Blood & Torment (Pins and Needles: Moscow Book 2) Read online

  Blood & Torment

  Pins and Needles Book 2

  Elizabeth Knox

  E.C. Land

  Contents

  Available Now by Elizabeth Knox

  Available Now by E.C. Land

  Trigger Warning

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Next Up

  Blood and Torment

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

  Blood and Torment. Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Knox & E.C. Land. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the authors, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. For information, contact Elizabeth Knox or E.C. Land.

  Cover Design by Charli Childs, Cosmic Letterz Cover Design

  Editing by Kim Lubbers, Knox Publishing

  Formatting by E.C. Land, Knox Publishing

  Proofreading by Jackie Ziegler, Knox Publishing

  Created with Vellum

  Available Now From

  Elizabeth Knox

  Series: Skulls Renegade

  Reign

  Redemption

  Revenge

  Relentless

  Reckoning

  Reclaimed

  Reckless

  Regret

  Reclusive

  Retribution

  First Generation: A Skulls Renegade MC Boxset

  Series: Steele Bros.

  Tough as Steele

  Stripping a Steele

  Protecting a Steele

  Steele her Heart

  Stolen Hearts: The Complete Steele Bros Boxset

  Series: Reapers Rejects MC

  Scarred

  Blackjack

  Here Kitty, Kitty

  Booger

  Widow

  Kade

  Hawk

  Bull

  Cobra

  Mouser

  Dixon

  Zane

  Amara

  Grim

  Chaz

  Frost

  Zorro

  Axel

  Hammer

  Series: Iron Vex MC

  Enraged

  Bossed Up

  Vex’s Temptation

  Venom’s Secret

  Series: Royal bastards Mc: Baltimore/Knights of retribution mc

  Bet on Me

  Rely on Me

  Hate on Me

  Series: Satan’s Raiders MC

  Inc’s Regret

  Series: The Clans with Iris Sweetwater

  Promised

  The Trade

  Cherished

  Deceit

  Love is War

  Defiant

  Shattered

  Ruthless

  Covert

  Heretic

  Venomous

  Flawed

  Demise

  Series: The Mackenzie & Volkolv Duet

  Deceptive Love

  Series: Love Hack

  Ransom

  Series: The Mackenzies

  Forbidden Love

  Corrupted Love

  Sin City Fets with Linny Lawless & Aubree Valentine

  Switched

  Surrender

  Full Throttle with Erin Trejo

  Against All Odds

  Sharp Edges

  Burnout

  Pins and Needles with E.C. Land

  Blood & Agony

  DeLancy Crime Family with E.C. Land

  Degrade

  Anthologies

  Santa’s Naughty Helpers

  Sweet Treats

  No Man Left Behind

  Available Now

  By: E.C. Land

  Devil’s Riot MC Series

  Horse’s Bride

  Thorn’s Revenge

  Twister’s Survival

  Reclaimed (Devil’s Riot MC Boxset Bks 1 – 3)

  Cleo’s Rage

  Connors’ Devils

  Hades Pain

  Badger’s Claim

  Burner’s Absolution

  Redeemed (Devil’s Riot MC Boxset Bks 4 – 6)

  Devil’s Riot MC Originals

  Stoney’s Property

  Owning Victoria

  Blaze’s Mark

  Taming Coyote

  Luna’s Shadow

  Choosing Nerd

  Ranger’s Fury

  Carrying Blaze’s Mark

  Neo’s Strength

  Cane’s Dominance

  Venom’s Prize

  Devil’s Ride (DRMC Boxset 1-5)

  DRMC Southeast

  Hammer’s Pride

  Inferno’s Clutch MC

  Chains’ Trust

  Breaker’s Fuse

  Ryder’s Rush

  Axel’s Promise

  Fated for Pitch Black

  Tiny’s Hope

  Their Redemption

  Fuse’s Hold

  Dark Lullabies

  A Demon’s Sorrow

  A Demon’s Bliss

  A Demon’s Harmony

  A Demon’s Soul

  A Demon’s Song

  Royal Bastards MC (Elizabeth City Charter)

  Cyclone of Chaos

  Aligned Hearts

  Embraced

  Entwined

  De Luca Crime Family

  Frozen Valentine (Prequel)

  Pins and Needles Series with Elizabeth Knox

  Blood and Agony

  DeLancy Crime Family with Elizabeth Knox

  Degrade

  Raiders of Valhalla MC with Elizabeth Knox

  Malicious

  Anthologies

  Romanticizing the Gods By: Corrine Falls

  Santa’s Naughty Helpers

  Sweet Treats

  No Man Left Behind

  Twisted Steel: Second Edition

  Trigger Warning

  This content is intended for mature audiences only. It contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations, murder, rape, and extreme violence.

