Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns VA and its characters. Plot is all I own. No infringement intended.
Chapter Eight: No Sound but The Wind
*WARNING: this chapter may contain violent themes of assault. Look for ** for beginning of traumatic events.
First, there is the persistent and throbbing pain. Her head threatens to explode with every abrupt movement. Movement. She's constantly moving, bouncing and sliding in the confined space. Confined and restrained. Her wrists are tied as are her ankles preventing her from stretching her sore muscles. Breathing becomes harder and harder as she begins to awaken. But all she sees is absolute darkness. She tries to call out and realizes her pleas are muffled by something in her mouth. There's a sickening feeling in her stomach as she tries to make sense of where she is. How did she get here? What happened last night? Is it still night?
Rose whimpers as her head collides with something making her migraine worse. How much did she drink? She can hardly remember the last time she felt this sick after drinking so much. But this doesn't feel right. The lack of memories from the previous night terrify Rose the most. Surely, the memories are there; they are simply chaotic and incoherent. Rose chants to herself over and over to calm down. To breathe. But the air seems to thin every time she reminds herself to inhale and exhale. There's not enough air. It soon becomes apparent she's not in her bed. The first hint was the restraints on her wrists and ankles. She tried to dismiss as numbness from sleeping in a wrong and uncomfortable position. However, the darkness gave it away. Rose is not afraid of the darkness by any means, but she did always sleep with a night light on. Only because her room is a hazardous place with clothes, shoes, and empty take out container scattered all over the floor. Every time she gets home from a late shift, there's a risk of falling and breaking her neck, so Rose always leaves her light on.
But through all that, Rose knows deep inside something happened. There's an image of a dark alley and an arm around her neck that keeps pushing through her incoherent thoughts. Once more, she tries to calm herself enough to retrace her steps. To recall the night from beginning to end. A red dress. Dimitri in a suit. Bathroom. Champagne. Jesse. Dimitri kissing Galina. Walking through the streets on her own and… Rose can't finish the memory. She begins to hyperventilate as the shock of what just happened pulls her out of her lethargic state. Someone has abducted her. No one has any idea of it either. Rose had been stupid enough to leave the party without telling anyone. Whatever she gets, she deserves, Jesse's nasty words echo back to her in that moment. Rose should have texted Dimitri before leaving, or she should have called a taxi if she was that mad at him. She's no longer mad at him. Dimitri wouldn't purposely hurt her by kissing Galina. Rose has seen first-hand Galina flirt shamelessly with him. If only Rose had stayed to hear an explanation, she wouldn't be in this mess. Perhaps she does deserve it.
The vehicle comes to an abrupt stop, and Rose tries her best to push deeper into the trunk as if to hide from her abductor. However, the car moves forward once more before stopping again. This time, Rose hears footsteps crunching gravel moving closer. She breathes hard and fast, her headache hitting her full force. She feels consciousness slipping away from her with the lack of oxygen and her still foggy mind. The trunk pops open startling her when a hand reaches for her ankles. Rose kicks and shouts into the rag around her mouth. Despite being weak and perhaps drugged, Rose vows she won't give up. If the abductor wants her for nefarious purposes, whatever they are Rose refuses to imagine, she will not make it easy for them.
Her bare feet must have hit an important spot because the man curses under his breath. Rose's victory is short lived when the man leans forward grabbing the pillow case over her head with a fistful of hair and pulls her toward him.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he tugs at her hair. Rose swallows to keep from yelping in pain. "Either way, missy, you will come with me."
Rose wishes she wasn't gagged. The expletives coming out of her lips don't sound threatening when they come out muffled. Regardless, the man must catch some of what she's saying because he chuckles humorlessly.
"The hard way it is," the man says roughly pulling Rose by the armpit out of the trunk. "I wouldn't have expected it any other way. There's a reason I picked you."
Rose doesn't ponder his words for long before she falls unceremoniously and hard on the ground. Her tied and weak legs don't hold her up, and the man doesn't even try to soften her fall, why would he? Her knees take the hit when the pebbles and rocks bury in her soft and bare flesh. Rose berates herself when a small groan escapes.
"Come with me on my terms, and I won't hurt you…" the man pauses then laughs evilly. "Too much. I won't hurt you too much leading up to our fun. I'd hate for those sexy legs to get all scraped up."
