48. Kidnapped

Innessa woke up with a wince. Her head throbbed in pain as she tried to open her eyes, which was a difficult task, but she was able to open them. For a couple of seconds, she was surrounded by darkness before slowly, her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. 

Once she noticed the unfamiliar surrounding her brows furrowed, the girl tried to rub her temple to ease the pain. Then she noticed the binds in her hands, and everything came crashing back. 

Her heartbeat skyrocketed recklessly as her eyes darted around the dark room in fear. The ropes on her wrists were so tight and she was bound to the pole behind her. 

Innessa stared down at herself and she was fully clothed. Her bag and phone were nowhere in sight. The girl took deep breaths to calm her heart down. She needed to relax so she could think properly but the more she pulled at her hands, the tighter the ropes got making her stomach churn in anxiety as tears of fear gathered in her eyes. 

Millions of thoughts raked through her mind and most of them were immensely negative to the point she felt like she'd throw up. 

Who kidnapped her? What did they want from her? She did hear from her colleagues that a girl got kidnapped from the streets a year ago and she was never found. Some said she was sold off and some said her organs were sold off. 

Innessa shook her head as tears brimmed her eyes. "I'm fine. I'll be safe," She said those words in a small whisper. Her voice croaked. 

Innessa tried to stand but she couldn't because of the binds on her wrists that were keeping her caged to the pole at the same spot. 

Her eyes kept darting around the huge room. She located a rusty door in the corner and the small circular window at the top of the room was the only indication of light in that place which smelled like rust and dirt. The place was icy cold. She noticed that she was missing one of her sandals and the other one was also broken. 

She toed out of that sandal as she leaned her head back against the pole. 

Innessa wanted to scream for help but if her kidnappers were out there, it would alert them and they might hurt her so she kept her lips sealed. 

Slowly all the beautiful memories began to rake her mind. Her parents, her sister, and her friends. Those deep cognac brown eyes flashed in front of her eyes as she tried not to cry. 

Why was she missing him now? Why couldn't she stop thinking about all the beautiful memories she had with him and the ones she could've created with him? 

The girl wiped the tear on her shoulder as her small sobs filled the empty cold room. 

Innessa tried not to make any noise. She didn't want her kidnappers to know she had woken up. What if they barge in and hurt her? She was scared for her life; for herself. 

She didn't want to die. She had so many dreams she wanted to fulfill. What if these people were human traffickers? What if they sell her off? She shook her head wiping her tears on her shoulder. 

"I'll be fine," she whispered to herself in a broken voice. 

Innessa sat there on the cold floor rubbing her frozen feet together, she was shivering like a leaf because of the cold weather. 

Hours passed in a deadly low pace and she drifted off to darkness. Cold water was splashed on her making the girl gasp as she jolted forward but the ropes dug into her flesh and she was yanked back to the pole. 

Innessa breathed heavily, her chest heaving up and down as she gaped at the number of men in front of her in shock. 

Her face and chest were all wet as water dripped down her jaw, she was breathing through her mouth, drawing in sharp gasps. 

The icy water had turned her skin pale as she blinked at the bald man who sat in front of her on the chair. Five burly men stood behind him circling her making her feel like a lamb in the wolves' cave. 

None of them said a word as they stared at her but the most terrifying of them all was the bald guy with a protruding belly with no eyeball in one of his eyes. Just looking at him terrified the girl, she dropped her gaze as she pulled her knees to her chest and tried to hide away but the man leaned down, grabbed a fist full of her hair, and yanked her head back earning a scream from her which echoed in the huge room which was now illuminated by a light bulb which was hanging through the ceiling and it was moving slightly making their huge shadows dance in the room. 

"What's your name, girl?" The bald guy asked as Innessa kept her eyes closed. "I... Innessa," she whispered, shaking as that baldie nodded. 

"We don't mean any harm to you, Innessa," the baldie said in a gentle voice which coaxed her to open her eyes slowly as she faced the man in front of her. 

