Her Russian Millionaire

Chapter 9

Nikita was the first one to make noise. She screamed bloody murder and started kicking at Stone’s feet. He smothered Jalisa harder, his bulging muscles pressing down her chest. She clawed at his hand, but it was useless. Nikita used all the strength in her little ninety-pound body to tug at Stone’s arm. He hissed and a line of bright red blood rose up from where Nikita’s nails had been.

“Bi*ch!” He threw Jalisa into a storage crate. Pain exploded on her side and the breath was literally knocked out of her lungs. He lunged for Nikita. The small girl managed to slip away, but her backpack didn’t. He grabbed hold of it and raised one fist. Horror flashed through her eyes, and Nikita cringed away, shielding herself with her hands.

Jalisa ran on pure instinct, jumping on his back to prevent him from striking her sister. They tumbled backward into a crate. Stone’s massive body landed on top of Jalisa. Her head hit something hard. Marie’s voice could be heard in the distance. Nikita screamed again, this time calling out for help. Stone wiggled off of her. Pain on the side of her head. The edges of things were black and fuzzy. She blinked heavily.

Her body was being picked up. She cracked open her eyes just enough to see Marie and Nikita struggling. Though skinny, Nikita was only ninety pounds and Marie undoubtedly weighed more, Nikita put up a good fight. Marie stumbled once or twice, her heels slipping on the floor. There was a bang. Her foot hurt. She could taste copper.

“Hey.” Stone smacked her face lightly. Jalisa’s eyes remained closed.

“That’s not how you do it. You have to squirt water on her face.” Marie’s voice bounced around in Jalisa’s head uncomfortably.

“Well…uh, will this work?” Stone asked.

“Do I look like a doctor?” Marie bit. In the background, Nikita could be heard sobbing.

“You seemed to know a lot about it just a second ago.” Stone’s voice came closer to her.

“Fu*k off,” Marie said. Stone grunted in response. That seemed to be the end of it.

Something warm drizzled on Jalisa’s face. It cause pain to blossom around her forehead. She groaned, and the sour liquid slipped into her mouth. She coughed a few times before her eyes fluttered open. Stone held a half-empty beer can a few inches away from her.

“Gross.” Jalisa sat up too quickly and the world tilted on its axis. She reached out without thinking about it and grabbed onto Stone’s shirt for support.

“Whoa, now. Looks like you’re warming up to me quite quickly.” Stone set the beer can down and leaned in for a kiss. Jalisa turned her head with a cry and his lips brushed her beer-stained cheek. He growled and shoved her back down on the floor. “That’s fine. You’ll warm up soon enough.”

“Leave her alone!” Nikita’s tiny voice shook with terror. Jalisa rolled her head over to her and was shocked by what she saw. Nikita was tied to the leg of a table with rope. Marie sat on the couch next to her, drinking something with a high alcohol content.

“She’s right. Men don’t like it when the merchandise comes pre-roughed up.” Marie paused in her drinking just long enough to get that out before resuming.

“I’m not merchandise,” Jalisa spoke up.

“Not looking like that, honey.” Marie made a motion to her forehead and Jalisa repeated it. Her fingertips dipped into sticky wet blood, red and fresh. Something had cut her forehead open.

“You need to get her to stop that damn crying.” Stone turned from Marie to yell at Nikita. “Before I lose my fu*king patience!”

“You’re not going to get away with this!” Jalisa started to stand up, but Stone pushed her back down. There was no telling how much blood she lost, not that she was a great fighter in the first place.

“Get away with it? What do you mean?” Stone laughed. “I’m simply hiring you as an employee.”

“I refuse.” Jalisa sat up and scooted back until she hit the couch. Stone leaned forward, an evil glint in his eye.

“Oh? Then should we get the police involved?” Stone’s haughty tone was out of place with his sentence. The police would be on Jalisa’s side, right? Surely, her testimony against him would be enough to put him away. Not to mention that he had just assaulted her.

“Getting the police involved is a great idea.” Jalisa ground her teeth.

“Are you sure? Because by my count, you’ve stolen thousands of dollars from me and Marie. I’m sure the police would love to hear about how an unemployed and homeless woman is wearing such nice clothes.” He grabbed her backpack and dumped it out. Thousands of dollars in a sock and hundreds of dollars of clothes tumbled out. The realization of what he meant hit her in the face harder than he himself had.

“Huh? What’s this?” He opened up the sock and pulled out the rolled up wad of cash. “This looks a whole lot like my money.”

“That’s my paycheck! I worked hard for it! I’m not unemployed.” Jalisa pulled her knees up to her chest. It was a defensive pose that made her feel better.

“Oh? Where’s your paperwork? Your tax form? Pay checks? You don’t have any of that, right? Because you couldn’t open a bank account because you’re on the run. Getting paid under the table has its drawbacks, huh?” Stone cocked his head. “I’m sure the police would waste no time in responding to my call once I tell them that I have a kidnapped child with me.”

“You are the only one holding me against my will.” Nikita wiggled hard in her bonds and Marie placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

“I’m not the one who dragged you across the country. I bet I can find an Amber Alert for Nikita online just by searching her name. Call the tip line, and I’ve got two police departments working for me.” Stone stood up and withdrew a pocketknife from his back pocket. Jalisa closed her eyes, moving her lips in a silent prayer.

“No, no, no,” Nikita chanted. Jalisa crawled over toward her and watched as Stone sawed through her ropes. She wanted to grab Nikita and run, but Stone was holding a knife way too close to Nikita for Jalisa to make a move.

“Take her into your room.” Stone jerked hard on the rope and forced Nikita to her feet before handing her off to Marie. The woman clacked her way across the tiles with Nikita in tow.

“You’re coming with me.” Stone reached toward her and for a moment she thought he was going to grab her hair. Instead, his fingers dug into her shoulder and hauled her to her feet. Jalisa’s stomach rolled.