Chapter 143: Natasha

I doze off from exhaustion, my head rolled to one side. I wake to the sound of the door creaking loudly, then shouting from a small voice. A small voice with a mighty temper. Two guards usher in a girl with dark brown hair and huge dark eyes. She’s dressed in rags and dirty. She’s screaming at them in another language and I recognize it as Russian. They push her to the ground in front of me and she spits at them. I can’t help but admire this slip of girl.

Ivanov walks in behind her with a perturbed look on his face. I get the feeling something has thrown him off, but he seems to shake his concerns and he looks up at me.

“It seems our messenger didn’t come back from negotiations with your men,” he says with a hint of the rage he’s trying to keep at bay. He starts pacing back and forth in front of me like an animal in a cage.

“You are not enough bait to dangle in front of them. They have retreated,” he tells me. My stomach drops. Retreated? No way would Derek leave me here. I don’t understand but I don’t reveal my shock.

“I guess your plan is not going to work then,” I say snidely. He comes over to me and backhands me across the face. He hits me so hard my head flies back and I nearly topple over in the chair. I look up at his expression and it makes me worry he is going to do worse than just slap me.

“Good thing I have...what is it you say? Plan B?” he replies. Then he looks down at the girl and I see her cower from him. Her fight has been replaced by fear.

Then it all clicks into place. This is the girl Felix rescued. He wasn’t lying when he said he found her. She doesn’t seem to have been harmed, other than some fading bruises and malnourishment. I wonder then if the Russian gangster has a heart after all. Ivanov gets close to me, right in my face.

“I don’t really care what Antonio wants. So I will use her as the bait now. He will come for her, of that I am sure. If the others follow, then everybody wins,” he says and then lets his anger show, “But I will have my revenge!”

I say nothing, not wanting to enrage him further in case he decides to take it out on her. He grabs my face hard and I feel my jaw cracking.

“I will make him watch as my men use you before I finish him. I will make sure he knows the girl is mine from now on and she will never be free. I will draw out his death slowly, so he suffers as much as possible,” he sneers and I swallow the bile in my throat. He releases me and walks towards the girl. I start to panic, fearing the worst.

Then he leans down and brushes her hair from her face. I see something in his eyes, a fondness that can’t be faked. It surprises me that it’s fatherly and also reassures me. Despite his previous threats, I don’t think he will harm her or let his men do anything to her.

“I will be back for you, malishka,” Ivanov vows quietly and then leaves the room. The girl starts to sniffle and I ache with sympathy.

“Are you alright?” I ask her softly. She doesn’t answer, just buries her head into her knees.

“My name is Lily. Will you tell me yours?” I say.

“Natasha,” she whispers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Natasha. I have a little girl, you know. She’s only a few months old,” I tell her. She looks up at me and I see the weight of the world in her eyes. It breaks my heart to see someone so young with such old eyes.

“Did they hurt you?” I ask her. She shakes her head and I feel relieved.

“Did they hurt you?” she asks me in return. I shake my head. She sighs and comes a little closer.

“We have a mutual friend. Do you remember Felix?” I say. Her face lights up when I say his name.

“Yes, he is a good man. He tried to save me. He gave me a new mommy and daddy,” she says but then a shadow crosses over her face, “But the bad man killed them. He killed my other mommy and daddy too.”

“I’m so sorry, Natasha. He is a bad man. But it’s going to be ok,” I say. A little white lie isn’t going to hurt at this point. She isn’t fooled, however.

“I don’t think so,” she replies and tears well up in her eyes. She runs over to me and puts her little arms around me, squeezing me tightly and sobbing. Tears spring to my eyes over the injustice of this sweet little girl being caught in the crossfire of greedy, prideful men.

“Shhh...it’s alright. Let it out,” I tell her. I kiss her temple and my heart swells for this beautiful child. After a while she stops crying and wipes her nose on her sleeve.

“Do you want me to set you free?” she asks. I look down at the handcuffs and smile at her.

“Do you have the key?” I ask somewhat flippantly.

“No, but I have this,” she says and raises her hand up, holding a bobby pin. I give her a surprised look but nod my head. I doubt she will be able to…

Suddenly the handcuffs fall off my wrists to the ground and I look down in amazement. I rub at my wrists and wonder at the life this little girl has led in only seven short years.

“I did it! I practiced every day, just like Felix said,” she says in a high voice.

“Felix taught you how to do that?” I ask her.

“Yes, he told me to always keep a pin on me and practice so I could always know how to escape,” she replies and then adds proudly, “When they took me, I clipped it onto my dress under my arm so they wouldn’t see.”

“That was very clever of you,” I tell her sincerely. She smiles shyly and then gives me a serious look.

“I’m glad I won’t be alone when I die,” she says and it’s like a punch to the gut. I have to find a way out of here, and not just for me now. This bright and lively little girl deserves a chance at a new life, away from these thugs. I look around and nothing sticks out as a means of escape, but I will not let that deter me.

I start to formulate a plan. It’s a good thing I work well under pressure.