Page 96 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
“Now is not the time to give up,” Ruby whispers.
“We know it was you,” Jade adds.
Looking up through my swollen eyes at the beautiful faces of my captured sisters, I see the hope they have when they look at me.
“I’m sorry I failed.”
“No, you didn’t, all those men have probably been arrested. A big dent has been made in Nikolai’s operation,” Pearl says in her perfect English accent.
“I don’t think I have any fight left in me. You know, if they find out it was me, they’re going to kill me. Nikolai will kill me.”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” Gracie tries to reassure me.
I really want to believe her, but I think this time I have run out of chances.
We spend the rest of the trip in silence all lost in our thoughts.
Eventually, we stop, the van doors open, and the guards pull us out.
“Sapphire!” I hear my name being called.
Gracie grabs hold of my arm. I can see the panic on her face.
“Sapphire!” It’s Dmitri.
“No, you can’t take her. I won’t let you.” Gracie tries to protect me from Dmitri.
He backhands her, and she falls to the floor.
“No.” I grab his arm as he looms over her, ready to hit her again. “Leave her.” My sister’s lips are bleeding, and tears are falling down her cheeks as I’m led away.
The other girls huddle around Gracie, trying to comfort her.
My head feels heavy as I walk along the gravel of the driveway toward a beautiful Moroccan home the color of the earth, but we veer off to the side, and I see a set of stairs that lead underground. My breath hitches and my heart starts thumping as my legs refuse to continue walking.
Dmitri grabs my arm, and I have no choice but to follow.Now is the time to be strong. They will never break you, even in death they will not break you. We walk down the stairs that lead to a basement. It is cool compared to the desert heat outside. It is a large, dark room, and my eyes are still adjusting from the glare outside. I can’t see exactly what is waiting for me. When the room comes into focus, I notice rings hanging from the roof, with chains dangling from the hoops.
No. No. No.
My heels try to dig into the cement floor but it’s no use, Dmitri pulls me further into the dungeon. There is no light except for a tiny window. Dmitri pushes me against the cold stone wall, pulls my arms out, and clips the iron cuffs around one and then the other. I try to move my hands around, hoping they are small enough that I could slip out of them, but they’re not. I close my eyes and try to think good thoughts to help me through whatever is going to happen to me.
“I hope you’re praying because you are going to need it,” Dmitri snarls.
He walks away from me, pushes a button, and I start lifting off the floor. My shoes fall with a thud as I move higher and higher. What the hell is happening? I stop slightly off the floor, my arms hurting from holding all my weight. I feel like my shoulders are going to pop out at any moment.
Dmitri grabs my ankles and secures them to iron shackles. My legs are spread wide, and I feel exposed.
He walks away and sits on a chair in the shadows that I never noticed.
The door opens and in walks Nikolai. He stalks toward me, that’s when I notice the knife glistening in the tiny ray of light filtering through the window.
Okay, this is it.
I close my eyes and try to envisage Mateo and Tomas. They are what I want to see before I die, not Nikolai.
My body tenses, waiting for the first sharp cut of the knife.
“Open your fucking eyes,” Nikolai screams at me.
