Although I'm still stuck in my undoubtedly smelly clothes I'm at least relieved to have my skin clean.

I just have time to brush my fingers through my hair before the bathroom door is pushed opened with no warning.
A knock would have been nice but I quickly dismiss my frustration and pull Dana away from the door and safely behind me.

This time it's Axel and smirking at my protective stance he throws two plastic rectangles my way.
I've never been competitive enough for sport but I've always had good reflexes so I manage to catch both before they fall.

Inside the packaging are two toothbrushes and before I have a chance to look back up at Axel I feel another object hit me hard in the forehead and fall to the ground with a soft thud.

Fighting the urge to rub my throbbing forehead I distract myself by picking up the other object.
Thankfully it's toothpaste and with the seal remaining unbroken I pass Dana a toothbrush and the toothpaste from behind, still forcing myself to face Axel.

From what I've gathered, Axel likes trouble.
Axel gets bored easily and will do anything to push others buttons.
He knows my weakness, both the men do and so I have no doubt that Axel is just waiting for another chance to get at Dana, to get to me.

"Sorry Hun, the sun was in my eyes when I threw that one." I can tell by Axel's tone that he's trying to goad a reaction out of me.
He obviously wasn't pleased with my mundane reaction but if that's what irks Axel then I'll happily continue being boring.

Give him a taste of his own medicine. Both these men need a reality check and need to realise that they aren't Gods.

Turning slowly and ensuring that I can see Axel through the mirror reflection I hastily open the packaging just as Dana places her own toothbrush in her mouth.

Once opened and still keeping a close eye on Axel I copy Dana's movements and within seconds I have my matching brush cleaning my grateful teeth.
The minty froth filling my mouth reminds me that I haven't eaten in twenty-four hours and the dull ache of hunger begins to make its appearance.

However getting one meal a day is Axel's idea of spoiling us so I doubt that we'll see any signs of a brunch anytime soon.

"You ladies scrub up nice, when you're not covered in dirt and tears." Axel jabs once more.
I would have remained stoic, his words are actually quite easy to block out but when he begins strolling into the already crowded bathroom I feel the hairs on my neck stand up.

Dana is in the process of spitting out her toothpaste but with Axel looming I lightly shove her over and spit out my minty substance before spinning back around.
I can still feel a slight fur to my back teeth and would have loved nothing more than a few more seconds to feel completely clean but that would have been a privilege in this situation and privileges are proving to be rare.

"How long will we be in this house for before we go to the airport?" I blurt, not liking the glint in his eyes. Thankfully my question stills him and I relish in his look of confusion, for once I'm one step ahead of him.

"Airport?!" Dana whispers harshly behind me and I nod in response.
Dana is the more likely to get out of this situation so the more she knows the better.

"These two are hoping to fly us off to Russia with their private plane. That's where their base of sorts is."
I clarify, I vaguely hear Dana gasp behind me but there is nothing I can do to calm her right now.
She may need the truth the find me if she gets away.

"I swear to God if Rosik doesn't keep his fucking mouth shut..."
Axel murmurs and stomping over to us Axel grabs my forearm roughly.
I make sure not to flinch and allow him to tug me out of the room.

At least outside the bathroom we have more space to work with.
I can hear Dana quickly stumbling up behind me and wordlessly she follows as we head down the hallway.

I don't want to go back into the bedroom yet, it's still before twelve and I need to confirm a suspicion that I have about the lounge room.
Working in my favour for once Axel does actually steer us straight into the lounge room across from the bedroom.

In the centre of the room is Rosik, thankfully with his back to us and while I can tell that he is fiddling with something I unfortunately can't tell what.
I try to walk further into the room to sneak a glance but Axel clenches his hand around my arm tighter, stilling me.

"You're not stupid, I'll give you that. But you're no match for the both of us. We don't hope to get you to Russia, we will get you to Russia."

I allow a small smirk to grace my lips and I glance at Axel, teasing him with my confidence that I'm only half faking.

Axel returns the challenging smirk fleetingly, creasing his eyes in the process before pulling me further in the room.
Rosik is finally alerted of our presence as the floor creaks between our steps, locking his dark eyes instantly on me Rosik steps forward and practically lunges forward to grab my spare arm.

I was completely prepared to pull my arm out of reach, not wanting to feel even more like a doll by being pulled between the men however Axel does the work for me.
My whole body is tugged roughly, straight into Axel and I'm forced to splay my hands across his chest to avoid head-butting his large chest.

