Page 38 of Macon

Gone?

“Gone? Where are you going?” the woman protests.

“I have some business to attend to with Viktoriya. I don’t want anyone to know where I’ve stashed her until it is time for me to take her home. This place is perfect. Men come and go here, and there are so many women they won’t notice one more,” Peshkov answers.

Wait, men come and go. Am I at some kind of brothel or gentleman’s club?

A sign of hope rushes through me. Maybe someone will find me, and I can talk them into letting me go. Once he’s gone, I will get free and call Mac.

My mind starts racing with so many thoughts. Have they even noticed I’m gone? Are they looking for me? Violet has to know I’m gone. Shit, how long have I been gone?

The woman’s voice snaps me from my thoughts.

“Okay, moya lyubov, I will take care of her for you.”

“I want you to start training her as well. She’s going to be hard to break.” Peshkov chuckles.

Oh my God. Train me?

I try to move again, and this time, I get their attention because suddenly, I’m yanked up forcefully.

“You will behave for Mistress Alina, and when I return, we will go home,” Peshkov says in an endearing voice—like I’m his fucking wife or something.

Shit. My mind goes crazy again. This is a whorehouse, gentleman’s club, whatever the fuck you want to call it, but men come here and pay to have sex with women.

I squirm in his arms until he grips me hard, immobilizing me, and I’m injected again.

Motherfucker!

This time, before I lose consciousness, I hear him tell Mistress Alina, “I will return as soon as I can.”

Water splashing my face jolts me awake. When the next round hits me, I start to thrash around, but my arms are pinned above me, cuffed to something. Shaking my head as water descends on my face, another bucket of water splashes onto me.

“Stop! Please!” I shout.

I shake my head again, trying to open my eyes, realizing I don’t have a blindfold. The light is blinding, so I lower my head between my arms and try to wipe my eyes.

I’m in a bathtub, but there’s a rod running above me, which my hands are cuffed to. I’m completely naked otherwise.

“Aw, myshka. You can’t get away. Stop trying.” A sinister voice echoes throughout the bathroom.

When I peer out from between my arms, I see a beautiful older woman sitting across the room with a cigarette hanging from her lips.

When I don’t say anything, she chuckles. “You are my little mouse. I get to play with you all I want. So, be a good little mouse and do as I say. Okay?” Her Russian accent is thick.

Russians and their fucking nicknames.

She may be beautiful on the outside, but only evil spills from her lips when she speaks.

Another bucket’s tossed over my head from behind, and I scream, “Shit!”

“Myshka, you need to get cleaned,” Mistress Alina continues.

I try to look behind me, but no one is there. How the fuck…

Mistress must know what I’m thinking because she says, “I have lots of little mice running around here.”

I attempt to speak, but only a squeak comes out. My mouth is dry, and I suddenly realize I haven’t had anything to drink or eat in days. I clear my throat. “What day is it? Where am I?”