Chapter Eighty-One



Dani

I'm burning up but shivering at the same time. I'm in constant pain, the kind that goes through your skin and into your bones. There's no release; the pain is relentless and it makes me act out in ways I would never dream of. The pain and the craving for drugs makes me say things I don't mean. I hurt people with my sharp tongue. I'm no better than the people who held me. They hurt me with their horrible words and horrible actions. I'm doing exactly the same thing. I'm trying to rest to try to pass the time, but it's not working. I'm tired and my body is begging for the tenseness to leave, but there's no way it'll happen any time soon. I just need to get through the worst bit and then I'll be ok.

But I need those drugs. I need the sweet release they give me. They shut my mind up and they help my body to relax. Why won't they just give me something?! I just need a little help! They're all scum! Every single one of them! Don't they know what I'm going through?! Of course they do, they just don't care. No one cares about me. I'm just scum. I'm a Bratva Whore. No one cares about us. We're trash. We can just be thrown in the dumpster and replaced. No one cares if we're still dead or alive.

Alive, that's such a loose term. Is this what living is like? Because it's not really much to boast about, is it? Death would be better. My parents, I'll be with my parents. Oh I miss them so much. I chose to come back to this?! What's wrong with me?! But Eli, he's a good man. I don't deserve to have him in my life. He's everything that's good in this world and I'm the exact opposite of that. I'm filthy scum. I'm a drug addicted prostitute, there's no hope for me now. I'm lost.



I'm back in that room and the smell of sweat is lingering in the air. There's someone hovering over me and my vision clears long enough to make out a tanned face. He doesn't look Russian, but I know this place isn't solely for Russian men. I can smell and feel his sweat on me as he finishes what he started. He grunts and collapses on me, causing the breath to leave my lungs in a whoosh. I feel disgusting and dirty. I didn't fight. I didn't tell him no. This is just my life and I have no say in the matter. I should put up enough of a fight so they'll kill me, but I can't quite make myself do that. I don't know if that's out of fear of them or fear of what the after life will be like for someone like me. Whatever it is, it stops me from pushing the buttons of my captors.

A hand trails down my face and the deep voice murmurs, “You're so beautiful. Give me a few minutes to catch my breath and we'll go for another round. I might even have 2 rounds left in me... You're just too beautiful to waste...”

My skin crawls with the feel of his breath on my face and his body next to mine. I want to escape; I want to die. I'd even settle for more drugs to stop me from feeling or hearing any of this right now. I just want it to be over....



I don't know if I was asleep or just lost in a memory, but when I'm startled into awareness, my vision clears slightly and I find Eli sitting on the chair watching me. He quietly speaks, “Are you my Dani?”

My voice is hoarse, “Yes sir.”

“Good. You want some water?”

I nod, but regret the movement when my head hurts. I'm soaked with sweat and cold because of it. Eli grabs the cup of water and holds it for me as I drink from the straw. There's no way I can hold a cup right now. The shaking is just too bad. He grabs another blanket and throws that over me before asking, “You want me to lay with you for a little while?”

“I don't know how long this will last...”

“I'm willing to take a beating from you if it gives you even one moment of peace. You need to try to get some rest, baby...”

He climbs onto the bed before I even have a chance to say anything else. To be honest, I know I need him here, next to me, but I'm terrified at that thought. To suddenly need a man near me goes against everything I've believed in for the last few years. It is something I never even thought was possible, so you'll forgive me if I'm finding it all too daunting. I know I've been with Eli for a year and a half, but this feels different. Maybe it's the withdrawal or maybe it's because I feel something different, I don't know. My body and mind hurt, so I don't want to think about it right now. I just want some form of peace.

Eli scoops me into his arms and I rest my head on his chest as I try to count the beats of his heart. I feel him place a soft kiss to the top of my head before I start to doze off into a fitful sleep.





