A Blaze of Crimson Ch. 03

She clenched the card hard in her tiny fist. Valerie staggered, wobbled just a bit. Looking down, she noticed her shoes were on her feet. A tiny giggle surfaced that threatened to turn into laughing crying fit. "When did I put those back on?" She must have been on auto-pilot, like road hypnosis. Again a tiny little laugh. Valerie leaned back, resting for a moment against a brick wall. Like standing on the edge of a cliff, what did he do to her? Yuri had said he had taken everything from her. Right now, she believed him. Like a dried up piece of fruit, despite or perhaps because of this she wanted to shriek out in laughter, so loud that it would shatter the world around her. The card clenched between her fingers brought her back from the edge.

"Valerie, right?" She looked up from the plastic black card in her hand. Tom was there leaning against a black Bentley. "Want to know about that?" Tom glanced meaningfully down at the card in her hand. She nodded. "Get in and I will drive you home." Valerie shook her head.

"Just tell me about this," she stared down at the ground.

"I will, get in the car. I don't feel like dealing with the dregs tonight." Valerie turned to walk away. "Get in the car," a pause, "please." A small victory, a smile crept across her lips, and then vanished before turning to face him. Tom opened the Bentley's passenger side door, the smell of oranges and almonds drifted out of the sedan. She got in, the leather seat seemed to envelope her, and for a split second she imagined she heard a woman's voice laughing from behind her. Tom closed the door, the smell of almonds and oranges vanished with the door closing as did the laughter. Valerie watched, as Tom slowly walked around the Bentley once, and picked up something off of the hood. The briefest of smiles broke across his face, as he tossed the cigarette butt into the street.

He climbed into the car and started the engine and started to pull away from the curb. Valerie glanced down at the thin black and silver plastic card in her hand.

"What does it mean?" The card had a shield emblem embossed with a wolf's head and a broom, an old one made of tied straw.

"It means you are Yuri's bitch." Valerie glared up at him. He held up a similar card to hers in his hand. However, Tom's had a small green emerald mounted on his. "He likes to call us his Oprichniki. We are under his protection, and do what we are told." Tom's voice was tinted with sadness, as he spoke his eyes occasionally glancing over at her. Valerie imagined she could hear his heart beat once filling the Bentley, with a heavy thud. Valerie stifled a yawn. She was tired, worn out. Again the thump, like a drum beat the vibrations seemed to pour out of Tom like energy caressing her. Tom's voice seemed to be a thousand miles away. "So besides being his toy, what else does Yuri see in you?"

"I don't know," Her lips pulled back in a sleepy smile, her eyes drifted close another heart beat seemed to rock her gently back and forth.

"Valerie? Valerie?" Tom was shaking her awake.

"Hmms?" She resisted the urge to smile up at him. She could see through bleary eyes her apartment building through the front windshield. She unlocked her apartment door. Vague thoughts, snippets of conversation floated up to the surface of her mind. Tom had asked her a lot of questions, on the drive home, and she had answered them? A small smile broke on her lips, but she had answered them all like a good girl. "Where the hell did that come from?" She muttered and kicked off her shoes. "Why can't I remember what Tom had asked me?" A flush came to her cheeks, as the memories of what happened a few hours ago came rushing back. A little moan floated up and out between barley parted lips. Her legs were weak, and Valerie half fell and sat down on her little brown couch. Leaning back, sinking deeper into the cushions. Her fingertips tugging at the hem of her skirt, Yuri's dark eyes floated in her thoughts. The smell of grass in her nose. Her skirt rose higher, the material rough against her thighs. Valerie tilted her head back, her dark hair pooling around her head a shadowy halo. She closed her eyes to better see Yuri's black ones, shining black swallowing her up. Her fingers pulled her white panties to one side. He was there in the room with her now, at this moment she was back in the restaurant on her knees, back under the stars Yuri on top, his teeth at her throat. Pausing in playing with her wet clit to reach up and pinch her throat hard making his bite mark tingle, making it pulse in time with her up and down strokes. Slick, wet, faster her fingers flicked caressed. Her head tilting further back, legs spreading open, her pussy open, like her mouth was silently screaming. What had Yuri done to her? The thought flickered through her mind just before the orgasm caused her thighs to slam shut trapping her hand. Like a burning out light bulb her mind flashed, then slowly faded to black, her consciousness fading out with it.

