Page 8 of Freeing Emily

Worry gnaws at me at what that could mean for this weekend.

It’s no secret that our family and the Solkolovs have bad blood since my dad refuses to align with Vladimir’s flesh trading. It’s disgusting the sheer amount of people that promote and indulge in purchasing women like they’re nothing but a slab of meat. Nothing has gotten too out of hand but only time will tell if that changes.

Pushing my emotions aside, I make my way back up to my bedroom.

Scorching pain burns my throat when I swallow. Dehydration set in not long after I was thrown into my prison. It’s a new kind of agony.

Leaning against the stone wall, I struggle with silencing the demons that taunt me. They laugh incessantly at the torment I’m forced to endure.

Paige and I have been separated more times than we’ve been together. I’m not sure how long I’m expected to be isolated, but Nikolai demanded it despite still being in Russia.

His reasoning? I belong to him.

When I first arrived here, he claimed me and has been my tormentor ever since. He’s the head of the snake that coils around me, sucking the life out of me with each tightening of his grip.

It’s been a slight reprieve that he was ordered to go to Russia. He isn’t here to humiliate me any chance he can. He isn’t here to record my rapes and broadcast them to the guards for their sick pleasure or strap me down to a chair and force me to listen to the screams of past women and children.

I’ve always known the world was cruel. I’ve been aware of the mistreatment of women long before I was brought to this place, I just never realized how long the suffering extends. It’s like an eternal Hell that burns a fire so blistering hot that it scorches everything in its wake.

My fingernails sting and threaten to lift due to the repeated stress I’ve placed on them from my scratching. I can’t stop the need to cause myself pain. It has become a necessity at this point.

I’ve begun to hallucinate. I see Declan. My ma. My da – who has long been dead – and I see Liam. Each of them either gives me words of comfort or spews vile insults and promises in complete disgust.

The latter happens far too often.

I wince when I try to lick my cracked lips. The skin splits on contact and the taste of copper coats my tongue.

“Despicable.”

I turn my head slightly and see Liam sitting across from me. His eyes are filled with disappointment and hatred.

“Why are you still fighting to stay alive?” his tone is laced with displeasure.

“I don’t want to die here,” I croak. My voice sounds as though I’ve spent my twenty-two years of life smoking two packs a day.

Liam chuckles darkly with a slow shake of his head and then he disappears.

Clanking echoes down from the grate above me followed by grunting. The metal scraps along the concrete as it’s pulled away and tossed aside.

“Time for some fun,” Igor’s deep voice sends fear racing through my veins.

He reaches and hauls me roughly from the hole in the ground and I wince from the stiffness in my muscles. My knees buckle when he sets me down and I fall to the concrete. He scoffs in annoyance as if I’m a total inconvenience for him. A kick in the ribs causes me to cry out in pain. I try to curl into myself to protect my stomach, but he kicks me again.

“Get up,” he grunts.

With shaky arms, I try with all my might to push myself up to my feet. I whimper as my joints scream in protest. Despite my withering frame, I feel like I’m lifting hundreds of pounds.

I’m not sure how long I was left down there but it was long enough for my limbs to refuse to function.

Once I’m standing, Igor pushes me forward. I stumble but remain upright as he walks me toward my next personal Hell.

Igor pushes the black-steel door open, and I see the metal chair in the center of the windowless room that I’ve become far too familiar with.

“Sit.”

I sway on my feet as I make my way over and fall into the seat. There is no point in trying to resist any orders. It will only end badly for me.

Men that I wasn’t aware were in the room with us begin strapping me down with the leather belts on the arms of the chair. My head is pushed back, and another belt is pressed against my forehead, immobilizing me completely.

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