Eli

She's finally asleep. It's almost 3am and she hasn't slept for nearly 24 hours. Finally there's a little bit of quiet. She's still shaking, even in her sleep and I can feel the sweat pouring off her, but she's relatively quiet for now and I'm so thankful for that. I close my eyes, just for a little while. I need to be awake and alert for when she wakes up. I know the probability that she'll be out of her mind by then is very high, so I'd like to save us both the trouble of making her face that.

I'm woken up by Dani talking and jumping, so I quickly shake off sleep to try to move. She's still asleep, but when I look at the clock I notice it's 5:10am. I need to leave, so I carefully slide out of the bed and place a kiss to her forehead before quietly slipping out of the room. The nurse at the station is Donna, so I say, “I've got to get to work. She's asleep at the moment.”

“You got her to sleep? I wondered why it was so quiet in there. Sally prepared me for the worst.”

“Don't get your hopes up, it probably won't last. No restraints unless I'm in there. I'll be back later, but if there's any problems call me straight away. I'll fly down here if I'm not out on a job.”

“Yes sir. We'll take care of her.”

I grab a shower quickly and something to eat before heading out of the house to work. Between training, fitness and calls I don't get a chance to even think about taking a leak, let alone anything else.

At 3pm we just get back from a job and I get a text from Arrow asking me to call him as soon as possible. It sounds urgent, so I tell the guys to take a break before we debrief.

He picks up on the first ring. Something's wrong.

“What's going on, Arrow?”

“You spoken to your Cap?”

“No, not yet. I've just got back from a call out. Why? What's wrong?”

“You need to speak to your Cap. Babkin's dead...”

I nearly drop my cell. “What?!”

“Yep. I don't know the details, but I know he was found in his home a few hours ago. First reports suggest it was quite a scene. Speak to your Cap though. He should have more details.”

“I'll do that now. Thanks, man. Where are you?”

“Just going home. Why? What do you want me to do?”

“See if you can find out anything else? Put your ear to the ground. It might seem suspicious if I start pushing for answers.”

“Sure thing LT. I'll let you know what I come up with.”

“Thanks man.”

Just as I'm heading to the Cap's office, he's out looking for me.

His eyes look hard as he says, “My office. Now.”

I quickly follow and take a seat. He gets straight into it. “Babkin's dead.”

“I heard, just like 30 seconds ago. How? What happened?”

“Apparently his maid found him. Greggson's guys are running it, so I've only got small amounts of information. It seems he was tortured though.”

“The Mob?”

“It seems probable. No one knows what their MO is, so we can't even match that. They've managed to dodge getting caught for murder so far.”

“I'm not going to lie and say I'm sorry he's dead. I would have liked to face him one last time before he popped it though.”

“I'm sure all of us feel the same way. I do have to ask you where you were last night though. You know the drill.”

“I went to the hospital straight from here and I stayed there til 5:15am. I rushed home, grabbed a shower and then came right in to work. You'll see me on the cameras at the hospital and on the subway. I didn't do this, Cap.”

“I don't think you did, but you know I have to ask. What about Scott?”

“He was at the hospital til about 1100 hours. He went home after that. Do you know the time of death?”

“Between 0700 and 0900 hours.”

“Well, I was in just before 0700 and Ash was here just after me. It definitely wasn't us.”

“Arrow?”

“Not his style, Cap. You want me to call him?”

“Let's see what the scene says. If Greggson's boys don't ask for Arrow, then we won't mention it. There's got to be some form of evidence at the scene. I'll keep you updated though.”

“Yes sir. Thanks.”

I debrief the guys and fill out the reports I've been putting off before I pop my head into the Cap's office at 7:30 to tell him I'm clocking out.

He nods and says, “Greggson is stopping by tomorrow to fill me in on the Babkin homicide. You want to sit in for that?”

“Yes sir.”

“Right. 0800 sharp then. See you in the morning.”

Ash follows me out and I inform him about Babkin. At first he's shocked and then he laughs.

“Maybe there is some other form of justice in this world. I'm glad the world is rid of a piece of scum like him. He deserves far more than he got, I'm sure. They have any suspects?”

