Total Surrender

Venus slouched uncomfortably in the cold metal chair, unable to move. The ropes used to bind her were so tightly tied they painfully dug into her wrists and ankles. She was slowly losing feeling in her hands and legs. She was unsure if that was a good or bad sign, since she was in so much agony. Her lips were numb too. The rag used to muzzle her tasted of waste oil and sweat. It took all her concentrated energies to stop herself from gagging and potentially choking on her vomit. She considered it a small mercy she was able to accomplish at least that. That was the extent of compassion extended to her, however. In her estimation, she had been treated worse than an animal. Her face was swollen and buzzing with pain. She could feel the heat emanating from her cheeks where her abductor had lashed out and struck her. Her ex-husband would habitually hit her when angry, but Venus had never experienced a blow like this. She never thought she would live to see the day she would prefer to face one of her ex-husband's temper tantrums than be in this place with this strange man. Unfortunately, her face was the least of her pains. Her head was what was aching the most. To say it ached was too mild a description. Her head throbbed as if a heavy metal band was playing their favourite song on her cerebrum. She took some amount of comfort in the fact she remembered how she had gotten injured. Her abductor had sought to subdue her and put her in the trunk of his car. So she had fought him. She hadn't known why he wanted her, but she knew that allowing him to remove her from her primary location would most likely end in her death. So she'd fought. She'd fought and lost. Eventually growing tired, she was rendered unconscious after taking a vicious blow to the face. It was a miracle she hadn't dropped dead from the blow. There was no getting out of this. Sitting on the uncomfortable chair for the past two hours without any sliver of hope of being rescued had made her accept her fate. She was going to die. She was going to die here in this dark, stink and cold place… alone. Sorrow overwhelmed her because it wasn't just her who would die. Her precious unborn child would die with her. She couldn't believe she was about to lose yet another baby. Perhaps it was only right she would die right along with her child because she knew she would not survive such a loss again. She had barely survived after her miscarriage the last time. She'd been in a dark place for a long time. Depression had her in its grip and it didn't want to let go. It had taken her considerable effort and Malcolm's unwavering support to pull her out of her funk. If she had a choice, she would save this child. She would give anything to save her baby, including her own life. She or he deserved to live. But she was out of options. Malcolm would never come for her, would never give a penny for her, much less two hundred million dollars or however much this jackass had mentioned. She wasn't even sure Malcolm had that kind of money, to begin with, even if he'd wanted to rescue her. No. There was no hope of being rescued. She knew she was going to die. She just prayed it was quick as she didn’t want to prolong her pain and suffering. One week ago, if given a choice, she would not have minded dying. Her life had devolved into one of misery and heartache. But since finding out she was pregnant, she'd received a new lease on life… a reason to live... to fight. She would fight for her child if for no one else. When the severity of her situation had first dawned on her, she'd decided to do whatever she must to survive. That first instinct had been replaced with a desire for a swift death when she saw the location the man had brought her to. It smelled of death and brought to mind the feeling one had while in a morgue. Her dwindling hope evaporated when the man had arrogantly informed her that he was going to dissolve her body in an acid bath so that no one had any hope of ever finding her body, much less identifying it. That was to be her fate if Malcolm didn’t come through with the ransom he'd demanded. Little did he know he was not going to get one cent. Her abductor checked his cell phone for the umpteenth time. He was getting more restless by the minute. "Your man is taking his precious time getting me my money. I don't see any wire transfers yet. What is taking him so f*****g long?" he questioned. "Ummm… Ummm… Ummm", Venus replied, unable to speak clearly with the gag in her mouth. Anxious to hear what she had to say, he removed the gag. "We broke up. Or rather Malcolm kicked me out or did you not know that?" she taunted through engorged, sore lips. "He believes I betrayed him… that I betrayed his men. He accused me of being unfaithful. He said I slept with his rival and gave him pertinent information about his business dealings. So tell me. What do you think Malcolm is doing right now? Do you honestly think he'd hand over two hundred million dollars to someone demanding it to spare my life? Do you honestly think he is going to pay any amount of ransom for me? Hell no. He is probably drinking to my death as we speak and you'll receive a thank-you in the mail in a few days. Your mistake was thinking Malcolm gave two shits about me." "Shut up!" he raged, turning to backhand her again. She felt the sting even before his hand connected with her face, but she did not cry out in pain. She was done crying. