Page 5 of The Quiet Smile

“Camera?”

“Dead. Whoever took her knew they were there and made sure to disable them.”

“Any ideas?”

“None that make sense.” I was holding the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were white with my tension. “Nik, what if…”

“No. We’ll find her. We will.”

We had to.

~~~*~~~

I was slowly losing control of my anger as I looked around Amelia’s apartment. There was a faint scent of men’s cologne. Turning to look at Mrs. Whitlock, “There is a scene of cheap men’s cologne right here. Do you smell it?”

She moved closer to me, inhaling deeply. She closed her eyes and breathed in a second time. “Yes… wait, where have I smelled that horrible scent before? Carl Miller! He was in the store trying to get her to work for him. I think he owns a gas station or grocery store or something. Amelia didn’t like him so we always made sure he left her alone.”

I looked over at Nik and he was on his cell phone already giving the name to Kostya. I looked at Amelia’s bed and I could feel how terrified she must have been. I was supposed to keep her safe. I’d failed her. Kostya and Nik were right. If I somehow was granted a second chance with Amelia, I wouldn’t let her out of my sight again.

“Carl Miller, thirty-seven, never married but had several allegations against him but he was never charged. He has a post office box and lives in a house on Kenneth Street. On the map it looks like it’s on the other side of the park across the street.”

“Let’s go. You two stay here and contact me with any tidbit right away.”

The Whitlocks nodded as Nik and I headed out to find one Carl Miller. Whoever this asshole was, he would regret the day he hurt my Amelia. I would make him beg for death and even then he wouldn’t be allowed to die.

Chapter 5

Amelia

It may have been hours or days that I’d been in the dark, with only the slightest bit of light coming from under the door. The dirty mattress in the corner taunted me. It was cheap and thin and without sheets. I’d woken up on it when I felt a bug crawl over me. Now I sat on the hard floor in the opposite corner.

I wrapped my arms around my legs and let my mind drift to Daniil. Would he know what happened to me? Would Leilani come looking? What if he took her too? No, she couldn’t come looking for me. It would kill me if something happened to her.

I didn’t even know who attacked me. No one had opened that door since I regained consciousness. I was hungry and thirsty and terrified. What did he want with me? I wasn’t anyone. I was just that stupid girl who couldn’t speak, read or write.

Then it hit me. I was the perfect person to take. I had no family, I lived alone, and I had no way of getting help. The tears fell hard and fast as I realized how fucked I was.

No, I had to stop thinking like that. I couldn’t think about anything except staying alive long enough to get out of here. I would fight until I couldn’t fight anymore. Whoever the man was, he would regret thinking I was an easy target.

As if I had conjured the devil himself, the door started to open. My body instinctively started to shake. He left the door open and in the light that flooded the room, I saw his face. Carl Miller. The man who always gave me the creeps and made me feel dirty if he touched me.

I kept my face neutral even though I knew anger and disgust were reflected in my eyes. He let out a soft laugh. “I bet you never thought this would happen to you. You should have been nice to me Amelia. I’m going to enjoy breaking you over and over until all you know is how to be a proper little slave.”

His fingers grazed my shoulder, making me feel like my skin was crawling with bugs. A shiver cut through me as I felt like I needed to claw my skin to rid it of the tiny, invisible insects crawling over me. “How perfect are you? Can’t speak, can’t read, can’t even write. You are mine now and no one will ever find you, not that you have anyone that will look.”

Unable to resist, I spit in his face before I went for his crotch. His slap knocked me off balance and instead of landing a punch on his dick, my fist barely grazed his thigh. The pain exploded across my face instantly making me feel sick.

Before I could clear my head, the monster’s hand was around my throat choking me once again. I started to claw and kick. I had to do everything in my power to free myself from him. Just as the darkness was about to claim me once again I felt him wrap something tightly around my neck with a loud clack noise. His hand released my throat as I gasped and fell to the ground trying to desperately pull in oxygen into my deprived lungs. My fingers tried to feel the damage he had done only to realize there was something metal sitting tightly around my neck.

“A proper collar for the whore that you are. You are nothing. You live and you die by my will.” I looked up at him as rage filled me. Then I noticed the chain he held in his hand. With a sharp tug that lifted me by the collar around my neck. He attached the chain to a hook hanging from the ceiling.

“Now you can stand here for as long as I say. If your attitude improves maybe you’ll get some water.” With a laugh, he left the room.

At the sound of the lock engaging on the door, tears fell from my eyes. I tried to reach the hook to free myself but I was too short. I felt around the collar trying to find a way to remove it. Nothing. I could do nothing but stand there. I screamed in anguish as I realized I was in hell with no way out.

~~~*~~~

Daniil

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