Chapter 3

Destiny

It takes them four seconds from the moment Taylan climbs out to come at me. "Ski masks, AK-47's, MG 42 and 43's, M60 rifle, License plate G49-2368," is all I manage to say before I take a left jab to the mouth. The metallic tangy flavor of my blood fills my mouth as I stumble backward. "Come on, motherfucker!" I scream in false bravado.

"Don't fucking touch her, you cocksucker!" Taylan roars as he tries to fight off the fuckers holding him back. For a split second my gaze collides with his and that's when I see fear, not for himself but for me. The trance is broken when another hit lands to my stomach. I gasp and drop to my knees as two cunts grab my arms and yank them behind me. I feel a cable tie slip around my wrists a second before a black bag is placed over my head and I'm dragged toward a car. "Slayer?" I hear Taylan call out, I open my mouth to answer but my head is shoved from the back and I smack into something hard and solid. I grind my teeth fighting to keep from crying out at the pain radiating through my skull.

I'm dizzy and have black spots dancing at the edge of my vision as I'm thrown inside, what I can only assume, the trunk of a car. Before I can get my bearings or get my head to stop spinning something—no, someone is thrown on top of me. I gasp and groan from the impact as I try to roll out from under them but it's a fucking hard when your hands are tied.

"Your cousin's coming along, get comfortable, it's a long ride," a man with a thick Russian accent says, then the hood is yanked off my head. I slam my eyes closed against the light. The trunk is slammed, then I'm bathed in darkness. I try to regulate my breathing and remain calm as the car takes off. I sigh in relief when the body rolls off me except I remember what Taylan said and put two and two together, the body is Taylan.

"Taylan?" I whisper shout, trying to gain his attention. When the driver hits the brakes, it shines enough light inside for me to see his eyes are closed. He's knocked out. I feel around with my fingers hoping to find something to cut these restraints off, but after a couple minutes I growl in frustration.

"Argh," Taylan groans out. I have no idea why the fuck this idiot would risk his life for me. The last time I saw him I told him to die and I would fake cry at his funeral. "Slayer?" he moans and shifts.

"I'm here," I answer.

He rolls onto his back, hissing in pain. They clearly worked him over pretty well if he's in this amount of pain. "You okay?"

"I got a fat lump on the back of my head and a pounding headache from getting my face smacked into something but I'll live," I deadpan.

"There's a guy who wasn't wearing a mask and barking orders in Russian, he's the one we need to talk to."

"Why?"

"Because he's the boss or at least he's the one running this thing," he says in a clipped tone.

"Why are you pretending to be Royal?" I whisper, trying to keep my voice low in case they can hear us talking inside the car.

"Same reason I'm calling you Slayer instead of your name."

"What?" I'm confused as hell now.

"You will deny being Anya Murdoch's daughter, you will claim to be Rook's kid. If they think you aren't Destiny, that will buy us some time for our people to find us."

That actually makes sense but he still hasn't answered my other question. "Why are you pretending to be Royal?"

"You don't think I can pull it off?" The fact he is trying to joke at a time like this grates on my freaking nerves.

"Royal has a New York accent and you sound Canadian!" I hiss.

He's silent for a moment and I begin to fidget as the events of the night catch up with me. "If they knew I wasn't important they would have put a bullet in my head and you would be left alone with them. Saying I'm him means I'm valuable and them thinking you are Rook's kid means you are worth nothing but them thinking I am Bishop's…" He lets his sentence trail off.

I nod my head even though he can't see me. "Which means you will take the brunt of their anger while I don't. They will torture you so Uncle Bishop forces my mom to give up her formula," I mutter dejectedly.

"I won't let them hurt you, Slayer," he says quietly.

A whoosh of air escapes me. "Why? I'm not your problem, you don't even know me."

"I may not know you personally but I do know your family, they came to our aid?—"

"Stop bullshitting and tell me the truth!" I snap—there is no fucking way he would risk his life because he feels like he owes my family.

"I like you."

I snort. "Nice try, no one likes me. Now, tell me why you are really here."

"That is the reason, I obeyed Knox's orders to come here in the hopes I would see you again." I lull my head to the side and squint against the darkness, trying to see him in the dark but can only make out the outline of his face.

"Nice try, Romeo."

"Believe what you want but it's the truth. I'm a man, Slayer, and there is no fucking way I would have let them take me out like a bitch while they ran away with you, that shit isn't in my DNA."

"So you have a hero complex?"

He scoffs. "Fuck, you're no good for my ego."

"Never will be, either. I don't have time to fluff men's egos so they can feel better about themselves. I'm a fighter, not some piece of meat for them to stick their cock into."

He whistles between his teeth. "I said I liked you, I never said I wanted to fuck you."

I grind my teeth and remind myself he is my only ally here. "I will never let you fuck me. I refuse to be like my cousins and London who got sidetracked by cocks. I have a dream and I will fucking achieve it."

"Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" he counters. I refuse to answer him because his question hit too close to home. My arms feel numb and my body is aching from being cramped inside this trunk with Taylan plastered against me. We haven't spoken a word since I refused to answer him but I feel the car slowing down and tense in anticipation. "When they pop the trunk, don't fight, play the damsel?—"

"I'm no fucking damsel!" I seethe.

"Play the fucking part of one, you fight against these guys and they will make it their mission to break you."

"They can try," I retort.

"They won't beat you, Slayer, they'll rape you and that is something that will break you." For the first time since this whole fucking thing started I feel fear. It travels through my body at a rapid pace. I realize for the first time in my life that my last name won't save me, it will be the cause of my demise. "I won't let them touch you, Destiny. " The conviction in which he says that has me wanting to believe him.

"You can't make a promise like that," I whisper as the car comes to a stop and shuts off. I close my eyes and will myself to remain calm. Kidnapping is becoming a rite of passage in my family at this rate, why couldn't we be normal?

"Normal is overrated." I balk, I said that shit out loud. "It's not a promise, it's a vow. I will take whatever they dish out and redirect their anger to me, you remain silent and you will stay alive." Before more can be said the trunk is opened. I close my eyes against the harsh light. "Fuck you!" Taylan snarls as he is yanked out of the trunk. I snap my eyes open. Hands grab me, and I force myself not to fight against them and heed his advice. I look around, taking stock of my surroundings. We're in a large warehouse that is vacant except for seven cars. The fucker shifts his hold from my arm to gripping a handful of my hair. I hiss earning a chuckle from the bastard.

"The budes krichat saa menia?" (Will you scream for me?) I grind my teeth as he drags me by my hair through a door into what looks like a storage room. He yanks me to a halt by my hair as three guys wrestle Taylan into a chair. They cut the tie binding his wrists before securing his wrists and ankles by cuffs to the metal chair. Once they are finished with him they come to me. I don't fight as they chain me the same way they did him except when they finish, they don't step back. The bastard who brought me in here leans in so his lips brush mine, his rancid breath has me fighting to not gag. He darts his tongue out and licks a trail from the corner of my mouth along my jaw. I turn my head, locking eyes with Taylan who is vibrating with anger at the sight of the fucker slobbering on me.

"Rook is going to kill you," he forces out through clenched teeth. The fucker doesn't stop licking. He places his hands on the tops of my thighs and sucks the shell of my ear into his mouth, my face contorting as I stare at Taylan. His gaze bores into mine, he can see the unfiltered horror in my gaze when the bastard forces his hands between my legs and cups my pussy through my jeans. I whimper. "Nytress, keep looking at me." The guy freezes at the sound of my cousin's name and pulls back. I see confusion in his eyes as he looks between us. He grips the back of his ski mask and yanks it off. I note he has a jagged scar down his left cheek and I see burns around his neck.

"Kogo the nachren vzyal?" (Who the fuck did you take?) He asks the three guys.

"My poshli za ney, boris skazal, chto eto ona," (We followed her, Boris said she was the one.) one of the guys answers.

Licker glares down at me and I can see the rage filtering beneath the surface of his eyes. "Pozvoni bossu, pryamo seichas!" (Call the boss, now!) Taylan and I remain silent as the four of them storm out of the room, slamming the door closed and locking it behind themselves. I sag with relief into my chair, then clench my fists to try to stop myself from trembling, the last thing I want them to see is me quaking in fear just from being licked and… I slam my eyes closed and fight off the intrusive thoughts.

He didn't touch me!

I keep saying that over and over again in my head forcing myself to believe it. If these disgusting fuckers think I will allow them to grope me and touch me however they please, then they have another fucking thing coming. I am a Murdoch and we are fighters!

"I may have bought us some time but they won't be gone for long," Taylan says barely above a whisper. I don't respond, I'm too lost in my thoughts trying to devise a plan on getting the fuck out of here. My hands being cable tied was something I could have worked with and broken them or something like that but handcuffs? That is a hard fucking no. "Slayer?"

"What?" I snap as I turn to look at him. The intensity in which he looks at me would have women dropping their panties and begging him to slide his cock inside their desperate pussies but not me.

"You're gonna be okay."

I scoff. "Making another promise you can't keep?"

His brows furrow causing a deep V in the middle of his forehead. " When we get out of here, you are going to be thanking me for everything I am about to go through in order to keep you safe until the cavalry arrives." I tear my gaze from him and tilt my head back, staring up at the ceiling. If I had just stayed home tonight instead of going out I wouldn't be here, I'd be in bed with my laptop watching YouTube videos of my next opponent and studying everything about them. I should be trying to find a new trainer instead of being chained to a fucking chair!

This is the price you pay for your mother being born a Volkov.