Page 17 of The Harbinger
Sacha stood, and I followed.
“Everyone here works for me,” he said, turning towards me as the attendant pushed open the door and the stairs descended. “So if you run or scream for help, you won’t get far, and no one will help you.” He tipped my chin up. “Am I clear?”
I nodded with a gulp, my heart slamming into my chest.
“Say, ‘yes, Sacha.’”
“Yes, Sacha,” I repeated, my ears heating.
“Good.”
He released me and looked at his men, swiping his hand across his pants suit.“Ona dumala, chto mozhet bezhat’.”
They broke out into laughter. Vlad shook his head with chagrin.
Pinpricks of heat traveled up my chest and cheeks as I buried my gaze in the floor, my ears ringing.
There was nothing like being laughed at. It was like a fist to the gut, a betrayal, coupled with red-hot embarrassment.
Their laughter raised to a dizzying pitch until I buckled over and covered my ears. A sharp buzzing skated across my forehead, with the ringing drowning out the chaos.
My butt hit the seat behind me, and I rocked as the stench of mildew and damp cement flooded my senses.
“This isn’t working as I’d hoped. I think we need to move forward,” he says to someone in the corner.
He’s strapped me with more restraints this time. The last ones snapped. My pulse pounds in my sore temples, the block in my mouth abates my screams.
The shadowed man walks towards me and stands with two objects in his hands. They glint from the overhead lights. “This will hurt.”
He leans over and presses the flat metal objects to my temples, his thin lips and green eyes a thing from my nightmares.
A cool breeze whipped across my face as I sucked in air, my lungs burning.
My body swayed side-to-side with a predictable cadence as Ivan’s brawny arms carried me to one of the four blacked-out SUVs.
Ivan?
My stomach lurched, and my muscles tensed as I pulled my rested cheek away from his shoulder.
Escape.
A sharp pang hit my chest as my heart beat against my ribcage like a mallet striking a gong. I squirmed, my stomach swirling as a cry broke free from my lips.Where was he taking me?
I rolled, rotating my upper torso away from him. My world teetered, and the earth rose to greet me as I squealed. I hit the ground with a thud, my torn hands reopening, and a large object crashed on top of me.
“Glupaya suka.”
Ivan pushed up off of me, fire burning in his gaze, his face Santa Claus red. He brushed his knee free from the debris, revealing a small tear in his suit, and with clenched teeth, he tore his sight away from the hole.
My stomach turned inside out, revolting against the pressure that bore down on it as if a two-ton hammer was dropped on me when he lifted his open palm high above me. The beating in my chest stopped, and I crossed my arms over my face, pulling my knees to my chest.
“Ostanovite,”Sacha barked, sending chills down my spine as his expensive leather shoe scuffed beside me.
“Posmotri, chto ona nadelala!”
I peeked through my crossed arms to find Sacha towering over Ivan, his steely tattooed hand wrapped around Ivan’s wrist. “No one is to touch her but me. Is that clear?” His gaze dipped down, then back to the man before him.
Ivan nodded. “Da,Alexander Ruslanovich.”The muscle in his jaw pulsed, sending his message loud and clear. He was a dangerous loose wire, and I needed to stay away from him if there was any chance of surviving whatever Sacha had in store for me.