"Take the younger one first."
Axel states, not removing his eyes from my startled ones.

I begin thrashing the moment Rosik takes a step and craning my head around I see Dana rooted to the spot. Her long brown hair still slightly frizzy and her eyes wide like an animal about to become roadkill.

Using my spare arm I try pushing my body away from Axel but his mass is too large to budge even an inch.
Dana whimpers as I presume Rosik grabs her arm and I quickly resort to plan B which is to literally karate chop Axel in the throat.
The angle was awkward to work with but I managed to gain enough momentum during the swing to leave Axel choking.

Axel bends over in pain.
Letting go of my arm in the process and clenches his beefy hands around his bulging throat.
His spluttering while amusing certainly isn't attractive to watch as his whole face grows red and his eyes latch onto me with a fierceness that I've never experienced in my life.

Okay...
Not a great plan, but it'll do.

Spinning around I come face to face with Rosik who indeed has Dana in his grasp.
Dana looks shocked and remains limp as she stares at Axel who I can still feel glaring into my back.

Ignoring the prickling at the back of my neck I take a few steps forward and stare up at Rosik with my fists clenched.
Rosik looks no more than amused and I feel frustration boil through my veins.

No matter what I do, no matter how explosive, Rosik still looks at me as a joke.
It's almost as though he anticipates each of my reactions and I'm just a minor inconvenience to the situation.

I feel an urge to back down, I suddenly feel small and Axel's threats from behind me are becoming clearer the longer I stare up at Rosik.
He raises an eyebrow and glances down at my clenched fists now showing his surprisingly white smile.

"Apologise to Axel." Rosik murmurs and as much as I want to laugh, the look in Rosik's eyes start to shift.

The creases around his eyes grow deeper as he continues to watch me, his smile suddenly looks painted and fake as I remain quiet.

Surely he doesn't expect me to actually listen to him.
I'm suddenly aware of Axel beginning to recover behind me and I take a few more brisk steps forward.
An arm-length away from Dana and now focusing only on Dana's eyes I try to diffuse the situation that I set off.

"Just let Dana go and then I promise to apologise to Axel." I lie and begin reaching out slowly towards Dana.
I'm surprised by the shaking in my arm as it raises.

The room is seemingly colder, I have no doubt that Axel has already risen behind me and all his complaints have silenced.
Dana's breathing is heavy and mine undoubtedly would be as well if I wasn't feeling as scrutinised as I currently am.

"Let her go? Like this?" Rosik gently removes his grip from Dana's arm and holding them up in mock surrender he continues to study my expression. Something is forming behind his eyes.
It's almost as though I can see his dark glee brewing and I don't like it at all.
I simply nod slowly and Dana raises her hand out to touch mine.

With our fingers centimetres apart I allow myself to take a deep breath. Dana's presence calming me instantly.

Then Rosik grabs Dana again.

Dana's face transforms from wary to horror in a split second as she is spun around quickly so that she faces Rosik.

For the first time since entering the room Rosik takes the time to look down at Dana.
Raising his right hand that isn't holding Dana he lightly tucks some hair behind her ear before using that same hand to slap Dana harshly across the face.

I scream suddenly, pressing my hands against my mouth at the sudden attack and if it wasn't for Rosiks grip I'm sure that Dana would have fallen to the ground either from shock, pain or both.

"Hitting isn't very nice Katie, does it feel nice Dana?" Rosik coos as Dana begins sobbing hysterically as the realisation sets in.

Dana shakes her head erratically and her knee's begin to buckle as Rosik leans forward until his head is hovering over her shoulder.
Leaning towards her ear yet still speaking loud enough for the room to hear Rosik continues to cause the both of us immense pain.

"Katie did this to you."

Letting Dana go suddenly and allowing her to fall to the ground Rosik walks back to where he was fiddling earlier. Looking over I can now see a camera on a stand perched in the middle of the room.

That's why we were brought here?
For a photo shoot?
But why?

I go to comfort Dana who has one hand placed against her red cheek but Axel finally makes his appearance once more and wraps his hand around my hair.

Tugging my curls roughly I'm dragged backwards until I feel the familiar couch behind my legs.
I'm shoved down and Axel quickly sits next to me, he forces my body to turn in his direction and I close my eyes quickly expecting a hit.

I wasn't disappointed and Axel's thick hand whips across my cheek.
Throwing my head to the side and an audible crack echo's through the room.

"We're done being fucking nice."
Axel growls and as I open my eyes and stare into his heated pools.

