Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (47 page)

Rafael
joined Maxim at the window. “What do we have to do to get them released?”

Maxim’s
face grew somber. “We’re going to have to do a number of things. I don’t think
the SBU will align with the SVR on this one, so they may be willing to serve as
an intermediary. Our foreign policy minister has already been in contact with
the Russian government to demand their release.”

Michael
retrieved a newspaper from the nightstand. “And if that doesn’t work?”

Maxim
sighed. “Then this is going to cost a great deal of money.”

Kadyn
shoved a newspaper toward Rafael as he walked up to Maxim. Tension rolled off of
him in waves. “Who are you to Kristine?”

A
smile spread slowly across Maxim’s face. “I’m her new boyfriend.”  

“Wake
up, Kri. Please wake up.”

I
forced my eyes open, then immediately slammed them shut. “It hurts too much.”

Shae
ran her hand down my back. “You have to wake up, Kri. Please. We have to find a
way out of here.”

Pain
shot through my left arm as I pushed against the cold cement floor. “How long have
I been out?”

Shae
shook her head. “I have no idea. They knocked both of us out. Are you okay,
Kri? They really beat you.”

I
slowly eased against the wall. “Everything hurts.”

Shae
gently squeezed my legs as she assessed my injuries. “For a minute there, I
thought you might actually escape. You really lit into those guys.”

My
breath caught sharply when she attempted to lift my left arm. “Stop. Please, Shae.
Stop messing with my arm.” Tears pricked at my eyes as I tucked my arm across
my stomach. “God, I’m thirsty. Aren’t you thirsty? Have they brought any
water?”

Shae
shook her head. “We can’t drink the water. Remember? We’ll get sick if we drink
tap water, and I seriously doubt they’re going to offer us bottled water.”

I
ran my right hand through my hair and winced at all the knots. “Did they come by
to check on us? Have they said anything more about what’s going on?”

Shae
sat next to me. “They’ve checked on us twice since I woke up, but they didn’t
say a word.”

Fear
shredded me as a blood curdling scream rent the air. “What was that?”

Shae’s
eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know, but that’s the second time that’s
happened.”

The
room spun as I stood. Gruesome images of Konstantin, Ethan, and Brady shimmered
in front of me. “They killed them,” I whispered. “I can’t believe they killed
them.”

Shae
choked back a sob. “It’s my fault, Kri. They’re dead because of me.”

I
reached for her hand as she tried to stand. “This is not your fault.”

She
shook her head. “If I hadn’t taken those pictures…”

I
tugged her arm as I forced her to look at me. “Don’t be ridiculous. Those men
were attacked before you snapped the first picture. Think about it, Shae. They
yelled at us the second you took that picture, and every one of those guys was
already down.”

Relief
slowly eased over her face. “It’s not my fault?”

I
wrapped my arm around her. “No, it’s not.”

We
both froze as footsteps sounded down the hall.

My
heart beat in time with each step I heard. I pulled Shae against me as I
prayed. “Please, God. Don’t let them hurt us. Please protect us. Please keep us
safe.”

“Put
your hands through the bars.”

Shae
shook her head as we backed against the wall.

I
reached for Shae’s hand as we studied the two men who were standing on the
other side of the bars. They were both dressed entirely in black, but their
clothes looked different from the clothes I’d seen on Maxim’s men. “Are you
from the Russian mafia?”

The
two men exchanged glances, then laughed.

Shae
trembled violently. “Then why are you dressed like that?”

“Because
it hides the blood,” the smaller of the two men responded with a sickening
smile.

Shae’s
knees buckled. I caught her just before she hit the floor. I tried to ignore
the vile look on his face. I focused my attention on the other man, instead.
“Why do we need to be handcuffed? Where are you taking us?”

Both
men turned as another man’s voice echoed down the hall. Their faces hardened as
they unlocked the door.

I
whispered to Shae. “Let’s separate. Try to get past them and make a run for
it.”

Shae’s
eyes flitted between me and the two men as I crossed the room with my back
against the wall.

The
two men froze just inside the door. They eyed us warily. Then the smaller man
nudged his partner. He nodded toward Shae.

I
screamed, “Run!” as I sprinted straight for the man who was lunging at Shae.

The
guy fell back against the bars as I rammed into his chest. He looked shocked
that I had run into him instead of trying to escape.

I
punched him in the face as Shae ran through the door. The smaller of the two
men was so busy trying to get me off of his partner that he forgot about Shae. She
disappeared in a dead run down the hall.

I
bent forward then head-butted the man who was now wrenching my arms behind me. I
screamed when he pulled on my left arm. I stomped on his foot then attempted to
knee the guy in front of me in the groin as he reached for me.

The
man behind me threw me against the wall.

Pain
shot through my shoulder just before my forehead hit the wall. I tried to duck
under the man’s arms as he reached for me, but he kneed me in the stomach. I collapsed
in a heap on the floor.

Shae’s
scream echoed down the hall. The guy wrenched me to my feet by the hair. His
face was red. He looked livid as he pulled me toward him. “I’m going to really
enjoy hurting you,” he hissed in my face.

He
held me at the scalp while the other guy slammed handcuffs over my wrists. They
shoved me out the door and forced me down a wide hallway.

Shae
stood at the far end of the hall. She was already handcuffed and was being held
by two other men. Her hair was wild, and tears streamed down her face.

I
passed three other cells before I reached Shae. Each cell was separated by
thick cement walls, with bars facing the hall. They looked identical to our
cell. They were bare, with no beds, no toilets, cement walls, and a cement
floor with a drain. Two of the cells held other people. A man gripped the bars
of his cell. He muttered something in Russian when we walked by. A woman sat
curled into a tight ball against the far wall of her cell. She was completely
naked. She watched us walk by through vacant eyes.

