Page 83 of Exacting Vengeance

“Blyat,” he snarled. “Fuck this.”

He gripped her shoulder, his fingers digging into her flesh as he rolled her over and onto her stomach. A jarring pain shot through her shoulders as he wrenched her arms behind her back and tightly bound her wrists with something that bit into her skin. He hauled her upright, then dragged her into the living room and threw her onto the blue overstuffed chair.

His nostrils flared like a bull’s as he leaned over, bracing his hands on the armrests. “You know what I want.” Hot, cigar smoke-laden breath hit her in the face, making her wrinkle her nose. “Don’t you?”

“No, I don’t,” she lied. She knew exactly what he wanted––the money and her, neither of which she could ever give him. If she stalled for time, someone might come. Or, she could scream. She opened her mouth, inhaling a deep breath.

Yuri parked his big hand over her mouth. “If you scream, I will beat the shit out of you.” And probably kill her baby. “Do we understand each other, Vika?” When she nodded, he removed his hand and stood to his full height.

She clamped her mouth shut. If he hit her, eventually he would resort to kicking. It was his favorite method. Fists first, then knock her down and kick her in the ribs. Making him believe she was compliant might be the only way out of this.

Under the circumstances, forcing an expression of fear to her face wasn’t difficult, but she prayed her acting skills were good enough to hide her true feelings of loathing and disgust. And, her thoughts about how to get out of this deadly mess.

“That’s better.” He sat on the end of the coffee table, nearly toppling over the enormous new bouquet of flowers that hadn’t been there before. “You have something of mine. My money. I can see you haven’t spent it on yourself.” He waved his arm to indicate her sadly furnished apartment. “You will get it for me.”

“Okay.” She nodded. Yuri still thought the money was in the bank boxes in Chicago. He had no idea it wasn’t, let alone that most of it was gone and what remained had been seized by the FBI two weeks ago.

Stalling for time was all that mattered. When she didn’t leave for work tomorrow, those agents outside would know something was wrong. People would know she was missing. Tracee and Brad would know.

Between TSA and all the police swarming the airports, he couldn’t risk taking her back to Chicago on a commercial flight. He might be planning to drive, which would take around twelve hours. Twelve hours during which she could plot her escape. Allowing him to take her to Chicago only to find she’d closed those safety deposit boxes years ago would result in only one thing.

Her death.

She swallowed, tilting her head back to stem the pooling tears. Yuri thrived on her tears. It was all part of the power he would need to reassert himself over her. Come to think of it, there could be wisdom in making him think he’s won. For now. Short of getting hit again, if playing his game was what it took to keep her and her baby alive, she could do it. She would do it.

Yuri took a small brown bottle from his pocket, along with a small cloth. As he twisted the cap off and turned the bottle upside down onto the cloth, warning bells went off in her head.

“What is that?” Those bells rang louder. Chloroform?

“Something to make this easier on you.” He stood and leaned over her.

The smell of cut hay emanated from the cloth in his hand. As it neared her face, the smell intensified, becoming sweeter.

“No. No!”

He placed the cloth over her nose and mouth. She held her breath and tried twisting away, but he yanked down on her hair, holding the back of her head still and pressing the cloth down harder.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to inhale. Eventually, she did.

Her last thought was worry over what the chloroform might do to her baby. And of Kyle.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Yuri watched his wife lapse into full unconsciousness. The chloroform would only last for thirty minutes. To get her out of here when the time was right, a second dose would be necessary.

He’d taken great pains to listen to that shifty doctor’s instructions. With luck, he’d gotten the dosage right. If not, he’d be leaving Vika’s body behind. Then he’d go back and cut the doctor’s nuts off and cram them down the man’s throat. He needed Vika alive. For now. The final decision depended on her.

“So beautiful.” He sifted a lock of silky, coppery hair between his rough fingers. So beautiful, yet so different. Natural blond was better, something easily rectified. Reversing the brainwashing someone had done to her would not be quite as simple. Who had convinced his little Vika she could actually stand up to him?

Gates.

He growled deep in his throat, like a Russian bear. He would find her again—the little frightened little mouse who bowed to his every command, fulfilling his every need and wish. He slid his hand beneath her skirt, stroking her smooth thigh. Then again, he liked this new fight in her. Breaking her the first time had been easier than popping the lid off a tin of caviar. The second time would be a challenge, perhaps, but one he was up for. And speaking of up…

His swollen dick throbbed behind the zipper of his pants. Too bad that kind of fun had to wait.

He sat back down on the edge of the coffee table, watching her breasts rise and fall evenly. He stroked his fingers down the beard he’d been growing for the last two months. Between the beard and a giant vase of flowers to hide his face, plus the florist shirt and van he’d stolen, getting into the building right under the noses of those stupid feds had been easy. He’d been watching them for the last week and knew their routines by heart. What time they fetched coffee every day. When they’d drive off to take a leak at the café down the street. One of them would always spell the other, leaving the rear door of the building unguarded. Idiots.

Still, getting Vika out required more thought. A distraction. For this to work, he’d needed help. There was always someone willing to do anything for a few hundred bucks. Even if something went wrong, he always had a backup plan.