by S F Draven
“You have no idea how bad things have gotten, Katerina. If I let you back out into that world, it’ll only be a matter of time before he tears you down just as he did me. You’re not capable of surviving that sort of lifestyle, no matter how much you may tell yourself that you are. You haven’t even seen the half of what that man is capable of, and it’s so unfortunate that you’re never going to get to. Now I see that I have to deal with you as well, because it has been my mission to take out any and everyone who has been loyal to Dominik. That means that you just gave up your chance of walking out of here alive,” she said, waiting to get a reaction out of me, but it never came. At that point, I didn’t care if she started pulling my teeth out, I wasn’t going to succumb to her level.
“Things may have started in a very unconventional way between Dominik and me, but I’m not going to go down the same path as you, and end up a bitter woman who has no semblance of a life left,” I said.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Katerina. Once I take Dominik down for good, I’m going to go on to live the most wonderful life while the both of you rot away in two unmarked graves somewhere in the forest. Any dreams you may have had, any hopes that you may have been harboring that you and Dominik would one day start a life together has come to an end. I’ll keep you here, and I’ll keep you fed until Dominik gets one good look at you before I rip you to shreds myself,” she warned.
“Oh, is someone jealous of what Dominik and I have?” I asked, watching her squirm.
“You’d better fucking watch your mouth. I don’t have to wait until the guest of honor is here to start torturing you myself,” she said, spitting in my face.
I didn’t care what she had to say, it was then clear to me why Dominik would’ve wanted to put an end to a woman like her. She was the kind of woman that would do anything to maintain her standing in society, and it didn’t matter to her who she hurt along the way. There was a moment where I saw a bit of myself in her, but that quickly became me no longer having to question whether we were the same. She wasn’t a poor, unfortunate soul that had her entire life stripped away from her, she destroyed it all on her own. The rage she was feeling right now was a byproduct of her mistakes, and there was no one who could help her. She truly believed that by getting rid of Dominik, it was going to somehow solve all of her problems, but what she didn’t realize was that I’d still do anything for him.
I wasn’t quite sure where his loyalty lay now that I was temporarily out of his life, but I felt it in my gut that he wasn’t going to give up on me so easily. The connection we shared was a strong one, much stronger than whatever he had with Giselle. I could tell that from the bare mention of her name that he still felt the pain of what he had to do to her, and I still wondered what that was. I knew, if given the chance, I would get rid of her myself but she had so much more on her side than I did. It was at this time that I began to see just how similar Dominik and I had been all along. He and I now shared the same goals, and I wanted nothing more than to stand by his side and work alongside him to not only build a life together, but to make sure that threats like this never surfaced again. Giselle’s only goal was to ruin Dominik because she didn’t get what she wanted out of him, and if I had the opportunity to put an end to it, I was sure as hell going to take it.
I had a feeling that what I said to Giselle was going to keep her riled up for some time, and that would result in me not being able to eat for a while. It was absolutely worth it, however, because at least she now knew that it was going to be very difficult for her to get any information out of me. I was surprised that she didn’t send her band of men in to try to rough me up a little, but I didn’t question her capabilities. She must have hardened up a lot since she and Dominik had their last run together, and I didn’t want to rile her up to the point where she could slit my throat and not think twice about it. I had to be smart about this, and I had to make sure that whatever I did, it wouldn’t put me in a situation where I had to choose between life or death.
I brought my knees up to my chest, feeling the cold metal of my shackles burn against my skin, as the temperature of this terrible room began to drop. I started to shiver not long after, and that was when I looked out the small corner of the window that was exposed to see that it was snowing quite heavily outside. I knew that if I didn’t find a way to keep warm soon, I would certainly die of hypothermia before any of what Giselle had planned could even take place. I rubbed my frail hands together trying to generate some heat, but it was no use. It was growing colder by the minute, and I knew that I had to do whatever it took to get myself out of there.
I thought back to the moment I learned of Dominik’s true nature, of the terrible things he’d done in the past, and from the way I was feeling right now, I completely understood why he’d have those urges. I wanted to find anything sharp laying around this room and tear into Giselle’s skin to remind her that she was the one who made a grave mistake by locking me up in here in the first place. I wasn’t going to rest until I managed to subdue her somehow, because I didn’t want to plan an escape without doing Dominik one last favor by getting rid of the woman that had caused him so much pain.
I have to figure out a way to do this, before she comes back and decides that it isn’t worth it to keep me around anymore. My clock is ticking and I have to find my way out.
Chapter Fifteen: Dominik
I still have no idea what I’m really about to walk into here. I can very well hold out hope that I’m going to get to Katerina in time, but there is always the small chance that they’ve already taken care of her before I could arrive. I’m still kicking myself for letting this happen, because I promised her a life that she would get to live out safely without worrying about someone coming to disrupt the way things have been as of late, but she had to know that there was always the possibility. I spent the whole drive up to this cabin worrying about her well-being, worrying about whether she was being fed and taken care of the way she was supposed to.
