Her Russian Millionaire

Chapter 8

Church was the only thing that kept Jalisa rooted in reality. Nikita and she went every chance they got. Being surrounded by people and being uplifted by faith made the loneliness from Erik’s disappearance a little easier to bear. Stone had lent them the money, another thousand dollars. Jalisa immediately sent it off to the man who would forge their documents for them. Nikita had been sneaking and using Stone’s laptop to look up apartments in the area.

“There was one that was not too far from here for only five hundred down and three hundred a month,” Nikita whispered to Jalisa as the two laid side by side in bed.

“There are two problems with that one. One: we should probably move further away. Two: anything that cheap is probably not that safe.” Though Stone and Marie probably could not hear them, the two girls kept their voices low.

“Should we go to a new city?” Nikita reached over and grabbed her sister’s hand. “Is that an option?”

“Probably not.” Jalisa squeezed the comforting weight in her palm. “I don’t have to tell you how hard it was to start over. We don’t have enough money to make another trip like the one from home to Los Angeles.”

“How are we going to get out of this mess? Erik said we had about two weeks to get out before Stone started lining up customers for you, right? It’s been two weeks!” Nikita’s voice hitched, and Jalisa’s stomach dropped. She hated seeing her sister cry.

It has took a lot of deliberation, but Jalisa finally decided to tell Nikita the whole truth, every little bit. From Stone’s plan to make her into a prostitute to Marie’s betrayal to Stone and Erik’s fight, Nikita knew about it all. She had even told her little sister that she had given her virginity to Erik and planned to stay with him for a long time.

“Maybe we can stay at a homeless shelter? They’re run by the government, right? They can protect us,” Nikita said naively.

“That’s going to be the first place they check. Plus, Los Angeles has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the United States. I doubt that we would be able to just walk in and get a place to stay. Not to mention that anything government funded requires for us to have a Social Security number. One that won’t be tracked back home and land us in deep trouble.” Jalisa sighed.

“All right, how long will the guy take to make our papers? They are ‘real,’ aren’t they? They can be used to do things like get help at the homeless shelter or sign up for free lunch right?” Nikita said. The mention of free and reduced lunch at school made Jalisa feel guilty. It was winter; Nikita should be learning and playing with her friends, not worrying about whether or not her sister would choose ra*e or homelessness.

“We won’t really know until we try.” Jalisa was scared that they wouldn’t work, but, then again, what part of her life wasn’t scary?

They took a few twenties out of their savings to take a taxi to church and back and also have some to put in the offering plate. The preacher spoke on being fulfilled in the Lord and about never losing sight of what was important. Everything on this earth and in this lifetime was temporary and the kingdom of God is what was really important.

She exited the church feeling refreshed and renewed. Once again, her determination to do anything to get Nikita and herself out of this situation was aflame. In the distance, a broad shouldered, dark-haired man stood in the parking lot next to a car that looked a lot like Erik’s. He turned around and made eye contact with Jalisa. Bright blue eyes teeming with curiosity.

It was him. Oh, her beating heart be still. It was him.  

Jalisa ran to him and embraced him with all she had, onlookers be damned. He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed into her hug. Her arms thrown around his neck and his wrapped around her waist, they had a moment right there in the church parking lot.

“Where were you?” she cried. “I was starting to think you had abandoned me.”

“I’m so sorry, beautiful.” He squeezed her. “It wasn’t me; it was Stone. He threatened to kill us both if I didn’t leave you alone. I was struggling so hard with what to do that I decided to stop by my old church. I didn’t go in because I was afraid I wouldn’t be welcome,” he murmured in her ear.

“I can’t stand it anymore!” She held him close. “We have to escape.”

“You were going to take a taxi back? Yes?” He waited until she nodded to continue. “Get in my car. I lied earlier when I said I didn’t have a home. It’s kind of a hub for mafia activity, so I didn’t want you to be a part of it. I will take you and Nikita there and we can plan your escape.”

Jalisa wanted to be offended because of his lie, but she understood he was just trying to protect her. The two girls got in his car and drove about twenty minutes to his home. It was unassuming, just another basic home with two stories and four windows. A tiny yard with a chain link fence stretched around the perimeter housed two dogs, one chocolate lab and one Rottweiler. They jumped up, tails wagging a million miles per minute, at the sight of their owner returning.

Erik had three security systems and a guard disguised as an old man sitting on the porch. Erik addressed him in Russian, and the man took his hand out of his blanket. It settled back over his legs and Jalisa could just barely make out the shape of a large firearm. Jalisa held Nikita close as they walked inside. This mafia business was testing her trust in Erik, but the Lord would protect her and her sister.

“These are my men, and you have nothing to fear.” Erik could feel the tension in the room. “If any of them bothers you, you let me know and he will be dealt with.”

“I will not be the cause of another human being’s death. Absolutely not. I refuse to take part in such a horrid thing,” Jalisa said.

“I didn’t mean that. This isn’t the movies. I would fire him.” Erik opened the door to a room that was filled with lights. A vintage Pac-Man machine sat blinking in the corner. Various mini-fridges decorated with famous drink brands collected next to it. The main attraction was the giant TV and the set of consoles and games underneath it.

“Oh, wow,” Nikita gasped. She ran and started pressing buttons on the gaming consoles.

“Nikita,” Jalisa scolded. “Did you ask permission to do that?”

“No, ma’am.” Nikita lowered her eyes and spoke to Erik. “May I play with your toys?”

“Yes, you may, Nikita. Your sister and I are going to my room to discuss some business.” Erik turned to Jalisa. “If your sister is okay with that?”

“You give me your word that these men will not harm my sister?” Jalisa asked.