50. VANYA

He laughed.

My hold on the cup tightened as I remembered Obsidian’s reaction. I threatened to cut off his balls and all he did was laugh at me.

From what little I know of Obsidian, he probably thought that the threat was a joke. I meant every word, though. He might be able to overpower me, but if he hurt Devrim, I would find a way to go through with my promise.

I frowned.

There was a difference between liking a bit of pain and getting turned on when torturing a guy. The image of Devrim’s cuts and bruises flashed through my mind. Obsidian had made all those cuts on his skin with the damn knives he loved so much.

What he had done to that man was much worse than what he had done to Devrim last night.

I was still trying to wrap my head around it. If I had my phone, I would at least have been able to do some research to get a better understanding of that kind of thing, but my phone had been taken the day Ezra picked me up from my father’s house and the burner phone he gave me was good for nothing but making phone calls.

If I wanted to know more, my best option would probably be to talk to Obsidian, but I was still pissed at him for laughing in my face.

A loud thud from upstairs made my body jerk in fright. I knew that I was alone in the cabin. Devrim had something to take care of at the main house, Ezra had joined the search party, and Obsidian had left early this morning without informing anyone of where he was going.

The brothers were outside, keeping guard until one of my men returned. It’s probably the wind that knocked something over.

Lowering the cup, I stood on shaky legs and made my way upstairs.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but as I glanced around again, I noticed the dirty shoe prints on the floor that led straight into my bedroom.

“E-Ezra?” I called out.

He was the most likely to trudge dirt into the house.

But they don’t wear shoes when we’re home.

Sucking my lip into my mouth, I used the walls for supports as I headed towards my bedroom. I stopped before I entered and leaned around the doorway to glance inside the room.

What I saw made me react without thinking.

“Obsidian!” I cried as I rushed forward.

He was unconscious, but not bleeding.

My eyes darted over his frame and locked on the small blue and red dart sticking out of his thigh. I reached out and pulled it from his skin before throwing it across the room.

The brothers were outside. If I screamed, they’d be able to hear, right?

My lips parted, but a faint sound reached my ears and stopped me from screaming. As I turned, I caught sight of a man dressed in camouflage clothing and the butt of a gun swinging towards my face.

Pain exploded through my temple… and everything went black.

***

My head was pounding.

Every single part of my body ached.  When I tried to move, I realized that I couldn’t.

My eyes shot open, but only darkness surrounded me.

I moved my arms and slowly became aware of the thick chains wrapped around my wrists.

It took all but three seconds to realize that I was suspended a few inches above the ground.

“Vanya.”

 “O-Obsidian?”

“I’m here. What do you see?”

I swallowed. “N-nothing. It’s t-too dark.”

“It’s okay.”

Tears filled my eyes.

I moved my feet, but the tip of my toes barely brushed the floor. The movement of my legs had my whole body moving, swinging back and forth, and then bumping into something behind me.

It definitely wasn’t a wall.

I screamed and started thrashing as my panic increased. Something brushed my legs, and a second later, it wrapped around my upper thighs.

Warm breath fanned my neck.

“Calm, sweets. Close your eyes and breathe,” Obsidian whispered.

“I’m scared,” I cried once I had my breathing under control.

“I know, but I’m here with you, okay?”

Obsidian’s legs slipped and then dropped away, making our bodies swing back and forth again. We bumped into each other a few times before we lost momentum and stilled.

Dead silence filled my ears.

“You were unconscious w-when I found you,” I whispered, knowing he would hear me.

Obsidian growled. “Bastard hit me over the head.”

“You had a dart sticking out of your leg.”

Before he could answer, there was a soft click followed by the sound of something scraping across the floor.

Obsidian suddenly roared, making my ears ring.

I felt the pinch of a needle penetrating my skin seconds before numbness started to spread throughout my body.

“What are you doing?” Obsidian hissed. “Let her go!”

An arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me a few inches, taking the straining weight off my arms and shoulders.

My head dropped forward onto a firm shoulder and then backwards when the man suddenly moved.

“Hey! I’m talking to you! Where are you taking her, you bastard?”

“You’ll see her soon enough.”

Obsidian’s words were cut off by a loud bang.

The man chuckled as he carried me off to God knows where. Why does he sound so familiar?

“I wonder if your animal will still feel so protective when he finds out about those cameras you’re hiding in your closet?” He chuckled again. “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks, Vanya. My son fucked up and so did that bastard, but I’m doing everything myself this time.”

My lips parted, but no words escaped. All I could do was breathe and listen to him as he gave me detailed reports of his struggle to transport us.

There was a brief flash of light and the warmth of the sun on my skin, but it was gone too quickly to even catch a glimpse of our surroundings.

The man had fallen silent, but I could feel his excitement.  

A whimper fell from my lips when the man suddenly dropped me. I hit the ground hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.

“You’ll be the end of all those animals.” He leaned down until his breath fanned my cheek. “This time, I won’t make the same mistake. You know why, Vanya? Because this time that fucking animal is going to kill you himself.”

***

My tongue was sticking to the roof of my mouth, and my stomach growling in hunger.

I knew I was suspended in the air again, but in a different room.

A sound penetrated my hazy mind.

Prying my eyelids apart was a challenge, but I managed, and instantly wished I hadn’t. Bright light filled the room, making my eyes burn and tear up.  

My eyes locked on a puddle of blood and followed it to the source. Two bodies lay a few feet away, a man and a woman, ripped to pieces similar to the way Christy Carmichael had been killed with their organs littering the floor around them.

Bile rose.

“Look at me.”

My eyes snapped over to his.

Obsidian wasn’t hanging from the chains like I was. He stood against a wall with his arms stretched out above his head with thick metal cuffs locked around his wrist and ankles.

“Breathe, Vanya.”

I sucked in a breath, followed by another and another until I realized that I was mimicking Obsidian.

Swallowing, I allowed my eyes to trail over him. He looked unharmed, but the look in his eyes was a bit alarming.

“Are you okay?”

Obsidian didn’t answer me. His eyes darted to a spot over my shoulder and stayed there as the minutes passed.

I glanced around, but made sure to avoid looking at the bodies. Wherever we were reminded me of those shipping containers that were used for imports.

Are we close to the port?

I couldn’t hear anything, the steel walls were too thick. If it was a shipping container, it was probably forgotten somewhere. The container had been modified too which had to mean that whoever had kidnapped us had been planning this for a while.   

My eyes shot over to Obsidian. “I think I know where we are.”