I looked over into the back seat to see that the man had already begun to slip out of consciousness because he was losing a lot of blood and if we were going to use him for directions, we were going to have to act fast. I tried to keep him steady and awake, letting him know that this was his only chance to prove himself, otherwise his family was going to have to pay the price for his mistakes. I knew that I really had no intention of taking things that far, but I had no other options because I had to get Katerina back.
“Hey! Stay with me. You’re not going to die on me, not like this!” I screamed at him, watching his eyelids flutter back open and I could tell that he was trying his best.
“Don’t worry about him, Dom. Let him slip away, we’re almost there, and we can take it from here,” said Viktor, trying to reassure me. I tried to calm myself down as we finally pulled up to the abandoned cabin that was enveloped by a beautiful blanket of fresh snow. It was already a bad sign because it gave the impression that people weren’t coming to and fro, just as the worry began to resurface that maybe we had it wrong all along. We trusted this man’s directions so blindly that we didn’t even bother to consider that he may have been leading us to a dead end.
By the time we actually pulled up to the property, he was already gone. Any chance of getting any information out of him had slipped away because my gunshots had dug into something rather important, leaving him to bleed out all over the car seat. I sighed, getting out of the passenger seat and slamming the door as I made my way up the side of the house. I tried to stay as quiet as possible, but I was perceptive enough to know that no one was there. When we finally broke inside, it was clear that Katerina wasn’t being kept here, and that we were all out of options.
“Fuck!” I screamed, as Viktor came up behind me with a supportive hand on my shoulder, letting me know that I couldn’t just give up yet.
“Before you blow a gasket, I suggest you look around to see if there’s any sign that they could’ve been here at some point. That’ll tell you if this wa
s really a dead end, or the stepping stone you needed to find your woman,” he said, and he had a point.
We both split up, searching around the cabin looking for anything that would point to Katerina. Once I got into the bedroom of the cabin, I noticed that something was glistening in the corner of the room. When I finally made my way over, I noticed that there was a single earring on the floor that I recognized instantly. The workmanship was something I’d gifted her just a few weeks earlier, and that was all the proof I needed that hope wasn’t lost yet. I gathered my thoughts, turning the room upside down to see if there was anything that I missed. Just before I was about to call it quits, I noticed that there was something in the bathroom that I wondered how I could’ve missed upon first glance. It was a little gold compact mirror that I unfortunately recognized with a little “G” etched into the lid.
“Giselle?” I asked myself, wondering how this could’ve gotten in here or how the person who was doing this knew about Giselle’s past. I decided it’d be best to hold onto it just in case it would provide any further insight at a later date. I made my way back into the living room to see Viktor thumbing through a few papers before motioning for me to come over and join him.
“What is it?” I asked, not even bothering to mention what I found.
“These are property papers of a recently acquired old hotel not too far from here, but that’s not what’s got me confused,” he said.
“Let me see,” I instructed, as he handed them over to me and I stared down to see a name that I hadn’t seen in far too long.
“Wasn’t Natalia Ivanov the name that Giselle used whenever she was hiding her identity?” asked Viktor, well aware of my past.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“It’s time we pay whoever this is a visit, because if I remember correctly, you stuck Giselle in the ground yourself,” said Viktor.
“Let’s go,” I instructed.
“Brother, it’s about time you get to talking about what’s really going on here. Surely, there’s more to this story than you’re letting on, and I’m tired of being left in the dark,” said Viktor as we both got back into the car.
“I didn’t want to bring these things up to you ever, Viktor, because I didn’t want you to think that I was growing soft. I didn’t want you to think that I almost lost everything I’ve built because I got involved with the wrong woman. All of those years ago, I let Giselle in after she and I began to build a relationship together, even after she betrayed me the first time, but when she did it again, I had enough. I had to make a choice, and I chose wisely,” I said, reassuring myself that I had no other choice.
“Are you sure that she’s actually dead?” he asked, and I knew that question was going to come up at some point, but I was so sure of it that it felt like an insult for him to ask me that.
“I buried her myself, Viktor. I made sure that she would never breathe another word of my business practices to anyone. I made sure that she was never going to be able to see the inside of another office again. I was tired of being played like a fool, and I’ll be damned before I think that there’s some way that she’s still alive. This has to be the work of someone else, someone that has been playing close enough attention that they learned about what happened. I can’t let the thought of Giselle cloud my mind, not while I’m trying to get Katerina back. Surely, you understand that, don’t you?” I asked him, hoping that we could meet in the middle of this discussion.
“Then there is no further question, brother. I’m just looking at all the options here because once we get to this hotel, you may be surprised by what you find waiting for you there,” he said, and I knew he had a point. Once we got there, there’d be no telling if I was actually capable of dealing with what was presented to me. I worried that whatever I’d see there would solidify the fact that this person has succeeded in trying to tear me down. Throughout this entire experience, all I felt was my power slipping through my fingers, and I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to lift myself out of this one.
