Damned If I Do *Matt Murdock* (book one of Damned)

8) So long and lost (Are you missing me?)

Vera blinked into the darkness. Something, no, someone, was touching her arm and her waist. She couldn't move. Her limbs were too heavy. She closed her eyes again.

...

An unpleasant feeling in her wrist brought her back into consciousness; it was pounding with pain. She frowned and tried to move it into a more comfortable position. She didn't seem to control it – she couldn't control anything. She fell back asleep.

...

Vera was woken up by a wave of cold.

She gasped, opening her eyes to the shadows. She realized there was cold water running down her face, down her arms, her torso, her legs.

She saw an empty bucket in front of her face - someone had splashed a bucket of water on her. She wanted to get the water of her eyes (because dammit, contacts, and they were dry again, pinching), but she couldn't move. Her hands were restrained to the back of a chair. And her left wrist hurt like hell. Dull pain on the back of her head. Her ankles tied to the chair as well.

Memories filled her mind. Two men in her flat. The disgusting taste in her mouth. A blow to her head. Her back on the wall and fighting the urge to breathe.

She had lost.

"Slept well?" the man lowered the bucket and threw it away. Vera thought he might have been one of her attackers.

A fist collided with her cheek. Her head turned under the blow and she let out a cry of pain. Yeah, he was one of her attackers. She had punched him in a face. She remembered it clearly now.

She tasted blood in her mouth. She hated the taste of blood. The iron. She swallowed it. It didn't help.

"Didn't answer my question," he spoke up again.

She turned her head back on him without saying a word, squinting to see him.

Who the hell was he? What did he want?

Another man entered her vision. She thought he had been in her apartment too. "I want extra money for this one," he said to an empty space. He examined her and Vera shuddered under his glare. "She's a wild one."

He took a rapid step in her direction and she barely managed to close her eyes before he hit her other cheek. Sharp pain ran through it. She didn't make a sound this time, she was proud of herself. But she was pretty sure that guy was left-handed. Her face was throbbing.

Vera didn't expect the harsh kick in her shin. She gasped and opened her eyes again. The source of her pain was watching her with thoughtful expression. She returned the favour, her mind racing.

Who were they? Why would anyone want to hurt her? Or was it a coincidence? Did she interrupt them while robbing her place? That would be her. Robberies were her thing.

A terrible thought popped in her mind.

"Nah. She's not that special," he complained to someone Vera couldn't see.

Was this about the bank robbery? Were these men part of their gang? Friends who wanted revenge? How did they find out about her? Not that it mattered. They somehow had and she definitely was an easier target than the Devil.

Finally, the third man showed his face. The room was poorly lit, but Vera's eyes were slowly adjusting. She looked at the newcomer.

And she let out a shocked exhale when she recognized him. No. That was impossible. That's-

"Don't let her fool you," the man warned them calmly. "It's always the quiet ones. Although she's not exactly a quiet one..."

Vera still couldn't believe her eyes. They had hit her head too hard. She was imagining it. There was no way a cop was involved in her kidnapping. Even if he had angry issues.