Chapter 25 – Ellie
“I’m a monster! The devil everyone knows. I’m a viper who strikes even when I don’t intend to,” his voice echoed at the back of my mind.
“…I derive pleasure from other people’s suffering. So why the fuck are you surprised that I kept that important detail from you?”
He wasn’t entirely wrong. I did know what type of man he was; I knew he was capable of horrible things. Yet for some bizarre reason, I still expected better from him.
Withholding a vital piece of information was the least of the terrible crimes he was guilty of. If that even sufficed as a crime in this situation. Still, it hurt me. And I couldn’t understand why.
I wasn’t pained because that “lie” affected Vetrov’s situation in any way. I was pained because he kept his involvement in the case from me. Karik wasn’t completely honest about the whole thing. He only told me a version of the truth.
But wait a minute. Why are you mad at him for something so silly? a voice murmured in my head. If he’s as insignificant to you as you claim, then nothing he does should affect you.
I thought about those words for a moment.
Unless, of course…he’s no longer insignificant, the voice added.
Deep down, I knew there was some sort of truth in that but I wasn’t ready to accept it. At this point, that seemed to be the only logical explanation for my outburst.
Lies only hurt when they come from those you care about.
I let that sink in, even though a part of me was in denial.
The look on his face when I mentioned his inability to capture Niklaus Varro told me I’d crossed a line. A rather dangerous one. If anyone else had said what I said to him, they’d be dead already.
But he didn’t even raise a finger to me. It was crystal clear that my words pricked him in ways neither of us saw coming. Still, he held back his rage.
Although I wasn’t sure why Varro was still in the wind, I knew there was a reasonable explanation as to why Karik hadn’t found him. I let my emotions get the better of me and said things that I shouldn’t have.
Maybe I was too harsh with my words.
Despite the fact that his expression was dark with anger, I still saw a flicker of something else in his eyes. Pain.
The things I said hurt him more than he would ever care to admit.
In his world, worse had been said to him. Worse had been done to him. Why did my words carry so much weight? Why was he so affected by the things I said since I meant nothing to him?
Maybe for the same reason you were hurt by the fact he lied to you, my inner voice responded.
Was I starting to care about him?
Was the feeling mutual?
Could that be why we were both hurt by each other’s actions?
I knew I shouldn’t give a shit about hurting his feelings. But I couldn’t help it. Not because I was afraid of the consequences. Because I genuinely felt terrible for coming at him like that.
I should apologize.
Right?
Fuck, I’m so confused.
“Ma’am?” Agata’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I blinked back to the present.
“Are you all right?”
I glanced at her and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
We were both in the backseat of one of Karik’s SUVs. I felt like the walls of the mansion were closing in on me. So, I told him I needed to clear my head, that I needed some air. Outside the estate.
I expected some sort of resistance from him. But Karik didn’t argue. Right there in my presence, he called one of his men and asked him to take me wherever I wanted to go.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about his swift acceptance. I thought he was going to say no, and I was going to have to stand my ground. I thought we were going to have another round of banter—I was hoping for that.
However, for the very first time, he granted my wish without hesitation. I should be glad. I got what I wanted with ease. Yet I felt like something was off.
Was he still mad at me?
Did he grant my desire just so he’d get rid of me?
I’d asked Agata to come with me, and although she was a bit skeptical, she eventually did.
“You know, you could have just taken a stroll around the estate,” she said to me, polite as ever. “The compound is very big.”
“Yeah…” I drawled lazily. “But driving through the city is better.” I looked out the window, feeling the wind on my face.
“How long are we supposed to be driving for?” she asked, her tone laced with a hint of unease.
“My husband said we have one hour.” I glanced at my watch. “We still have at least 25 more minutes.”
Silence.
I watched her with squinted eyes as she tapped her feet frantically while chewing on her fingernails.
“Agata…?”
“Hmm?” She raised her head, meeting my gaze.
“Is something wrong?” I asked. “You don’t seem comfortable being out here.”
A pause.
She let out a quiet sigh. “I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should turn back.” Her eyes locked onto mine, as if pleading with me to listen.
“Relax, Agata,” I said, a small grin tugging at my lips. “We’re not alone.”
There was a car in front of us and another behind us. These bodyguards were skilled and armed to the teeth.
She stared at me like she wasn’t convinced we were safe. But she didn’t push. She just stayed quiet and turned her face toward the window.
Less than three minutes later, the car stopped at a red light on a busy street. Across the road, construction was underway, the noise of their machines filling the air. Pedestrians were on the sidewalk, everyone minding their own business.
Impatient drivers blared their horns, yelling and cussing. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just another Tuesday in the city.
I glanced up at the countdown. Twenty seconds until the lights turned green again. Agata was still uneasy, tapping her feet and squeezing against the hem of her dress.
“Seriously, you need to calm down…” I began.
But before I could even give voice to my next thoughts, the entire atmosphere plunged into chaos.