I knew that having Viktor by my side helped me a great deal, but even he was kept in the dark about a lot of things that had transpired since this entire situation began. I kept him far enough away from the Giselle situation that he wouldn’t have to ask any further questions, or even criticize my judgment on the matter. The woman was nasty, she wanted nothing more than to use me to further her career, even after I’d given her everything she’d ever wanted. There was nothing I hated more than being lied to, being taken for a fool, when I was just trying to do the right thing in the end.
Viktor and I approached the front door of the cabin, and to our horror we found that we were completely snowed in. There was no way that we could get the car out onto the road in order to get to Katerina. We had to wait for a few hours at the very least before we could try again, and it was too far and too cold to try to make it on foot. I picked up the vase of dead flowers in the entryway and threw it into the fireplace with all my might. I was fuming at the thought that while I was holed up here, Katerina could’ve very well been taking her last breath. It was too much for me to bear, and I needed to go to her. I rushed to the door, indicating that I was going to go no matter what Viktor did to stop me.
“You go out there now, you’re as good as dead and there will be no hope for Katerina. Is that what you really want, brother?” asked Viktor, as he pulled me back inside.
“I can’t just sit around here and wait for the storm to clear. If it were your wife, what would you do?”
“I would make sure that I at least had a fighting chance of saving her, and that’s the one thing you don’t have at your disposal right now. Take a seat, because we still have to finish figuring out the possibilities that you may have been incompetent when it came to dealing with Giselle in the past,” said Viktor, finally taking the opportunity to discipline me and it was about time.
I had to believe that Giselle was dead because I couldn’t bear the thought of anything else. If there really was the possibility that she was still alive, that would mean that I had failed from the very beginning, and everything that I accomplished after happened because she allowed me to. If she was somehow still alive, that would mean that she was laying in wait for years until another woman really caught my interest, a woman that reminded her of herself. If the two of them ever got into the same room together, there was the chance that Katerina would finally see me as the monster Giselle had been trying to paint me as for all this time. At that point, I’d be certain there wouldn’t be the possibility to change her mind.
I had to remain positive, I had to keep my head held high because Viktor had been right, and I owed it to Katerina to make sure that I had a fighting chance when I finally got to her. I could only hope that she was able to hold her own until I could get to her, and I hated that I was so close yet still so far away. I wished that I could run, run out into the snow and forget everything until I’d finally arrive at her feet. Though, I knew if I did that, whoever did this to her would inevitably have the upper hand.
“If Giselle really is alive, then she’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. I can’t give her that opportunity, I can’t allow her to take away everything from me. She’s already tried to do that in the past, and she was almost successful. She was always a headstrong woman, and that was something I admired about her in the past, but it only came to bite me in the ass later on,” I said as Viktor and I took a seat on the dusty couches in the living room.
“From what I remember, she was always gunning for a bigger role in your life, and I could never figure out why you were so quick to put her in the ground, until now. It seems she’s had a plan for you all along, and I didn’t think anyone would try you so blatantly,” said Viktor.
“If she’s really out there then she’s going to get what’s coming to her, that’s for sure. This time, I’m going to make sure that she’s not going to come back from the dead a second time. I was young, naïve, and it was already hard on me to have to do that
to her, but I see now that I really wasn’t the man I am today,” I confessed.
“That doesn’t mean that you were incapable back then, Dom. You loved Giselle, for who she was, and she turned out to betray you. You have to understand that it isn't your fault, no matter which way you look at it. We’re going to get to this hotel, we’re going to put an end to this, and you’re going to be reunited with Katerina. That is what you deserve, and I don’t want you to think any differently,” he said.
“You know, I was very surprised when you agreed to help me go through with this. There was a part of me that believed you would’ve wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. I remember how many fights we used to get into in the past about our differing calls in judgment, but for some reason we managed to find middle ground this time. Why is that?”
“I could see that you were spiraling and I wouldn’t be doing my duties as your eldest brother if I didn’t try to help you. We all finally came to terms with the fact that father left you the better half of his estate, and it wasn’t until this situation that I realized why. You’re more like him than any of us will ever be, and that was hard for us to wrap our heads around. You have the business sense and authority to do amazing things, Dom. You can’t let a woman get in the way of that. You’re a Volkov for God’s sake, and you’re worth so much more than even you realize.”
“I just don’t know what’s going to happen if I ever lay eyes on her again,” I said, truthfully.
“You’re going to point, shoot, and don’t even bother asking your questions. There is nothing more that you need to know about that situation. Everything that had to happen has already happened and there is no changing the past now. The only thing you can do is save Katerina from suffering a similar fate at the hands of a woman we all hate so much.”
