Free Unwanted Sacrifices (Russkaya Mafiya Book 3) by Sapphire Knight

now and I’m sure as soon as he gets off the plane in Russia, we’ll hear back.”
    “So I sit here, twiddling thumbs until he arrives after his fifteen-hour or more flight?”
    “No, you call the tech guy; tell him to start a search. You didn’t have her chipped or wearing a tracking device?”
    “She is no dog Tate; of course she is not fucking chipped.”
    “Whatever, Niko. Emily is chipped, because I love her and want her as safe as possible in this lifestyle.”
    Standing angrily, I answer with a grunt and pull out my business cell, ready to call into tech and find my woman.
     

Useless Information
    Words have no power to impress the mind
    without the exquisite horror of their reality.
    –Edgar Allen Poe
    Waking, I’m chilled to the core. Something’s not right; I usually wake up way too warm from Nikoli’s body heat burning me up.
    “Welcome, welcome!”
    There’s that voice again—the creepy one from my dream. Am I still in my dream? No, I’m waking up because I’m absolutly freezing. The dry, musty smell hits me and my eyes shoot open, my body finally registering that something’s definitely not right.
    I run my gaze  around the room, taking everything in—it’s dark, cold, and concrete. It stinks like wet cement, piss, and a weird rusty smell. It reminds me of how I would imagine blood to smell. I begin to ask where I am, but only a croak comes out.
    The man laughs and my body locks up tight as a freezing burst of water hits my stomach.
    “Aghh-hhh!” A broken whimper escapes as a million tiny ice cold needles hit my body.
    “Drink up sweetheart, you won’t get anything later.”
    The frigid spray continues to soak my body but I manage to wet my fingers and suck the liquid off to help refresh my dry throat.
    My teeth chatter and my body shakes, goose bumps taking over everywhere and ruining the nice shave job I had worked hard on for the wedding. “So-so cold!” I swear I can feel my leg hairs sticking up and it pisses me off more than the water.
    More eerie laughing ensues and my head begins to throb so much that it feels like it may explode.
    “Please?”
    The water stops immediately. “That’s a good girl. Remember your manners; it will help you in the end.”
    His cryptic half sentences give me no help, along with a pounding head and being frozen, my body aches like I’ve been run over. I’m assuming I ache so badly from sleeping on the hard concrete floor; no wonder the cold has seeped into my muscles.
    “I’m so-so cold.” My jaw shakes, causing my teeth to chatter harder.
    A painful screech rips from me as a hard boot connects with my back harshly.
    Holy fuck that hurt! What is happening to me?
    “No one enjoys whining. It’s my job to make sure you’re worth keeping. Complaining will get you nowhere, now shut up.”
    Biting my bottom lip, it takes everything in me to not lash out as the tears begin to fall. I want to so badly just scream ‘fuck you’ to this fucker. How on earth can anyone be expected to not complain in conditions like this? Not only am I now a human icicle, but my back has a huge piercing pain shooting through it, and he doesn’t strike me as the type of man who hands out painkillers to go along with the abuse.
    Will he kick me each time I say something he doesn’t like? Tears trickle down my face onto the concrete as I realize that I would give anything in the entire world to be waking up too warm next to Nikoli right now.
    Nikoli, I love you.
    NIKOLI
    I drive down by the docks yet again, hoping I’ll catch Kolya or Kristof. So far they’ve pretty much disappeared, and that’s difficult to do when you have a hoard of Russians on the hunt for your head. Kolya has officially broken his routine. Believe me, I checked the restaurant; I wasn’t going to let the fucker get away from me now, but he was a no show. I’m practically foaming at the mouth wondering if he’s the one who took my pixie.
    It’s been twenty-two hours, thirteen minutes and