I heard a loud honk, and it sounded too close to my ear. When I looked out my window, I saw an oncoming truck with its headlights on. My eyes widened in horror before the impact that knocked us off course.
Screams filled the air, accompanied by the loud screeching of tires and rapid gunshots. Our vehicle veered off the road, spinning out of control with smoke rising from underneath.
Windows shattered, glass shards pricking my skin as the driver struggled with the wheel. Finally, the car stopped.
“Ma’am, get down!” the driver yelled, gun in his hand.
I reached for Agata, grabbed her by the neck, and forced her down with me. Bullets hit the body of our car as Karik’s men exchanged fire with the attackers.
“Are you okay?” I asked Agata, my voice trembling with fear.
She managed to nod, shaking.
One of the doors opened, and we both screamed at the top of our voices.
“Let’s go, let’s go—move!” It was a familiar voice.
I held Agata by the hand as we climbed down the vehicle, heads lowered.
“Go, go, go!” The guard led the way, shooting any enemy in his eyeline. “Stay close!”
Dead bodies lay sprawled across the streets; some were Karik’s men, the others masked assassins. Cars were abandoned, and people were running for their lives, screaming. It was complete chaos out here.
I never let go of Agata’s hand as we hurried behind the brave guard. He fought the assassins, gunning them down with precise shots. It seemed he was the last guard standing, so our chances of getting through this alive were very slim.
We ran through the streets, hiding behind cars as they shot at us. Soon, he was out of armor.
“Shit.” The guard tossed the gun away, arming himself with a knife.
When two assassins popped up in front of us, he stood his ground, swinging that blade with practiced ease. He killed them in no time, staining the asphalt with their blood.
“Come on, let’s go!” he said to us.
He’d barely taken a step forward when he got hit by a bullet.
I froze in place, eyes wide open.
He took two more bullets to the chest before dropping to the ground. “Run,” he said to us, his voice faint, blood spilling from his mouth.
I grabbed Agata by the hand, and we took off immediately. These men fired at us as we sprinted through the street like our lives depended on it.
I was in front, Agata was behind, our hands still locked together when I heard it. That painful gasp that followed a single shot. She slowed down, and I paused in my tracks, too scared to turn around.
It was as though time stood still, and I could hear her ragged breathing echoing.
“Ma’am,” she called, her voice weak.
I turned around, and my hands flew to my mouth in horror. She’d been hit.
Agata stood there, bleeding from her lower abdomen, her eyes boring right into mine.
“No,” I mumbled, tears streaming down my cheeks.
She glanced at her wound, then slowly dropped to her knees.
“No!” I screamed, running to grab her before her head hit the concrete.
At this point, I didn’t give a shit about my own safety; I just wanted to save her.
“Stay with me,” I whimpered, my voice cracking as I placed my hand on her wound.
The warmth of her blood between my fingers shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces. My tears fell on her cheeks as I held her in my arms, weeping like a child.
She stared into my face, struggling to breathe as she took my bloodied hand.
“You’re gonna be fine,” I whispered amidst broken sobs, forgetting the trouble around us.
Her lips quivered, blood lodged in her throat. “Run,” she managed to say.
I shook my head, tears pouring uncontrollably. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Please….” Her eyes pleaded with me to leave her.
But I wasn’t going to.
I heard voices speaking in Russian, and soon heavy footsteps approached me.
“...run…ma’am. Run.” She strained, her grip tightening around my fingers.
Seconds later, her hand went limp, and her eyes closed.
“No!” I wept, my head on her chest, sniffling.
Large shadows surrounded me, but I didn’t care. I was too numb to feel anything right now.
“She’s the one,” someone said, their voice laced with a Russian accent.
“Take her,” said another.
I locked my jaw, seething as I spotted a metal rod lying discarded across from me. Without hesitation, I scraped it off the ground, rose to my feet, and swung it with what little strength I had left in me.
The strike almost took my victim’s head off, sending his face smashing into the window of a nearby car.
A pause.
The men stared at me in shock for a fleeting moment after the previous guy passed out.
“Restrain her,” a huge man with a raucous voice ordered.
I held the rod like a weapon I wasn’t afraid to wield. “Stay back!” I warned the men approaching me.
They didn’t listen.
So I began swinging recklessly, but they dodged every one of my advances. Someone grabbed me from behind, lifting me off the ground. Reflexively, I slammed the back of my head into his face multiple times until he dropped me.
“Fuck!”
I swung the rod with murderous intent, striking him in the neck before two other men rushed at me.
They took the makeshift weapon from me. One bound my hands behind me while the other covered my face with a black hood. Together, they bundled me into the trunk of their vehicle.
I lay, squeezed into that small space, struggling, screaming to no avail. These heartless bastards slammed the trunk shut and drove away.
Overwhelmed with fear, guilt, anger, and anxiety, only one name rang in my head.
Karik.
These people didn’t want me dead; if they did, I’d be dead already. This meant that Karik still had time to find me.
But by the time he did, would I be dead or alive?
What did they even want with me?