Day 1Lucien It had been one day since she had gone missing, thought Lucien. And he was nowhere close to finding her.He had reached out to everyone he could think of, trying to find where the man he was seeking, Dmitri Rudenko, had holed away his woman.He kept drawing a blank.He had sent his men to the various hideouts where Rudenko famously tortured his victims; and had set them on fire. Schwartz had overseen that, personally.But there was no sign of Proserpina. It was as though she had vanished.Lucien felt it like a blow; he had never thought she would be captured in this way. He had always been convinced of his infallibility.He drank again from his tumbler of whiskey as Schwartz entered the room. Aiyana Laughing Water was with him. The woman studied him solemnly.Lucien wanted to lash out at someone, anyone, but Schwartz stepped forward.‘Mate, ‘he said in a low voice, ‘You cannot go around drunk. Think of the wee babies. They need you.’Lucien stood up, lurching slightly. It
ProserpinaI came awake groggily. And sat up immediately.There were some men in the room, Oleg was one of them and I shrank in alarm.I had woken up a while ago and used the tiny, decrepit bathroom to take a wash and use it for my basic needs. It made me want to cry, it was filthy and so small, I almost squeezed into it. But I did not want to give up. I wanted to believe that my husband was using all the resources at his disposal to search for me…* It was probably my body clock that brought me awake, or maybe it was the dull ache in my arm that was swollen and painful now. Otherwise, I had no idea what time it was. It was slightly cooler now, which meant it was dawn? I wrapped myself as best as I could in my once beautiful now ruined, torn dress, shuddering as I thought of Oleg with his meaty fingers, the hot breath of the man as he had licked my cheek. I had scrubbed away at my cheek and the area felt sore. I gazed up longingly at the tiny slit in the wall, high above, a ventilator
ProserpinaI was dumped in a car or some vehicle. Two men squeezed in beside me on either side I knew one of them had to be Dmitri. The powerful smell of his cologne, distinctive and unpleasant, surrounded me although I was still in the black hood. I remained quiet. I did not want to antagonise them. I wanted to listen for I needed to know where I was going. “The s*ut is like a mouse.’ sneered Dmitri, squeezing my breast. The man on the other side was stiff and unmoving, thankfully and I stifled a cry as he increased the pressure of his hand.When I gasped, unable to take the pain, he gave a small laugh.The man was a sadistic monster, I thought, fearfully and tried to make myself shrink.I was exhausted and thirsty and my stomach was growling. All of it made me fall asleep, a deep, restless sleep. Suddenly, a terrific explosion rent the air and I jumped. I could not see and I had no idea where we were but the explosion seemed to have come from a long distance, way behind us.“Stay s
ProserpinaFrom the snatches of the conversation and the tone of my captors, I guessed that Lucien had arrived after the blast. So my lover was still alive, and I knew he was relentless; he would keep looking for me. That gave me hope.I sat still, my legs stretched out in front of me. It was late, I supposed. The room was dark. A dim light glowed high up in the ceiling, a bare bulb. I knew that it was too high up for me to clamber up to. Apart from the bed, there was no other furniture in the room. Just an iron bed that was too heavy to even push. Later, I discovered that it had been screwed to the floor.The room was large, and it smelled musty. An old, worn sheet covered a lumpy, uncomfortable mattress. A pillow that had obviously seen better days had a cover that was stained and greasy. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. But I was too tired to fight the exhaustion that seemed to be rolling over me in waves now.Besides, I was too weary to do anything now.My back ached from the journey
Proserpina The next day, the woman came in with the food. She was, I realized, a few years older than me but dirty and wearing torn clothes, stained with ...some reddish colours that I did not want to think about.This time, her eyelids fluttered as she sent me a quick glance. I was sitting on the bed, my hand on my stomach.It was a quick look, and she lowered her pale green eyes, but I had seen a flash of pity in them. She had the same clothes that she had worn the previous day and on an impulse, I looked at the man who stood in the doorway. He had his rifle cocked and easy, and he was yawning, scratching his scruffy face as he watched us. ”Clothes,’ I said, loudly, my eyes on her, ’Please, clothes.’ She hesitated, and the man entered the room with a snarl.He hit her across the head with the back of his meaty hand, and I stepped back in horror. The woman let out a yelp. Dragging her arm, he jerked her out and slammed the door shut.I sat, trembling, for a long while. The open ex
Lucien. His gravelly voice came over the phone and Danielle scowled, expecting a reprimand.But there was only the sound of his breathing as he waited. After a while, he rasped out tersely,“What?’ ‘Boss’ she said, her palms sweaty, not sure if she was doing the right thing, lending hope to his man who was going through his own private purgatory.‘Boss, I …think...’ She began.He roared,’The f*ck you called me, woman to tell me what you f*cking think?’She glared at the receiver, muttering choice expletives to herself.Then she went on, gripping the phone tightly,‘ Boss, keep your shirt on. It’s about some information that Sophie gave me. She told me…her sister…’There was a silence. She had got his attention.Lucien was listening intently.‘Go on,’ he growled.She went on, excitement creeping into her voice. Then she spoke, all in a rush,‘She said that there is a place where they keep the women who they bring from …other areas. Before…’ she paused, it hurt to think of Proserpina
