Battling Guilt Part 8: Rescue Attempt

Petra's heart was palpating and her brow was dripping with beads of sweat by the time she reached the top of the building. Not because she over exerted herself; her super-human strength for the most part prevented her from feeling the typical affects of over-exertion. No, she wasn't tired. She was nervous. She hadn't seen nor spoke to Ivan for months, despite his attempts at contacting her.

Every time he would text or call, she'd glance down at her phone and move on to whatever she was doing in the moment, whether that be a battle with a gropey pick-pocketer, or her buying groceries. "THE EX" would pop up on her phone but she'd hardly acknowledge it in hopes he'd just give it up. And after one month of missed calls and missed texts, he seemed to get the message.

But never in a million years did she expect an ex to go as far as to kidnap a family member to get her attention. But knowing Ivan, she should have. The top of the flight of stairs was sealed by a rusty metal door that looked weathered down by years of abandonment. She wondered if that was what Thor was feeling at the time; tossed aside and forgotten.

The guilt in her heart began to grow with every moment that she hesitated to open the door. So she took a deep breath, and finally swung the door open to see a metal ladder that poked out through a narrow hole in the roof. She carefully grabbed hold of each ladder rung, trying to avoid slipping due to her profuse sweating.

When she finally reached the roof, the first image she saw was Thor, a look of horror and confusion pervading not only his face but entire body. He nervously clenched his teeth while his arms tightly wrapped around his torso, an attempt to shield himself from the cold and possibly any further torture. His bottom lip was gushing blood and he had a scarlet red scrape down his left eye.

"Thor, hang tight please!" shouted Petra, unable to hold back her concern for her cousin. She wanted with everything in her to go running towards him; to swaddle him in her arms and to tell him he was going to be okay. But Petra had dealt with men like Ivan before, and she knew his dark side entailed more than just pure rudeness and self-entitled rich snobbery.

If she wanted any chance of getting Thor back, she had to play Ivan's game, but she had to do it with finesse. Or at least appear calm. She silently sucked in a large gust of air and centered her gaze onto Ivan, who was whispering something to one his cousins. There were five men standing at each side of Ivan. Some were tall and lanky, some were short and musclular, and others were tall and extremley brought shouldered and buff. All clad in white T-shirts, with a layer of flannel, and wrinkly dark jeans. Not their usual "secret-service" looking get-up. That must have really fooled Thor when they kidnaped him; that was what most men typically wore to the club. Ivan was wearing the get-up as well, which wasn't like his typical button-up 100% cotton, pastel blue button up shirts and designer roll up jeans by Ralph Lauren.

Ivan returned Petra's gaze, and motioned the come here signal with his hand, smiling at her as if she was a long lost relative. His eyes were glossy and he sported a smile as wide as his face. Petra did as she was told, swallowing back a mixture of anger anxiety that wanted so badly to purge itself. Her stomach was in a knot. Once she got to Ivan, she looked at Thor who was to her left. "No no, look at me babe. Not at him. You'll get your cousin back, I assure you," Ivan demanded.

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The final part of this series will be published in part 9. And it is more than likely that I will have two spin off series: one about Petra's origin story, a sequel to battling guilt, and possibly a bonus: Ivan's origin story. In the mean time, feel free to subscribe, tip, and follow my insta for consistent access @dre.amerwithapen