Shae
and I were shoved inside a room with no windows or bars. Two men stood talking near
a table with a couple of briefcases. Two chairs sat facing each other in front
of the table. They were positioned a good five feet apart.

The
men immediately stopped talking. They turned toward us as we were shoved across
the floor. The taller of the two men narrowed his eyes at the men standing behind
us. He grabbed me by the face. He pointed to my forehead as he spoke irritably in
Russian. The longer he spoke, the louder his voice got. He pointed to the
bruise on Shae’s cheek and began yelling. The guy clearly didn’t like the fact
that we had been hit on the face.

I
shifted my feet nervously as his eyes met mine. “
Vy govorite po-angliyski?
Do you speak English?”

He
slowly released my face. “Yes.”

“Thank
God,” I breathed. Then I began to cry. I tried to pull myself together as I spoke.
“Can you please tell us who you are… and what we’re doing here? We were told we
were being arrested for taking pictures of the ships, but this doesn’t appear
to be a police department. I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding.
We’re teachers. We were invited to teach at the National Technical University.
We were invited by the dean. We have a letter of invitation. If you call him, I’m
sure he’ll confirm our reason for being here.”

The
man listened intently, but he didn’t say a word. He nudged me into one of the chairs.
Then he walked back to the table and opened one of the briefcases.

I
glanced over my shoulder as the other man approached the back of my chair.

One
of the men led Shae to the other chair. He sat her down, then stood behind her.

I
gasped as the man digging in the briefcase pulled out a syringe.

Shae’s
eyes widened. She scrambled out of her chair when he approached her, but the
man standing behind her forced her back onto the chair. He pinned her down when
she continued thrashing around. “No,” she pleaded. “Please, God, no.”

I
lunged from my chair, but I was shoved back down. I grew frantic. “Stop! What
is that? What are you doing to her?”

The
man standing behind me spoke. “That is ethyl alcohol. It won’t hurt her. It
just ensures she tells the truth.”

I
winced as he shoved the needle into her bicep.

Shae
looked horrified. She started crying. Then she began to laugh.

I
watched the transformation, completely mortified. “Shae? What’s going on? Are
you okay?” I winced as a needle punctured my arm. The room spun. Suddenly, I
felt drunk. Very, very drunk. “Crap!”

Shae
giggled. “I love it when you say crap. You’re so cute when you have a potty
mouth, Kri.”

I
tried to focus on the men surrounding us. I grew nauseous as they faded in and
out of focus. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

One
of the men walked up to me and injected me with another needle. I tried
swatting his hand away. I winced as pain shot through my left arm. I had
forgotten I was still handcuffed. “Ouch! Stop doing that!”

The
nausea faded. I immediately perked up. “Wow. That’s nice. That was
really
nice.”

The
man who had previously grabbed my face positioned a chair between Shae and me.
He glanced at his watch before sitting in the chair.

Shae
squealed excitedly. “Cool trick. Where did that chair come from?”

I
started laughing. “Shae, you’re so funny. That’s
your
chair.”

Shae
turned to look at her chair. “Kri, I think I’m still sitting in my chair.”

I
blinked as I tried to focus on the man sitting between us. “Why are we here
again?”

He
folded all six of his arms across his chest. “We are here to talk about you,
Ms. Stone. Who do you work for?”

Shae
bounced in her chair. “Oh. Pick me! Pick me! I know that one.”

He
groaned. “Go ahead.”

Shae
smiled. “She works for Seeds for Peace, same as me. Although, I’m not sure how
long we’ll be working there. I think we may get fired for hanging out with the
Russian mafia.”

He
stared at Shae. “Why are you here, in Ukraine?”

Shae
giggled again. “I’m here for the sex. Ukrainian men really rock in bed. Konstantin
is amazing… like
really
amazing. Can I take him home with me? Do you
think he’d be willing to live in the United States?”

I
sobered with sorrow. “Shae, Konstantin’s dead.”

Shae
stilled. “He’s not dead, Kri. Why would you say that? That’s so mean. He’s not
dead…” Her voice faded as realization crept through her eyes. She gasped. “Oh
my God. Konstantin’s dead.” Her face twisted with pain as she began to cry.

The
man turned to look at me. His face remained void of all expression. “What about
you, Ms. Stone? Why are you in Ukraine?”

I
narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m teaching…
teee
…
ching
. God! How
many times do I have to tell you that?”

“You’re
teaching,” he mused. “Then what have you been doing with the prime minister?”

My
brain fired into a million different directions at once. I shook my head and
nearly fell from the chair. Someone steadied me. I tried to focus on the prime
minister. “The prime minister is... nice. He looks like my grandpa… the one on
my mom’s side, not my dad’s dad’s dad.” I looked at Shae. “Did I say that
right?”

Shae
sniffled as she looked up at me. She slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so.
That’s a lot of dads.”

My
eyes shifted to the man sitting between us. He looked irritated. I tried to
focus on the question. “The prime minister helps sick kids, and he really likes
the symphony. You should go with him sometime. You should help sick kids too.
The cancer floor is too small, it’s overcrowded, and they need a playroom.”

The
legs of his metal chair scraped loudly against the cement floor as he rose to
his feet. He slowly walked around me. “Did you tell the prime minister that it
would be in the best interest of Ukraine to join NATO?”

My
neck grew tired from trying to watch him walk around me, so I faced forward
again. My eyebrows furrowed as I thought about the question. “Yes. I did tell
him that. Ukraine should join NATO. Why? Don’t you think Ukraine should join
NATO?”