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her. Venus took a moment to spit out the blood from her mouth. "You can hit me all you want. But that won't change the facts. Perhaps, if you attempt this again, next time choose a victim, your target would be willing to pay a ransom for, you asshole." Venus knew she was provoking her abductor. She prayed he'd take the bait and act rashly, putting her out of her misery. Waiting to die was excruciatingly torturous. Infuriated by her words, he balled his hand into a fist to strike her yet again. But something caught his hand because the blow never connected. And then the entire room erupted in violence. Gunfire… lots and lots of gunfire and grunts. It was as if she was caught in a war zone. Cries of pain immediately followed the gunfire and then there were savage curses. Venus closed her eyes and prayed for a quick and merciful death. She did not wish to suffer further. Oh, Malcolm, how I loved you so. I would never have betrayed you, let alone your most hated enemy. If only you'd believed me. We could have had such a good life. Now we'll never get to meet our child. Venus's sorrow was thick and suffocating, as tears burned her swollen, throbbing eyes. She kept her eyes closed and lowered her head in defeat as the world went mad around her. Suddenly, hands were upon her, and she flinched and stiffened, anticipating her death. But the hands were not hurting her. Rather, they were undoing her binds. Stupefied, she could not comprehend what was happening. Then a man's voice sounded in her ear. "Don't be afraid, my goddess. I'm here. Everything is going to be alright. I'm here now." She knew that voice. That voice had whispered to her in the dark at night after hours of lovemaking. That voice made her knees weak every time she heard it. It was Malcolm's voice. She could not believe her ears. Adrenaline surged in her veins. Her eyes flew open and, to her astonishment, she saw Malcolm. What was he doing here? She pondered. He rarely carries out his dirty work these days. So why had he come to a potentially dangerous situation? Was he here for her? Looking beyond him, she saw his men. They were everywhere. She looked in absolute bewilderment to see them fighting savagely, with murderous expressions on their faces. To her further shock, Malcolm was looking at her lovingly… tenderly. It was opposite to the last time they were together. What was he doing here? She wondered yet again. And why? Maybe she had finally lost the remaining vestiges of the sanity she'd clung to the entire day. Or perhaps she'd finally passed out from the pain and this was a dream. Or maybe she'd died and this was some sort of fantasy. But she felt no pain even as she made no move struggling against Malcolm's gentle touch as he cut through the ropes binding her. This reminded her of the first time she met him. She'd given him her blind trust then, as she was now, despite all that had transpired between them. Gently, he picked her up and handed her to Simon. "Get Venus out of here!" He barked, not bothering to look at her. "Ensure she's safe and get her checked out by a doctor. I will personally take care of this bastard." His words sent a chill down Venus's spine as she stared dispassionately as he made his way to the man who'd abducted her. Then she was swung into familiar arms and she opted to close her eyes... again. For her sanity, she needed to block the horrific reality of what her life had become. She'd thought her life was improving after she'd met Malcolm. She'd seen him as an upgrade to Walter – the ex-husband she'd wasted twelve years of her life on. But Malcolm was not an upgrade. Malcolm turned out to be the head of a mafia organization that was involved in drug trafficking, prostitution and the illegal arms trade. She had not upgraded. If anything, she'd made a total and complete mess of her life. Now she was pregnant for said mafia boss and was in the middle of a m******e, Venus thought as she drifted off. She retreated to a place where she no longer felt pain or grief… where she felt nothing. She welcomed oblivion and surrendered to the dark void enfolding her in its soothing embrace.