Page 280 of Unexpected Hero

“He’s the one who brought you here?”

Fighting back a sob, she hangs her head low. “Yes. He had to, or they kill me.”

“And he still comes to see you?”

“Yes. He bring me food and vitamins. He say he will rescue me soon.”

My head is about to explode. I’m too sleep-deprived and hungry to understand what she’s saying. My brain is in a perpetual fog. None of it makes sense. How could she trust anyone who brought her here?

Are they emotionally abusing her with promises of a rescue on top of all the other fucked up shit they’re doing to us? Do I have that to look forward to when I’ve been here for as long as her?

And fuck, that’s a long time.

Will there be any of me left by then?

“Does Savin work with them?” I ask, trying to uncover what she’s talking about.

With a sad nod, she wipes away a tear as soon as it falls. “At first, he had to. They have his sister. If he stop bringing girls, they will kill her.”

Sounds like something they’d do. Sick bastards.

After she collects her composure, she continues, “And then Savin’s sister, Katia, got pregnant. The Pakhan is father of baby. Lenkov. So she safe now. She is his favorite.”

“What does Pakhan mean? Or Lenkov?”

“Lenkov is the Pakhan. Man in charge. Very powerful.”She swallows, and her voice is shaky when she speaks again. “When he find out about his sister being pregnant, Savin told them he not bring any more girls. He wanted to leave Bratva. He finished. Now that Katia is safe. But then...”

More tears spill over her bruised and swollen cheeks.

“Bratva?” I wonder aloud.

“Yes. Americans call it mafia.”

Mafia. I knew it.

Viktor had that air about him.

I hold her hand as she explains. “Savin came one night to my apartment. He said we must leave right away. Run. But it was too late.” She sniffles back her tears. “When we got in car, they wait for us. With guns.”

“And so they were going to kill you unless he brought you here?”

With his sister no longer able to be used as leverage, they forced him to continue abducting girls by taking his girlfriend. How can they live with themselves?

Nodding, she puts her face in her palms and sobs softly. I bring her close, wrapping my arm over her shoulders. When she grabs onto my waist, I wince from the pain, but I push through it. She needs comfort.

Once she stops crying, she sweeps her gaze around the room where the other girls are passed out. “I have secret.”

Intrigued at the abrupt change, I tip my head to one side and widen my eyes. “What?”

“You can’t tell other girls,” she whispers.

“I promise. I won’t.”

A sneaky half-grin slowly eases onto her face. “I have special place. I want to share with you because I love when you sing. So if you need a break, you come here. Hide.”

“A special place?”

“I hide there. And inside is medicine Savin give me. For overdose. If a girl needs it, you can get it to save them.” Her conspiratorial expression fades, sorrow taking its place. “Maybe it’s me one day. You can save me.”

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