Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (49 page)

I
slammed my eyes shut as he pressed the device into her crotch. Shae’s scream ripped
through me. “
Pass out. Please pass out. God, Shae, please pass out,
” I
chanted in a whisper. I slowly opened my eyes.

Shae
lie sobbing on the floor in front of her chair. She had curled in on herself as
best she could with her hands cuffed behind her back.

Tears
streamed down my face. I tried to get out of my chair to go to her, but I was
forced back onto the seat by someone standing behind me.

Shae
was dragged back onto the chair. She pressed her legs together and immediately
curled over her knees.

The
man with the stun gun pushed her upright. The other man forced her knees open
again.

The
man sitting between us sighed. “Let’s try this again. I want to know which
government agency you’re working for.”

Shae
choked back tears. “I don’t work for the government. I work for Seeds for
Peace…
Please, God, no!
” She screamed as the device was shoved between
her legs again.

My
blood boiled as I forced myself to watch her body violently convulse. I glared
at the man asking questions as Shae slid to the floor. “You bastard. You know
we aren’t spies. You know we aren’t working for the U.S. government.” I paused,
too furious for words. Every man in the room flinched as I screamed at the top
of my lungs. “
Why are you doing this?
”

His
eyes hardened as he turned toward the man with the stun gun. He nodded in my
direction. “Ms. Stone, why don’t you tell us why you are seeking employment
with the Ukrainian government.”

I
clamped my jaw shut and glared at him as my legs were forced open. The room
darkened as an excruciating pain drilled through my lower abdomen. Every nerve
ending in my body exploded as the pain radiated down my arms and legs. I stubbornly
counted through the pain as my entire body convulsed… one, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight... My brain stalled. I righted myself. Then I fell.

I
lie shrouded in darkness. The only sound I could hear was my breathing. Then I
slowly registered Shae’s sobbing. I forced my eyes open. I was immediately dragged
back onto the chair.

He
cleared his throat. “Let me repeat the question.”

Shae
quickly interjected. “Look, we’re telling you the truth.
Please.
You can
easily confirm our statements. There are people who can verify that we are
telling you the truth.”

He
turned his attention to Shae. “The truth is irrelevant.”

She
looked stunned. “Then why are you doing this?”

He
slowly crossed his ankle over his knee as he leaned back in the chair. “A
confession is worth far more than the truth.”

Her
mouth fell open. “You want us to confess to something we haven’t done? Why?”

He
smiled. “Because it helps me achieve my objectives.”

Shae
looked thoroughly confused. “Objectives for what?”

He
ignored the question and focused his attention on me. “Ms. Stone, are you ready
to tell me what I want to hear?”

I
glared at him. “Go to hell. You can’t break something that’s already broken.”

His
laugh echoed ominously across the room. “Do you want to bet?”

*
* * * * *

Rafael
was sitting against the wall in Ethan and Brady’s hospital room, spinning his
cell phone against the tile. He eyed Kadyn who was sitting against the opposite
wall, nodding off. Michael was trying to access the Internet again. As Rafael
studied his brother, he wondered how Kristine would react to seeing him again.

Kadyn
cleared his throat. “It’s after midnight.”

Michael
nodded as he glanced up from the computer. “We need to track down Maxim and
start talking money.”

Rafael
pushed off the floor and rose to his feet. “Have you been able to access the
Internet long enough to log into your accounts?”

Michael
nodded. “Yes. I’m on now.”

Rafael
tucked his phone inside his pocket. “I’ll see if Lev will give Maxim a call.”

Maxim
cleared his throat as he stepped inside the room. “The SBU has confirmed that
Kristine and Shae are both still alive.”

Every
man in the room turned toward Maxim. They stilled as they waited for him to
elaborate.

A
haunted look settled over his face as he leaned against the door. “Both women
have been subjected to electro-shock torture, and they have been badly beaten.
We are running out of time.”

Michael’s
eyes turned black with rage. “Has the SVR indicated a willingness to negotiate
their release?”

Maxim
slowly nodded. “They have. They’re demanding that President Yanukovych and
Prime Minister Azarov extend the lease allowing the Russian naval fleet to
remain in Sevastopol for the next ten years. I have spoken with both political leaders,
and they are willing to consent to this. They’ll sign the treaty in the
morning.”

Kadyn
breathed a sigh of relief as he pushed off from the floor. “Thank you.”

Maxim
shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet.”

Kadyn
froze.

Rafael
stared at Maxim. “What else are they demanding?”

Maxim’s
eyes met Michael’s. “They’re demanding a payment of five million dollars each.”

“Ten
million dollars?” Kadyn exclaimed.

Maxim
nodded. “The men from my organization are willing to manage security during the
transfer as a favor to me, but the mafia in Sevastopol is asking for a million
dollars.”

Kadyn’s
eyes narrowed. “Why are they demanding money?”

Maxim
folded his arms across his chest. “We are going to need a number of men to
stand guard during the transfer. Things could easily go wrong. Because this
falls within their jurisdiction, they have insisted on being involved. They are
putting their lives on the line to assist us with security. They have families…
children to feed. If they die, their families are not likely to survive here in
Ukraine. The money will help ensure that they do.”

Rafael
sighed. “How soon can we do this?”

Maxim
shoved off the door. “The prime minister and the president will sign the treaty
at eight a.m. As soon as the treaty is signed, the SVR will bring Kristine and Shae
to the airport. I’ve asked that the transfer be made there. The closer we get
this transfer to the airplane, the better. It reduces the number of things that
can go wrong.”

Michael
nodded. “I’ll have the pilot file the flight plan within the hour. The plane
will be on stand-by.”

