I had to hand it to the prick; he could tell a good story. You could see the conviction he felt in the words he spoke, his accent growing heavier, his accent which, now, I wondered if was also part of his act. The man was born and raised in New Mexico. Delusional men were terrifying men, and even more so when they had money, status, and power. I fought the urge to argue back, speak up for my family’s name, but there was no reasoning with men like Vladimir.
“It was my father who birthed Purgatory. Why stop at keeping junkie’s high, huh? When there was a world of girls out there who could bring in top dollar. Girls no-one would ever miss. Girls so goddamn tragic it was astounding as to why the Murdoch’s never thought of it before.”
The room was deathly quiet now, just the sound of Vlad’s feet pounding the wooden floor as he walked around the table as though he was a lecturer at college, giving us a history lesson.
I downed another drink, watching with only my eyes as Vlad stalked behind each man.
He stopped dead behind the guy opposite me, rested his hand on his shoulders, and black eyes focused on me and only me. “Girls like your Mindy’s sweet daughter, Jax.”
“Motherfucker,” I leaped to my feet, the chair falling with a bang behind me, but what I hadn’t noticed was Benny and two other guys leaving their seats, and so before I could jump across the table and pummel Vlad’s face, hands were holding me back.
“Benny? What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, pulling against my human restraints.
Jozef slid up beside Vlad, and I looked around at everyone’s faces. They looked on with expressions that told me they all knew this was going to happen, and I’d walked right into it.
“Sit him back down, gentleman,” Vlad ordered.
Once I’d been forced back into my seat, arms still keeping me hostage, anger pouring from me, Vlad waited for the room to fall silent once more.
He gave a slow, calculated laugh. “Jaxon Murdoch, you are going to regret ever crossing me.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
He clicked his fingers towards idle guards standing on the sidelines. “Bring the cage.” He then looked towards Benny, who was standing behind me. “Strip him.”
Ella.
The sound of a gunshot was unmistakable. And it sounded close, but I had no idea where I was, let alone where the shot had been fired.
My bladder was now screaming, my weak body still tied to the chair, and the emotions I felt changed so rapidly I was feeling dizzy. One moment I felt nothing but terror, grief for my child, and Jax. Anger at how I didn’t fight back or do something to defend myself or prevent myself from being trapped like a caged animal, and the inability to know whether it was morning, noon or night was beginning to drive me mad.
The room was pitch black, and while my eyes had grown accustomed to it, meaning if I concentrated hard enough, I could make out the brickwork in front of me, there wasn’t much else to see. The silence was crippling, too. There was no way of telling whether I was below ground, although I assumed I was, as I’d not heard anything above me during my entire time here. I’d experienced quiet before, but this was unlike anything I’d ever known.
So, when the sounds of voices growing nearer once more, and the clunk of metal and laughter became louder, it felt as though my ears might bleed.
Several people surrounded me. Light behind me illuminated all their faces, one of whom was Benny, his mouth set in a thin line. Jozef was crouching down in front of me, rough hands grabbing at my flesh to unlock the chains keeping me in place. Two other men stood to the side, hands held in front of them, guns slung over their backs.
“What’s going on?” I croaked. “Benny, please.”
Benny ignored me, his eyes looking anywhere but at my face, and Jozef answered instead. “Boss man wants you,” he sneered, moving to untie my wrists. Once I was free, Jozef pulled me to my feet and shoved me towards Benny. My legs were numb, violent tingles made my feet almost useless, and Benny had to catch me to stop me from falling. Everything inside my body felt rocked, and it took a strength I didn’t know I possessed not to wet myself.
“I trust you can get the bitch ready?” Jozef asked.
Benny nodded; he looked a pale shade of green.
“Good. She’s got half an hour. I’ll send Amy down here if you’re not ready by then, and believe me, she’s the last person you want to upset tonight.”
A man I didn’t recognize placed a gray dress into Benny’s arms, and we stood together in silence as they left the room, this time though, they didn’t lock or bolt the door, and from where I stood I could see outside. It didn’t look familiar; a long, dimly lit hallway, and at the end I could see steps leading upwards.
“Benny, please tell me what’s happening. Where’s Jax? Is he okay?” I pleaded, turning to him.
A face that had once been so friendly and kind now looked void of any emotion, no, that wasn’t true. There was something on his face, and it reminded me of sincere regret.
“Mrs C, just come with me, you can use the bathroom and have a shower.” He turned and left the room, leaving me no other choice than to follow behind. If I made a run for it, who knew how far I’d get before either my legs gave way or I ran into someone.
We stopped outside a nondescript door at the bottom of the stairs. Benny pushed open the door and handed me the dress. “Clean yourself up; I’ll be outside if you need me.”
His face told me to not argue, numb and aching, tired and confused, I hobbled into the tiny shower room. A limp showerhead hung on one side of the room; the walls were a mucky cream color, there was a metal toilet with no lid, a tiny basin with a mirror so small I wondered why bother.
I used the toilet, spent ages trying to figure how to turn the shower on before realizing that hot water wasn’t a luxury I was going to have, and so I stood beneath the cold trickle and scrubbed my skin raw using my own hands. Angry red marks appeared on every inch of my flesh, and I watched as the filth and blood swirled down the drain, mesmerized by it, wondering how I had any blood left to shed. Looking down at my body, I saw the bruises, the marks, the scabs from healing burns, scars from years before, and before I could stop them, the tears fell. Choking, chest-wracking sobs that tore through me as my fingers danced across every wound I could see. I cried so hard oxygen couldn’t flow freely to and from my lungs, screaming, I ripped the mirror from the wall and hurled it across the room, watching as it smashed into pieces.
Losing my footing on the wet tiles, I fell to my knees and continued to cry and scream. So lost in my breakdown, I didn’t hear or notice Benny rush to my aid. By the time I’d stopped screaming, I was wrapped in a black towel, and Benny was holding me to his thick chest, stroking my hair.
I jumped out of his touch, it felt like a betrayal against Jaxon, eyes wide, heart thumping.
“I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t know what the fuck else to do.” He looked apologetic, one big hand rubbing his shaved head.
Catching my breath, I just closed my eyes and shook my head, I was beat.
“You need to get dressed, Mrs C,”
I took a deep breath and nodded.
Once I’d dressed and fingered my hair into submission, Benny marched me up the stairs. Voices grew louder, and before long, I could decipher whose they were.