  Proceed with caution. This book does entail several scenes that may very well be a trigger to some.

  Prologue

  Trista

  Four Months Ago . . .

  Standing, I stagger backward, falling into the wall with a cry of pain. My body aches from the blows my ex, Jacob, gave me. At his hands, I’ve received the worst pain I’ve ever endured in my entire life. He refuses to acknowledge I don’t want to be with him anymore.

  I didn’t know the road I was led down until my friend Ally pointed it out to me. She’s a tattoo artist at the shop I work at right now. I’m saving up money to leave the States and move to Russia to live with my best friend, Dema.

  Dema’s been wanting me to come for a while now. So much so she even offered to pay for me to come to live there, but I refused. I don’t want her money, and I don’t want anyone to pay my way. I’m a big girl and I can hand
le myself. I guess I’m stubborn that way. I’ve always been, I suppose. My parents weren’t all that great and I couldn’t count on anyone but myself as a child, but as I grew up, I realized you can’t count on anyone as an adult either.

  Okay, so I can count on Ally and the men in the club her husband, Burner, is a part of. Though I wouldn’t go as far as asking them for help, for instance, like now when I know, I’m hurt badly. Ally knows about Jacob but swore to keep it to herself. She knows I’ve been working my way to get away from him and I told her I was leaving him today.

  Unfortunately, Jacob refused to accept this and beat me worse than he’s ever done before. What should I have expected? He doesn’t care about me, and it took far too long for me to see it that way. Closing my eyes, I slump further into the wall as Jacob’s words scream inside my head.

  You’re never gonna leave me unless I say so.

  He’d snarled those words while calling me names. Saying I was nothing more than a whore who needs someone to handle her with a firm hand.

  Tears well in my eyes as I open them once again. I struggle to get up and head to the bathroom to clean up. My eyes meet my own gaze when I look down the hallway at the broken mirror hanging on the wall there. I can’t help but wince at the memories that plague my mind. The way he collided my body into it, even as I screamed and blood came oozing down my arm.

  There’s no way to hide this from anyone. Going into the bathroom, I strip out of the rest of my clothes that weren’t ripped from the entire ordeal. I’d been lucky Jacob hadn’t raped me this time, but it didn’t stop him from tearing my clothes or touching me. My breasts carry his teeth marks and my arm has dried blood all over it. Thank goodness I was able to stop the bleeding.

  If not for Trevor calling him, I’d have been in much more trouble. Being one of the top dogs in the High 7’s, he thankfully gets phone calls and he’s got to go out to deal with stuff. If it weren’t for the phone call, he might’ve killed me.

  What beats me, though, is how he still demands I give him all my money when I get paychecks. He probably doesn’t want me to have any sort of control. If I have money, I have access to do things. It’s dangerous in his mind.

  I’m so thankful to Ally because she’s gone above and beyond for me. She agreed to have a part of my check taken out for savings, as I put it. After I told her about everything, we came up with a plan. She’d hold it for me until I needed it and it would be waiting for me. I’m so close to having the money I need to get to Russia. I just need a little bit more.

  Quickly taking a shower, I wash the blood away and get out. Fear consumes me and I decide I can’t stay here any longer. I dress in loose clothing and pack just enough to last me for the time being.

  A small scream escapes my lips when my phone rings. Glancing at the number, I frown, not recognizing it. Though I do take note, it’s from Russia. It’s probably one of Dema’s friends over there or her grandparents, but I thought I had all the numbers Dema’d given me.

  “Hello,” I murmur, wincing at the pain of speaking. I hope whoever’s on the other end of the line doesn’t hear it.

  “Is this Trista?” a man with a thick accent asks, causing me to shudder at the way he spoke my name.

  “Yes, may I ask who’s calling?” I don’t know if I want to know or not.

  “This is Kronid.” So this is the man Dema’s been crushing hardcore over.

  “Well, hello, Kronid, what can I do for you?” I mutter, using my spunky tone to hide the fact I’ve been beaten and feel like my knees would cave in underneath me.

  “You’re needed here in Russia. There’s a ticket at the airport awaiting you,” Kronid declares with such an intense gruff sound to his voice.

  “Um, okay, but you need to give me more than that. Dema knew I’d planned to come soon as I had enough sav—”

  “No need to worry about that now. You just need to get here. Dema needs you here,” Kronid says, interrupting me.

  Oh no.

