Page 129

The squad car pulled past the entrance to the police station and circled around to the back.

The unease in my gut intensified.

When the car door swung open, a part of me wanted to resist but I knew that would only piss them off further.

The moment I exited the car, they yanked my arms forward and slapped handcuffs on me.

"Hey! Am I being arrested?"

The man jerked me forward and pressed his face so close his nose almost touched mine. "I'm not going to tell you again to keep your fucking mouth shut."

I turned my head to the side and prayed Pavel was already on his way.

They dragged me through a scarred metal door to the side of the loading dock. On the other side was a dingy hallway with a flickering fluorescent light. We passed several doors before I was shoved into a small room with only a single table and two metal folding chairs.

They slammed the door shut behind me.

I turned and shouted as I fisted my hands together and banged on the door. "Hey! Hey! Let me out of here!"

No answer. I tried the doorknob. Locked.

The room was small with putty-colored walls, a suspicious brown splash stain on the far wall. I wrinkled my nose at the sour, musky scent.

Not knowing what else to do, I sat and waited.

It only took a few minutes for the door to swing open.

I sprang up. "I demand to know what this is all about!"

Without saying a word, the burly man in the cheap suit who entered hauled off and slapped me so hard, my body slammed against the wall. The handcuffs rattled as I raised my arms to cup my cheek.

"Shut up, whore."

Seriously, what the fuck was with all these men calling me a whore?

Before I could say anything further, he grabbed me by the hair and dragged me across the room and tossed me into the other chair as if I were a dirty rag doll.

Tears I refused to shed pricked my eyes.

He lowered his bulk into the chair across from me. The metal creaked and groaned. "You're going to tell me everything you know about the murder of Brutus Slinsky."

I blinked. "Who?"

He leaned forward and slapped me a second time. With my cheek already hot and bruised, I couldn't resist crying out.

He pointed his fat finger at me. "Every time you don't answer you're going to get hit. And if you keep being a bitch, I'm going to toss you into the men's holding cell. Maybe a few hours of getting gangraped by the scum of the earth will change your tune."

The horror of my situation washed over me in waves.

I wasn't stupid.

There was no point in asking for a lawyer or demanding a phone call. There was a reason why these animals had hauled me in the back way. Why I hadn't been brought to the front desk for processing. Whatever this was, it was definitely off the books. Which only increased the danger I was in.

Brutus Slinksy? That must be the man Pavel murdered.

My lips thinned as my gaze narrowed. I spoke with the confidence of a woman who knew her man, her protector, was this very moment on his way to rescue her. I raised my voice in case anyone was listening or could hear me on the other side of the door. "My name is Mrs. Pavel Ivanova. Call my husband! I want my husband! "

With that, I hauled up a disgusting loogie to the back of my throat and spit right in his face.