Page 39 of Demetri
Not giving up too easy, I lay back on the seat and start kicking. My foot makes contact with the guy's nose causing blood to start running down his face. He's momentarily thrown off-kilter by the impact as he stumbles backward, leaving me enough room to jump out of the SUV. I ignore the sting to my scalp as the driver rips a few strands of my hair out as he tries halting my movements by grabbing a fist full of it. "Fuck! Get her!" he hollers out behind me as I take off down the road. Running while having your hands bound behind your back is no easy task.
Unfortunately, I don't get far before I am tackled to the asphalt from behind. The impact is so brutal; two things happen simultaneously. All the air is knocked from my lungs, followed by a pop in my shoulder. I take a deep breath and try breaking free again, but the excruciating pain radiating from my left shoulder and down my arm stops my struggle. "You son of a motherfucking whore!" I spit with tears running down my face. I'm pretty sure my shoulder is dislocated. Not if, but when my man comes for me, I'm going to make sure this motherfucker behind me suffers. I have no fight left in me with the pain coursing through my body. And when the asshole hauls me off the ground, he does so by my left arm. The burning pain is so intense I become nauseous. It's all I can do to swallow back the vomit that threatens to escape my mouth. I briefly consider letting loose and allowing the contents of my stomach to wreak havoc on the asshole dragging me back to the SUV, but decide I am in no condition to test his limits at the moment.
Once we are back on the road, I try to keep my focus on where we are going and not on the pain. Beads of sweat drip down my face as I rest my head against the window. It's dark now, and when we make a familiar turn down a winding road, I lift my head. I am surprised we are not leaving Polson. Instead, the SUV comes to a stop alongside the boat dock on the lake. The moment we park, the door is ripped open by a large man in black dress pants and a white button-down shirt. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and every inch of his exposed skin is covered with tattoos. "Out," he orders.
Careful not to jar my shoulder, I gingerly climb out of the SUV. With a gun in his hand, the man motions for me to follow him. I do so without protest and with the other two guys following behind. I take in my surroundings as we walk down the dock. I've only been to the lake once before with Grace, and the girls. Demetri has two boats out here that he lets the club and women use whenever they want. We walk past six boats before we come upon one of Demetri's. I know it's his by the name Volkov on the stern end. I'm confused as to why they brought me to Demetri's boat. I know he has nothing to do with what is happening, so whoever is behind my kidnapping either has a big set of balls or is very stupid. I'm going to go with my second assumption.
When I step onto the boat, I'm led to the cabin. I count six men, including the two who brought me here and the heavily tattooed man who goes and takes his place next to a guy sitting on the sofa with a tumbler in his hand. His posture is relaxed as though he hasn't a care in the world and as if he hasn't just started a war. Gauging from his seated position, the man is around five feet eleven inches tall. He has a slim build, black hair, and soulless eyes. If I had to guess his age, I'd say mid-thirties. His eyes rake over my body with bored interest. "Sit, Miss Keller." Nudging me from behind, the man who drove me here jerks his head toward the chair to my right.
"My name is Vadim Petrov." The man in front of me introduces himself. He looks at me expectedly as if that name is supposed to mean something to me.
"Okay," I say with a bored tone. My dismissive reply seems to get a rise out of Vadim. I can tell by the flare in his gaze and the way he's grinding his teeth. His reaction is an indicator he carries a level of arrogance.
"Don't be too hard on her darling," a familiar voice fills the room. Slithering into the cabin like the snake she is, is Demetri's ex-wife, Ivanna. Ivanna is wearing a white pantsuit, and her blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail at the base of her neck. She takes a seat next to Vadim and curls her body around his. I want nothing more than to wipe the smirk off her face. She and her family were burned by the Volkov's, and now she's involved with whoever this Vadim asshole is. Suddenly, the puzzle pieces are starting to come together. Without Demetri, Ivanna's family has nothing. They lost their power. Now, Ivanna and Vadim want that power back. Only I can't figure out how Vadim plays into all this. "What's that look you have?" Ivanna's eyes narrow.
"Oh, I'm just putting two and two together. You see, I get what you're doing here. You are a deceiving, conniving, cunt who spent your days being a shitty wife and a terrible mother. Then when Demetri drops your ass, you and your family realize you aren't shit. And by some miracle, you were able to find some clueless asshat to sink your fangs into." I nod toward Vadim. "Exhibit A; the clueless asshat." I watch as Ivanna's face turns red with rage.
Leaping from the sofa, she comes at me. Unable to block her, she slaps me across my face. "How dare you talk to me like that." Ivanna raises her hand to come at me again only this time I'm not having that shit. Lifting my leg, I bring my foot to her stomach and kick. My action causes her to lose her balance as she stumbles backward. Lucky for her, Vadim catches her before she falls on her ass.
"See what I mean? Pathetic. You can't even kick my ass with my hands tied behind my back," I goad.
Ivanna lunges for me again. "Bitch!"
I go to stand only to be stopped by someone tugging me back down on the chair the same moment Vadim puts his arm out in front of Ivanna. "Enough!" he orders. "Keep a hold on her, Andrei," Vadim tells the man who stopped my forward momentum. When I look over my shoulder to see who has their hands on me, I notice it's the large tattooed guy. She-devil purses her lips, clearly not keen on taking orders from Vadim but does so anyway.