Proserpina I will never know how I made it through the hours of waiting for the axe to fall. I ate the stale bread and the lumpy cereal, barely aware of the taste. Staring around me, I figured out that it was mid-morning when the door opened.Another woman entered a little while later, this time a woman who was in a long skirt and had her head covered with a gaily coloured scarf. She spoke in a dialect that I did not understand. Her black eyes, narrow and slightly slanted, were rimmed with kajal, the traditional black eye make-up, worn by women in some parts of the world.She flashed a look of disdain at me and indicated that I should bathe. In her hands, she had a bar of some coarse soap, a towel and shampoo. I rose to my feet, dread in every pore of my body.I stepped inside the tiny bathroom and washed myself as best as I could, lathering my hair with the shampoo. To my horror, she stood in the doorway, watching me, totally unconcerned at my efforts to hide my nudity from her cold
Proserpina The woman had made me dress..The red-haired one was called Xenia, I had gathered from the conversation the two women who had been assigned to prepare me, were having between themselves.She was a Madam and a very important person in the chain as I would come to know. I wore the dress and allowed them to zip me up. I felt almost naked since I had no undergarments. The dress strained across my breasts and my nipples stood out with the abrasive touch of the garment.The old woman applied make-up on my face and had darkened my eyes, reddened my mouth.I allowed her to do it . What else could I do?When she held up a small mirror so that I could see her handiwork, I stared at the dull looking eyes of the face that stared back at me. I looked like a wh*re, I thought.Xenia came in after a long while. Her mouth set in a tight line as she surveyed me. Then, spinning on her heel, she went out, saying something.The old woman cackled, and the younger one gave a snort. As I stared at
Piers's loud shout made the hall fall silent. For a minute, every head in the room swivelled to stomp in the doorway.Even Lucien Delano and Proserpina, absorbed as they were in their burning need to lose themselves in their desperate need for each other, stopped. Proserpina blinked as she turned to look, safe as she was, nestled in her lover’s strong embrace. And the Mafia Don scowled in annoyance, muttering,“What is with that fool boy?’Piers whipped his head to face his parents across the room, an arm around Hila, holding her to his chest as he cried, "Mumma! Pappa!’And when he was hurrying to them, his eyes were wild with excitement as he cried in joy, dragging his lover beside him,‘I…you… I mean… Mumma, I’m going to be a dad!”Proserpina was out of her husband’s protective arms as her son whooped and threw his arms around her, laughing with him. Lucien watched drily as Claude and Ria immediately crossed to him, pulling him into a huddle. Tara joined them, and after a pause, so
LucienHe began to make his way slowly through the milling throng of his guests to where his Woman was standing, in a daringly backless gown, her beautiful body making his staff harden with desire. Ria and Tara had chosen the slinky gown for her. When Proserpina had protested in embarrassment, her hands on her pink cheeks, the girls had declared,‘Mumma! Even after eight kids, you still look WOW!’It had been one of those rare weekends when Tara had come home. Ria had little Jamie on her lap, jiggling the fat little girl who was cooing at her Pappa, for the Mafia Don was hands down, her favourite person. Jamie was the apple of the Don’s eye, as Ria often teased her father.Lucien, who had been in the bedroom working on his phones and tablet, had been watching them in amusement.After the heart attack, mild though it had been, he had taken to spending time at home, working from his office or sometimes, his spacious bedroom.‘Please…but it’s BACKLESS!” Proserpina had gone on, her eyes m
A love like the kind her parents shared was almost like a fairytale…She sighed and touched her small belly. Big Philippe placed his large warm hand over hers and whispered concernedly in her ear,“Princess?”She looked up into his dark eyes and felt the rush of affection, of love that kept them bound to each other. Philippe, the Capo would bring the Moon and place it at her feet if she asked for it, she thought and unmindful of the crowds milling around her, the sound of glasses clinking, the chatter of people as, Ria reached up and pulled his head down. Murmuring against his lips,‘Philippe Diaz, I love you,” as she kissed him.***Piers Delano was staring at his phone. His mind was on other matters, although he had turned up for the party after his twin’s wedding ceremony. It had been a brief ceremony; Philippe had been born a Catholic, so there had been a small wedding service at Church. Old man Diaz had passed away a few years ago, and Philippe’s brothers, both of whom had been a
