“Time to go, Kitten.” I loop one arm around her and usher her out of the dressing room. Benny meets me in the hall, ready to bring the other girl in from the parking lot.
“Go ahead, Ivan. I’ll get the replacement,” Benny tells me while looking at some chick who’s heading down the hall. I try to pull Violet to the back door, but she tries to pull away, attempting to walk in the opposite direction we need to go. Not having time to deal with her confusion, I just pick her up, tossing her over my shoulder before walking out the door.
Once outside, I head for the SUV. I unlock it and deposit Violet on the passenger seat and buckle her up. Her eyes are wide, and she looks like she’s just seen a ghost. I hurry to the driver’s seat and get inside, starting the damn thing. I squeal tires out of the parking lot and head toward the interstate.
Violet is sitting next to me in silence, which is not surprising, considering the drug she is on. She grabs my hand and squeezes it as if she wants to get my attention. I think she wants to tell me something but can’t get the words out.
“Give it some time, Kitten. The drug will wear off, and you’ll be back to normal. Close your eyes for a little bit and rest. You are safe now.”
I glance over at her. She still looks frustrated and helpless, but she listens to me and closes her eyes. I keep her hand in mine and when I feel her grip loosen and see her head rest on her shoulder, I know she is asleep.
I don't let go of her hand the entire drive and when she wakes up about an hour later, we are almost at the safehouse. She straightens up in her seat and looks around with wide eyes like she is trying to figure out where she is.
“You are fine, Kitten, everything is fine.”
She looks over at me and then back outside the window and into the night sky.
“We… we need to go back, Ivan,” Violet whispers quietly. “We need to go back there, I saw my sister!” At first, I’m not sure I heard her correctly, and thus, she says it again. “That was my sister...”
“Who was your sister? What are you talking about, Kitten?” I didn’t see anyone who could be her sister there, so I have no idea what she is talking about. It has to be the drugs talking. It has to be.
“My sister was there. I saw her.”
“No, you didn’t. It’s the drugs in your system. I white knuckle the steering wheel. I don’t need this right now. “Your sister is at home, in North Woods,” I lie. “There is just no way she would have been at that place.
I need Violet with me, because I can’t risk her trying to run away. That will get us both killed, and I didn’t risk all of this just for us both to die. Violet pulls her hand from mine, and my hand suddenly feels empty after holding hers for so long, like it belongs there, and it just lost its home.
“She reached for me, she came for me, she wanted to save me…”
“Enough.” I raise my voice, and Violet flinches as if I’ve just physically slapped her. “We will talk about it once the drugs wear off.” I lower my voice and focus on driving.
Violet turns away from me and leans her head against the window. She’ll be fine once the drugs are out of her system. She better be, because I'm not sure I have it in me to tell her that her sister is dead.
15
Violet
I saw her. I know I did. Strawberry-blond hair… blue eyes the color of the ocean. I saw Ella. She was there, reaching for me, and then she was gone. I try and tell myself it wasn't the drugs, that it wasn't all in my head, but I don't know for certain. If it was her, how did she get to the auction? How could she possibly know where I was? Ugh… nothing makes sense.
I catch Ivan white knuckling the steering wheel out of the corner of my eye. He seems angry, tense, and I’m scared to say anything else right now. Instead, I look around; we are in a nice car with leather seats, and we are driving down some interstate.
Suddenly, it hits me; we are driving down the interstate. I’m free, I’m out of the cell, away from that horrible place with those disgusting men. It is incredibly hard to be angry with Ivan at this moment when he is the one who freed me from that nightmare.
“Where are we going?” I murmur.
“I rented a small house, where we can lay low for a while. I used a fake name, paying cash. There is no way anyone could know we are here. It’s safe. We’ll be there in about ten minutes.” He seems much calmer now that I’ve changed the subject, and I more than appreciate it. After everything that has happened to me, I don’t know if I can handle angry Ivan right now.
We pull up to a small and rather secluded house a little while later. It's nothing overly lavish, more like an ornate cottage. He opens the garage with a code and pulls the car inside.
He cuts the engine and closes the garage door behind us. We both get out but once I’m on my feet, I realize that I am not fully in control of my body yet. My knees buckle beneath me, and I have to lean against the car and wait for Ivan to come around and get me. He picks me up and carries me inside as he always does.
“You think there will ever be a time where you don’t have to carry me everywhere?”
“I hope not.” A smile ghosts over his lips, giving me the urge to kiss him. I look around the house as Ivan walks through it and into to the bedroom.
“We should sleep. I haven't slept at all, and you’ve slept less than an hour.”
I bite my bottom lip, trying to decide if I want to bring up my sister again. With each passing second, I know that I saw her.
“I want to call her,” I say, just as he sets me on the comforter. “I want to call my sister, just to tell her that I’m okay.”
“You can’t, Violet. You can’t call anybody; it’s not safe. Don’t you get that?” The harsh tone Ivan gives me is something I'm not used to, and I'm not sure what to make of it. I know he’s stressed, on edge even, but he doesn't need to yell at me.
“I’m not going to tell her where I am, I’m just telling her that I’m okay. She’s obviously been looking for me. She must be worried sick.”
Ivan is listening to me, but I can see the anger building inside of him with each of my words. I just don’t understand why this is making him so angry.
“Violet,” he snaps, his voice raw, his eyes impossibly dark. “I said stop. I’m so fucking close to losing it right now, and I don’t want to do that to you, but I don’t have the patience to do this right now.”
Tears well in my eyes. He’s being so mean, and I'm confused and frustrated over his change in behavior, so much so that I shove at his chest with my hands.
“You don't own me, Ivan. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.”
The look on his face is one of pure rage and if I didn’t know that he wouldn't hurt me, I would be cowering in the corner of the room.
He grabs onto my wrists, halting any future movements, before leaning into my face. He looks like a bull on the verge of charging. His nostrils flare, and the scent of danger permeates the air.
“Try to escape me, Kitten, and I’ll drag you back here kicking and screaming. I might not own you, but I’ve risked everything to protect your pretty ass so stop fighting with me and fucking listen.” He ends his sentence on a growl that vibrates through me. I tug my wrists from his grasp and curl my lip into a snarl. I've waited for this day since the night I was taken.