you a million times. Where the hell have you been?” he asked, panting as though he'd been running for miles.
“On a plane,” I said simply, waving my arm in the air to hail a cab, all of them practically ignoring me. “What the fuck happened?”
“On a plane? Where?”
“Here.”
“Where is here, bro?”
“Miami.”
“You're in Miami right now?”
“Yes, I just got here, trying to fucking hail a cab,” I explained.
“Well, hail your ass one faster and have the driver drop you off at the marina ASAP.”
“Why would I have the driver drop me off at the marina?”
“Because Dimitri snatched the girls after the fight and I tracked Hazel’s phone. They're on a ship.”
The world around me instantly fell away. My arm dropped to my side and my legs felt weak, but I forced myself to stand tall. Regardless of the fifty calls I'd seen on my screen just seconds ago, I hadn't thought this was the reason for them; not when the Russian bastard hadn't been an issue in almost two months. Don't ask me what I thought he'd been calling for either, because now that I knew it was Dimitri, nothing else made sense. We’d slipped. This was our fuck up for dismembering the security we’d set in place and it's the shot Dimitri had been waiting for. And the worst part of it all was that he'd succeeded. He had my girl.
“Which marina?” I asked Manny, pulling out a fifty from my wallet and waving it in the air.
I had to get to my girl. The situation was dire, yes, but now was not the time to panic.
“Miami Marina. I’m here already,” he answered.
“Are they docked or…”
“No, they’re on the water. But I called in a favor, we’ve got a way out to them.”
A cab pulled up and I flung the door open, throwing myself in. “I’ll be there in twenty. Miami Marina, please, as fast as you can,” I said to the driver as I ended the call and shoved my phone into my pocket.
But he couldn’t drive fast enough. Palm trees and street lights blurred past me as the cabbie weaved in and out deftly through Miami traffic, and still it wasn’t enough. Every minute that ticked by was another minute Dimitri held the power over my head. He could hurt her or worse, he could kill her. What if he already…
No. No, no, no.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as a deep-rooted pain spread through my chest. There’s no way. She couldn’t be. I wouldn’t allow myself to think that way. If there were ever a time to be strong, it was now. I needed to be stronger than ever.
I was out the door, throwing a handful of bills at the driver, as soon as he pulled up the curb. Manny was posted up beside his SUV with the trunk open, chatting with a man I'd never seen before. I assumed this was his way out to whatever ship Dimitri was on. Running towards them, I tossed my bag into the trunk, and threw the door closed as I came around.
“Are we ready?”
Manny nodded and motioned to dude beside him. “This is Alex, one of my college buddies. He's got a boat out here.”
Alex and I shook. “Nice to meet you, man, and thanks for t
his.”
“I've gotta tell you, this is by the far the last thing I thought Manny would be calling me for, but I'm happy to help. She's right this way, come on.”
Manny and I followed behind Alex as he led us through the docks to where his boat sat. We hopped on board and while he went about the motions for us to embark on our trip, Manny pulled out a firearm, passing it to me with a steady hand.
“You're gonna need that,” was all he said.
The weight of it in my hand with a silencer in place sobered me. What awaited us on that ship was not going to be pretty, and the chances of actually having to take someone's life to get to the girls far exceeded any chance I'd ever hoped to take.
But I was taking it, and I'd put a bullet through anyone who tried to stop me.
Eerie was the only word I could use to describe the ride out to the ship. The waters were calm but it was so dark, I couldn’t see past what the small boat illuminated, which wasn’t much. The sky was full of stars too; not a cloud obstructing them or the half-moon that reflected off the distant horizon. Ironic, I thought to myself as I stared at the beautiful and seemingly tame backdrop for what was going to be anything but. Salty, humid air whipped past my face as Alex raced us toward the coordinates Manny had acquired without question. For that, I was thankful because it gave me the time to prepare myself, or at least be as prepared as anyone could be for something of this nature.
The ocean really felt endless as we headed further and further away from the port. Open water, that’s all there was, amplifying that gnawing sense of danger in tenfold. If, for some reason, we needed backup, we’d be dead long before anyone arrived. That’s how far out we were.
Stop thinking this shit, I berated myself, shaking my head just as Alex pulled up alongside the rusted monster, as close to the ladder as possible. It was massively intimidating.
“You sure you don't want me to ring for the Coast Guard?” he asked, killing the engine.
“I'm positive. If this man even senses people out here, he'll kill them both,” I explained.
