Kaja
––––––––
ICOULD HARDLY BELIEVELeo had left without tying me up again. Yes, he’d locked me in here, but if I really wanted, I could break a window and escape.
But where would I escape to? All paths in Estonia would lead to my father, and the thought of going back home made me feel as though I couldn’t breathe.
Maybe I was a little crazy, but who could blame me after my upbringing?
I made the most of my newfound freedom, helping myself to food I found in the fridge and kitchen cupboards, sampling a little of everything Leo had bought the day before. My long hair gradually dried in waves since I didn’t have a hairdryer or any way of straightening it. I felt better since my shower, though I was looking forward to having something else to wear. I hoped Leo had decent taste in women’s clothing. He dressed well himself, so that could be a good sign.
I stood at the kitchen counter, eating potato salad straight out of the tub.
Through the window above the sink, I caught a flash of movement at the front of the house.
I frowned.
Was Leo back already? He’d been faster than he’d thought he’d be, and I hadn’t heard his car approaching.
A bang against the front door made me jump and set my heart racing.
What the hell was that?
An animal? Maybe a moose or something had found its way here, attracted by the food inside?
The bang came again, like something heavy crashing against the other side of the door.
“Tere?” I dared to call out in my own language.Hello?
“Kaja Valk? Is that you?” a male voice I didn’t recognise replied in Estonian.
My stomach dropped. How had they found me?
Sitt!Now what should I do? If I said yes, they’d come for me. If I stayed quiet, they’d still break down the door, thinking I was being prevented from speaking. They’d take me back to my father.
The possibility of a different kind of future was rapidly vanishing in front of my eyes. If he took me back to my father, I would be even more sheltered than I’d been before. I doubted he’d even allow me those occasional drives into the city. I’d be a prisoner inside that fucking chain-link fence until the day he died.
“Kaja!” the man shouted. “Kaja Valk?”
I tried to discern his identity from his voice. Was this one of the men who was a regular visitor to the compound? I didn’t think so. I’d recognise him if he was.
Was there any point in denying my identity?
“I’m locked in here,” I called back.
“I’m going to break the door down. Don’t stand too close to it.”
Another bang came as the man hit the door on the other side.
I knew one thing with certainty–I wasn’t going to go with him.
I glanced around the cabin. Leo had removed anything I might be able to use as a weapon for his own safety. I guessed he hadn’t considered that I might need something to protect me from someone else.
My gaze lit on the fireplace. It had a steel matt-black iron set of tools next to it—a brush, a pan, some coal scissors, and finally, a sleek poker. I hurried over and picked up the poker. It was heavy and solid, and it would be the perfect weapon, as long as it wasn’t pitched against a gun, which I suspected it would be. The one thing I had going for me was that whoever this man was, he probably thought I wanted to be rescued. He’d imagine the person he needed to use the gun on was the person who’d taken me.
More bangs came against the outside of the door, growing louder each time. Suddenly, something cracked, and the lock splintered, and the door swung open.
A man in his thirties with a thick beard entered the cabin. He aimed a gun, first at me, and then swept it around the room. I kept the poker hidden behind my back and folded my other arm across my chest.