Before I can finish that thought, a door in the warehouse bangs open and Ivan himself steps out, with all the authority you’d expect from the leader of the Russian mob. My skin prickles as he takes me in. I’ve never shown him so much skin before, and I feel exposed.
He walks right up to me, stopping a few feet away as his eyes trail up and down my body. I see the second he spots the blood on my thighs and hold my breath, praying this will work.
“What happened here?” he asks, his voice bordering on feral. Though I don’t try to convince myself it’s me personally that he’s concerned about, it’s hisproperty.
“They raped me!” I cry out, yanking my shoulder out of the man’s hold and running to cower behind Ivan, as if he will save me from them. I know this is risky; Ivan is definitely the most dangerous person here, but I’m counting on the fact that he remembers me as a meek little obedient girl. And if what they said is true, he might just eliminate them.
“No, wait!” One of the men yells before two deafening gunshots ring out.
BANG! BANG!
I jump, as I stare in disbelief at both men lying on the ground with bullet holes in the middle of their foreheads.
Holy mother of muffins!It actually worked.
With no time to waste, I enact part two of my plan:hide-and-seek. Before Ivan can turn around, I take off between two stacks of crates to my right and start weaving through the random piles, thanking whoever's bright idea it was to cover this area with these, giving me the perfect maze to get lost in.
Ivan calls for more guards, who must have been inside the warehouse. He yells for them to spread out and search for me.
I don’t stop moving, running as quietly as I can, as I keep my eyes open for a good hiding spot. If I can just stay hidden for long enough, the guys will find me. I’m sure of it. I glance down, and dread fills me when I see that my smartwatch is missing.
My blood runs cold as I realize the guys might not be coming as quickly as I hoped. Those two men must have noticed my watch; they probably put it in a vehicle heading in the opposite direction, or they just threw it out the window. That’s what I would have done.
I try to keep the tears at bay as my hope of rescue starts to dwindle and stop behind a stack of crates to catch my breath.
“That’s not nice,” Ivan’s voice calls from somewhere across the yard. “Running away after I defended your honor like that.” I huff out a silent laugh. Defend my honor,my ass. He was just mad they touched what he thinks belongs to him.
“You don’t need to be scared, Wren. I’m not going to harm you.”
Did he actually believe I ran because shooting the men scared me? Was he that stupid? Or just arrogant enough to not even consider that I didn’t want anything to do withhim? He must have known why I ran from Robert’s house. Although it sounded like their relationship was strained. Either way, the man either wanted to kill me, hurt me, enslave me, or breed me. And I wasn’t fond of any of those options.
And what if Robert had told him about my claustrophobia and he used it against me? I’m not sure what I’d agree to just so I didn't have to go back in an enclosed dark space again.
Deciding I needed to get out of this yard and into the trees on either side, I start moving again, a little slower and more cautious now that I don’t know where he is.
The tips of the trees get closer and closer as I weave through the crates. Just as I round a particularly high stack, thinking freedom is within reach, I stop short and swear.
Chyort poberi!A seven-foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire stands between me and my freedom. Does it surround the whole yard?
A stone scatters behind me, and I turn right and start running for a minute until I reach a dead end, crates surrounding me on three sides. I start to backtrack, but I can hear someone's footsteps moving closer.
I freeze, my eyes scanning for somewhere to hide. Crouching down, I see a gap under a crate that looks just big enough for me to hide in. If one of them stands in front and looks this way, they’ll definitely see me, but I have no other choice.
I drop to my knees and wince as the gravel cuts up my hands and knees as I squeeze myself into the small space as quietly as possible.
My heart is beating so rapidly that I can literally hear itpounding in my ears. I’m not sure if it’s mainly from the fear of Ivan finding me or the claustrophobia. At least it isn’t dark, and one side is completely open. Although those were also the reasons Ivan had a decent chance of finding me.
Footsteps grow louder, and I hug my knees, pressing my mouth between them to try to hide my ragged breaths. I remain as still as possible, and when I see Ivan’s shoes come into view, I try to smother the whimper that wants to escape.
He stops right outside my hiding spot, and I squeeze my eyes shut tight.
He’s found me.
A gunshot goes off somewhere in the distance, and I gasp against my knees, my eyes flying open as I slap my hand over my mouth, hoping he didn’t hear me. Yelling and more gunshots ring out from somewhere further away.
What’s happening?
One of the guards yells for Ivan, and he curses. “Poshyol ty!”
