by Erin Trejo
Irish Sparrow
The Caged Trilogy
Irish Sparrow
The Caged Trilogy
By: Erin Trejo
Cover designer: FuriousFotog
Edited By: Crissy Sutcliffe and Teresa Banschbach
Proofreaders: Teri Hicks, Chriss Prokic, Laura Shelnutt
Copyright 2019
COPYRIGHT
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the author, except in the instance of quotes for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet without the permission of the author, which is a violation of the International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real except where noted and authorized. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.
Words you will see and meanings.
возлюбленная – Sweetheart
Máthair – Mother
Понимаю –Understand
Athair, отец - Father
двоюродная сестра- Cousin
дядя – Uncle
воробей – Sparrow
An diabhal – The Devil
Вы понимаете- You understand.
Chapter 1
Alexei
“What is it you want from me?” I ask annoyed with the whole conversation. It is far too often that a whore comes to me asking for a job. Not that I don’t love female employees but it becomes a bit of a nuisance when they just keep knocking on my door. I’m not a good man nor am I a man that gives out opportunities to those I don’t know and trust.
“I just need some work, Mr. Pavlov. I will do anything,” she begs as she stares up at me with big brown eyes. My clubs are fully staffed with people I personally vet. If I find one ounce of bullshit in their past, they are out. But there is something about this girl that I like. She hasn’t backed down from me since she walked in here and that alone intrigues me. The Underground Gentleman’s Club isn’t just any club though. Unlike most strip clubs, our girls do get completely naked. You pay a higher rate, but you get what you pay for. This girl begging me with her big brown eyes doesn’t appear to be a stripper. She looks far too thin for this line of work.
“You will let men touch you? You will let me men use your body as they see fit? Are you willing to do that?” I’m blunt and to the point with her and when she nods her head far too eagerly, I challenge her. Raising an eyebrow, I nod my head and scratch at the scruff on my jaw. “Take off all your clothes,” I tell her. She narrows her brows, glances at the other men around us before dragging her gaze back to mine.
“In front of all these men?” she asks. I chuckle and shove out of my chair, grabbing her around the throat with one hand and downing my glass of cognac with the other.
“That is what you do here. You strip. I want to see your body and if it’s worth my time, возлюбленная.” Her eyes widen as she stares into mine. I hope she didn’t think that I was just going to give her a position in my prized club just because she asked for one. The girl swallows hard, her throat bobbing against my grip. She nods her head slowly as I release her and sit back in my chair. I motion to one of my guys to pour me another drink as she moves slowly. Her body is stiff and she doesn’t move well.
“Move like you’re trying to entice me. Look into my eyes and make a connection. I’m the only man looking at you and you want nothing more than to please me. All your thoughts are how you can get me inside of you. How hot I make you,” I speak low and slow as her eyes focus on mine. She slowly starts to get into a rhythm as she watches me, watching her. Her hands move to the thin fabric of her shirt, slowly pulling it over her head. I tilt my head and take in her body as she does. She’s too thin. The men that frequent this club will not like seeing her look that way. They like their women the way I do, with some curves. I watch as she moves to toss her shirt to the side before reaching for her shorts. Her fingers hook into the waistband dragging them slowly down her legs. I snap my fingers and cut her off.
“You are far too thin. You will need to gain at least fifteen pounds before I put you on the stage. I want you to work out a few times a week, nothing bulky. I will have one of the girls help you with routines and clothing.”
“You’re giving me a job?” She asks with hopeful eyes.
“I’m giving you a chance to show me what you can do. One month. If I don’t see any progress, you’re fired, Понимаю?” All of my girls are Russian. I pride myself on taking care of my people and there is just a certain beauty in the Russian women I employ.
“Thank you. I won’t disappoint you, Mr. Pavlov,” she grins before I motion for one of the guys to take her to the back.
“She just showed up and you hired her?” Dmitry asks. I nod and glance over at him.
“Why is that a problem?”
“You don’t usually take in girls off the streets. She’s different, no?” Nodding my head, she might be. I don’t yet know for sure, and none of the men, not even Dmitry will question that.
“What do we know about the deal with Ivanov?”
“We don’t know much at the moment. He has his men out handling any concerns on his end, but I can tell you that I don’t like where this is going,” Dmitry says. Dmitry is my best friend. The closest person to me but he’s also a trained assassin. He kills for the Bratva, for me. We are more alike than anyone could know, and I’d like to think that we think along the same lines as well.
“Why is that?” I ask tipping my glass to my lips.
“The Irish are always making threats. Dead one’s but they are threats. Ivanov is ignoring them all and making plays at the Mexican mafia. We have no dealings with them and never have. Why is this of importance to him?” I let his question linger for a few moments before leaning forward and resting my arms on the table.
“Perhaps he has more intel than we thought.” Dmitry laughs and shakes his head.
