Chapter Thirty-One: The Calm Before The Storm

                                    

                                          
{Mikhail}
                          
How many times are we going to be moved from location to location? I thought to myself as I leaned my back against the wall. Elisha had let us talk with Nico for a few short seconds. I wasn't able to hear Nico's response but I was almost certain it was something that would have made him sound cool for half a second. Max had tried to convince Nico not to come for us and I was sure he was going to come anyways. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since that happened. 
                          
On one hand, I didn't want Nico to come because Elisha surely wasn't going to simply state that this was all a prank and let us go. Worst case scenario someone would get seriously hurt and I was praying it wouldn't be any of us. I was really counting on everyone going home at the end of all of this. On the other hand, I really wanted Nico to come for us. I was tired of being treated like a prisoner and was absolutely sick of Elisha letting his guys put their hands on both Max and I. Now, I don't mean sexually but we did get a few fists to the face and shoes to the ribs.
                          
Max had gotten the worst out of the both of us because he would not keep his mouth shut. He simply said whatever was on his mind at the time. Whether it was to bad mouth Elisha's men or a direct insult to Elisha's intelligence. That second one had earned Max a broken arm. The sound of his bone snapping and his screams that filled the room still rung in my ears. 
                          
Speaking of, Max had been coughing up a bit of blood and yet he still pretended to be perfectly fine. I wasn't sure if he was putting on an act for me or it was more for his own sanity. I felt absolutely powerless as I couldn't do anything to help him. I mean, sure, I could take Max's approach and insult the guys holding us captive but what good would that do? We'd both be dead and Nico would have wasted his time on coming if I acted like Max now. I wasn't sure how much patience was left in Elisha to deal with Max and I wasn't willing to push Elisha's buttons further.
                          
Max and I were currently alone. Elisha left quickly after the phone call with Nico as he said he had some 'preparations to do'. I honestly had no clue what he meant and I really didn't want to find out. Just the thought of what Elisha could be after gave me the chills.
                          
I groaned as my head was throbbing with every movement I made. I looked down at my open palm to see the cut Elisha had made with the small knife. I wondered what went through Nico's mind when he received the necklace covered in blood. I just really hoped he wasn't blaming himself for what was going on. I closed my first tightly and decided to focus on what was important at the moment. "Max? Max, you okay?" I asked touching his shoulder softly. 
                          
"Do I look okay?" Max responded with his face down on the ground and his body sprayed out on the floor. "The son of a bitch broke my arm." He forced himself up but moved extremely careful and put his back towards the wall roughly. He flinched softly and closed his eyes. "Fucking Hell, man."
                          
"You're bleeding." I said in surprise. I hadn't realized when Elisha had cut Max's shoulder but he must have at some point because Max had a cut the size of a pencil. Blood was streaming down his arm and onto the floor.
                          
"News flash, Mikhail, I've been bleeding for the past few minutes and you only just realized?" He said as he wiped blood from his mouth. 
                          
"No. Max, your arm. I took off my sweaters a tried ripping it apart so that I could use it to stop his bleeding. It always seemed much easier when I read about these scenes in books. Without anything sharp to use to cut the sweater I had to work on undoing the stitching. 
                          
Max frowned at me and said, "You're wasting your time. Focus your energy on finding something to fight against Elisha when he comes back. I'm pretty sure you're going to be his next punching bag when he comes in."