Chapter 12

Samara~

T he sounds of screaming and pleading were damaging my soul, and no matter how tightly I pressed my hands to my ears, it wasn't enough to drown out the sounds of torture happening in the next room. When the screams had first begun, it'd become immediately clear why Avgust had chosen this particular cage for me. He'd meant to make my stay here as miserable as possible, and I knew that this wasn't the last time that I'd be hearing these types of sounds. Yeah, the voices would sound different, but the screams of agony would all be the same.

However, before the torturing had begun, I had tested out the cuff on my leg, checking to see just how far my freedom had extended. I'd learned that I had full range of the cage but nothing more. Still, even if I had been given some more wiggle room, the entire place was empty of anything that I could use as a weapon or a restroom. When Avgust had told me that I was going to have to relieve myself on the floor, I'd been incensed. He was set on humiliating me, and that was one sure fire way to accomplish that. At any given moment in time, someone could walk in here while I was pissing on the floor, and if that wasn't dehumanizing, then I didn't know what was.

Still, when the cries of pain had begun, I'd been quickly reminded that things could be a lot worse for me, considering how I wasn't Avgust Kotov's favorite person. With the echoes of agony ringing in my ears, relieving myself on the floor didn't seem so horrible anymore. I'd also found myself praying for the poor man's death, though I had no idea what he'd done to end up on the wrong side of the Kotovs. Yeah, he could be a horrible person, but the humanity in me still felt sorry for him.

Sitting on the floor, I found myself grateful for the little things. When I'd gotten home tonight, I'd been wearing my uniform under my coat, but when Avgust had given me and Masha some privacy to say goodbye to one another, I had quickly changed into a simple t-shirt and jeans, and those jeans were going to help keep me warm here at night. My shirt wasn't much, but since I had to sleep on the floor, the jeans would help a lot.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it finally dawned on me that the screaming had stopped. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I wondered if they'd stop because he was dead or because his tormentors were taking a break. I silently prayed that he was dead, and if he wasn't, then I prayed that he would be soon.

However, my prayers were misplaced when the man from earlier walked into the room with another guy. Both their clothing was splattered with blood, though the new guy looked to be bloodier than the other guy.

Dread crept up my spine when they both stopped in front of my cage. Tears threatened to erupt when it finally dawned on me why I was here. I'd been afraid that Avgust would kill me or make me work for the bratva as a whore, but what he had planned was much worse. Everyone knew that violence and lust often went hand-in-hand, and it looked like I was going to be the reward for a job well done by the bratva's worst. Whatever leftover aggression that still existed after their kills was going to be taken out on me, and now it made sense why Avgust had been so certain that I'd end up trying to kill myself at some point.

"How wonderful that Christmas has come early," the second guy remarked as his eyes raked me up and down.

My back slid up the wall until I was standing up, desperation clawing at my neck because I knew that there was no way that I'd be able to win against one of these men, let alone both of them. They both towered over me, and probably outweighed me by a hundred pounds.

"Pakhan said that she wasn't an enemy, so that could only mean that she's here for us," the second guy went on.

"We do not know that for sure," the first guy said.

"Of course, we do," the second guy insisted. "Otherwise, why would she be here? If she mattered, then Pakhan would have housed her somewhere else." His green eyes sparkled with malice. "I think that she's here to keep us entertained while we take care of business."

"I'm not," I lied, my voice shaking a bit. "I'm just here as a prisoner."

"I think you are lying," the first guy said. "We have other places for simple prisoners."

The second guy chuckled darkly. "Granted, we never have prisoners for long, so perhaps you are a gift from the Pakhan."

"I'm not," I insisted, panic threatening to take over.

"Pakhan said that you didn't require any special attention, but he did not say that we could not pay any attention to you," the second guy went on. "Plus, you are to be fed. Why else would Pakhan want to keep you alive if not for us?"

My heart started thrumming inside my chest as I watched the first guy walk over, then open one of the four cabinets in the room. Fear gripped my insides as he pulled out a ring of keys, then started dangling them tauntingly in his fingers. I could feel bile threatening to come up, the reality of my situation hitting me hard.

Trying again, I said, "Avgust said that none of his guards would harm me."

The second guy laughed. "And I am sure that he meant it. However, we are not bykis , dorogaya . We are kryshas."

I knew enough Russian to know that he had called me sweetheart, and I hated the way it had sounded coming from his lips. However, what I didn't know was what a byki or a krysha was, so I had no idea what he was talking about, or why it even mattered.

To his credit, the first guy said, "Maybe we should make sure that she's here for us before we do anything."

"If pussy doesn't interest you, then just hold the bitch down for me," the second guy laughed darkly, making my palms begin to sweat.

As soon as the first guy unlocked the cage door, I wrapped my hands around the bars, bracing myself, needing the leverage to kick at him. No matter what happened, I knew that I couldn't let them get me on the floor. If they did, then I'd be done for.

"Now, all that you have to do is play nice, and we won't hurt you," the second guy lied.

"Never," I vowed.

Standing my ground, I had expected him to reach for my body or clothing, but he didn't. Instead, he swung his right fist at my face, hitting me with enough force to send me flying across the cage, the cuff on my leg pulling me back, preventing me from cracking my skull on the metal bars.

I turned to my side, spitting out blood, and that's when I felt his hands on my legs, pulling me towards him. Even though I knew that no one was around to help me, I started yelling for help anyway. I let out a blood curling scream, praying to God that someone might come to stop this, but as I felt hands on the waistband of my jeans, I knew that it was too late to rely on someone else to save me.

I started kicking and fighting with everything that I had, no matter how pointless. Though this was a losing battle, I'd rather die than just give in. "Get off me!"

"I love it when they fight," he grunted above me.

"Rurik, I think-"

"Get out if you don't want a piece of her," the guy named Rurik snarled. "If not, then hold her down, Vlad."

"I am not going to hold her down," Vlad spat. "If you want to rape her, you will do it with no help from me."

"Please!" I screamed. "Please help me!"

Rurik punched me in the stomach for my troubles, and as I struggled to breathe, he tore my shirt at the neckline, exposing me to the room. "Look at her tits," he cackled cruelly. "Pakhan chose well."

"Stop it!" I yelled as I continued to fight. "Stop it! Get off me!"

The man hit me again, and this time, he hit me hard enough to make my left ear ring with pain. When he flipped me over on my stomach, I couldn't stop the cries that erupted from my soul. I'd honestly believed that Avgust was just going to leave me in this cage to waste away. I'd never imagined that he'd chain me here to let his men rape me to no end.

"I'd knock her out if her screams didn't sound so pretty," Rurik taunted as his hands pulled at my jeans.

"Pakhan doesn't approve of rape," Vlad said, giving me some hope.

"It's not rape if this is what she's here for," Rurik argued, making me fight him some more.

I knew that my only chance was to exploit Vlad's doubts. "Please…please…don't do this. Help me, Vlad!"

"You stupid bitch," Rurik snarled before grabbing the back of my head by my hair, then slamming my skull into the concrete floor.

My vision started to go black, and all I could think about was how grateful I was that I wasn't going to have to be awake for this.