“He has nothing more than we do. I make damn sure that we have any knowledge long before he does,” he says confidently. My phone rings in my pocket and I raise my hand to silence him as I pull it out.
“Hello?”
“Cousin. How are you?” I look at Dmitry and need to resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“Lev, what can I do for you?” I say while Dmitry chuckles under his breath when he hears the name leave my lips.
“There has been a kidnapping. Your cousin, my sister, Alina, has been missing for a few months now,” he says softly. I shift in my seat, sitting up straighter.
“What do you mean a few months? How the hell are you just now reaching out?” I snap into the line. A few months in our world usually means death. How could he do that?
“Father asked that we remain silent on this matter until we had more information. I can’t do that any longer, Alexei. He’s making enemies and I fear one may have her.” I can hear the tension in his voice. Lev has always been a good man and very honorable, but he doesn’t always have the best common sense.
“I want details, Lev. What do you know?” He sighs before going into a long drawn out explanation that pisses me off more and more. As the word
s keep leaving his mouth, I want to snap my uncle’s neck. How could he be so careless? How could he have let her out on her own when he knows what kind of life we live?
“Do you have any intel on where she may be held?” I nearly growl into the line. Dmitry’s interests have been piqued by this conversation. His eyes are wide, and he watches me, waiting for any bit of information that I give him.
“We are sure she is being held in Queens. It appears Zakhar has a place there where he is holding women. I don’t know anything further.”
“Zakhar sells women, Lev!” I roar into the phone. If he’s had her this long, it’s highly unlikely she is still there.
“What am I going to do?” he grumbles into the line.
“You are to do nothing. I will take care of this,” I tell him before the line goes dead.
“We’re taking a trip?” Dmitry asks with a grin.
“Not far from here, I’m afraid.”
Chapter 2
Clara
The pain doesn’t even hurt anymore. It isn’t even a dull ache. I’ve been used, raped, beaten and more. To the point that I no longer feel a thing. I find myself wondering if that’s what they were going for. Did they want me this numb? Broken? I am broken. I wish for death. I know it isn’t what one should wish for, but I do. I remember my Máthair telling me to pray for goodness and light. To always ask for forgiveness in all that you do. How can I ask for that when what I’ve been forced to do is so despicable? The things that have been done to me are beyond forgiveness. Forced into sexual acts with multiple men, then tossed into a cage to rot away has been happening to me since I was brought here. Wherever here is.
The harsh clanging of a club being dragged against the bars of our cells hurts my ears. I cringe and slink back into the corner knowing all too well what that means. Two cells are opened at once, mine and the girl next to me. Two men step into our cells coming straight toward us. I cringe but don’t say a word. I know what this is and its pure torture. The other girl however, screams so loudly it pierces my ears. The men reach down and roughly grab me, yanking me to my feet.
“You follow directions, you don’t die!” one hisses much the same as he does every time. They drag me down the dingy hallway and toss me into the shower room. Lying naked on the floor, the other girl is tossed in next to me. In seconds, ice cold water begins to rain over us. There isn’t anywhere for us to go as it flows from the ceiling. She inches closer to me trying to keep warm as the freezing cold seeps into our pores. I shiver and try to roll into a ball but when the man comes back with an electric prod, I move. I stand up and let the water rain over me as he chuckles.
“You think because you stand you won’t be punished?” He asks before the electricity hits my skin. My whole body jolts as my eyes slowly roll around in my head. It hurts beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It feels like my heart beats a million miles a minute and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I lose track of time as I remain under the cold spray, being electrocuted nearly to death, before I drop to the floor no longer able to hold myself up. The men move back in and grab me by the hair, forcing me to my feet. On unsteady legs, they lead me back to my cell where and they toss me back in. My shoulder aches from landing on. They set the small sandwich and half a bottle of water on the floor before slamming the door closed and locking it. Haze fills my vision as I try to force myself to crawl toward the food. This is my every day now. In between this, we are raped by random men. They pay well from what I hear from the men who come into my cell. It makes me sick to know they pay to use me.
“You, my girl, you will have a special visitor tomorrow. You will act like a good little girl, now won’t you?” the man I’ve come to know as Timur asks, his Russian accent thick. He looks down at me with so much disgust in his eyes that it kills a part of me. “Do you hear me? You used to scream so perfectly for me and now nothing. Maybe I’m not using enough force on you.” I shiver at his words, wrapping my arms around myself. He’s right. I don’t speak to them or scream any longer. Partially, because of what they’ve done to me, but more so because I don’t want them to have that satisfaction. Timur walks away and heads toward the door that leads somewhere else in the house that I’ve never seen. It’s only then do I glance over at the girl in the cell next to me. She cries, with sobs shaking her body. I scoot closer to the edge and reach through, offering her my hand. It never surprises me when she takes it. We link our hands together hanging onto the last thread of life that either of us has. She was brought down here sometime after I was. We’ve become a bonded pair, both of us staying longer than the others. Some have been sold, others died from the sickness they’ve contracted. I await my death with open arms. Some days we are drugged, and I pray that they will overdose me. Other days we are forced to endure all the pain and torture with nothing in us. Today we lie in silence, the freezing cold cement beneath us doing nothing more than causing us to shiver and shake from the fevers we both have.
