AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The catlike man pouts visibly, his shoulders slumping as he makes his way back to what I can only assume is meant to store luggage. He closes the door with unnecessary force and then makes his way to the head of the plane to grab the bottle of vodka.
The men pass it around, forgoing glasses as they pull directly from the bottle. Only their leader passes up the offered alcohol.
“What about you, ladies?” the catlike man offers in heavily accented English, dangling the half-empty bottle of vodka in front of Ellie’s face. He leans across the top of her chair, bringing his face too close for comfort as he eyes her appreciatively. “Care for a drink?”
“Leave her alone,” I hiss, coming to life with new anxiety. I don’t want him near Ellie, let alone pouring alcohol down her throat.
Icy blue eyes shift to look at me, and a vicious grin spreads across the catlike Russian’s lips. “What? Afraid she’ll drink it all and leave you out of the fun?” He rises to his full height once more and approaches me slowly.
I swallow convulsively as he takes a second, pointed pull from the bottle of vodka, his piercing eyes never leaving me.
“You know, I don’t recall our employer ever mentioning what state the Popov girl had to be delivered in beyond alive and in one piece,” he says cockily, like a cat playing with its food now that it can’t escape.
Bending at the hips, he brings his face mere inches from mine, the fumes of his alcoholic breath burning my nose as he speaks. “What do you say, boys? Shall we break the girls in on our way to see the boss? I bet this fiery little twat gives one hell of a ride.”
Coarse laughter issues beside me, coming from the direction of the man whose shins I destroyed. I’m guaranteed no sympathy from him.
“Just don’t put your cock in her mouth,” he warns darkly, his own English broken and barely intelligible. “She might bite it off.”
I shudder at the responding laughter that fills the plane.
Hard fingers grip my jaw, pushing my head forcefully back against the seat as his eyes rake down my body. Heart hammering painfully against my ribcage, I jerk my chin back, trying to break free of his grip, and his eyes shift back to my face.
A rough hand grabs my hair, tugging harshly at the roots as he forces my head back and closer to his face. I suck in air through my teeth, determined not to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out in pain. Then his thumb trails lightly over my lips and along the curve of my jaw.
My stomach roils from the unwanted contact, and I can hardly breathe as his fingers make their way around to the back of my head. The whisper of silk ribbon unknotting gives me a moment’s warning before he lifts my mask from my face.
“Mmm, you are a beauty,” he murmurs, his thick accent making the compliment sound much more ominous. “What do you say, my pet? Shall I bend you over this chair and fuck you for everyone to see? I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Have you ever had Russian cock before?”
Horror chokes me as dread turns my limbs to lead. Nothing I do can stop this man from taking what he wants. I’m bound too tightly to fight back. And it seems no one here will help me.
Tossing my mask aside, the catlike Russian’s free hand finds my knee. His eyes dance as he feels how firmly I have them pressed together, my only defense against his advance. Angry tears sting my eyes as his fingers trail slowly up the inside of my thigh, the light touch somehow far more excruciating than the burly man’s backhanded slap.
“Are you wet for me, little whore?” he breathes, the smell of vodka washing over me.
“That’s enough, Maksim!” the leader barks in sharp English, seeming to have finally exhausted the last of his patience. “You’re to keep your hands to yourselves. One of these girls is important, and she won’t be worth as much ransom if you ruin her before the trade. You can have the other as soon as our boss gives us permission.”
Momentary relief washes through me, leaving me lightheaded as the catlike Maksim pauses his advance, irritation flickering in his eyes at the voice of authority truncating his fun before it’s really begun. But even as he rises, putting some space between me as his hand leaves my leg, a fresh horror grips me.
Because even if it doesn’t happen now, the odds that Ellie or I–if not both of us–getting raped seem entirely too likely. We’re on our way to god only knows where.And who knows how long it might take Cassio and Lucca to realize what’s happened?Let alone whether they’ll be able to find us.
How could they possibly, when I don’t even know where we are or who took us?It’s a shot in the dark to guess this elusiveshehas anything to do with Ilya. And I was only able to reach that conclusion based on the fact that these men speak Russian.
22
CASSIO
I was sure I would get caught when one of the kidnappers opened the luggage closettwice–first to take two bottles of wine from the stack of crates and then again to put them right back. I think the saving grace that stopped him from seeing me was how dark the back of the luggage compartment is and that he wasn’t looking for anyone.
Whatever the reason, after his unexpected entrance, I was left alone in the dark once more. The voices continued, growing less gruff as we put miles between Chicago and us. It was impossible to understand what was being said, considering most of it was in what sounded like Russian.
I stayed hidden and listened as best I could, ready to intervene if necessary, to lay my life down to protect the girls if they needed me. But the girls seemed relatively quiet after that one man struck Bianka. I hoped it was because they were being left alone–not that they’d been gagged or worse.
Then one of the men started speaking in heavily accented English. Funnily enough, I grew more confident they’re Russian after hearing him speak English. It sounded very much like Ilya’s accent.
My heart rate spiked as he offered the girls a drink, and Bianka raised her voice, commanding him to stop. I tensed immediately, standing in front of the luggage room door, ready to pounce if things escalated. Revulsion roiled inside me as the man’s taunts turned sexual, and a boiling rage choked me at the mocking laughter that followed.
I didn’t care that I was weaponless and outnumbered. I would kill them all. Silently, I hefted the wine crate lid, ready to use it as both shield and bat. And I faced the door.
