Her Russian Millionaire

Erik used the opportunity to grab Stone and throw him into the kitchen table. The edge bit deep into his midsection, and he doubled over on top of it, hands splaying out. Stone lunged for the kitchen counter, and Jalisa briefly worried that he might be going for the breadbox, but he instead grabbed a knife.

The two men danced around, Stone trying to hit Erik with the knife. Erik jumped all over the floor, moving as quickly as his tight-fitting suit pants and dress shirt would allow him. He was one second too late, and Stone sliced into Erik’s arm. Erik cried out in pain, his hand immediately covering the injury. Stone stopped to laugh at Erik’s blood, which gave Erik the opportunity to charge at Stone.

Stone dropped the knife as they hit the table top. Protesting first with a groan and then a crash, the table collapsed under their combined weight. Erik got up first, waiting until Stone stumbled up and went for the knife on the floor. While he was bent over, Erik kicked the seat of his pants hard, and Stone head-butted the side of the couch.

“Back off, asshole,” Marie spit as she was disturbed by the moving of the couch.

Stone stood up slower this time, his hands grasping at his neck. Before the larger man could stand up, Erik kicked the back of his knee, using his own weight against him. Stone fell down to his knees, and Erik put both of his hands together to come down on Stone’s head hard.

Stone threw his body backward, causing Erik to fall down. His head hit the tile floor hard, and he didn’t move for a moment. Jalisa softly began praying to herself as the fear crept up inside of her. She called upon the words of the pastor and reminded herself that God was always with her.

The larger man stood over Erik and grabbed a beer bottle from the floor. He threw it hard at Erik’s head, but the thick glass didn’t break. Stone grunted in dissatisfaction and stalked over to the kitchen to get a better object. Erik’s eyes fluttered open just in time to rush for the knife. Jalisa felt a glimmer of hope now that Erik had a weapon, but the fight wasn’t over yet.

Grabbing the beer bottles that littered the counter, Stone threw objects at Erik. He dodged most of them, but a few hit their target. Erik began to walk toward Stone, and the larger man grabbed a toaster and threw it with both hands. Erik jumped out of the way, but the cord whipped him across the face. Jalisa tugged on her twists as the men battled.

The fight was a pretty even match, and the two men eventually dropped any weapons and just beat each other with their fists. Erik wrestled his way on top and stayed there. His movements slowed until he was a panting heap onto of a motionless Stone. The silence felt like forever, but it was only a few minutes before Erik spoke.

“Go clean yourself up and get back down to the bar,” he said. Marie grunted.

It was then that Jalisa realized that Nikita was still down alone at the bar. Distracted by her thoughts of Nikita, she didn’t notice Erik was approaching the door until he was a few feet away. She tucked her fingers under the door and quickly pulled it shut. Her feet crashed down the stairs, but it wasn’t fast enough.

“Jalisa.” A bloody mess and clutching his arm, Erik quietly called out to her.

In the middle of this perilous situation, her fight or flight response sparked. One slim brown hand reached into her pocket and grabbed the color coded keys Marie had given her for the employee door. If need be, she would fight her way out of here and to Nikita. Fitting them neatly in between her fingers, she braced herself before turning to meet her possible threat.

“I won’t hurt you.” His voice was gentle. Erik approached her as if she was a sleeping tiger, ready to pounce at the first sign of sudden movement.

“I won’t let you.” She slunk down low and tried to keep track of him through the flashing lights coming from the main bar room.

“I am not like those people.” He came close, and she backed into a crate. “Can’t you tell that I am different? I don’t enjoy hurting people. Look into my eyes and see that I am different.”

To be able to discover his true intents by looking into his eyes was such a romantic notion, one she did not believe in. He came closer, and she lashed out in warning, missing him on purpose. His entire body tensed and he slowly lowered himself to the ground. The rational part of her mind cut through the adrenaline, and she lowered her fist.

“Marie will be coming down soon. If she sees you, she will warn Stone that the jig is up. He will try to force you into s*x work very quickly. Right now, you’ve got about two weeks before he will make his move. He wants you to be dependent on him, to need him more than anything, and that takes time. If you play along, you might be able to escape with enough money and resources to build a life here. Let’s go somewhere and talk.” Erik’s blood dripped onto the floor, and she saw just how vulnerable he was.

“All right, but I’m warning you. I may not be strong or have any experience in fighting, but I will fight for my life and the life of my sister with a fire that will burn you alive.” She returned her keys to her pocket and held out her hand.

“I don’t doubt it.” Erik’s blood squished in between them.

The two moved quickly to the bar floor. People were gathered around the counter again, and Nikita was swamped. Jalisa shoved Erik into the bathroom, thankful that no one noticed his injuries. She washed her hands in the counter sink and took place next to Nikita.

“What do you mean you can’t make a S*x on the Beach?” A white woman with a curled lip leaned across the counter and into Nikita’s face. “How old are you? Twelve?”

“I can make it.” Relief flooded Nikita’s eyes as Jalisa started mixing together ingredients.

“Where were you? I was getting scared.” Nikita grabbed onto Jalisa’s shirt. “Is this blood? Should I call the cops?”

“No, baby.” Jalisa turned down the music and waited for the screams of protest to die out before shouting, “We are only serving beer for the next hour!”

“You’re going to be gone for an hour?” Nikita held onto Jalisa’s shirt like a comfort blanket.

“I need to take care of something. I’ll tell you all about it when we go to sleep tonight.” Jalisa gave her sister a tight hug before dashing off to the bathroom.

Throwing open the door, she almost ran into Erik. He was washing the wound on his face with a wet paper towel. The mark across his face was angry and red, puffing up in a threat to scar. He sat on the downed lid of the toilet while Jalisa hunted under the sink counter. Way in the back, a first aid kit with a yellowing label sat. She pulled it out and turned it over in her hands a few times. A thin layer of dust had collected all around it.