The bald guy motioned at his man who let go of Innessa's hair before stepping back. 

"My name is Artyom. I don't have any enmity with you nor do I want to hurt you. All I need from you is to comply and cooperate with me," Artyom the bald guy with one of his eyeballs missing said. 

"You're very beautiful, Innessa," he said, dragging his chair closer as it made a sharp scraping noise, making her flinch back and clench her teeth in fear which consumed her. 

He raised his hand gripping her chin and smiled, showing off his gold teeth. She tried to free her face but he gripped her jaw tightly. 

"A girl like you could make me a fortune if I sell you off in the Royal auction." He said nonchalantly and the blood in her veins turned cold at his words. Her chin wobbled and her eyes welled up making him smirk. 

"But I won't do that because I don't want to hurt you. As I said, my enmity is not towards you, it's towards that f*cker Victor but unfortunately, you're the weakness of his best friend-" A snarl followed by a vicious growl was heard and Artyom smirked. 

A couple of gunshots were heard as Artyom's men held out their guns aiming at the door when it burst open and she flinched for a fleeting second before her eyes widened. 

Her eyes met with the dark cognac hues which looked menacing as his eyes searched for her in the room. Upon seeing her his eyes softened but only for a fraction of a second and the next thing Issac was aiming his gun at Artyom who now held a gun at Innessa's temple. She could feel the cold metal touching her feverish skin as she closed her eyes tightly. 

"What a pleasant surprise," Artyom smiled viciously, staring at Issac. 

"Who the f*ck are you? Let the girl go or I'll blow your brains out!" Issac boomed, stepping closer causing Artyom's men to aim their guns at Issac in alert but Issac didn't stop. 

Artyom removed the safety of the gun and dug it deeper into Innessa's temple. 

"You think she'll be left alive after that? I've my men surrounding this place, you can't even imagine what they'll do to her if anything happened to me," Artyom hissed, causing Issac to stop in his tracks. His nose flared in rage as he glared at Artyom. 

"Who are you?" Issac asked calmly. 

"Artyom. You don't know me but Victor does," Artyom said and Issac's hold on the gun tightened. 

"Let her go. She's not related to Victor," Issac said calmly reading the situation at hand. 

"Oh, she isn't but you are," Artyom grinned, causing Issac to gnash his molars to control his rage. 

"You can keep me if you want to blackmail Victor. The girl is innocent. Let her go," Issac said, his eyes darted to her face, she had her eyes closed and her chin was quivering. He noticed her drenched shirt and hair, her condition made his blood boil, he wanted to unload all the bullets in that f*cker's good eye and make him blind before killing him. 

"Of course she's innocent, it's written all over her face," Artyom grinned as he caressed the barrel of his gun on her trembling lips making Issac growl as he stepped forward but two men shot a fire near Issac's boot stopping him from coming closer. 

"I know a fighter like you would never open your mouth. If Victor didn't have a weakness, his friend surely does. Now drop the gun and kneel," Artyom said but Issac refused to oblige. 

Artyom smirked as he yanked at Innessa's hair, making her scream only to shove the gun under her chin forcing her to face the ceiling. 

"Drop the gun or I'll blow her brains out," Artyom laughed as Innessa swallowed thickly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shook her head at Issac. 

"D... Don't do it, Issac. They'll hurt you-" Her head turned to the side as a stinging pain shot down her cheek, her ear rang and her vision blurred for a couple of seconds because of the slap as Artyom grabbed her hair and made her face him as he placed his gun under her chin again. 

"Then shall I kill you?" He spat. 

She could hear Issac growling and charging forward, she heard a shot fired and then Artyom shot fire on the floor right beside her feet making her scream in fear as she flinched away. Issac stopped when Artyom held the gun on her forehead, aiming between her brows as he faced Issac. 

"Drop the f*cking gun," he fumed and Innessa opened her mouth to speak but Artyom clamped her mouth shut with his hand. 

