Chapter 2

Kristin

I groan lightly trying to adjust myself and my sight because I still saw blur even after seemingly waking up. I'm lying on a hard surface, it's cold and smells like blood and dirt, the whole surrounding is eerily scary and quiet, my sight adjusts to the darkness, mildly, I try to move and I realized I'm tied, my hands behind my back but my legs are not. I gently sit up, the whole room starts spinning and I feel sick to my stomach, I feel like I'm going to throw up any minute from now, memories from before I passed out starts rushing in. I remember the mansion being under attack and then someone breaking into my room and me trying to fight back before I was drugged, I look around and I'm in some kind of basement. My skin begins to crawl, I feel eyes on me but the room is too dark to even make out anything, I squint to get a clear vision and then I see shoes in the far end of the room, brown male shoes, whoever has them on is sitting down. I move away quickly but that's a bad idea because my whole body is on fire. "I thought you'd be out cold for the rest of the evening" the voice booms making me look up to find the strange shoes person having the voice His voice sounds unfamiliar and his accent is different from all the ones I've come to get used to, he's not Italian, I know that for sure "Who are you"? I squeak out barely a whisper, my throat is parched and I'm thirsty. "That's not of great importance right now" he voices out his thick accent rolling off his tongue, he gets up and walks towards me which allows me to take in his full appearance. He's rather tall, with dark long hair, his eyes are sharp Hazel, his face as hard as a rock, he has a small beard just below his face, he looks terrifying I must say. He stops in front of me and bends down so he's at eye level with me, I move back on instinct, and he puts his hand on his ear and speaks in an unfamiliar language, he nods and answers like he's taking orders, all the while his eyes are trained on me. "The boss will see you now" he mutters before standing up, I thought he'd take me out of her to go see his boss, whoever it is but now, he just takes two steps away from me still leaving me there. From his accent, language, and face I can tell he's Russian, which only means one thing, The Russians have me. Which in turn means I'm miles away from home, From Khloe, I start panicking. How will they find me? I'm probably going to die before they do, the Russians are merciless and if there's anything they don't possess, it's compassion. I'm still thinking about my fate when I hear heavy footsteps, followed by the opening of the door to wherever the fuck I am. The moment the person steps in, the air around me shifts, even the man from before becomes still and poised, and the whole atmosphere changes. Whoever it is that just walked inside this room, holds a whole lot of power, even the way he walks screams authority, I've not seen his face yet because he's still in the shadows but I feel the chills all over my body. "I must say... It was very easy getting you here" Even his voice is nothing compared to what I've been hearing all my life, it has this strong authority to it, it's hard, gruff, husky, and terrifying all together, I feel my skin crawl with goosebumps I don't miss the accent to which his voice is laced. "For someone so protected, you were easy prey to my men" he continues walking around me not letting me see his face. "Who are you and why am I here"? I croak out, I'm afraid and I'm not going to hide it, if he wanted me dead, I'd have been dead, something tells me he doesn't want to kill me. He laughs, a menacing, low, and taunting laugh, it has nothing friendly to it, it's the kind of laugh that sends cold chills through the body. "Who I am....hmm let me see," he thinks for a moment, his voice is now coming from behind me "Well some people refer to me as the devil, some say ghost, and to many others, I'm just a myth people tell their kids as bedtime stories" he says with so much confidence and pride dripping off his voice "as to why you're here, you're smart, you should know that by now" he mutters out. His explanation of himself makes me gulp hard, I'm scared out of my wits, I'm not even going to lie, and he said I'd know why I was here but I'm coming up with nothing. "What are you going to do to me"? I ask my voice trembling "For now, nothing. I'm just going to keep you here for a day or two, let you starve maybe, let's say I'm prepping you for what's to come" he says dangerously low. By now he had walked to the front of the room, still making sure he was hidden in the shadows, I was trying hard to see him but it was impossible. "And what's to come... Is not so good.." he paused before walking out of the shadows and into the light so I could see him, from his legs up to his broad chest and his perfect jawline, clean shaved face, pointed nose, and piercing green eyes. The air got knocked out of me, he had a sinister smirk perched on his face, and he looked..... Handsome and young. Maybe in his early 30s, his face was void of any emotions, and so were his eyes, they bore into my soul with great contempt and anger. He had dark brown hair, he stood tall peering down at me like I was an insect. It's him, the greatest and most feared assassin in all of Russia, the Don of the Russian Mafia. Aleksandr Ivanovic "Khloe" he finished with venom lacing his voice. "Now I'd advise you to brace yourself, it's going to be a bumpy ride" he muttered before striding out the door and banging it making me flinch. I didn't realize that the man from before was still in the room with me until I heard his sigh. Everything ceased to exist when he walked in, and it's like they all went back to existing after he left. He held a lot of authority, no doubt about that. He commanded fear and respect wherever he went. But then he called me Khloe, did he think I was Khloe? Did he kidnap me thinking he was kidnapping Khloe? I mean we look exactly alike, same hair, same eyes color, only Khloe stood a bit taller than me but someone who's never seen us both together would never be able to tell us apart from each other. And us being seen together is something that has never happened, When Khloe decided that she'd take over Dad's legacy and become an assassin herself, Dad made sure to keep me hidden from public eyes, I was even homeschooled. The media and everyone in the underworld only knew about Khloe, they knew my dad had only one daughter, no one ever knew about me, or the fact that Khloe was, in fact, a twin. Even Dante was shocked the day he met me, it took him a while to adjust to seeing a replica of his wife around the mansion. And I think Aleksandr is among the people who never knew of my existence, he thinks he's holding Khloe hostage when, in fact, Khloe is still home with Dante. He probably thinks he has the best female assassin in the world locked in his basement, I'm just a twin, I don't even know how to hold a gun or a knife, let alone use one.

______________________________________ I don't know how long I've been holed up here but I've not seen Aleksandr since the last time he came down here. The man with me has also left, he has come back on two other occasions to get me water, they haven't given me any food and I'm beginning to lose my strength. I really can't pinpoint why I'm here, I'm guessing it has something to do with Khloe, and whatever it is, it's not something good. I've not had my bath in God knows how long, I stink and the clothes I'm putting on are dirty, I feel dirty but of course, I'm a hostage here, so it's not exactly five stars or anything of that sort. I know Khloe would be worried sick about me by now, she'd be pulling her hair out thinking about where I am, I hope they find me quickly because I'm not about to spend weeks or worse, months locked up in here. I'm still thinking when the basement door opens up, the light blinds my vision for a while, I try to cover it with my hands which are still tied up, from the way the whole atmosphere becomes dangerous and calm I already know who's in here with me. He takes calculated and authoritative steps toward me and stops in front of me with his hands tucked inside his pants pocket. He looks at me with disgust, I don't even bother saying anything, I just look away from him, something about his eyes sets me on an unknown path. He snaps his fingers and I hear scraping before the only chair in the room is dragged to him, he sets it in front of me before sitting down on it, his legs are spread wide open while he intertwines his hands in front of him. He's putting on a black long-sleeve shirt, rolled up to his elbow, a few ink marks are scattered on his arm, and his knuckles are filled with rings, which I know are used for nothing good. I look further up and the first two buttons on his shirt are undone, I can see the small chest hairs on him, my eyes move up and I'm met with his cold, emotionless eyes boring into mine in a glare. I have a feeling, this guy doesn't like me one bit "Let's talk"