Page 95 of Exacting Vengeance

“Agreed,” Kyle said, itching to get on the road. “The sound of an FBI chopper beating the air into submission would only announce our presence. As much as I understand Lebedev’s motive, this could also be a trap.” A fatal funnel designed to take out as many agents as possible before they ever saw it coming. And Lebedev warned him Yuri would be armed. “Jack, get those state troopers to follow us, and see if you can find out what’s off Stokes Road in the middle of the Pine Barrens.” There had to be a reason Yuri would take Victoria there. “Deke, you’re with me. Mike,” he called over his shoulder, already racing for his Explorer, “let me know if you ping the phone.”

He and Deke jumped into the Explorer. A minute later, they were flying down the Garden State Parkway with the strobes flashing, sirens wailing, and doing over ninety, with Jack and three state police vehicles taking up the rear.

For the first time in over twelve hours, the dread in his heart was filled with hope and fear.

Hope that Victoria was still alive.

Fear that he wouldn’t get there in time.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The few sips of water Victoria had managed before Yuri threw the bottle against the wall were hardly enough to keep her hydrated. The bottle lay on its side beneath the window. There was still water in it. She stared at it longingly, licking her dry lips. She needed more water. And food.

Damn Yuri!

If anything happened to her baby because of him…

She dug her fingers into the edge of the mattress, wishing she could inflict one of those moves she’d learned in Kyle’s self-defense class on Yuri.

By her estimation, it had been way past twelve hours since she’d had anything else to drink besides those few sips of water. That didn’t stop her bladder from crying out.

She glanced at the bathroom door. Sure enough, as she stepped closer to the door, the chain stopped her three feet away. That wasn’t happening, and asking Yuri to unchain her so she could use the facilities brought with it other hazards she didn’t want to open herself up to.

Baring herself from the waist down in front of him was a bad idea. Thus far, he hadn’t made any sexual advances, but there wasn’t a shadow of doubt he’d let her relieve herself in privacy. He’d want to do everything possible to continually degrade her. That was all part of his method.

She’d heard him go outside. If she wanted privacy, now was the time.

Orange bucket it is.

Moving quickly, she unzipped, then pulled down her pants and underwear and sat on the rim of the bucket. Luckily, it was big enough and sturdy enough to support her weight, and the sounds were muffled by her body covering the opening. When she was finished, she bit back an absurd laugh, given her circumstances. Who knew toilet paper would ever be such a luxury?

After standing, she refastened her pants.

A gunshot rang out.

She spun, covering her head with her hands, and dropped to the floor, bumping into the bucket. When she was about to stand, another gunshot blasted. Was someone shooting at Yuri? Or was Yuri doing the shooting?

She hadn’t seen a gun on him. That didn’t mean he didn’t have one. Why wouldn’t he be worried about someone hearing the shots?

Footsteps sounded on the porch.

He was coming back.

She leaped onto the bed and huddled against the headboard. A smell wafted to her. Urine. The bucket lay on its side, the contents staining the old wood floor.

Seconds later, Yuri jerked open the door. As he walked into the room, she noticed the black handgun tucked into his belt and the phone in his hand. He pressed a button on the side of the phone, then stuck it in his back pocket. His nose wrinkled as he took in the overturned bucket. “You pissed. Now the whole house will smell like a toilet,” he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he advanced on her.

Watching him come closer unleashed the hidden side of her she’d been concealing from him. The one that was sick and tired of being berated. Sick and tired of being subjected to the whims of garbage like him.

“Maybe,” she said, rising to her knees and intentionally rattling the chain, “if you’d made the chain longer, I could have used the bathroom. So if you want to blame someone for the smell, blame yourself!” Her chest heaved from emotions that had been building since he’d drugged her, kidnapped her, then tied her up like an animal. The next words raced from her mouth before she could stop them. “So fuck you, Yuri Petrov!”

Oh my God. Had she just said that?

She had, and she’d also just let the very not subservient genie out of the bottle. There was no putting her back in. She’d just played her hand, a very dangerous one that could get her killed.

His dark eyes flared so wide the whites of his eyes glowed in the dim light. He rushed the bed and slammed his hand into her chest, shoving her with enough force to whack the back of her head against the top rail of the headboard. Pain lanced through her skull like a thousand pounding nails. She shook her head to clear her blurred vision just in time to see him raise his hand to strike her again.

This had to stop.