Page 10 of My Crazy Killers
Ivan stops in front of the fireplace and turns to stare at us. His assessing game bounces between the two of us before his eyes settle on Jagger, who’s currently being restrained by his two guards. Meanwhile, Alexei is still holding onto my elbow, with a tighter grip than seems necessary, telling me maybe the guards know what’s about to happen in here. There’s about six feet between Jagger and me, and we eye each other nervously.
“I thought we might play a little game,” Ivan starts.
Here we go…
My hands start to grow clammy in worry for what’s coming next, as if my body is already scared, sensing what is coming.
“Son, your turn first.” He motions for someone to enter, and a new guard I don’t recognize walks in. It’s not his large frame and intimidating scowl that makes me start to shake in fear; it’s the leather whip he’s holding in his palms.
He moves to Ivan’s side, standing almost a foot taller than him, as he turns to watch us with a look of disgust on his face. Why was he looking at us like that? What had we ever done to him?
“You have a choice,” Ivan tells Jagger. “Viktor here is going to dish out five lashes. You get to decidewhich of you gets them.” My eyes widen in fear, and before I can even finish sucking in a sharp breath of shock, Jagger slaps his hand against his own chest.
“Very well,” Ivan says, as if expecting as much. I then watch in horror as the guards drag Jagger to the centre of the room and force him to his knees.
“No! Please don’t do this!” I yell at anyone who will listen. But they all ignore me as the shirt is pulled over his head, left to hang from his bound wrists as Viktor takes his place behind him.
Jagger’s eyes meet mine, and he quickly signs,“Don’t watch.”
I shake my head, wanting to be strong for him, and he signs again,“Close your eyes for me, tiny flame. Please.”
I sign back,“I love you,”then shut my eyes and drop my head. The next two minutes are the worst of my life. The only noise in the room is the sound of the whip moving through the air and the wet whack it makes when it connects with Jagger’s back.
Tears roll down my cheeks, making me feel completely helpless. After the second one, my legs turn to jelly, and I start to fall. Alexei quickly wraps his arms around me so I don’t fall, and I want to push him away, but my body feels useless and unresponsive as I sniffle against him.
When silence falls, and I realize the whipping has finished, I open my eyes and find Jagger’s angry eyes on me. I quickly let go of Alexei and try to run to him, but he holds me back. “Please! Let me go!”
Ivan watches me in amusement before signaling to Jagger’s guards. They pull his shirt back over his head, grab him under the arms, and pull him to his feet, then drag him back to where he had been standing. I watch him, hopinghe’ll lift his eyes to me and show me he’s okay, but he just pants heavily as he stares at the ground, which has me worried.
So instead, my gaze turns furious as I turn to Ivan. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” I yell, unable to hold back my venom. “Why would you do that? And to your own son! You’re disgusting!”
Instead of my anger upsetting him, it makes a full smile cover his face, as if my reaction is what he had hoped for, which just fuels my rage even more, that is, until he speaks. “Alright, Wren, it’s your turn.”
Jagger’s head whips up, his worried eyes watching Ivan as I just stare at him. I wasn’t sure what to say; I wasn’t even sure what he meant.
“Viktor is going to give out another five lashes. Would you like to take these, or do you want to give them to Jason?” he asks, using Jagger’s real name.
My alarmed eyes meet Jagger’s, and he thumps his own chest, telling me he wants to take them, but I shake my head. “Your back is already damaged. Five more could do permanent damage to you,” I tell him as a tear rolls free.
He shakes his head and his signs, his movements sharp and hurried.“Give them to me, please. Don’t make me watch them hurt you.”
I shake my head as my tears roll free. “I don’t want to watch them hurt you, either.” I can tell this interaction amuses Ivan as he sits back and watches us. I don’t know if he understands sign language, but Jagger’s body language and my responses make it clear what we’re saying.
“Please,”he signs again, and I can see the pleading in his eyes, but when I squeeze mine shut, I picture him beingwhipped again and shake my head. I can’t watch that again, especially knowing I could have taken that pain from him.
“I’m sorry,”I sign as his eyes turn alarmed.“We bear this pain together.”I turn my head to Ivan and tell him. “I’ll take them.” I try to hold my voice steady, but it trembles.
A growl comes from Jagger as he tries to lunge toward us, but the two guards push him to his knees and manage to keep him restrained there as Alexei moves me to the center of the room and tells me to kneel.
“Lift her dress over her head,” Ivan commands, which sets off Jagger again.
The clothes I’ve been forced to wear here remind me of back home—all dresses—however, they were longer and less revealing, thankfully. I had found a pair of tights and thankfully am wearing them now, hiding my backside from view as the dress is pulled up. I’m not wearing a bra as I wasn’t provided one, and the dresses all seemed to have built-in support, so when the dress is pulled over my head from behind, I gather it tightly to my chest, hiding my front side completely from anyone.
Thankfully, Ivan doesn’t protest, and it’s a small mercy that he doesn’t seem to be a sexual predator and has shown no interest in me like that.
I lift my eyes to meet Jagger’s, freeing my hands just enough to sign,“Don’t watch.”
“I won’t force you to bear this on your own,”he signs back.
