Page 7 of Tainted Essence
I reel back. “No the fuck I didn’t,” I defend.
“You screamed at them to leave me alone when they grabbed us, just before you spoke in my defense instead of remaining silent. They are going to use me to get you to talk.”
“I have nothing to say,” I grit out through clenched teeth.
“You don’t but I do. You will break and offer up the truth willingly about who we both are because you won’t be able to stomach the sight of them beating me or… raping me.” Realization dawns on me as I process her words. I feel my face slacken as dread washes over me. “Don’t feel bad, even the best of us break but unlike you, I was trained from birth how to endure this type of shit by my mother. She went through a similar situation, so she wanted me to be ready in case I should ever find myself in a position like this.”
I shake my head trying to deny what she is saying. “It won’t come to that,” I argue.
“It will. You know it will. You need to close your eyes and not watch because I will never give them the information they need.”
“Why not?” I can hear the anger in my tone.
“The moment they have what they need we will both be dead, it is the only leverage I have until my family finds us. If I give them what they want, they will kill me to get back at my mother for abandoning Russia for my dad and leaving it to be run by a gay man.” Shock spurs to life inside me. I had no idea Andreas was gay, not that it matters, but I know Russian men wouldn’t exactly relish the idea of being led by a man who shares a bed with another man.
As I stare at her I begin to feel guilty. I made a stupid bet with Kimber to fuck her and then leave for 100k and yet, here she is willing to be tortured just so we can both make it out of here alive.
I’m a real piece of shit!
Both of us dart our gazes to the door when the lock clicks. I fight to keep my breathing even as the door is opened and four men wearing masks enter. I brace myself for the beating that is to come but they step aside to allow the fucker with the burned neck through. When he looks at me and smiles I begin to panic—that isn’t the look of someone that is coming for you, that is the look of someone that is going to do exactly what Destiny just said. They are going to destroy her in order to get me to talk.
“The boss is on his way and says we can play with you both until he gets here.” I fight not to look at Destiny and keep my gaze on this fat fuck in front of me. He licks his lips and grabs his cock in his hand, sneering at Destiny like she’s a snack. “You a virgin?” His accent is so thick. The guys behind him begin to chuckle and speak amongst themselves in Russian. It fucking annoys the shit out of me that I can’t understand them.
“I was a virgin until I rode your daddy and became your stepmom.” My eyes nearly pop out of my head as I choke on my spit at her reply. His face turns beet red as the guys behind him laugh loudly. Destiny smiles up at him, daring him to do his worst. I see him shift his weight onto his back leg, I open my mouth to scream at him not to do it but it’s too late, he punches her so hard in the face that her head snaps back.
“You motherfucker!” I roar. “Uncuff me and see what I do to your fat ass, you useless Russian cunt!” His nostrils flare in anger but his attention is drawn back to Destiny when she groans in pain, her chin is on her chest and I see blood staining her shirt. Panic flares to life inside me, I promised her they wouldn’t touch her and told her I wouldn’t allow them to rape her but I think she’s right—I don’t know if I can keep that promise.
She lifts her head, I see the strain it takes for her to do that simple movement. Her nose and mouth are bleeding, making her look manic as she smiles up at him.
“Your daddy fucked me harder than that hit.” This time, she sees him shift his weight. When he strikes out she ducks and he hits air. He tries to punch her again but she dodges left, he roars out his anger before closing the space between them, grips the back of her head and yanks her back by her hair forcing her to look at him.
“The budes krichat, suka,” (You’re going to scream, bitch.) he snarls in her face before delivering blow after blow. I fight to get free and scream at the cunt to stop but it falls on deaf ears. I manage to snap the bolts anchoring the chair to the ground and topple sideways. Before the four fuckers can get to me, I kick out and sweep the fat fuck off his feet. When he hits the ground I slam the heel of my boot into his face repeatedly until the other four right my chair and hold me in place. They don’t check on their buddy, who is bleeding thanks to his broken nose. Two of them stand in front of me, taking turns hitting me in the face, chest and stomach while their friends hold me still.
It takes one solid right hook to have me seeing spots in the corner of my eyes and another uppercut for me to pass out. I tried to fight it, not wanting to leave Destiny for a second but I’m powerless to stop myself from blacking out.
It’s the drumbeat in my head that finally wakes me. I scrunch my face and immediately regret it. I feel the dried blood caked to my face and wince when I try to open my eyes. My face feels like it’s swollen, my ribs are burning with every breath I take, my shoulders are screaming in pain. I push all of the pain out of my mind as I slowly lift my head and turn to check on Destiny. The blood in my veins turns to ice when I see her chair empty, the pain forgotten as I dart my gaze around the room. When I spot her in the far corner with her legs to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs something inside me dies.
Her jeans are gone.
Her face is bloodied.
Bruises mar her forearms.
No! Fuck, they… they fucking…
I can’t even think about what she went through. She’s shaking, her eyes are open and staring directly at me but they’re hollow, she’s looking right through me.
“Slayer?” I rasp out, trying to bring her out of her spiral but my voice is weak. I clear my throat and fight not to wince from the pain. “Look at me,” I demand.
“They uncuffed you,” she says. I frown as I look down and move my arms and legs. I’m shocked. I use every ounce of strength I have to push to my feet, making a groan slip free. I press my hand against my ribs and grit my teeth as I stumble toward her. I press my back against the concrete wall and take a deep breath, knowing this is going to hurt like a bitch. I slide down the wall, biting the inside of my cheek. I taste copper. The air whooshes out of me when my ass hits the ground. I shift and grind my teeth through the pain as I yank my shirt over my head and pull it over her hers. She jerks away from me and I immediately release it and raise my hands as if surrendering.
“It’s just a shirt, Slayer.” She stares at me for a long moment before swallowing audibly and shrugging it the rest of the way on. She draws the hem over her knees, then rests back against the wall, neither of us saying a word. Honestly, what the fuck can I say, the two things I promised her wouldn’t happen did fucking happen. Time seems to stand still as we both sit here getting lost in our thoughts. I don’t know how much time has passed since we arrived here but I fucking hope the others are close to barging in here and saving our asses.
I run my gaze over her and watch in amazement as she calms herself and gathers every ounce of courage she possesses. Her gaze darts around the room and finally settles on the cuffs laying on the concrete floor. I drink in the sight of her in my shirt and love the way it looks on her. Without a word she leaps to her feet and grabs the abandoned cuffs off the floor then returns to her place beside me. I watch as she wraps one set of cuffs around her knuckles then uses the other set to do the same before looking at me.
The raw determination in her gaze is astounding, this girl is a fucking oddity. “You’re injured.” It’s not a question, just a fact. “When they come back in, I’m fighting my way out of here. You can either stay or come with me but those are your only two options.” I press my fingers into my ribs and wince, they’re tender but not broken. I roll my shoulders then crack my neck side to side.
“Nice try, Slayer, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.” She brushes off my retort.