  I don’t need him to say anything else to know something bad has happened. “I’ll head to the airport,” I murmur quietly and hang up, not giving the man a chance to respond.

  I pack as much of my clothes as I can fit into my bag, pull on a hoodie, and do my make-up the best I can to hide the bruises and leave my hair down. I’m hopeful it’ll help hide the rest.

  Stepping out the door, I slowly make my way out to my car. I whimper in pain at climbing behind the wheel. I turn the key and take a deep breath. This is finally the day I can get as far away from Jacob as possible, and he won’t ever torment me again.

  I just have to make sure to hide what’s happened to me from anyone who asks questions. I don’t need them knowing the truth. The last thing I want them to think is how I’m weak for letting this happen.

  Chapter One

  Michail

  Snow. I knew it would be here, but fuck, I thought we’d have another couple of weeks before it came. Now it’s time to check in with the ladies in the tattoo shop and make sure their cars are set. It’s not something that’s part of my job per se, but they’re good to Kronid and the women upstairs, and so I help them in times like this.

  Vika, one of the tattoo artists, bought this piece of junk from an old friend of mine. I knew Yuri many years ago, but the man sold her this. I should wrap my hands around his throat for conning the woman. I might if I get a spare moment, but Kronid keeps me very busy.

  “Have you found what’s wrong yet?” Vika asks, tapping her long, fake nails on the side of the car. It reminds me of nails on a chalkboard, agonizing as can be.

  “Da, give me a moment,” I speak to her in half-Russian, half-English. Many of the artists in the shop speak English, but we’re in Moscow. It’s one of many tourist capitals of the world. While I hate speaking the language, I do what I must and what is required of me.

  The battery is on its last leg, so I’ll need to run and get her a new one at a shop. I let Nikita go get a battery last winter when she was due for a new one, but the woman, gah, it taught me to not let another woman do man’s work. “What’s taking so long, Michail?” Vika asks in an aggravated tone.

  I pull my head out from under her hood and slam it shut. “Will you be patient?! You cannot rush these things. I needed to check your battery and I must get you to my brother’s shop to get new shoes on the car.”

  “Uh, since when have cars needed shoes?” She props a hand on her hip, probably thinking I’m fucking with her.

  “It’s a Russian saying,” I grumble, shaking my head. This is why I don’t enjoy dealing with women. Women always want to think men are doing something to fuck with them. While most of us do, I am not. “To change your tires, as you Americans say. Every winter, we must change your shoes, da?”

  Vika shrugs her shoulders. “Okay, whatever.”

  “No, not whatever. In Russia, you have to do this. Winters are hard on our vehicles and it’s best we be prepared.” I feel as if I’m her father teaching her basic maintenance, but maybe she hasn’t ever had someone teach her these things.

  “Okay, okay, when can I get to your brother’s shop?” Vika asks, eyes softening a bit. She must finally realize I’m only trying to save her issues in the future.

  I pull my phone out from the back of my jeans and text her. “I texted you my brother’s phone number. His name is Borya. Tell him I sent you and he will give you a good deal, da?”

  “Okay, thank you, Michail.” Vika offers me a soft smile and runs a hand through her carrot red hair before walking past me and entering the vehicle. I take my leave and walk in the back door of Pins and Needles.

  “Michail, are you busy?” Kronid questions me as I start to walk past his office. At his question, I head inside and shut the door behind me, taking a seat on the couch by the window. He spins around on the stool he prefers to sit on and cranes his neck from left to right. He must’ve been working in the office for a while today.

  “What can I help you with?” Kronid is a good friend to me but an even
better boss. I’m honored to work under his leadership.

  “Khristina. Have you spoken to her lately?” Ah, Khristina. One of the mail-order brides who came back to Russia recently. She was attacked savagely by the man the agency set her up with. None of us could’ve known he’d turn out to be such a man, though he was, and we dealt with him. She doesn’t have a home to go back to besides us, so we’re going to make this right. We’ll find a man who will treat her like the prize she is instead of a possession he owns. More importantly, we’ll find someone who doesn’t put a harmful hand on her.

  Though, I hold much guilt when it comes to Khristina. You see, I was the man who pulled her from the small village she was selling herself in. She wasn’t heavier than a sack of potatoes. You could see every bone in her face, and her cheeks were sunken in. After I was able to get her here, she gained weight and began looking much healthier.

  I help Kronid with many tasks, but one of the most important is finding women for the mail-order bride program. Kronid entrusts me with pulling women from situations like the one Khristina was in. I convince them to come work for us, whereas they might be subject to be trafficked out on the streets. We aren’t saints, but we do try to help the women where we can.