"Len, stay here with Miss Keller. I need everyone else up top." Vadim looks to one of his men standing off in the corner of the room, and he nods. The other five men, along with Ivanna, follow Vadim out of the cabin. Once the room clears, I keep my gaze on Len. The guy who is watching me. Luckily, he doesn't try anything, nor does he speak to me. Being the excellent lackie he is, he keeps to himself. I don't know how much time passes with me sitting down here, but the only thing I can concentrate on is the pain in my shoulder.
My fingers have long gone numb, and the zip ties are dug so tight into my wrist, my constant wiggling has caused them to rub raw. And if I'm not mistaken, that's blood I feel trickling down my palms. Also, with my adrenalin starting to wear off, I'm feeling the effects of the crash. I don't have to feel my head to know I have a knot on it because whenever I attempt to find a comfortable position on the sofa and lean my head back, I feel how tender it is. Between my body being knocked around by the accident and being tackled to the ground then Ivanna bitch slapping me, there's no telling what my face looks like. If I had to guess, it isn't pretty. Even with a dislocated shoulder, I've endured worse — these assholes need to bring a lot more to the party if they want to break me. Although, I don't think hurting me is what Vadim wants. What he wants is Demetri, and I'm his pawn. Ivanna, on the other hand, most definitely wants to hurt me. The bitch is lucky I'm tied up.
Hearing the clicking sound of heels against the wooden steps, Ivanna enters the cabin. She speaks in Russian to Len who is still standing in the corner. Len looks to me then back to Ivanna. He nods and strides across the small cabin, leaving Ivanna and me alone. I keep my eyes on her as she sauntered over to the bar, picks up a slim stainless-steel case, opens it, and retrieves a cigarette. Ivanna doesn't say a word as she climbs up on the barstool, crosses her legs and lights it. Blowing out a ploom of smoke, she rests her elbow on her knee. Ivanna takes her time looking me up and down, and I roll my eyes. All I can do is wait and see what idiotic thing is about to come out of her mouth. A second later she doesn't disappoint. "I don't know what my husband sees in you."
"Don't you mean ex-husband."
Ivanna flicks her cigarette ashes on the floor, and I cock my head to the side. Now I am the one doing the appraising. I do the same thing she did to me moments ago. When my eyes land on her chest, I smirk. Ivanna is a B cup, and that's being generous. I flick my gaze from her body then look down at my double D's. "I can think of two things Demetri sees in me."
Don't get me wrong; Ivanna is a beautiful woman. I also think women of all shapes and sizes are beautiful. I just like getting a rise out of her. Because even though she's gorgeous, she's ugly on the inside. "Let me ask you something, Ivanna. Do you care about Nikolai? Do you care about how coming after Demetri affects him and his life?" I notice a flicker of something cross Ivanna's face, but she quickly masks it.
"You do not understand how my world works."
I shake my head. "Is that your answer to everything? Your son should be your world. I may not have children of my own, but I have people in my life that I would go to the ends of the earth for." I look Ivanna dead in the eyes. "It's not too late, Ivanna. You can still make things right. You don't have to do this. You don't have to go along with whatever Vadim has planned."
Ivanna studies me for a long moment. When I think I have gotten through to her, she proves me wrong. Her lips turn up in a vindictive smile. "You think this was Vadim's idea? Oh, he thinks he's the one running the show, but I'm the one who went to him and planted the seed. He's too young and power-hungry for his own good. All men are alike. They think they hold all the cards. In reality, it's us women. We just let them think otherwise." Hopping off her stool, Ivanna stands, drops her cigarette to the floor and stubs it out with the toe of her high heel.
"You're pathetic," I say not trying to hold back my disgust. "You and Vadim are idiots if you think you're going to get away with what you're doing."
"I'll get what I came for. Make no mistake. As long as Demetri does as he's told; everyone will walk away, still breathing."
This woman is delusional. "Do you honestly believe the words coming out of your mouth right now? You were right when you said Vadim is young and power-hungry. I'm telling you those two things are a dangerous combination. You're stupid to think no one will get hurt."
Ivanna goes to say something but is interrupted by a deep voice. "Vadim is asking for you."
I look to my left to see Andrei. Ivanna doesn't spare me another glance before she walks away leaving me alone with him. I take in the man as he prowls toward me. Andrei is at least six feet four inches tall. He has dark brown hair buzzed close to his scalp on both sides, but the top is left long; long enough it hangs over one side of his face. Andrei also has eyes so dark they look black, and every inch of exposed skin is covered with tattoos, including his neck. My heart rate picks up with every step he takes in my direction. It's scary as hell the way his eyes are fixated on me.Oh, shit. Did Vadim send him down here to hurt me?
"What are you doing?" My voice shakes when Andrei drops to one knee in front of me. He doesn't answer. Instead, his big hands touch my injured shoulder. Shocked and confused by his actions, I flinch. His touch causes me to wince in pain. Andrei's voice is deep when he finally speaks. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Then, what are you doing?"
"I'm inspecting your shoulder. I noticed earlier it was injured."