Rose once more tells him to fuck off. The man grabs her by the armpit again and begins to drag her away from the car. The gravel digs and scratches her legs causing Rose to whimper in pain. She shouldn't have worn a dress. She shouldn't have been at that party. She shouldn't have left the party alone. Now, she's paying the consequences. The man grunts as he lifts her up onto a cold and hard surface. Before she can think of rolling off, the man straps her legs and Rose cries out as the straps dig the pebbles in deeper.
"I told you," the man says out of breath as he cuts the ties around her ankles now that she's restrained by something else. "I told you either way, you would end up here with me. Now, look at you. Bleeding and hurting. This will put a damper on our fun."
The last of his words come out angry but also with a hint of malicious delight. If he intends to rape her, Rose stands no chance now. He has her strapped to a table. However, when he cuts the ties on her wrists, Rose still fights. Despite her entire body feeling heavy and weak, she swings at him blindly. Rose grabs a fistful of his hair as he works on tying her right arm down. He curses and works on untangling her fingers from his hair. It doesn't take long or a lot of effort. Despite her noble efforts, he's stronger, and whatever he used to drug her, hasn't left her system completely.
"You are certainly making me work for it," he sighs leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I hope it's worth it. All the fighting and struggling. You're just wasting your energy. The chloroform left you weak. I doubt you're completely aware of what's going on. By the time you realize it, it'll be too late. Hell, it's already too late. You're strapped down. No one knows where you are. We're ready to have fun."
Rose feels the tears spilling from her eyes. Even though she vowed not to give up, his words break something inside her. The hope and energy to fight seem to slip away through her fingers. She hears his footsteps move away, and she can only imagine where's gone to. Perhaps he went to find an infernal tool to torture her. Whatever it is, he doesn't return right away. In her solitude, Rose tortures herself with terrible thoughts.
In third grade, Rose had put gum in Natalie Dashkovs hair because she had made fun of Rose's haircut. To be fair, Rose had never wanted Janine to cut her hair. It has always been Rose's favorite attribute her long locks. Natalie deserved it, and Rose didn't even mean her apology when the teacher made her apologize. Before Mia and Rose became friends in middle school, Rose had pushed Mia for making fun of Lissa's name. Rose kept her mother in the dark with her underage drinking. One time in college, Rose tried weed with Christian and Lissa. The three of them agreed never again when Dimitri found out and made them promise not to do it. Rose can't remember the times she's lied even though she has tried being honest most of the time. She took money from Janine's purse once to buy ice cream. She cheated once in a chemistry test. She has run multiple red lights. If those are the worst things Rose has done throughout her life, does she really deserve this?
Does she deserve not knowing her fate? Not knowing what this man will do to her? Harvest her organs after he's gotten his way with her multiples times and dump her lifeless and mangled body in the harbor? Do her loved ones deserve the pain of not knowing where she's gone and perhaps never find her body? Is it better if they find her body? Janine will be destroyed, and Rose can only hope Abe will be there for her. Olena and the Belikovas will surely be there for Janine, but they won't truly understand what Janine is going through like Abe. Will Lissa and Christian come back to the news Rose is dead? Lissa and Sydney will have to get through the loss somehow. And Sydney. Rose wishes she had handled the situation with her much better. Rose should have just been happy Sydney found Adrian after the way Sydney's ex-boyfriend abused her. If anyone deserves happiness, it's Sydney.
Dimitri. Oh, Dimitri, Rose thinks as her tears flow like waterfalls. What she wouldn't give to go back to that moment. She would have pulled Dimitri away and slapped Galina. Rose had sworn she would fight for her relationship, for her love for Dimitri, and she just gave up so easily. And now, she won't see Dimitri again. He's going to blame himself, Rose knows, and it hurts her more than her scrapped legs, her migraine, and whatever else the man will do to her. The thought of Dimitri despairing in guilt and pain makes her heart ache, and the sobs to wreck her body.
"Oh, don't cry, Rose," the man has returned though Rose in her pity party didn't hear him. "You will enjoy this, I promise."
