Chapter 15

The ride to wherever she was being taken was a short one, and no matter how much she struggled against the ropes, they were too tight for her to get out of them. It was a bumpy ride towards the end, so she knew that wherever they were taking her was off of the main roads.

When the van lurched to a stop, Chloe slid forward and then attempted to get up on her knees, but it proved too awkward to manage.

She couldn't see, but maybe she could get some clues from her other senses. Fighting wouldn't get her anywhere. She wasn't strong enough, and she would only get hurt. So many thoughts raced through her brain, did anyone see her taken, was Valentine watching her as Lada had, would anyone even worry about her when it was time to go back to the hospital, and she wasn't around?

The doors to the side of the van opened, but the two men remained silent. One of them reached up and grabbed her legs pulling her forward, causing her dress to hike up.

"She's not a bad-looking one. Maybe we can have a little fun first?" One of them asked. Chloe did her best to memorize the voice and bite back a whimper. Show no fear.

"If anyone will be having fun, it will be me!" The other voice, which was deeper and older, said. "She's mine, got it!" The man pulled her forward and hiked her over his shoulder. Chloe noted that he smelled of cigarette smoke and peppermint. It was an odd combo for a bad guy.

Chloe also smelled the water and heard the gentle rocking of boats. They had taken her to the docks. It would be an easy place to hide her body, especially if they took her out and away from shore. At the realization that her life might be nearing the end, she began to struggle, but the man's arm was like a steel band around her legs. Chloe's hands were tied behind her, making them useless.

The atmosphere changed, and she knew they were in a building. The man wasn't stopping as he kept on walking further into the building. She heard a door bang open, and she was dropped on something soft, like a bed. When the bag was ripped off of her head, Chloe had to blink at the bright light, and as her eyes adjusted, she recognized Dimitrie.

He looked mad and showed no sign of even remembering her. "If you make a sound, I'll cut out your tongue," he said in a chilling voice as he leaned in and sniffed her hair. "You and I will have some fun." Of course, the last two sentences were muttered in English since he was talking to Chloe.

Chloe thought it best to keep her mouth shut. She didn't think she would get any bonus points for having saved his life at this point. It would probably be the opposite, and he would be embarrassed. Some men didn't like to be reminded of their weaknesses.

"You wait here and don't make a sound. No one will hear you anyway." Dimitrie watched Chloe as she nodded.

The two men left, and the door banged shut behind them. Chloe was still bound by her feet and hands, so there was little she could do except lay helpless on her side, but it didn't take long for her sense of self-preservation to kick in, and she started to work on the ropes once again, trying to shimmy over to the edge of the bed and use a piece of metal. All she ended up doing was cutting herself and giving her wrists rope burn.

Don't cry. Chloe said to herself, closing her eyes tight against the tears that were forming. She started to think of Valentine and all of the good times they had had, the first time he had told her he loved her, the first time they had made love. She thought about all of the things and people she loved, imagining herself and Valentine walking through some of the squares in Savannah, having dinner with Ben and Lia and Faye and Silas. They said if you imagined something hard enough, you could make it happen.

Not knowing what was about to happen to her, all she could think to do was say Valentine's name over and over again, hoping he would hear her. When she heard the door open and then slam shut, she froze.

He was back. She looked up and saw Dimitire standing over her.

"Scream!" he ordered as he approached her, and Chloe needed no encouragement as she let out scream after scream. "That's enough he said, slapping her, the loud sound echoing through the room. "Beg me not to hurt you!" Dimitrie demanded, and again, Chloe needed no encouragement to whimper out her plea. He slapped her again.

Then he did an odd thing. He untied the rope around her ankles and wrists. Chloe immediately lunged at him, but he easily held her off as he spun her around and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"If you want to live, you will do exactly as I say, Nurse. Do you understand?" He whispered in her ear.

He remembered her, and the fact made Chloe sag with relief. He was going to keep his promise.

Chloe watched as he walked over to a tall armoire on the far side of the room. He opened it to reveal a row of army uniforms. Dimitrie grabbed a set along with boots and threw them at her. "Take off everything, including your underwear and put those on," he instructed before turning back to the armoire and pushing on the back to reveal a hidden panel that was the height of the piece.

He lifted out what appeared to be a body wrapped in a thick canvas. Chloe, who had been in the middle of changing, paused to look at it, then Dimitrie, and shuddered. He was going to say it was her body, and it made her realize how close to death she had been.

"I am glad you are so tall. It made it easier to find a body to match your size," he said, noting her half-dressed state before he reached into his pocket for a knife. He cut his hand and let the blood drip on the canvas and his clothes while she finished dressing.

"Slap me, and some scratches would be a nice touch," Dimitrie said, walking over to Chloe and picking up her dress with his bloody hand.

Chloe had no problem slapping him as hard as she could, it felt good to do, but she couldn't scratch him. With a sigh, he used his nails to scratch his face.

"You are too kind-hearted for your own good!" he muttered as he picked up her underwear and ripped it, throwing them on the floor, then he took her bra and cut it in the middle with the knife before discarding it as well.

"This is going to hurt, scream, and beg if you feel like it. It is your life I'm supposed to be taking." Dimitrie took her hand and held the knife to it.

Chloe's eyes grew wide, and she did start to beg. It was going to hurt, and she knew it. When she felt the blade rip through her skin, she screamed as loud as she could.

"Good," he whispered. Then he took Chloe's bloody hand and handed her the dress. "Wipe it on this. Lenkov will probably get the blood tested to make sure it is yours. She has deep pockets and a strong desire to see you dead."

He gave her a moment to stain the dress, then he dropped it on the floor, handing her a handkerchief to wrap her hand, but before she could wrap it, he had her drip some additional blood on the floor, bed, and canvas.

Chloe looked around the blood-stained room, and it did indeed look like something terrible had happened there. It wouldn't hold up to a crime scene investigation, but it would for the untrained eye.

"Get in there," he said, motioning with his head to the armoire. "People will come and go, but no matter what, you stay in there even if it is for an entire day. When it is time to go, you will be released."

Chloe nodded as she climbed into the thin narrow space. It was going to be hell. She could only stand flat against the wall. Dimitrie wasn't without feeling, though. He handed her a bottle of water he pulled from a drawer, a knife, and a small empty bucket.

"Don't piss yourself!" were his final words of warning as he closed the secret door, and slid the clothes into place.

Thankfully as her eyes adjusted, there was enough light coming through the cracks for her to see around her.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe closed her eyes and started to sing 101 Bottles of Beer on the Wall in her head as she listened to Dimitrie tell the other man that she hadn't been much of a fighter and boasted about all he had done to her. It was so convincing she shivered, thankful that it hadn't really happened.

Chloe couldn't help but wonder how many women hadn't been as lucky as she was, and then she started to cry at the horror of it all.

Eventually, with her head resting against the side of the armoire, and the harsh fact that she would never see Valentine and her father again because they would think she was dead, Chloe fell asleep thinking about what she would name all of her cats.

She understood that she was a hair away from a total meltdown.