I know my next action undoubtedly will backlash further.
However I'm confident that any backlash will solely fall onto me because of how close I am to Axel.
So I allow a cruel smile to lift my lips and once again I smirk at Axel.

And once again I get hit across the face.

This time Axel allows my body to follow the force of the hit and I fall flat onto the couch.

I groan lightly, this hit hurting far more than the last and taking advantage of my current position I look up at the windows.
Pretending to be in a daze I allow my gaze to skim over the glass.

This window is different to the one in the bedroom, this window actually has a latch to open.

The bottom of the window has been painted over to stop the window from opening but that actually works perfectly for my plan.
The slight dig in my hip only fills me with more hope as I realise that my lucky grab is actually the key to get out of here.

"Stop it Axel. The photo's still need to be taken." Rosik scolds and scoffing Axel leans back onto the cushions and crosses his arms across his chest.

"I'm the victim here. She fucking tried to kill me." Axel mutters and I sit up quickly and open my mouth to argue but Axel is quick to place his hand roughly over my mouth.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear another word from you. If I hear a peep then I'm going after your sister next."

"Cousin." Dana corrects from the floor and Axel shoots her a glare, causing Dana to huddle even further.
I smile in appreciation, ignoring the burning in my face and fix my sitting position until I'm no longer touching Axel and face the room.

"Right. Dana get up and stand over here." Rosik commands and Dana shoots to her feet and shuffles over to where Rosik is pointing.

The musty carpet muffles any sound and the only noise in the room is the clicking of the camera as Rosik instantly begins snapping pictures.

Axel lazily pulls out his phone and tilting the screen so that it's hidden from my view Axel begins flying his fingers across the screen.

"How old are you?" Axel grumbles and this time I allow myself to laugh lightly, stinging my cheek before shaking my head.

"Now why would I willingly answer any of your questions about me?"
I reply and without missing a beat or even raising his eyes from his screen Axel firmly responds.

"Rosik hit your cousin once. It's bound to happen again, shouldn't you at least give her face a break first?"
Crossing my arms I nod my head in agreement before sighing loudly.

"I'm nineteen."

"Good job." Axel dryly responds before typing down my answer.

"Last name?"

"Leeson." I only hesitated for a moment before answering that question.
They're bound to find out eventually anyway and by now I'm nearly positive that this isn't a ransom situation.

This is something much darker.

"Are you a virgin?"

I widen my eyes and splutter, this line of questioning just jumped a sudden ten levels.

I notice the clicks of the camera suddenly stop in the background as I struggle to find an answer to the question.

"I-I.. Well that's none of your-"

"Definitely a virgin." Axel cuts me off chuckling and while a part of me is mortified another part of me is glad that I didn't have to answer the question myself.

"Any particular talents?" I begin to shake my head but pause as I realise that there is something that I'm actually quite proud of.

"Punching jerks." My answer causes an actual chuckle from Axel and I roll my eyes.
This guy needs to have a serious conversation with a therapist.
How can his moods switch so quickly?!

"Having no real talents is only going to make your time in Russia even more horrific. I can't wait until we drop you off." Axel taunts and I'm glad that his focus is still on his screen because I'm pretty sure that my face just paled by four shades.

"Katie can sing!" I whip my head to look at Dana who, with a desperate look in her eyes is obviously trying her hardest to help me.

My heart swells however her statement causes my stomach to roll.
Singing is something I do for fun, singing is something I do to find peace, singing doesn't belong here.

"I'll put it down but I'm not in the mood to force you into proving it. I've had enough of you for one day." Axel finishes typing into his phone before glancing up and taking in the room.

Rosik catches my attention as he lifts a finger and making a swirling motion I feel my frown fall further as I realise that Dana and I have to swap places.

I push myself onto my feet as Dana begins to make her way over to the couch.

We meet halfway and throw ourselves into an embrace.
I make sure not to lean on her sore cheek however Dana has no choice but to lean on mine seeing as both are throbbing painfully.

Dana's face is sticky from tears but she is no longer crying and I'm glad.
We can't let these two have anymore of an ego boost, they can't see how much power they have over our emotions.

We part ways unwillingly after no more than twenty seconds to make sure that we wouldn't get hit again and swap places.

Rosik reaches out for my arm as I walk to my position but I'm quick to skirt around him, thankfully he isn't aggravated and instead focuses on the camera once more.

He fiddles with the height for a few more seconds as Axel begins repeating the same earlier questions to Dana and types them down.

"Say cheese!"

"Eat shit."