Chapter 27 - Cindy

Coming too, I kept my eyes shut as I heard voices around me. My head was throbbing, and my memory was a bit foggy. I tried to recall the last thing I remembered. Thinking made the pulsing increase, but I pushed through it.

I had vague images scrambling through my mind. I knew I was waiting for Leon and looking at antiques or something. Then there were flashes of a van and someone holding me up in the air. That was the last thing I remembered.

My hands and feet felt like they were tied up. The surface I was lying on was soft and had to be a couch or bed. Blinking, I tried to open my eyes just enough to see. It looked like a large storage room with boxes and pieces of furniture everywhere. Most items were stacked to the sides and appeared to extend quite far to both sides.

Men were walking around with big guns dressed mostly in black as if on patrol. "Boss, boss, she's awake." I heard one of the men saying. Glancing around, I saw a man taking on a radio.

There was a horrible grrrr sound before a booming voice came loudly back over the radio. "Thanks, Clause. Ms. Kiera will be down shortly."

Ms. Kiera, I thought trying to sit up, seeing that they already knew I had come too. In the distance, a door opened, and a ray of light shone through the stacks of furniture and boxes. Kiera came waltzing in escorted by two bodyguards.

"Who are you?" I asked as she stopped a couple of feet before me, placing her hands on her hips. Kiera was glaring at me as if I had stolen her only love.

"Quiet," she shot back at me. "You destroyed my company. Speak only when asked to do so."

Kiera looked very different from the kind loving woman I saw at the lab. Approaching me she grinned, but the look on her face was like a wolf stalking its prey. I shifted uncomfortably on the chair as my throat tightened and my insides twisted.

Kiera lifted her hand slapping me through the face with the back of it. "Which bratva family do you work for?" she asked, grabbing my chin, and leaning closer.

Tears stung at the back of my eyes. Fear trotted into my mind, turning my skin to ice. Swallowing was suddenly not possible as spit accumulated in my mouth and threatened to spill out over her hand.

Squeezing my cheeks together, Kiera shouted at me. "Who do you work for I asked?"

Pulling back, I tried to get out of her grip, which was stronger than I could ever have imagined. My cheeks hurt as she pressed harder before pulling away and flinging my head to one side. I felt a sharp pinch pushing up into my head, starting at the back of my neck as she let go.

I didn't dare speak knowing my tears would not be contained once I opened my mouth. Kiera turned to the men who came in with her. "Get my bag of tricks," she said, looking at the one. She turned to the other one as she continued. "Get me a chair and tie her into it."

Both men nodded and scurried off in different directions. Turning back to me, she shook her left and right finger as she spoke. "You will talk one way or another, little girl."

The two men returned almost simultaneously and nearly walked into each other in their rush to please her. The one brought the chair closer and placed it before me as the other gave her a black bag. Kiera opened the bag and placed it on a table beside her. As it fell open, I saw similar things to those that Leon had in his bag the night I disrupted him.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The friendly boss, was evil; how could I not have seen it? My heart raced as I felt the blood draining from my face.

Kiera glanced at me with that awful grin as she spoke. "Soon, I will know who you work for."

Enemy bratva? What was she talking about? Was Kiera bratva? I would never have suspected her to be one of them.

The man picked me up and placed me down on the chair. He loosened my feet and tied them to the legs of the chair. We heard a big commotion from both sides as he untied the first knot of three on the rope around my hands.

Kiera turned from side to side as she spoke. "Go see what's happening."

The man by her side went left, and the other went right leaving me half tied. Hearing gunshots coming seemingly from every corner, I took it as my only opportunity. Working quickly, I loosened the remaining two knots using my teeth.

Leaning forward, I watched Kiera as I untied my legs and slipped off the chair. Carefully moving backward toward the side of the couch, I kept an eye on Kiera, hoping she wouldn't turn around.

Sliding around the couch, I ducked behind it and surveyed the area hoping to find a way out. As I looked around a stack of boxes, I saw another door towards the back. It was open but there were men on both sides of the path towards it. However, most of them appeared to be fighting with other men.

Feeling sure, I could make it past them, I stepped out behind the couch and around the stack of boxes. As I moved, I heard Kiera screaming from behind me like a ghoul or ghost from a horror movie.

Sure, she had seen me and was coming for me. I sprinted towards the door as quickly as I could. My legs felt like lead as I ran. They were wobbly and my lungs were on fire. Trying to push the fear bubbling up inside back down, I glanced over my shoulder.

I knew that I should not have done that, the victims in movies always did and that was when they got caught. But I couldn't help it. My body seemed to be moving instinctively and I had no control.

Kiera was coming at me with an unbelievable speed. As I stepped out the door, I felt a hand grabbing the back of my shawl. My feet went forward while the top part of my body moved backward. Realizing I was falling, I stuck out my hands, hoping to prevent my body from slamming into the concrete floor.

Knifes stabbed up my wrists and through my arms as my hands kissed the floor, and I screamed from the agony. It felt like my wrists broke and I collapsed back, holding my arms to my chest. Tears blurred my vision as they streamed from my eyes. Blinking rapidly, I could clear my sight enough to see Kiera standing over me with a gun pointed at my face.

"Today you will die," she screamed. "Who do you work for?"

Panic had taken over, I felt numb as I tried to breathe, gasping for air. The pain throbbing through my arms and head was worse than I had ever felt. Tears flowed like rivers without end and my words appeared to have left me. I didn't know how to respond. Even if I did, I was sure no words would come out.

Closing my eyes, I prayed that it would be quick, that she was a good shot and wouldn't just maim me.

"Tell me who you work for, or I will kill you!" Kiera screamed.

A loud cracking sound filled the air, and I was sure my life was over. But then I felt hot liquid splatter my face and a heavy weight falling onto me. Opening my eyes, I saw Kiera lying half on top of me and Leon standing by my feet. Looking at her I saw the blood pumping out of the hole in her chest and flowing over my arm where she lay.

Leon stepped to the side. He pushed her off me and pulled me up into his arms. "You're safe," he whispered in my ear as he held me.

I was shaking, crying, and gasping for air. Shock, fear, and relief washed over me in waves as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. Leon took my face in his hands, looking into my eyes as he continued. "I love you and will never let anything happen to you."

Pulling me closer, he kissed me tenderly. The fighting and shooting had calmed down around us as we walked around the building to Konstantin's car. As Ashan's men cleared the area, Piotr, Mila, and Konstantin joined us.

"Can we go home now?" I asked, holding onto Leon.

Leon kissed my forehead as he spoke. "Sure, let's go."

Leon sat in the back with me. I was glad to be in his arms and didn't want to let go. Back at the mansion, he carried me upstairs. I sat on the floor in the bathroom as he filled the tub for me.

"I have to go down for a second, but I'll be back in a flash," he said, leaving the bathroom as I undressed and climbed into the tub.

After soaking for a while, I started feeling better. I washed, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Everyone was there and took turns hugging me.