I shake my head, “They're thinking the Bratva, but I don't know the details yet. Greggson is stopping by in the morning so I'll know more then. Get some sleep Scott. I'll see you tomorrow.”

He nods and we part ways, him going to the bar for drinks with the guys and me heading for the hospital.

Dr. Stone has waited to speak to me, so he sits me down in the family room when I first get there.

“I'm going to be straight with you, Lieutenant. I don't think it's wise to send Dani home on Saturday. We need to get her through the worst before we can release her. I know you were looking forward to getting her out of here...”

“It's ok. We've waited this long, another couple of days isn't the end of the world. I want her to be fit enough to come home. If I can't give her the care she needs, then I'd rather she stay here.”

He nods, “I can't say when this will break, I only hope it will be in the next few days. Tomorrow will be day three and day five or six is usually the worst. It seems to break after that. Though I can't make any promises.”

“I understand. Just keep me informed.”

Dani is bad when I get into her room and there are only tiny moments of clarity and peace during the whole night. I'm absolutely drained when I step into work the next day. I grab a huge mug of black coffee before heading into the locker room to check in with the guys. Thankfully, tomorrow is Saturday and I don't have to come in unless there's an emergency.

I'm in the Cap's office before Greggson turns up so when he arrives, we get straight into it.

“Ramirez, I've already checked you and your guys out. It's none of you, so you're cleared to hear this information.”

Like I ever thought it was one of my guys. They know better than to break the law like that, otherwise I wouldn't have them on my team. I just nod to him, encouraging him to continue.

“Right now we're liking the Bratva for this. He was found tortured and with his tongue cut out. He had photos of him leaving our precinct stapled to his chest. I'm pretty sure the Bratva thought he was a snitch and he sold the other guys out. It seems too much of a coincidence that this happens just days after they were arrested and then denied bail. We're looking into that line of the investigation. I mainly wanted to update you guys and warn you to be careful. There's no telling what these guys will do now. They might think they're in danger, so they'll do whatever they can to protect themselves. Hopefully this will make them sloppy and they'll make mistakes. Just make sure Miss Romanov is taken care of. I can't guarantee they won't go after her.”

“Maybe they're using him to send a message to the others. Like a 'keep your mouth shut or this could be you' message. We should tell Avilov, Goraya and Zhabin about it, even show them the crime scene pictures and see how they react. We could use this to our advantage. Maybe tell them we'll offer them protection if they become informants. If they say no, then we could tell them we'll turn them loose and let them take their chances trying to explain it to their brothers.”

Greggson looks at me for a few seconds and then says, “I like that plan. You think we can sell it?”

“I can, I don't know about anyone else. I've got enough disgust and anger in me to pull that off. It's if you guys will let me go ahead with it. Jones and Baker won't be so pleased either...”

Greggson grunts, “Forget Jones and Baker. This is bigger than them. I'm up for you and Scott taking a shot at this if your Cap agrees. Let's get Miss Romanov's case closed and then we'll talk about the Bratva case. Where are we on that?”

My Cap speaks first, “We're waiting on DNA. The judge won't grant them bail until the results are back. He's even less likely to do so now that Babkin is dead.”

“How long for DNA?”

“Another week or so. I spoke with Tom earlier and he's put a rush on the results. As soon as he has them, we'll know.”

“Right. So, Captain Greggson, what do you need me to do?”

“For now, nothing. Well, except see if you can get your girl to remember where she was held. Other than that, let Baker and Jones handle this case. Once they close it, then we'll lean on the guys to turn. I'll let you and Scott deal with that, but I will want to oversee everything. How is Miss Romanov?”

“Ok. She should be home soon.”

My Cap raises his eyebrows, but doesn't comment thankfully. He knows Dani is supposed to come home tomorrow, so I'm sure he's questioning my answer. Once Greggson has gone, the Cap calls me on it.

“Just a couple set backs, sir. She'll be home soon enough.”



He nods and sends me off to work with the guys.