Chapter 11

Avgust~

S amara's blue eyes widened with the knowledge of her new reality, and there was sick satisfaction in witnessing her world finally crumbling all around her. If I'd had a heart, then I'd say that she had already paid a price when she'd lost her parents, but I wasn't feeling particularly charitable right now. If I had managed to stay away from her when the news of her parents' deaths had reached me, then watching her fall apart was nothing.

"What…what do you mean?" she stammered, finally snapping out of her shock.

"Get in the cage, Samara," I ordered, the taste of her name like acid on my tongue.

"Are you…are you serious?" she asked, still sounding a bit stunned.

"What makes you think that I wouldn't be?" I asked flippantly.

She started shaking her head. "No…I'm…I'm not getting in that cage."

"Because you believe that you have a choice?" I taunted. "Surely, you know better."

Her eyes lit with the fire that I used to love about her. "What the fuck, Avgust?"

"Careful, Razh," I warned her. "It is not just you and me here. Of course, I could always place your sister in there if you prefer."

Samara lifted her chin, and her eyes quickly moistened with fury. Shooting me a look of absolute hate, with her back straight, I watched her as she walked over to step into the cage, and if she were anyone else, I might feel sorry for her. However, because she wasn't anyone else, I was deriving more pleasure from this than I should be.

Once she was inside the cage, I jerked my chin towards Vlad, and no one said anything as he went inside the cage with her, then leaned down to fasten the chained cuff to her left leg. After making sure that it was secure, Vlad grabbed her purse off her shoulder, then exited the cage, leaving her glaring at all three of us.

Christ, she looked beautiful.

"Leave us," I ordered, refusing to allow her to put herself in a position where I'd have to kill her in front of everyone. There'd be no satisfaction in killing her before any fun could be had.

Without a word, Maksim and Vlad left the room, even though I knew that Maksim was probably calling me all kinds of a fool in his head. The only reason that I wasn't laying down the law with him was because he wasn't wrong when it came to my feelings for Samara. I was always going to love her, but because I could acknowledge that truth, my feelings for her weren't a weakness. In fact, they were actually a strength that I was going to use to make her life a living hell.

As soon as we were left alone in the room, I said, "I know that you might feel as if you are entitled to something more than this because of our past, but you are not, Samara. I owe you nothing, and you'd do well not to expect anything from me."

"Not even a bed?" she retorted scathingly.

"Not even a bed," I echoed. "You are not a guest here, Samara. You are here because you chose to sacrifice yourself for your sister, and it was a choice, whether you want to admit it or not. The moment that your life becomes more important to you than your sister's, you've only to tell me, and then I will release you. However, know that Masha will take your place inside that cage."

"So, what's the plan?" she snapped. "To starve me to death in here?"

"No," I answered as I slipped my hands in my pockets. "There'd be no fun in that. So, you will be fed accordingly by the guard that I assign you. Also, you needn't fear any harm from them."

"What about a bathroom?" she asked, ignoring my assurance about her safety.

"What about it?"

Her face turned red with humiliation, but she was going to have to learn to let go of her pride soon enough. She was here as punishment for her sister's crimes, plus the decisions that she'd made all those years ago. This was not a vacation for her, and things were only going to get worse from here on out.

"How am I expected to go to the bathroom, Avgust?"

"Pick a corner, Samara," I retorted. "I don't particularly care which one."

"You're a bastard," she choked out, anger making it impossible for her to speak clearly.

"Baby, how do you think I got this way?" I sneered. "Do not be upset because you are being forced to deal with the monster that you created. Again, you chose to be here."

"She's my sister!" Samara yelled.

"Yes, she is," I mused condescendingly.

Tears gathered in the corners of Samara's eyes, but they weren't enough to sway me in any way. Though I did love her, I'd spent the last fifteen years feeding my anger when it came to her, not the love that I had for her, so whatever affection that I felt for her had been weakened behind my resentment.

Still, it was one thing to humiliate her, it was another to allow any harm to come to her or allow her to believe that such a thing was possible. Samara was my toy, no one else's. So, she was off-limits, something that would be made clear to everyone soon enough.

Taking in a calming breath, she asked, "How long are you going to keep me here?"

"How many more years does your sister have to live?" I drawled out.

Samara started shaking her head. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?" I challenged. "Why can I not be serious?"

"So, I'm just going to stay locked in this cage until I waste away?" she asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

"Or until you cannot stand it any further and end your own life," I replied evenly.

"Can you please leave now?" she asked, her voice cold and a bit detached.

"Gladly," I smirked before turning to leave her in peace.

As soon as I walked out the door, Maksim was there to greet me, eyeing me like I had no sense in my head. Of course, he wouldn't utter a word about it as long as witnesses were around, but I could expect an earful in private later.

"Gosha has arrived for his new duties," Maksim informed me as he stepped in line with me, both of us ready to leave. "He requested details about how he should handle her shifts at work."

"He is to escort her to and from work," I told him. "I am not sure if she owns a car or not, but he is to use his to drive her around."

"According to Alexei, the sisters share a car, but it is in the shop, and that is why Masha had been walking to work," Maksim replied.

"Get the car out of the shop, then sell it," I instructed. "Masha will no longer need it, and it'll also prevent her from getting any bright ideas about trying to escape Gosha."

As we walked out into the night, Maksim asked, "Do you really believe that she'll try to leave? After all, we are holding her sister prisoner."

"I would rather not chance it," I replied.

When we finally reached my car, Maksim said, "That was not a good idea."

I turned towards my friend. "Afraid that she was going to work her feminine wiles on me?"

Maksim smirked. "More like make you cry."

That got a grin out of me. "I think it is time that I let you in on a little secret, bratok . Should my feelings for Samara get in the way, I will simply do what I hadn't allowed myself to do all those years ago."

Maksim arched a brow. "And what is that?"

"This time, I will not allow her the freedom that she so prettily begged for before," I answered. "This time, I'll keep her if things should get complicated on my end."

"Ya dolzhen byl znat'," he muttered, and he wasn't wrong.

"Yes, you should have known," I smirked.

"What of Masha?" he asked. "What if she decides to talk?"

"Right now, I am good with killing her," I told him. "If that changes, then there are plenty of cages that are empty here."

"Anything more, Pakhan?"

"Yes," I answered. "Go get drunk or laid, Maksim. You appear stressed."

Maksim just flipped me off before turning to head to his own vehicle. His heart was in a good place, but concern was unnecessary. Again, I was very aware of what I felt for Samara Andreev, so even though I'd never expected to see her again, that did not mean that I hadn't been prepared for when I would. Despite what I felt for her, every decision that I'd made tonight had been designed to make her pay until I was satisfied with the price.

Getting into my car, I started the vehicle, then drove back into the city to speak with Gosha personally. I wanted to impress upon him how important his new duties were. If anything happened to Masha on Gosha's watch, then Samara would no longer have an incentive to play nice. Though I'd always appreciated the fire in her eyes, I wanted her broken more than I needed her to turn me on.

Smiling, I wondered how long she was going to last before Samara finally begged me to make it all go away.