Maxim
looked pointedly at all three men. “I don’t care what they tell you tomorrow
morning. No money is to be transferred into their accounts until Kristine and
Shae arrive at the airport. The SVR will try to pressure you into paying before
the women arrive. Don’t. If you pay the ransom before the SVR delivers those
women to the airport, we will never see them again.”

Kadyn
looked thoroughly confused. “How are we supposed to come up with eleven million
dollars? Who has that kind of money?”

Michael’s
eyes met Kadyn’s. “I do.”

Kadyn’s
jaw fell slack.

Maxim
glanced at Lev as he summoned him from the doorway. “I’ll communicate your
willingness to meet their conditions. I’ll pay the mafia, so you only have to
worry about paying the SVR.” He glanced at his watch, then nodded toward Ethan
and Brady. “You need to get these two discharged and on the plane. I’ll meet
you at the airport in five hours.”

Rafael
reached for Maxim’s hand. “Thank you, Maxim. I realize this is costing you a
great deal of money and these negotiations could compromise some of your
political goals.”

Maxim
shook Rafael’s hand. “I just wish I could have prevented this from happening in
the first place.” Maxim began to walk away but stopped in the doorway. His eyes
sought Michael’s as he turned back around. His shoulders fell as a defeated
look settled over his face. “Now I know why you let her go.”

*
* * * * *

Someone
was shaking me. “Kri, wake up. Something is going on. You have to wake up.”

“Stop
shaking me. It hurts when you do that,” I grumbled irritably.

Shae
brushed the hair out of my face. “I think they’re getting ready to take us
somewhere. I think they’re moving us.”

My
eyes flew open. Fear coursed through me as I forced myself to sit up. I stared
at the blanket that slid down my arms, then slowly pulled it back over my
shoulders. “They gave us blankets?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

She
shook her head. “Some other people were here. They came to our cell just before
I fell asleep. They got upset when they saw how violently you were shaking.
They yelled at the guards and insisted we be given blankets.”

My
eyes widened. “Other people were here? God, Shae, how long have I been out?”

Shae
shook her head. “I don’t know. I fell asleep after they brought the blankets,
and I have no idea how long I slept.”

Pain
shot through my left arm as I tightened the blanket around me. “Why do you
think they’re moving us? Did you overhear someone talking about it?”

Shae
nodded toward the bars. “They brought our clothes back. The guard said to get
dressed.”

I
stared at the pile of clothes. I wanted to get dressed, but I couldn’t bear the
thought of moving. “And you think they want us to put our clothes back on so they
can move us someplace else?”

Shae
nodded as she crawled toward the pile of clothes. She nudged my clothes toward
me, then began getting dressed.

My
eyes narrowed as she removed her blanket. “What the hell happened to you?”

Shae
glanced down at her abdomen and chest. She looked back up in surprise. “You
don’t remember?”

I
shook my head. “You didn’t look like that the last time I saw you.”

Shae
sighed. “They kept shocking you over and over again, but you wouldn’t tell them
what they wanted to hear. I guess they thought if they hurt me in front of you
that you would be more likely to confess.”

Violent
images bit sharply at my mind. “They caned you. They caned you until you fell
on the floor.”

Shae’s
eyes clouded over. “They hit you with that stun gun for so long, I didn’t think
you’d ever be able to speak again. I was so relieved when you finally passed
out, but then you didn’t wake up. I thought you were dead.”

I
started tugging my clothes on with my right hand. I was completely exhausted by
the time I finished getting dressed. My voice broke when I spoke. “Do you think
they’re taking us somewhere to kill us… so they can hide our bodies?”

Shae
joined me on the floor. “I think that’s exactly what they’re planning to do.
They’re not going to release us, Kri. You saw how upset the interrogator got
about the bruises. They’re not going to risk Maxim, the media, or the U.S.
government seeing what they’ve done to us.”

Shae
and I sat together on the edge of tears. It was some time before I could gather
the courage to speak. “I’m really glad I met you, Shae. Thank you for being my
friend.”

A
single tear slid down Shae’s cheek. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Kri. If
I had known things were this bad here, I would have never asked you to take
that job.”

I
sighed as I rested my chin on my knees. “My life has been steeped in pain and
violence, why should this be any different?”

Shae
closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the wall. “If you could change
one thing about your life, what would it be?”

A
lump formed in my throat. “I would change the miscarriage. I really wanted to
have that baby. I wish I had gotten a chance to hold Genevieve… to see her
smile and laugh… to see Michael hold her… to see her touch butterflies and play
in that garden.” Tears fell unchecked as I pictured what my life would have
been like if I hadn’t lost the baby.

“You
would still be with Michael,” Shae observed softly.

I
closed my eyes and relished the thought. “Yes. I would still be with Michael.”
I swiped at my tears, then turned to face Shae. “What about you? What would you
change?”

Shae
buried her face in her knees. “I would change this.”

I
inventoried a lifetime of memories while we quietly awaited our fate. I quickly
tossed the bad ones aside so my mind could linger on the people I cherished
most.

Eventually,
footsteps echoed down the hall. “This is it,” I whispered as I wrapped my arm
around Shae. “Let’s pretend to be brave.”

Two
men approached our cell. “Stick your arms through the bars so we can handcuff
you.”

As
painful as it was, I pushed to my feet, walked to the bars, and turned around
so they could handcuff me. I had no desire to fight. I didn’t have any fight left.
Whatever it was they were planning, I wanted it over far more than they did.

Shae
joined me at the bars. She turned her back to the two men so they could
handcuff her.