He scares me more than the one running the show.
Nikolai pierces me with a stare, then gives a sharp nod. “Try anything, and you die,” he tells me as he steps back. “Along with your brother and sister. After I give them both to my men to do with as they please.”
I swallow down the bile that rises in my throat, and I draw out the dose that I need before administering the shot in the top of his left ass cheek when I pull the denim down just a bit. The man doesn’t twitch, doesn’t make a sound, but guilt fills me at knowing I might have hurt him even a little bit.
I don’t know anything about this man, and maybe he deserves to be here, but I don’t want to be the one to add to his pain. I put away the bottle and syringe and then force myself to look at the devil now back in the shadows. “I need to clean up a couple of these. Or is that going to be a problem too?”
“Do it quickly,” the man says, and I swear I hear a hint of annoyance in his tone. “Only the bare minimum.”
I nod, and then I grab the supplies that I need and turn back to the man. I’m to the side of him, and when I lean forward to inspect one of the whip marks that has lashed along his back to the side of his ribs, it’s then I see that he’s opened his eye just enough to watch me. His eyes are a dark brown, full of pain andmistrust, but he doesn’t even so much as twitch. I keep my face blank, but I hope he can see how sorry I am.
I clean up as many of the deep lashes as I can, biting my lip when he twitches at what I’m sure is intense pain. Other than that, he doesn’t lift his head, and he doesn’t utter a sound. Hell, I’ve seen men as big as him cry like babies dealing with less, so my amazement rises. What kind of strength does a man have to have to endure this so stoically?
I finally move to his front and get to work on cleaning up one of the deeper cuts on his cheek. His face is bruised, and while his eyes are swollen, I can still see him watching me. Not enough that it would alert the devil in the corner, but enough that it’s like a punch in the gut.
He’s really good-looking beneath all of the bruising and swelling. I wonder again how the hell he got wrapped up in all of this as I quickly step back and turn away to put my things back in the bag. I barely finish before the devil is back beside me and ushering me out.
My heart hurts knowing that I’m walking away, leaving him still mostly untreated, but I can’t allow myself to get attached. I may have only delayed the inevitable, and not knowing if he’s innocent or not, there’s no point in wishing for pointless things.
The devil shuts the door behind me with a loud bang, and I hear locks engaging behind me, even as one of the soldiers waiting outside turns to lead me back out. I want to hope that I can leave and go back home, but I doubt that’s going to happen yet.
When I get back into the medical room, I put the supplies away, then turn, freezing when I see the man walking inside. This is Vladamir, the man running this entire show. I hate him with everything in me, but I have to be smart about this. He’s the one who told me I was going to be working for him to pay offmy mother’s debt, but he hasn’t yet told me just how long that’s going to be.
I’m not stupid enough to think that this will end with me living a long life, or ever being able to leave, but one can hope. I just need to keep them away from Isla and Sawyer, my fifteen- and sixteen- year-old siblings. They’re both so close to graduating high school and then they can go off to college and be away from all of this. Away from our mother and away from the man currently watching me like he’s trying to figure out if I’m a bug he wants to squash or not.
“I looked into you, Ms. Clarke,” he remarks as he watches me with cold eyes, but a sly smile pulls at his lips. He’s older than the other men I’ve seen, but he feels like he’s been born into the role. An air of power clings to him. He walks further into the room with an assurance that has me fighting to stand my ground. “You are one of the top nurses in your unit at the hospital,” he continues, stopping in the middle of the room, hands going to his hips as he stares at me. “You have commendations from every doctor you’ve worked with, and if your files are correct, you are on your way up the ladder to be running the unit in the next few years. Impressive. Especially considering you’re only, what, thirty-two?”
“I work hard and people notice,” I bite out, refusing to tell him anything about my age. He already knows it.
“Hmmm, yes, I see that. Speaking of working hard, I expect that you’ll do the same here.” His smile turns sharp. “Your mother’s debt is quite substantial, and with the nature of our work, I’m sure you can see why I need to have someone with your skills on call.”
“How much does my mother owe you?”
“Close to a quarter million as of right now,” Vlad answers.
Fucking hell. I’m going to kill her myself. “And how much am I paying back to you with each of these calls?”
“That depends on the amount of work I need from you. Unless, of course, you have access to pay me back all of that, with interest, then we can call this whole thing a wash and even.”
Even if I had that much money, there’s no way I would spend it on fixing my mother’s mess. That money would be for Isla and Sawyer. “We both know that I don’t,” I reply evenly. “Have you cut my mother off, or are you leaving her tab open so you can just keep racking up that debt so I never can leave?”
His eyes flash in surprise, but then his lips pull up into what looks like a real smile. “You are clever. I enjoy smart women. Perhaps we can work out another arrangement to pay off that balance.”
“I’m not a whore,” I tell him darkly. “That will never be an option. You want me to be a nurse and patch up you and your men, fine, but that’s it.”
I’m sure he’s going to be angry at my refusal, but his smile only widens. Shit. “Time may change your mind, Ms. Clarke, but we’ll discuss that another time. For right now, I’ll have one of my men take you home as you’re finished for tonight.”
When he reaches the door, he stops and looks back at me, smile gone, eyes dark and foreboding. “If you stay smart and do not do anything stupid, then this arrangement will suit us both, but if you do something stupid like run or go to the cops, I won’t hesitate to kill you, those brats, and your worthless mother.” Then he walks out.
I stand there, my heart pounding. Just a little longer. Then all bets are off.
CHAPTER THREE
HULK
A blue-scrubbed angel who might just help me survive this. I just have to hope they never find out, or they might just kill her to make a point.
The door slamsclosed behind Vlad and Nikolai, plunging me back into darkness. At least the fuckers didn’t leave me hanging. I’m sitting in the old rickety chair they’ve chained me to, my entire body aching. Even breathing hurts. I’m pretty sure Nikolai’s last punch cracked a few ribs. He was careful not to hit the same spot twice, however, which tells me that he’s making sure that he doesn’t kill me too quickly. They want to leave me alive for as long as possible.