A few years later.The years have been kind to him, thinks the Don fondly as he surveys the guests at his daughter’s wedding party.Lucien Delano has aged but in his predictably indomitable manner, he looks and of course, his wife is testimony to the fact, that he still behaves in the same manner as he used to.His still-muscular physique belies his years and he continues to practice in his gym and has a friendly bout of boxing in the Ring, off and on. His son Claude is now an established name in the world of boxing, simultaneously running the underground fight clubs he has set up, and partnered with Paddy. The two of them work in tandem, Paddy with his enviable skills on the computers, has managed to make the Fight Clubs very lucrative indeed! thinks the Don.The Mafia Don is still actively handling the matters of his mob, which has branched out to become a powerful organisation, but one that is totally against human trafficking. He has made his millions through his arms dealings, a
LucienHe looked at his Woman fondly. She was on the bed, her head lowered to the baby at her nipple, the little child whose brown curls were bobbing as she sucked hard at her mother’s swollen teat.Proserpina wore a look of divine bliss, and Lucien moved over to her, taking her chin in his hard grip and kissing her.It was all he could do, for she had been spending almost a month at the hospital now. A month during which the Mafia Don had practically lived in the hospital too, his only concern being his Woman.And of course, the littlest child of his, who had charmed him already, though she was too small, too tiny to utter a word. Yet she could be ear-splittingly loud, too!He found himself staring in wonder as the baby yawned, exposing her small toothless gums, pink in colour, as he watched her face adoringly. And when Proserpina laughed at him, at the way he fawned over his youngest daughter, the Mafia Don growled at her, his eyes hungrily wandering over her.“Woman, I want to bree
RiaShe was running down a corridor that stretched out endlessly. The sound of the man’s footsteps thundering after her made her pant in fear. He was after her. She stumbled and fell, picked herself up, and kept running, her hands reaching out in the dark for some door, some way out of this place. And then, suddenly, out of the blue, she grabbed a shirt sleeve.The face of the man looked up in front of her.She screamed as Dusak’s face appeared out of the gloom, grinning maniacally.He had blood pouring down his forehead and a large hole in his cheek where he had been shot. But he opened his mouth and spoke in a guttural voice she knew she had heard before.“LOVELY Ria, my Ria, I am going to be with you forever now...'He reached out a long skeletal hand with talons, and that was when Ria screamed.Dusak Rudenko began shaking her throat ungently, and she felt a gurgle of panic erupt within her. A deep fear, unnamed and unknown.And then Philippe’s voice came into her consciousness, be
Lucien stood, staring in shock as a beaming Camille reached out to hand over the little baby to him. He stared in confusion for he had never held any of his newborn kids; it was a first for him.But even as he hesitated, the little child, its skin pink and puckered, a thatch of dark hair on its tiny head, opened one eye and looked at him quizzically an eyebrow raised questioningly, weighing him up critically so to speak, before shutting her eye firmly and ignoring the people around her, her mouth blowing a red raspberry pout.Ria and the other children began to laugh as Lou cried, with a shout of laughter,“Pappa, Sir, she is not impressed by you!’But it was Ria who declared, wonderingly, as she leaned against Lucien, who was holding the precious bundle cupped to his chest fiercely,“Pappa, I think she has Mumma’s colouring!”***ProserpinaI opened my eyes slowly. It felt as though there were weights holding my lids down. It had been a dream that seemed to go on forever, tumultuous
Lucien looked around at his family who were in the large waiting room. The younger boys, Dom and Lou, were piled on a sofa, their mouths open as they snored softly; Tara was curled up in an armchair with Aiyana beside her, an arm draped protectively around the child. The ex-FBI woman sat, her legs folded elegantly even in sleep.James Schwartz was sitting in another chair while the Capo dozed uncomfortably, Ria’s golden head on his lap, Rudy nestled beside her. Lucien’s face softened slightly as he looked at James. As though his thoughts had touched his second in command, the Scotsman stirred and stretched, sitting up, alert in an instant.He looked around himself and met Lucien’s eyes, an unspoken look passing between them.Snoring loudly, Claude was sprawled in abandon, sleeping on a mattress someone had thoughtfully provided, which was spread on the floor, his arms thrown wide, while Paddy had chosen to settle in an armchair close to the corridor leading to the theatre door, positi
She mumbled,"Yes Sir...' and her molten brown eyes, clouded with desire and want, with pain and pleasure, misted over as she looked at him, beseeching him to release her from her need.Her absolute submission aroused him tenfold, and the big man growled shakily, for the sight of her large breasts with the evil clamps fastened to her tender nipples was too much for him.“I shall f*ck your t*ts today, wh*re,’ he said hoarsely, "to punish you. Pain, wh*re, and pleasure."She made a sound, her breasts wobbling as she tried not to shift too much, but he lowered his head to sink his teeth into the fleshy mounds savagely, and she cried out.He tugged lightly at the clamps with his teeth, and she met his eyes, her own filled with tears of pain but she dimpled slightly as she said breathlessly,'Master... I am yours, Lucien Delano..."He grunted.F*ck, but he could never have enough of this delectable offering laid before him: this lush body, the thighs wet with her want, her shining pink c*n