Alexandra
A little while later, the leader returned, waking me from my restless half-sleep.
“Wake up, girl,” he said, gruffly. Something had him riled, and I guessed it was probably Cruz killing the henchman that was supposed to take him out.
I supposed he was going to find out the hard way that he probably didn’t even have enough men to compete against Cruz Miller.
“I am going to call your father. You will speak to him and tell him you are safe. The call will be quick, and he will want to see you. You will video call him briefly.” He paused, his eyes boring into mine. “It is very important that you do exactly as I say. You are going to tell him that you are safe, and that he should comply with our demands. You will tell him that I will hurt you if he does not do as I say.” He smiled sinisterly. “Oh, I should add, Alexandra, you will do as I say, or I will have fun with you first. Then I will hurt you.” He gestured violently to his men around him. “Then I will share you with my men. All twelve of them will be allowed to take their turn and take as long as they want. Then I will hurt you again, badly.” He spat the words of the last sentence out, his anger rising unchecked. “And if your friend from the hotel shows his stupid American face,” he added, “I will kill him. I will fucking string him up and force you to look at his dismembered corpse!”
Just as quickly as his rage rose, it passed. He smiled pleasantly at me.
I got the impression that he was prone to rages, and maybe even had a mental disorder. Either that or he was just a fucking psycho.
And even though I hated it, I felt I had no choice but to do as he said. At least until Cruz killed him. So I looked him square in the eyes. “I’ll do exactly what you want, I promise,” I said.
His eyes roved around my body again. “Good girl. I don’t want to hurt someone so beautiful. It would be a shame. And I have principles. I do not hurt women, as a rule. But this… this is unavoidable.”
I tried my best to look sorrowful. “I know. We all have to do things we don’t want sometimes. It's just the way it is. When you’re ready, let me know. I’ll do exactly as you asked, sir.”
He smiled. “I’ll be back in two minutes. I will…speak to your father first. I need to appraise him of the situation. I hope he is a reasonable man.”
I sat down on the mattress, my mind racing. I knew that if my dad did not meet his demands, or if I did not do exactly what I was asked, I would be in serious trouble. This Vladimir was not a man you messed with.
I hoped he was the head honcho, and that there was no one else above him who would come after us later.
A few minutes later he returned, holding a tablet. “Yes. Do not worry. She is safe.” He turned the tablet to face me. I saw my dad at his desk, gripping the ornate wood. Whiskey was poured into a large glass tumbler in front of him.
“Alexandra! This man said… where the fuck is Cruz!”
I approached the tablet, looking around to make sure I wasn’t breaking some unspoken rule that I shouldn’t leave my little corner of the room. “Don’t worry about Cruz,” I said. “He isn’t here. I don’t know where he is. He might be dead, for all I know.” The leader smiled behind the camera, nodding at me. I cleared my throat and continued. “Listen, Daddy. I’m safe. These men have been very kind to me. They have not hurt me and will not hurt me if you do exactly as they say.” I started to cry, feeling very homesick all of a sudden. “Please, Daddy. I just want to come home.” I held my hands up in a begging gesture, palms clasped. “I promised to help these men if you comply, so they can get me home safe. Okay?”
My dad whitened. He knew the threat. Give them the money, the software, or whatever they were after, or I would not be coming home.
His eyes narrow, hardened. “I will do as you ask. But please, understand I am not at the top of the food chain here. I need to make some calls. Can you call me back in one hour?” He sounded professional, hiding his fear.
“Andrew, it’s me again.” The leader turned the camera to face him. He smiled, softly. “You see she’s safe. I promise that me nor my men will harm her if you deliver on what we ask. I will give you her location once I have the software. Then you will wire me the money. Then we will leave, and you can organize a helicopter to come and get her.”
“Deal,” my dad said.
“You have half an hour. Then I’ll call you. I expect movement, Andrew. Don’t let me down.”
Half an hour? Fuck. Come on Cruz, where are you?
I saw my dad nodding on the screen, his face distorted. Deadly silence enveloped the room.
Until it was suddenly broken.
There was a grunt from outside the house, followed by a shout an instant later. Then a gunshot echoed around the valley, quickly followed by another. A group of angry voices began shouting at each other outside the house.
“What was that? What’s going on there? Is Alexandra safe?” I heard my dad pleading, his voice high-pitched with worry.
The gang leader hung up the call. “Vladimir,” he said, “check what the fuck is going on outside. Now.”
Vladimir grunted and headed to the window. The two door guards had been peering through the dirty glass, hands cupped as they jostled each other for a better view.
Two more gunshots sounded again in quick succession.
“And you two idiots! Did you not hear that fucking rifle? Are you competing to see who gets shot first?” He was screaming now, veins pulsing on his neck and spittle flying from his mouth.
I sat down on the bed, hands on my head protectively. I couldn’t help but feel a welling of emotion in my stomach, a tight knot of positive energy building. I looked up at the men in the room.
I knew it. Cruz had arrived. These men were all as good as dead.
To my disbelief, Vladimir went to the window, slapping the two morons out of the way. I don’t think he had heard what the leader had said. He poked his head out and shouted something in Russian.
“Vladimir! What the fuck are you doing? You are all fucking m…”
Blood sprayed from Vladimir’s head, and he flinched back from the window as the gunshot echoed around us. He turned to look at us. There was a gaping hole in his eye socket, the wall behind him showing straight through it. He tried to raise his arm to point at the window, only to collapse to his knees, convulsing. He fell over sideways, motionless.