It takes Kai another minute to follow me. Of all my men, he’s often the only one who will disagree with me on things. Something I’ve always appreciated about him.
“Are you sure about this? If Novak finds out it was you who took his daughter, he’ll declare war.”
“Aren’t we already at war? And we both know he doesn’t give a shit about her unless it’s to use her in a bargain. It’s the only reason Sal is in her life to begin with.”
With no further argument, he rounds up the rest of the team until all seven of us are standing on the driveway waiting for the cars to take us. Technically, I could have done this alone or with Kai, but I want to be prepared for any strange security Sal might have put into place during Novak’s absence. Without our usual spy, our intel is too old to risk going in alone.
I feel better on the drive to the house. But then as we pull up to the gate, my stomach drops out. The entire house is dark, and it looks deserted. Even on lower staff days, the lights would all be turned on, security would be monitoring the gate, and hell, even a chubby guard dog was known to roam the property on occasion. But now, there’s nothing but eerie quiet, which settles unevenly across my shoulders.
If something has happened to her, then Sal is the next person who will get a visit tonight. I don’t care if he helped or not.
We pull up down the road and hoof it to the gate, Andrea pulling up last since she can work the charm on the mostly male staff if necessary.
Even the sounds of the woods around the property feels quiet. We enter through a servant’s side door, the one the staff usually take, and find the entire place empty. Everything is shiny and clean. It’s like someone told the staff to take a few days off and not return.
It doesn’t bode well. I palm my handgun and lead the way through the kitchen and down the hall. It’s not far to her bedroom, according to the earlier spy’s maps, but it’s not the darkness that makes me stop in the middle of the corridor. It’s the acrid scent of death in the air.
A scent I’ll never forget.
10
Valentina
I don’t know how long I lay there. More than hours, but less than weeks maybe? The time doesn’t seem to have any meaning or form. It doesn’t matter because I can’t feel anything, not in this place I’ve gone in my mind. The place where nothing happened and I’m asleep, comfortable in my bed, instead of tied down like an animal.
I might be able to convince myself if my stench wasn’t so strong. It’s not just unwashed skin, but I know I’ve made a mess of my bed, of the floor no doubt, and no one dared to do anything to help me. I’d always gotten along well with the servants, treating them like family and giving them gifts during the holidays. It would seem that friendliness had always been an illusion. Not a single one of them would risk untying me. Only the maid ventured in far enough to give me a few sips of water the first day he’d left me here. Then she took one look at…she took one look at everything and never returned.
I’ve rubbed the skin on my wrists raw from trying to loosen the ties, but Sal has had enough practice at securing prisoners. The knots won’t budge.
Rose would help me. She’d risk anything to help me. Something flashes in my mind, a vision of Rose’s eyes, but they don’t look right, and I shove the image away for fear of it taking hold and staying in my head. Rose doesn’t look like that. She’s beautiful and vibrant and will help me as soon as she can.
I drift in and out of consciousness, not sure where the nightmares end and reality begins. Everything hurts. It hurts to breathe or move. I've lost most of the feeling in my hands and feet, but I still try to focus on loosening the bonds. It’s nothing but pins and stabbing pain with every shift. Rose wouldn’t give up, so I can’t either.
The next time I wake up, the scent in the room is more pungent. I can’t breathe through my nose, and when I breathe through my mouth, it makes me gag. So I take shallow breaths and watch the light through the window. It fades to nothing until the room is dark and shadows play across the walls. I’ve never been afraid of the dark. Why should I be when the monsters walk around in the daylight?
Each pulse of pain through my body is starting to drift off to a hazy end. A few more and maybe I’ll fall back asleep for a while. If I sleep, then maybe someone will untie me before I wake up again. Maybe Rose will be here with me when I wake up again. It’s the only solace I can find as my body starts to give out inch by inch.