Page 134 of Dust to Dust

“The reason I told you that story was to explain why I, nor any of my men, would force themselves upon you. It isn’t about a weakness in me or them. It’s out of respect for her memory.”

Since I didn’t know what else to say, I merely nodded. “But there are other forms of torture besides rape, Ms. Vaughn.”

When he reached out for me, I flinched. He tsked at me. “I’m not so uncivilized that I would resort to beating you.”

Although I wanted to ask what he was going to do to me, I feared his answer too much. Anxious tremors already racked my body. Nausea rolled through my stomach that I feared I would vomit at any moment.

As he paced before me, Mikita paused to eye Yuri’s body again. “Did you know there are many means of torture that don’t require me to lay one finger on that beautiful body of yours?”

When I didn’t answer, he continued on. “In Russia, many of the prisons use psychological torture because it breaks men much quicker than physical torture.”

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Deprivation is a big one. You can starve or dehydrate someone into submission. Or use extreme temperatures on them.” He chuckled. “For someone like me who grew up in Russia, it would take a hell of a lot to freeze me into submission.”

“But one of the worst is sleep deprivation.” He cocked his head at me. “I bet you experienced a little of that when your beautiful sister gave birth to her baby boy.”

At the mention of Brooke and Henry, bile rocketed from my stomach, and I turned my head and retched on the floor. Mikita merely chuckled. “I see I’ve hit a nerve.”

Before I could reach up to swipe my mouth, Mikita produced a handkerchief from his pocket. He slid the silky material across my mouth. “Right now you’re experiencing a strong form of psychological torture. Threats.”

Tears spilled down my cheeks. “Please don’t hurt them.”

Mikita returned his handkerchief to his pocket. “Do you know how much money I could get on the human trafficking market for your sister?”

Sobs tore through my chest at the thoughts of Brooke being raped and abused. “Please.”

“She would make me millions.”

Once again, I croaked, “Please.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Of course, she’s not pure, and most men don’t want pussy that’s been through childbirth. She’ll probably get beaten a lot when buyers find that out.”

Menace flashed in his eyes. “But it’s not just about her, is it? There’s that sweet, innocent baby boy.”

A violent shudder rocketed through me. Pinching my eyes shut, I shook my head. “Enough.”

“Although I don’t condone kiddie fuckers in my organization, there is a lucrative market of them. Can you imagine that for your nephew? Being passed from buyer to buyer, his innocence stripped from him.”

My eyes snapped open. “Shut your fucking mouth!” I screamed.

“I’m afraid that most of the babies on the market don’t live very long. Someone always ends up taking things too far, and they’re very fragile.”

Unable to stand it any longer, I lunged out of my chair. I leapt at Mikita, punching and slapping him. Instead of deflecting me, he merely laughed. I stepped back from him, my fist clenched at my sides. “Take me instead.”

Mikita eyed me curiously. When he continued staring at me, I smacked my chest. “I said take me instead.”

He remained impassively staring at me. Grabbing the lapels of his suit, I shouted, “Kill me. Fuck me. Beat me. I don’t care what you do to me. Just don’t touch them.”

To my utter shock, Mikita began clapping. “I’m truly in awe of how quickly you broke. Your love for your sister and nephew is truly admirable.”

Unable to control my anger, I spat, “Fuck you.”

Mikita chuckled. “Such fire for a little thing.”

“Are you going to hurt them?”

“That depends on you, Ms. Vaughn.”

“What do you want me to do?”

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