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So much for enjoying my time here—how naïve I was.
I reach under my pillow and take my pen. Rushing over to the closet, I grab a jacket off the hanger and walk to the door. This isn’t something I want to do, but I’d rather die trying to get out of here than suffer at the hands of Mikhail.
I take a deep breath and walk out of my room with a light foot. There isn’t a single person in sight, which isn’t unusual. Everyone here sneaks up on me all the time. I can only hope it doesn’t happen in the next five minutes.
Food. I need to get some kind of food before I leave.
I make my way to the kitchen and grab a loaf of bread and a bunch of bananas. Grabbing a bag, I put everything I have into it. Then, looking around me to make sure no one is nearby, I step down the narrow stairs to the garage. In the corner farthest from the stairs, there’s a door.
Four cars are parked in a row, and I sneak past each.
Just as I’m about to reach for the doorknob, the garage door opens, and I throw myself down by the nearest car. I crouch to the floor and hide behind the tire of a G-Class. The hair on the back of my neck rises when I hold my hands over my mouth.
My hands shake against my lips, and I slam my eyes shut as if that will help my situation.
Car doors open and slam shut. Dimitri’s voice floods the room, and I hear Mikhail laugh at his words. They joke with one another before walking into the house.
The lights shut off, but I don’t dare move. I can still feel the fear in my throat, leaving me incapable of walking out the door.
But I have to.
Throwing the bag of food over my shoulder, I take in a deep breath and ignore what my thoughts are telling me. This is right. This is what I need to do.
Anxiety washes over me when I open the door, but I’m yanked back by a hand on the back of my neck.
“Stop!” I screech at the top of my lungs.
I get pushed down to the ground and see Mikhail close the door and lock it. His eyes darken every second he stares at me.
One of his hands moves to my hair and the other lifts me up by my leg. His grip on my hair gives the painful sensation of needles being stabbed into my scalp. I pound on his back and kick my legs, but it’s useless.
He carries me to the living room and throws me onto the ground. My bag spills open, revealing everything I took to survive on. I lift myself off the ground, but he steps on my toes, keeping me from standing up completely.
“How far did you think you’d be able to get?” He makes atsksound with his tongue and shakes his head.
I keep my mouth shut, pressing my lips together firmly.
“If the bread and bananas kept you alive long enough, the lack of water would have gotten to you soon enough.”
I clench my teeth in frustration. “So what, do I get a back lashing?”
Something inside him flips. Anger washes over his face like I’ve never seen before. He lifts me off the ground by my shirt and continues to drag me further into the living room, where he takes a chair and pulls it into the center of the room so it’s facing the kitchen.
“Mikhail,” I start.
He throws me onto the chair, and I struggle to catch my breath. He walks past me with purpose and takes the rope that holds the curtains together. Standing in front of me, he stares at me as if looks could kill—and it feels like his is about to. My heart races and my lungs feel tight. I’ve never been so terrified in my life. Mikhail ties my arms to the chair and does the same with my legs. I try to move my hands even a little, but it’s useless.
“Where’d you find it?” he demands while placing his hands on the arm of the chair.
He hovers above me with darkness clouding his judgment. I shake my head, frightened to say anything.
“Where the fuck did you find it?” he screams at me.
I shudder at his harsh voice. I wish I could hide from his anger, but I can’t. I’m the one who caused it. I shake my head again.
“Okay, you can humiliate me all you want,Koldunya.” He nods slowly. “Now it’s your turn.”
I can humiliate him?That doesn’t make any sense. How does mentioning his torture tactics embarrass him?