Tears sting the back of her eyes because she doesn't want Issac to give up on his safety. She wasn't stupid. It was obvious this man Artyom had some enmity towards Victor and he couldn't kidnap him nor he could kidnap Issac so he kidnapped Innessa and lured in Issac. Maybe Artyom wanted Victor to negotiate on something for Issac's life and Artyom thought to tame Issac he must capture Issac's weakness which was Innessa. 

"Fine! I'll do it. Don't touch her!" Issac hissed raising his hands in the air as Innessa looked at him with wide eyes trying to shake her head to stop him but her safety was more important to him as he dropped the gun and kicked it away as per their orders. 

As soon as he did that, two guys charged forward, they grabbed him, kicked the back of his knee, and forced him to drop to his knees and they held the gun on him. Another guy cuffed Issac's hands behind his back. 

They shuffled out his phone and switched it off. There was no signal around that region so they weren't scared of getting traced. 

"You look good like this," Artyom said looking at Issac as he pulled his gun back and let go of Innessa making her rest back against the pole as she breathed heavily. 

"I don't want to hurt her. So, it'll do us both good if you comply. Once I get my info, I'll let you both go untouched," Artyom said as he got up from his chair and walked up to Issac. 

"I had my eyes on you for quite some time now. You fight for Victor in the underground ring. You both have been very good friends since you were young. You both meet quite often. Your last meeting with Victor in the Zee n Zee restaurant clearly showed that you started working for him otherwise why would he make you join that important meeting," Artyom said and it was obvious by his words that he found about Innessa was close to Issac that same night when Victor showed up in the restaurant. Issac should've been cautious. 

"I'm not working for him. I met him in that restaurant coincidentally, he discussed no shit in front of me," Issac's deep voice was calm as he answered Artyom. 

"Hmm. Tell me when he's going to send the shipments of imported weapons back to Russia?" Artyom asked and Issac tsked lowly. 

"I don't know. Mind if I ask him for you?-" Issac didn't even get to complete his words when Artyom landed a solid punch in his face making him lean to the side as Issac glared at the ground. 

He heard the soft gasp from her and somewhere in his heart he thought she still cared for him but he was wrong. He'll not fall into this hole of darkness again. Once he'll save Innessa, he'll cut ties with her for good. 

"I'm not playing around, Issac. You better tell me the exact date and the route of those shipments and I'll let you live along with her," Artyom said coldly as Issac clenched his jaw glaring up at him. 

"I said I don't know. If I knew I would've told you," Issac said, only for the guy behind him to punch Issac, making him fall forward. 

"No... Stop!" Innessa screamed when she noticed two men beating up handcuffed Issac who didn't even groan after the hits. 

"Please! Stop this!" She screamed as Artyom prowled over to her. 

But before he could reach Innessa, Issac spoke up. "7th November at the early dawn. That's all I know, don't you dare touch her," Issac growled as Artyom stopped, he faced Issac and smirked. 

"Khoroshiy (Good). Should've said it sooner. We still have time. It's time to play with Victor," Artyom mused as he ambled to the door. 

"You said you'd let us go," Issac said lowly earning a chuckle from Artyom. "I lied," he mused. 

"Tie him up and keep an eye on them," Artyom ordered his men as he stepped out of that place. Two guys were left behind. 

They dragged Issac to the chair that rested in front of Innessa at some distance, they made Issac sit on it and they tied him up with the ropes on top of those cuffs. 

Those guys stepped away from them and walked over to the door as they snickered talking to each other and smoked. 

Issac's hair was tossed on his forehead in a mess, his head was bowed as he inhaled deeply. 

Innessa couldn't stop the tears as she stared at him with a pained expression on her face. 

"I... Issac, are you okay?" Her voice was a small whisper as he slowly raised his head to face her. 

His eyes darkened at the sight of her red cheek as he gnashed his molars. 

"I'll kill him," he gritted lowly as Innessa shook her head, staring at the bruises on his cheek and jaw. There was a cut on his lower lip. 

