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They. I knew who he was referring to. It wasn’t the first time the men in the building had requested to meet with me. Gabi said they wanted to thank me. I kept putting them off, usually with Britney or Gabi’s help, because it made me nervous. Apparently, they weren’t going to let that happen anymore.
When I whimpered, Viktor moved to kneel in front of me, taking my hands in his. “If you do not want to, I will send them away. There is no–”
BANG.
The sound of the apartment door flying open cut him off and I let out a startled yelp, nearly landing on the floor in my attempt to hide myself. Only Viktor catching me stopped me from hitting the ground. He set me gently back onto the bed before pushing to his feet, a deep scowl on his face. He stormed out of the room, his growl loud enough that I could hear it through the walls.
“What are you doing? I told you I would ask her. Get the hell out.”
“Nope. I don’t trust you not to lie and say you asked. All the women love poker. She should join us.”
“Yuri, I will kill you. Get–”
“Oye! Rosie! You want to play poker, yes?” the intruder shouted.
I winced, edging off the bed and away from the door, until my back was pressed against the wall and I could go no further. My heartbeat thrashed in my ears and my breathing turned erratic. Whoever that was, they were not calm and patient like Viktor. How long could I hide here before they came after me?
The answer was not very long. I heard them arguing, and even a scuffle, before the door to the bedroom flew open and a man with long blonde hair ducked inside, locking the door behind him. I shrank into a ball in the corner, terrified, my eyes glued to him as he took in the room. His gaze landed on me right as the door knob rattled and Viktor’s ominous growl came muffled through the door.
“If you do not open this door–”
“You’re scaring her,” the blonde interrupted in a sing-song voice. He grinned at me, gesturing towards the door with his thumb. “Ignore him. He is not very smart. All muscles, no brains.”
My eyes darted between him and the door, my brain throwing out options to get away from him. The room was normally my safe space, but I’d rather leave the entire building than be trapped in here with this man. He seemed oblivious to my discomfort until he came closer and I flinched, whimpering.
“Hey… What’s wrong?”
Tears welled in my eyes and I wrapped my arms around my knees, burying my face to hide. I had no idea what he wanted from me, but it couldn’t be good since he locked himself in here. What if they wanted to take turns with me and only Viktor had been putting them off? Maybe they were tired of waiting.
Endless horrific possibilities flashed through my mind in quick succession. I felt close to throwing up from the panic, so when his hand touched my shoulder, I cried out automatically.
With a loud crack, the door splintered and flew open. I jerked my head up, holding my breath. I felt sure that all the kind treatment had just been to put me at ease, so that they could do what they wanted with me. The image of them flooding the room and grabbing me left me paralyzed, but they didn’t come for me. Instead, they went straight for the man standing over me. He yelped and jumped over the bed to get away, but Viktor followed him, his eyes wide and furious. He trapped the blonde in a corner and grabbed him by the throat, shoving him hard against the wall.
“You are a dead man,” he snarled in Russian.
The blonde was wriggling to get away, trying to pull Viktor’s hand away from his throat. It was beyond terrifying. The man I felt safest with was going to kill someone right in front of me, and I couldn’t force myself to watch. I launched to my feet, shoving past the small group standing inside the doorway. It hurt to run, but the terror was mind numbing, and I kept going without stopping. There were a few more in the living room, so I went straight for the open apartment door and into the hallway. I had no idea where I was, or how to get out, so I just picked a direction and ran.
An exit sign caught my attention, but before I could reach the door, a wall of muscle came out of nowhere. I slammed into it so hard that I bounced backwards and hit the ground. Pain exploded through my ribs and made me breathless, and I curled in on myself in an attempt to ease it.
“Rosie! What happened?”
Gabi’s voice should have been a relief. But after everything that had happened, I just wanted to escape. I tried pushing myself up so that I could run again, but the pain was overwhelming and I collapsed.
“Rosie!”
My eyes slipped shut, and I gave in to the pain, letting it pull me unconscious. Before I fully went under, though, I promised myself that once I woke up, I needed to work harder to find my way out. I couldn’t stay here any longer. No matter how much I wanted to soak in the safe feeling Viktor seemed to give off, it was just another lie my brain was supplying. I wasn’t safe here. I wasn’t safe anywhere.
ChapterTwelve
“What the hell were you thinking?”
“I only wanted to offer her a fun time… Who wants to be cooped up all day with only Viktor to talk to?”
“She’s afraid of men, you dolt! And she has plenty of company with us! You were just being an idiot, like usual! I swear, Yuri, the minute you get bored, you look for trouble!”
I recognized Britney’s voice, but I didn’t open my eyes. I would pretend to sleep until they left, then escape. I found the exit sign before. I could find it again.
“Well, how was I supposed to know that? He tells us nothing, only that she is fine. What cowardly person sends a message to prevent a massacre?”
