Page 69 of Call Sign: King
Khloe was grateful Vlad spun to close the gap between himself and the still crying Irena. With his attention back on his wife, Khloe was able to slam her eyes closed again. She did her best to conjure up pleasant memories of her own husband — doing her best to block out the nightmare happening just feet away.
Irena’s blood curdling scream meant Khloe would fail miserably. No amount of concentration could obliterate the animalistic grunts and whimpers emanating from the sexual assault already in progress.
“Despite your many infidelities,malysh,I can tell you’ve kept your tightest hole just for me. Never fear. I will make sure to get your puckered ass nice and stretched out again. I so look forward to the training regimen I’ve planned for you, although I’m sure today’s reintroduction to your wifely duties will be a painful one.”
Vlad released a loud grunt as he grabbed Irena’s hips, lifting her as high as the restraints allowed as he slammed into her one final time.
For a few long seconds, Khloe hoped the worst was finally over. Vladimir tucked his now flaccid cock back into his jeans. “Don’t be jealous,” he gloated. “We’ll have plenty of time for me to give you the same corrective lessons I just provided for my pet. I have one more important thing I need to do first before I start your training as my trophy.”
An evil glee jumped into his eyes. It was her only warning things were about to get worse.
“Before I can start, I need to put my mark of ownership on you.” Taking his eyes off Khloe, he nodded in the direction of the guards, barking something in Russian.
She was lightheaded from holding her breath, waiting to see what the fuck Vlad had planned for her next. When one of the guards walked into her peripheral view, she couldn’t help but turn her focus to him.
It took a few seconds for Khloe to realize what she was looking at, and when she did, the scream came out reflexively — just like the immediate steps to get as far away from the men as her restraints allowed.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly far enough, and when the second guard joined them on the platform the reality of what was happening closed in on her.
She kicked and flailed, trying to keep the men from rendering her immobile, but it was just a matter of time. Even at her strongest, she would have failed. Dehydrated, weak, and restrained, she didn’t have a chance.
“I suggest you settle down. You wouldn’t want me to have to do this twice, would you?” Vlad’s taunt was just behind her as the guard had spun her around and was now giving her a bear-hug, holding her immobile.
When she failed to submit, Vlad upped his threats.
“I was going to apply my mark to your ass, but if you refuse to settle down, I will change my mind and mark this beautiful face instead.” Vlad’s grip on her chin from behind hurt.
The man was truly insane. Certifiable. Evil.
Vlad waved the red-hot metal V in front of her line of sight and despite how warm and stale the room had become, her whole body shivered with fear.
Slamming her eyes closed, Khloe tried to tune out what was happening to her. To lose herself in pleasant memories of her husband and friends.
The sizzle of burning flesh came a split second before the white-hot pain piercing her, not far from the still sore wound where Vlad had cut the GPS tracker out of her left hip. Frantic pain as Vlad held the hot brand against her flesh had her legs collapsing beneath her. The smell of burning flesh invaded her nose just as a sharp cramp clutched her abdomen. Bile from her empty stomach rose in her throat as Khloe collapsed like a wet noodle, forcing the guard to support her weight.
Despite praying to lose consciousness, Khloe remained alert enough to feel the men finally using a humming pulley system to lower her arms from the ceiling enough to allow her to finally collapse to the floor.
As they moved over to lower Irena, the blood flowing again to her forgotten fingers and arms started to prickle and then burn, although that discomfort was nothing compared to the raw pain from the branded V.
Hatred flowed into her heart. Pure hatred for the man now squatting beside her as she gasped for more air.
“Imagine your entire body covered with burns that deep. That is what Nicolai did to me. That I am alive is nothing short of a miracle. That I survived not just the blast, but the years of pain and suffering — the treatments and surgeries — it has all made me stronger. Harder. Invincible.” Vladimir gloated.
As terrified as she was, Khloe couldn’t let the man’s insane monologue stand. Not without correcting him.
“He will come for me. And when he does, you will see that you can be put down, just like the rabid animal you are.”
“Ah, such brave words. I look forward to breaking that spirit of yours very much.”
Chapter Twenty-one
RYDER
Twelve-fifteen.
Alexi was late. Was he still coming or had he changed his mind? Or was he using this extra time to plan his attack against Ryder and his hidden BSO team?
Only time would tell if his gut was right about reaching out. It was a gamble for sure.