“How are you always so calm?” my neighbor asks. I shrug and look into her eyes. “Why don’t you speak to me?” I wish I could. I give her a solemn look and she seems to understand.
“Can you speak?” I nod my head but look away quickly. It hurts to not talk to her but at the same time, how can I? What would I say to her? Tell her everything will be alright? It won’t and we both know it. I squeeze her hand giving her the best reassurance I can for now. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep. At some point, the door is flung open and I snap my eyes open. The girl next to me shivers and shakes, her eyes tightly closed. I shift and huddle in the corner as men approach the cells. Timur is one of them but the others I don’t recognize. Their eyes move over the cages until they stop on hers. My breathing picks up, thoughts of losing her running wild inside of me. I don’t want to lose her. She’s all that I’ve had since I’ve been here.
“That one,” one man says pointing at her. My heart stutters in my chest as I watch the cell open.
“She is a good choice,” Timur chuckles motioning for one of his men to move in. It’s then that the man buying her moves his gaze to mine. Does he recognize me? Could he? I’m here for a reason although no one else knows that. This man, the one eyeing me is not that reason either. My athair told me about his acquaintance that I’m to wait for. The man that will ultimately buy me but that isn’t him. His eyes roam over me but the fever has my head lolling to the side.
“I want that one as well,” the man says pointing at me. Timur laughs a hearty laugh before he speaks.
“She isn’t for sale, my friend.” The man spins around grabbing Timur around the neck before slamming his body against the far wall.
“I said I want that one as well. Zakhar has informed me that I may purchase as many women as I’d like, and I want that one,” he growls. Timur looks unsure of himself before he nods.
“That one isn’t well. She’s had a fever and--“
“Unlock her cell!” he roars. My body jolts but I sink back against the wall lacking the energy needed to move. Timur moves to open the cell and just as I see the girl next to me being carried out, the tall man walks in and kneels in front of me. His hand comes to my cheek, but I flinch away. He studies me intently for a long moment before reaching for me and lifting me. I’m weak. I have been for almost a week now. I always feel feverish and tired, so when he lifts me in his strong arms, I don’t fight him. I couldn’t if I tried. Instead, I lay my head against his chest and let my eyes slowly fall closed. Maybe this man will be the one to end me. Maybe he will finally take what I’ve been waiting for because if I wait any longer for what my athair had told me, I will be dead. I will never meet the man that I’m supposed to go with.
Chapter 3
Alexei
I run my hand through my hair, pouring another glass of cognac. I’m tired, exhausted but I need to let Lev know that I have Alina. I pull my phone out and dial his number as I yawn and sit back in my chair.
“Yes?”
“I have her. The doctor is taking care of her,
but I expect you will want to come soon. She’s in bad shape, двоюродная сестра.” I hear him sigh into the line before downing my drink.
“She is ruined, yes?”
“Possibly beyond repair. I’m sorry, Lev. She was used, abused, and raped. She has cuts, bruises, and broken bones that will heal but inside? I don’t know. She’s sedated right now but I’m sure she will want to see a familiar face when she wakes,” I tell him leaning forward to grab the bottle to pour another drink.
“How do we handle this problem, Alexei? How do we make this stop? We may be bad men but to rape and hurt women? We’ve never lived by that code,” he argues.
“We might not hurt them in the same way, but we do hurt them, Lev. Honestly, I don’t know where to begin, but I do agree. Zakhar needs to be stopped. This isn’t a discussion for over the phone. We will talk more when you arrive, yes?”
“Of course. I will leave first thing in the morning. Thank you for getting her and keeping her safe, Alexei. I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s all I have left aside from my father.”
“I know. She is here and safe for now. I will talk to you soon.” I hang up and down another glass trying to ease some of the tension in my shoulders when my office door opens.
“You brought an extra, Alexei. Why?” Vera asks setting my plate of food on my desk in front of me.
“She looked familiar to me at the time. I can’t place why.”
“So, you acted on impulse yet again? We’ve discussed this, Alexei. You must think before you react,” she reminds me. I smirk at her and grab the fork from the plate and stab it into the meat.
“I know, I know.” Vera has taken care of me since I was a child. She is more of a mother to me than my real one was. My real mother abandoned me only to return years later. Even that didn’t last long. The abuse that I was forced to endure will never fade from my mind, but Vera has done all that she can to help me learn to control the evil in me to a point.