She didn't know what to say to him. Her tears won't stop streaming down as she stared at him with a sad gaze. She thought she'd never see him again and that thought clogged her senses to the point that she yearned to see him one last time before her demise. She never thought that Issac would come to her rescue. If he wanted to he could've never come but he loved her, that was why he was letting her go and that was why he came to save her despite knowing it would put his life at risk. 

"Don't cry," his deep voice was so velvety soft as he said those words. 

"I'm trying," she said in a broken whisper and a faint smile donned his lips, his eyes twinkling soothingly. 

"I won't let anything happen to you. Don't cry. I'll get you out of this place safely," he said as she stared at him for the longest time. 

"You're working for Victor? Is Victor a don or something?" She asked.  

"He's a Pakhan. Russian mafia lord and no I'm not working for him. I lied to Artyom just to buy us some time," Issac said. 

"W... Why did you come to save me, Issac?" She asked. 

"It hurts me if you still don't know why, Precious. It's because I love you," He rasped lowering his gaze with a broken smile and her heart crumbled in her chest as her chin wobbled. 

None said a word as the silence prevailed. 

She noticed a drop falling on the floor under Issac's chair. Her eyes widened when she noticed it was blood. 

"What are you doing?" She hushed a whisper as he gritted struggling to free his hands from the cuff. 

"Please, don't. You're hurting yourself," she whispered when they heard footsteps and those two men approached them. They faintly glanced at Issac before one of them crouched down near Innessa. 

He cupped her jaw causing her lips to pucker out as he made her face him. "You've got a pretty little mouth, girl." The guy smirked as his friend laughed. Issac growls viciously rattling the chair. 

"Let her go!" His voice boomed as that guy tsked but didn't let her go. 

"Untie her," the guy said to his friend who quickly began to untie her as Issac watched with menacing red eyes. 

"Don't f*cking touch her or I'll rip your heads off!" He snarled, clanging the chair as more blood dripped on the floor from the wound on his wrist caused by the cuffs. 

"Keep your mouth shut," the guy hissed glaring at Isaac as they began to drag the struggling Innessa to the corner of her room with her hands tied on her front. 

"DON'T TOUCH HER YOU F*CKER!" Issac growled as he tried to get up but his legs were tied as well. 

Innessa headbutted one of the guys who grunted, stumbling back and cursing when all of a sudden, they heard gunshots followed by a deafening sound of an explosive as the whole place rattled. 

Those guys quickly retrieved their guns as they grabbed Innessa dragging her back to the pole when the door burst open and Artyom and his men rushed inside holding their guns. Before they could close the door, it was kicked open and there were gunshots everywhere. One of those guys held Innessa as a human shield while he fired. She bit on his arm as he cried out and she jerked away and someone shot the guy she just bit. 

"Innessa, take cover!" Issac yelled and her heart dropped seeing him. She hurried behind him. And tried to open his ropes but her hands were tied together and no matter how much she tried she was unable to open the ropes while he yelled at her to take cover. 

Innessa tried to drag his chair to the corner but it wouldn't budge. 

Issac grunted in pain when a bullet hit his arm and her heart dropped seeing all that blood on his white shirt. 

What she did next happened naturally as she got onto his lap straddling him and holding his face to her chest trying to cover him as much as possible. 

Issac's eyes widened as he struggled. 

"Innessa, get off me. Take cover!" He growled but she didn't budge and no matter how much he struggled she didn't move away. She covered him from the gunshots, providing herself as a human shield. 

"Please. F*ck, please. I beg you, Innessa. Take cover. Precious, please get off me," He sounded pained and anxious as his misty eyes looked up at her. 

She leaned down kissing his ear. "I... I love you, Issac. I forgive you. I... If anything happened to me. I want you to know I forgave you and I loved you with all my heart," she whispered, pulling back. 

"No! Please! For God's sake DAMNIT! You'll get shot, Innessa, I beg you, baby please," he pleaded as she leaned down pressing her lips on his as tears streamed down her cheeks. 

As their lips connected at that moment. She felt alive and free again.