Suddenly, bright lights blind her tear-filled eyes. Rose blinks rapidly and does her best to adjust to the abundant light after being in darkness for so long. First, she sees the lamp above her. She looks to her left and to her right. There's no furniture as far as she can see only four walls. The man comes into her view, and she feels all the air leave her lungs. He simply smiles taking in her surprise and fear.
"Hello, nurse" he kisses her lips roughly.
Darkness dances in Rose's vision as the shock and disgust hit her full force. She squirms trying to shake his lips, but he holds her in place with his hand buried in her hair. Rose hears the wind before she faints.
Dimitri stands in an alley. The sun has risen from its slumber, and the wind whips around Dimitri ruffling his hair wildly. His hands shake as he holds Rose's clutch in them. The only evidence of the crime. Officers move around him as they ask questions, look through garbage, and under trashcans for more evidence on where Rose is or who took her. Dimitri knows they won't find anything else. Whoever took Rose is smarter than that. Dimitri has been chasing him for a long time with no hope of catching him. This time, however, the killer has made it personal. The killer has taken Rose, and Dimitri will not rest until he brings her home safely.
Out of Rose's clutch, Dimitri pulls out her phone and turns it on. The screen takes him to the last thing Rose did. She was writing a text to him. I want to go home. Please. She had written but never hit the send button. If Dimitri hadn't followed Galina, so they could talk, if he had stayed in the ball room with Rose in his line of vision, none of this would have happened. And if he hadn't let Galina catch him by surprise, Rose would have sent her message. Dimitri curses in Russian and pushes the phone back in the clutch. Many times, Galina made advances, and Dimitri never used enough force to put a stop to it. When he brings Rose home, he will reassure her that Galina won't bother them again. He will quit his job if he must. Whatever it takes to make Rose happy. But first, he has a killer to catch.
Dimitri makes his way back to his car knowing there's nothing else for him to do. After calling Janine, they called every single one of Rose's friends and coworkers. No one knew anything, no one had seen her, so Dimitri called Eddie and his friends at the station. They put out an alert for all of Boston to call if they had seen Rose. A lady came in eventually and informed the police she saw a young woman walking on Union Street by herself. The cops were ready to dismiss the lady when they realized she was still intoxicated, but Dimitri ordered a team to investigate. That's how they found it was here Rose was taken.
Dimitri drives back to the station where his first suspect awaits. He had ordered Eddie to bring Jesse Zeklos in for questioning, and Dimitri let Jesse spend a couple of hours detained until he checked out the lead on Union Street. When he arrives at the station, Tasha ambushes him.
"You can't hold Jesse Zeklos," she begins cautiously. Dimitri has been a ticking time bomb. When he demanded the police investigate right away the disappearance of Rose, Tasha had tried to tell him to wait.
"She's probably gone out to drink," Tasha had said to Dimitri.
"I know Rose," Dimitri had growled and paced in Tasha's office. "She wouldn't go anywhere without telling me."
"For what I hear, you two aren't in the best of terms," Tasha sighed and went around to meet Dimitri.
"It doesn't matter. She would have told me," Dimitri pleaded and shook Tasha's hand away when she tried to placate him. "I don't know what your problem is with me, Tasha, but you won't put Rose's safety on the line to get back at me. I went behind your back on this case because I knew better. The killer's still alive, and he has Rose."
"It's not his M.O." Tasha argued. "He takes college, intoxicated girls. Girls who are easy to manage. Rose is not any of those things. She's smart and strong. I have nothing against you or Rose, Dimitri. I don't want you to ruin your career is all."
"To hell with my career!" Dimitri threw a chair across Tasha's office. "My fucking career is not my priority. Rose is. Now, give me the resources to catch the son of a bitch, or I do it myself. I have more than enough reason to gut the bastard."
Tasha gave him the resources. Since his outburst, she has been threading carefully.
"Why not?" Dimitri grunts as he makes his way to the interrogation room where Jesse waits.
"His family can sue us for holding without a reason," Tasha explains softly. "His lawyer is already here."
"Good," Dimitri pushes past Tasha. "I haven't seen Ivan in a long time."
