The girl jerks back, flinching. I can see the moment of decision in her eyes when her face hardens, and she stands up straighter, squaring her shoulders. “He’s the one,” she says, her eyes flashing fire. “He took my virginity by force, fucked me in every way a girl can be fucked. It was him.” She lifts her chin defiantly. “If you don’t believe me, he has a black mole on his fucking balls.”
“She’s got a foul fucking mouth,” Mikhail comments, tightening his grip on her wrists. “Want me to check for the mole, boss?”
“He can take down his pants himself.” I nod at the man. “Go ahead. Take them down. If I have to have someone do it, you’ll regret it, I promise you. I can make things much, much worse for you than they already are.”
From the fear in his eyes, he knows I’m telling the truth. I can feel myself relaxing into the renewed sense of strength, of power over my men. It feels good to have it once more.
Slowly, he unbuckles his belt, undoing the fly of his black cargo pants and pushing them down his hips along with his underwear. His cock is shriveled from fear, and I nod towards it, my mouth twitching with cold amusement.
“Move that fucking dick, so we can see.” Mikhail barks, saving me the trouble.
He obeys, his hands shaking. He knows what we’ll see, a huge black mole on the right side of his balls, just as the girl said.
“Get your pants up.” I look back at the girl. “What’s your name?”
She’s trembling now, although her expression is as defiant as ever. “It’s Sasha. Sasha Federova.”
“It seems you were telling the truth, Sasha. So this is how it will go.” I glance at Mikhail. “Undo her restraints.”
He hesitates, but one look at my face has him undoing the plastic cuffs that hold her hands behind her back. She jerks her wrists forward the moment they’re free, rubbing them as she looks at me uncertainly.
Slowly, I pull out my pistol.
The girl makes a small, frightened noise. And then, as I raise it, I hear the sound of urine hitting the concrete floor and smell the acrid scent of it as the man in front of me pisses his pants.
“Sasha.”I look at her, my gun still leveled at the man in front of her. “As recompense for what was done to you, you will no longer be for sale. You’ll work in my house, as part of the staff. I’m sure my housekeeper could use the extra hands.”
Her mouth drops open. “Thank—thank you,” she manages, but I’m already looking at the man now, who is starting to cry, blubbering sounds that aren’t even words.
“For theft of property in excess of millions and the violation of a woman without permission, I sentence you to death.” I click the safety of my gun off, and the man starts to scream, a plea for his life. But it’s too late.
I’m finished with him.
The sound of the shot cracks through the warehouse, and the stench of piss only grows as more than one man in the line next to him loses control. Sasha, to her credit, doesn’t make a sound, although she’s trembling when I look at her.
She’s looking at the body on the concrete, blood pooling around his head.
“Have the other men clean this up while I take her back to my office,” I tell Mikhail. “And then find Oleg when he’s finished with Stefan, to take the fingers of these men for their theft. Let me know when it’s done.”
“Yes, sir.”
There’s not a sound from anyone in the line, despite what’s about to happen to each of them. They’re all shaking, pale and trembling, but no one protests. They all know now what could happen if they do.
For now, all thoughts of rebellion have been clearly quelled.
“Come with me.” I jerk my head at Sasha, and she follows. She’s in need of a shower and clean clothes, both of which she can get at my home, but I don’t want Caterina to know anything about my business. For that reason, I stop her just before we get into the car.
“Where are we going?” she asks nervously. “Are you going to—”
“I’m not going to touch you,” I reassure her. “You’re going to work in my house, just as I told you. But I need to make something very clear to you. If you breathe a word, ever, about how you came to be here or anything in that warehouse, you will end up exactly where the man who violated you did. I don’t like to harm women. In fact, I won’t even pull the trigger myself. But I have men under my command who don’t have the same scruples and will be happy to carry out that order. Am I understood?”
She swallows hard. “Yes, sir,” she manages and then pauses. “Should I call you sir?”
“My name is Viktor Andreyev, but yes. ‘Sir’ is the proper address for me, especially in my home.” I open the car door, gesturing for her to get in, and after a moment’s hesitation, she does.
“As to where we’re going, I’m taking you to my office, where you’ll be cleaned up and given appropriate clothes. One of my trusted men, higher in rank than the man who dared to touch you, will take you to my home and introduce you to Olga, who is in charge of the house. She’ll take over from there. My wife will likely be home as well, and she especially should hear nothing about the warehouse or anything that takes place there. Do you understand?”
Sasha nods. “Yes—sir. Yes, of course.”