“I would like nothing more than to pull of my boxers and climb in that bed with you, but we really need to go.” I put on the rest of my clothes and look at my phone. Fuck, he did send me a message. I stuff both phones in my pocket.
“I heard, you have to go to a meeting?” she asks quietly, as if she is not sure if she is allowed to ask. I watch her pull her own clothes on and as soon as her skin is covered, I want to get her naked again.
“Yeah, Rossi is the… well, my boss. So, I really need to be there when he gets here.” She pulls socks onto her small feet just as I tie the laces on my boots. “How is your hand?”
“It’s fine,” she murmurs right before I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder.
“We’ll unwrap it and look at it later.”
I carry her down to the basement, moving quickly down the stairs. She tries to hold on to my shirt to stop bouncing on my shoulder so much, but when I set her down in her cell, she still looks a little dizzy. I pull the burner phone from my pocket and hand it to her.
“I need to go.” I’m trying to rush out, but Violet stops me.
“Wait, are you… are you coming back tonight?”
“Yes, Kitten, I’ll come and get you after dinner.”
A small smile tugs on her lips, and I almost kiss her, but then I remember that I really do have to go. Closing the heavy door behind me, I start to speed walk up to the first floor.
Thank fuck Rossi isn’t there yet when I enter the room. Six guys are already sitting around the conference table as I take my usual chair, next to Rossi. I glance over across the table at the empty chair where Yulie usually sits and hope the fuck no one knows he was here last before he went missing.
Actually, I hope no one even knows yet that he went missing, though if they don’t know by now, they will today.
“Anyone know what this is about?” I ask, breaking the heavy silence in the room.
All six guys either shake their head or murmur no. After my question, we resume to sit in uncomfortable silence. All the guys are clearly on edge, not knowing what is going on, myself included. I usually don’t get worried about shit, not until now… not since I have her to worry about.
The door opens, and Rossi walks in with one of his personal guards.
“Hello, gentlemen.” He takes a seat at the head of the table, a lit cigar in his hand.
“My bastard sons have finally figured out that I am not dead. They attacked my private estates last night, burning it to the ground, and I doubt they’re going to stop until they find me. I called this meeting because I need everybody on high alert. Keep your ears to the ground and make sure my name is kept out of everything... as always.” His eyes scan the room and land on Yulie’s empty chair.
“Where the fuck is Yulie?” he booms, and a nervous sludge coats my insides. When no one answers, he just shrugs as if he doesn’t really care. “That cocksucker is probably passed out drunk in his sex dungeon,” Rossi chuckles and half of the men in the room join in.
“All right then… I just wanted to let you know that I will be laying low for a few weeks and only a handful of people will know where I am. If you need anything, you’ll need to ask Ivan or Yulie. I’ll expect you all to treat them as if they were me. I’ve got a couple more rounds to do and then I’ll be out of here. I have a plane to catch.” Rossi gets up from his chair, buttoning his suit jacket up, flicking ashes of his cigar all over the table, while smoke billows in soft wisps through the air.
“Sorry your house burned down, boss,” Derick calls from across the table.
“Don’t be, the house didn’t mean shit to me. I am, however, disappointed that I didn’t have time to enjoy the virgin pussy I had tied up on my bed. It was truly a waste for such a fine piece of ass to die before being used. Any of you been down to see the girls going to auction yet?” He lifts his thick brows, his eyes piercing over each of the men, before meeting mine.
There isn’t an ounce of emotion in my features.
“Of course, it’s the only kind of window shopping I’ll ever do,” Derick snickers, and I have the urge to pick up the pencil in front of me and shove it into his eyeball.
“Well, if you’ve seen number five, you know what I had lying in my bed. It was her fucking sister.”
If I hadn’t trained myself for so many years to wear an emotionless mask, I would have looked shocked. I had a thousand and one questions, the biggest one being… how the hell did her sister end up in Rossi’s twisted web?
“No shit?” Derick sounds interested, and I watch him rub his chin as if he is thinking about her right now... about my Kitten.
“Yes. A real fucking waste I didn’t get to play with her for a bit before she burned to a crisp. Oh, well, the world is an oyster full of some of the finest pussy...” He laughs, but I can’t muster up even a smile.
Fucking Christ.
I realize then exactly what he said... Violet’s sister is dead. Rossi killed her. Well, he didn’t kill her himself, but he left her to die. I want to shake my head, clench my fists, throw something. As if she doesn’t have enough to deal with. Now this? It’s like a bad hand of poker, and she just keeps drawing shitty cards. One shit card after the next.
How am I going to tell her? How am I going to explain to her that her sister got tangled up in Rossi’s web, too? Fuck! No… telling her would just make everything worse for her. There is nothing anybody can do now to change what happened. Telling her would only cause her more pain, but the idea of not telling her, of breaking the fragile trust that’s been built between us, angers me. The last thing I want to do is risk losing her, but if finding her sister after this is the only thing keeping her going, then telling her isn’t going to help either of us.
I decide then I can’t tell her... I won’t.
“Ivan, walk out with me.” Rossi’s voice drags me out of my thoughts and as he makes his way toward the door.
I get up, shoving the chair away. I follow Rossi outside until we are in the hallway and out of earshot.
“Ivan, you’re going to be one of the few people who actually knows where I’ll be.” His dark evil gaze pierces mine. A long time ago, I looked up to him, but since Violet, all I see him as is a vile monster... a man consumed with an uncanny need to destroy. “I hope I can trust you with this, Ivan.”
“Of course, always… boss.”
13
Violet
The cut on the palm of my hand throbs, and I have half a mind to take one of those knockout pills to ease some of the pain, but I remember how vulnerable that would make me, so I decide against it. I’ll take the pain in my hand over being raped while unconscious any day. Yulie might be dead but that doesn't mean there aren't others who would try and get to me.
Only a few minutes until dinnertime... I smile in cheerful happiness.
Noises out in the hall reach my ears and have me sitting up a little straighter. Moments later, the food flap on my door opens and a tray is shoved inside. A sandwich. What a surprise, the same thing as always.
I sit down on my mattress and nibble on the stale bread that holds no flavor, even with the bologna smashed in between. Would it kill them to slap some mayo on here? I put the plate by side of the bed, hoping Ivan has something a little more edible at his place.