The smell of bacon woke her. Valerie started up, her head ached, and she was on her couch covered with a quilt. The clinking of metal pans and the sound of something frying in the kitchen. Her eyes widened, who the hell was here? The moment of panic replaced with one of embarrassment, whom ever was here must have seen her passed out on the couch.

"Who's there?" A blonde haired woman stuck her head out from the kitchen.

"Tom sent me over." Valerie pushed the hair out of her eyes. "Your, Kathy?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, " she glanced away and slipped back into the kitchen. "I hope you like bacon and eggs; there wasn't much in your refrig to work with." The sound of a spatula on a metal pan and more frying.

"That's fine, umm this morning when you came in umm" Valerie struggled trying to ask what condition she was in.

"Don't worry; I didn't see anything just covered you up with a quilt off your bed." An amused tone twinkled in her voice. "What did you think about the Teal Station?" Valerie breathed a bit easier, Kathy might have been lying, no she was lying, but being polite and changing the subject.

"It was like an English tea garden, but indoors." Valerie wrapped the quilt around herself. She could smell toast, her stomach grumbled.

"That's what Stephanie...the owner wanted." Kathy came out of the kitchen carrying a plate covered in scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. She placed it on the table. "But that was another life now." She quickly returned with a glass of juice and milk. "You better hurry up eat and get ready, Tom will be over to pick us up in about half an hour or so." Kathy leaned against the kitchen door jam. Valerie half walked and staggered to the table. The eggs were delicious and soon gone followed by the bacon and toast.

"Was, Stephanie a.." Valerie hesitantly asked not sure how Kathy would react to her bringing up the subject.

"Yes, she was." Kathy seemed to suddenly become very interested in staring at the floor. Valerie dropped the subject. Tom scared her, and if this was a forbidden topic, she didn't want Tom mad. Or even worse, Valerie shuddered; Yuri might think she wasn't worth his time. She glanced over at Kathy; her green eyes were on her appraising her.

"Valerie you don't want to know what they can do to you when they are angry." She forced a smile to her lips. "Right now," Kathy continued to speak her voice small meek her eyes now staring at the table top. "You are wondering why you are thinking first about pleasing them. Why does their wants and needs even matter?" Kathy seemed to be talking to herself. "Then the bite tingles or burns and their eyes." Kathy's voice grew wistful. She shook her head breaking the reverie. "But that is another life; none of them will even look at me now."

"Others?" Valerie felt her throat tighten. Tom had said they were all just Yuri's bitches. That they were under his protection. A loud knock on door shook her up and out of her thoughts. Kathy jumped and suddenly looked small and weak.

"Tom is here." She walked to open the door. Tom scared Kathy.

"Hell, he scares me too." Valerie heard the little voice in her head speak up. Something clicked in her head. Kathy opened the door, Tom stepped in, and glanced around for a second surveying the room.

"Change, and don't forget your card. Kathy?" The blonde girl shuddered.

"I am sorry, Tom." She refused to look him in the face. The scary Tom was here the one she saw last night casually talking about whether or not to kill Kathy with Yuri. With a voice almost grey from lack of emotion.

"Yuri gave you to me last night." Valerie saw a tear run down Kathy's cheek. "You can live. As long as you are still useful to me. " Kathy nodded. " I want you to go to the library and talk with Rich." Kathy picked up her purse and left without another word. After she was gone, Tom turned to look at her. Valerie for a split second she thought she heard a woman laughter, the smell of oranges and almonds again this time filling her apartment. "We have things to do."