In the interrogation room, Jesse sits biting his nails, and his leg bouncing up and down nervously. Upon entering, Jesse looks up at Dimitri, who has the satisfaction of seeing Jesse's eye widen in horror. Dimitri must be a sight to behold. He still wears his clothes from the previous night. His hair is wild around him, and there are already bags under his eyes due to the lack of sleep. But there's an unhinged look around those eyes. A murderous glint that makes Jesse tremble and know that Dimitri is ready to kill somebody. All those threats, breaking bones, flaying his skin, or snapping his neck come back to Jesse from his high school years. Jesse knew the Russian was always capable of such things, and he has the scars to prove a broken arm and nose, but he never believed Dimitri would kill. Today, Jesse believes Dimitri is capable of that and much more.
Dimitri doesn't say anything to Jesse. Instead, Dimitri makes his way to Ivan across the room, where Ivan talks on the phone. Upon seeing Dimitri, Ivan hangs up and turns to face the detective.
"Dimitri," Ivan shakes his hand firmly and amiably. "How long has it been? You look like hell, brother."
Dimitri shrugs. "I've looked worse."
"So, what is this, man?" Ivan lowers himself next to Jesse while Dimitri sits opposite them. "Why is my client here? No one has been able to tell us what's going on. The only reason why I haven't sued the department is because your name was thrown around. I do this as a favor to you, Dimitri."
"Are you fucking serious?" Jesse snaps turning to his older brother. "You haven't bailed me out because of this fucker? He's the reason I'm here! He threatened me last night!"
"What did I tell you? I told you to shut your mouth and let me to the talking," Ivan snaps back, and Jesses shrinks back in his seat.
Dimitri chuckles. "Still babysitting, I see," he pulls out Rose's picture out of his wallet. "This is my girlfriend. You remember Rose Hathaway?"
"Yes," Ivan takes the picture and inspects it. "We all had a crush on her. Young as she was, she's always been gorgeous. Congratulations but what does this have to do with Jesse?"
"Last night," Dimitri looks at Jesse. "Before I threatened him, your brother had his hands all over her. Now, Rose is missing. It might be just my eagerness to find Rose, but I do recall you threatening her, Jesse. What were your exact words… 'Whatever she gets, she deserves?' Help me out here, Mr. Zeklos, but do you know anything?"
"My client knows nothing," Ivan pushes the picture back to Dimitri. "He has an alibi. He was at his penthouse with his friends. You may call them and confirm for yourself."
"I haven't even asked a time frame," Dimitri stands up and paces in the room. "You say he was with his friends, but he disappeared after our confrontation at the mayor's party. Where did you go?"
"I went home," Jesse blurts out. Ivan places a hand on his shoulder and glares at him to shut up.
"Was anyone with you to confirm you went straight home? Anyone who isn't your friend or on your payroll?" Dimitri leans up against the wall and waits for an answer.
"Unless you're accusing him of something," Ivan begins to get up. "We will get going. We have given you enough of our time, Dimitri. I hope you find Rose."
"You don't want to do that," Dimitri chuckles humorlessly as Ivan and Jesse begin to get up. "You don't want to dare me to charge him because what I'm going to charge him with, I don't think you can get him out of, Ivan. You're a business lawyer, not criminal."
"See!" Jesse exclaims pointing a finger at Dimitri. "There he goes again threatening me. I want you to sue him for harassment."
"Be quiet, Jesse!" Ivan shouts and pushes Jesse back down on the chair. Ivan licks his lips and moves closer to Dimitri. "What's going on, Belikov?"
"I have a theory," Dimitri begins crossing his arms and looking directly into Jesse's eyes to read for signs of guilt. "I have a body in the morgue. A body many tell me is the culprit of killing young women all over Boston. I think it's all a trick to deviate from the real culprit. I just think it's a coincidence that the body in the morgue happens to have worked for Zeklos Inc. And here we are with Jesse Zeklos, who just happened to have threatened Rose. Now, Rose is missing, and I have killer on the loose. I think that killer is you, Jesse Zeklos."
"What?" Jesse shouts and gets up from his chair. "You're crazy! I'm not a killer!"
"Jesse," Ivan snaps pointing his finger at his younger brother in a threatening way. "You sit back down and shut your mouth." Ivan turns to Dimitri. "Look, Dimitri, my brother is an idiot. He's a pig who may or may not have threatened Rose but trust me when I tell you he's not smart enough to get away with murder. He's not your killer. To prove it, you have access to all our employees. If the suspect in your morgue worked for us, there must be another accomplice. You're welcome to run background checks on all our employees; you have our full cooperation."
"I don't need your cooperation," Dimitri sighs pushing away from the wall. "I'm already running background checks on all your employees." With that, Dimitri makes for the door.
"Then you must let my client go," Ivan follows Dimitri. "You have no reason to hold him."
"I can hold him for 24 hours," Dimitri looks at his watch. "It's not 24 hours yet. Not even close. I suggest you two get comfortable."
"You can't do that," Ivan calls after Dimitri. "Either charge him or let him go. He's not going to lead you to Rose because he doesn't have her."
"We'll see," Dimitri opens the door and leaves the interrogation room.
Dimitri makes his way to this office where Eddie is going through background checks on Zeklos Inc's employees. Eddie sits on the floor his back against the wall pouring through reports on his laptop. His eyes drop heavily with lack of sleep. Like Dimitri, Eddie has been searching for Rose all night, and like Dimitri, Eddie won't rest until they find her preferably alive. Dimitri lowers himself onto his chair and opens the files waiting for him.
"You should go home and get some sleep," Dimitri comments as he looks through Mikhail Tanner's background check. Nothing seems to jump at Dimitri.
"I'm fine," Eddie replies. "You should go home and get some rest. When we find Rose, you'll need to be in top shape to catch the bastard."
"Oh, trust me," Dimitri says through gritted teeth as he pulls up the next employee. "I will be."
The door to his office opens abruptly and Abe Mazur enters with his body guard, Pavel, shadowing him. Dimitri sighs. He had expected this to come soon. In fact, it took Abe too long to come confront Dimitri. Only because Janine begged Abe to stay with her and to let Dimitri do his job.
"He'll find her," Janine had said through her tears. "He will find her."
But Abe couldn't wait any longer. His daughter is missing and there's only one person to blame, Dimitri. "Where's my daughter?"
"Not here," Dimitri replies without looking up from his computer. "Obviously."
"Don't get smart with me, boy," Abe smacks his hands on Dimitri's desk. "You promised Janine you would find Rose, and so far, there's no sign of her. This is your fault. You shouldn't have let her leave alone."
"Trust me," Dimitri looks up from his computer and glares at Abe. "If I could turn back time, I would. I would change everything. I wouldn't have taken her to that party. Ifs and woulds aren't going to bring her back. I am. I have been looking all night, asking questions…"
Dimitri trails off. Since last night, when Dimitri realized Rose is missing, he couldn't stop blaming himself. He shouldn't have let Rose out of his sight; he should have gone outside and followed her. But that didn't matter. What matters is finding Rose and making the killer pay. Dimitri couldn't stop imagining ways to hurt the man. Like beating him until every bone in his body is shattered. Until his ribs puncture his lungs and he chokes on his blood. And when Dimitri wasn't thinking of ways to avenge his beloved, he thought of her. Alone and afraid. Hurting and wondering if she will get out of it alive. Dimitri wants nothing more than to have Rose back safely in his arms. He will hold her tight and never let her go again. He will be there for her in whatever way she needs. In all his despair, guilt and hatred, Dimitri forgot something very important. A key witness.
"What is it?" Abe demands when Dimitri ignores him.
"I found him," Dimitri mutters as he clicks through files until he finds the one he's looking for. There's the familiar information. The address and a photograph. At first, Dimitri found no reason to know the man's past but now it's crucial.
"Who did you find?" Eddie stands up and moves behind Dimitri to look at his screen. "Why are you looking at his information again?"
"Find out his place of employment," Dimitri commands as he scrolls through the history. "We have a link. They know each other. They were in the same foster home…"
"Dimitri," Eddie pales as he begins to see where Dimitri is going with his search. "He works for Zeklos Inc. He's a chauffeur for the CEO, Ekaterina Zeklos."
"Chauffer," Dimitri mutters pulling up the tracker app on his phone. "He has two cars. One is the company car. He wouldn't use his fucking corvette."
"It's too conspicuous," Eddie nods. "Someone would remember seeing a corvette, but the Honda is too normal."
"I'm tracking him," Dimitri stands up. "We got the bastard."
Rose wakes up to the stinging pain on her legs. She hisses when Nathan presses the gauze with alcohol to her bruised and scratched skin. She tries to pull her legs away but the restraints around her ankles don't allow her to move too far.
"Stay still," Nathan looks up at Rose. "I don't want anything to blemish your beautiful skin. We'll have to wait on our fun until these heal. Then again, I don't know how much longer I can wait."
"Why me?" Rose's throat hurts with thirst, so her voice comes out as if she has been smoking for years.
"Because you're gorgeous," Nathan pushes his rolling chair, so he ends up near her face. "I have wanted you since you walked into that hospital room. Normally, I like younger girls, but your spirit won me over. I am going to enjoy breaking you."
"You won't," Rose replies defiantly. "You won't get to break me because Dimitri will come for me."
Nathan chuckles and twists a loose strand of her hair around his index finger. "Detective Belikov thinks his killer was Isaiah. He won't come for me."
This time Rose laughs, and she means it. "Dimitri is the best detective. You're a moron if you think you fooled him. He will figure out you and Isaiah were working together."
"We were quite the team," Nathan recalls running his hands over her arms. "He procured and disposed of the girls for me. I don't understand how he had fun doing that. The real fun is breaking the girl's spirit, and then when I'm done, see their life slipping away," he presses his fingers against her neck. "As I choke them slowly. But I won't do that to you. Not right away. I have a feeling you're right. I won't break you. It's going to take some time. I promise our time together will be the most memorable."
"It won't get to that," Rose says firmly shuddering at his touch. "Dimitri will find me, and when he does, you'll regret laying a finger on me."
"A finger?" Nathan throws his head back and laughs. "I will lay more than a finger on you, my Rose. And you will eventually enjoy it."
"Don't touch me," she shouts as Nathan pulls scissors from a nearby table where he brought he alcohol and gauze. "Don't you dare touch me!"
He cuts a lock of her hair and places it in a Ziploc bag. "A souvenir for when you're no longer with us. And now… We can start to break you."
Rose shouts and screams profanities as Nathan cuts her dress. "Dimitri is going to kill you. I'm going to spit on your grave, you piece of shit!"
"Hey," Nathan stops cutting the hem of her dress and points at her with the scissors. "That's not very nice of you to say. If you want me to stop all you must do is, say so."
"Stop, motherfucker," Rose spits at his face.
"Nicely," Nathan adds through gritted teeth as he wipes his face. "That was uncalled for and now I have to keep going."
He cuts a slit up her right leg and stops by her inner thigh. "My father has money," Rose pleads as she feels the metallic coldness of the scissors against her leg. "If you let me go, he'll give you lots of money."
"I don't want money," Nathan shrugs working on cutting another slit up her left leg.
"He'll give you enough money to hide from Dimitri."
"You know," Nathan stops tapping her exposed leg with the scissors. "Threatening me is not the way to go. I keep telling you. You have to ask nicely otherwise I'm going to keep going until your pretty dress is gone."
"I won't plead to you, pig," Rose swallows loudly and waits for the worse.
"Then I won't stop," Nathan resumes cutting the dress.
Rose continues to offer him money and threatening him. She describes what Dimitri will do to him when he finds them. But Nathan laughs and continues to cut her dress almost exposing her nakedness. Briefly, Rose is thankful she put on panties after her encounter with Dimitri last night. She closes her eyes as the scissors cut the fabric away. She imagines being safely in Dimitri's arms. He holds her against him kissing her head as they watch some stupid movie. The smell of him and his warmth all around her. The sound of his laughter when she says something silly, and his eyes gazing at her lovingly.
"I'll always take care of you," she replays his promise in her mind to keep from screaming as Nathan continues to snip away at the fabric.
AN: Thank you for your reviews, favs, and follows as always they make me happy. I hope this wasn't too much graphic or traumatic stuff. I'm already working on chapter nine. I hope to have it done soon. I'd say there's about two more chapters? Anyway, thanks for reading!
UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that it would have been good to add a trigger warning in this chapter. I apologize if I offended anyone. I tried to write this chapter keeping in mind some of my readers may or may not have gone through something similar. The last thing I want is to hurt anyone, so I apologize for not thinking ahead. I have update the chapter with trigger warnings that's all I did in this chapter. Thanks and so sorry.
