Chapter 17 - Makari
Watching her leave with Vadik and Tasha made me feel ill. I wasn’t comfortable with her being out of my reach. Yet, I understood where she came from. This world was nothing like hers.
What Grace saw downstairs must have been horrible to someone like her. I couldn’t imagine what she felt or thought. This wasn’t how I wanted her to see me, but what was done was done.
Closing the door, I went back downstairs to where Pavel was watching our suspects. Up to now, we’ve been taking it easy. But I had to get to the bottom of this soon. I no longer felt the need to show mercy. In fact, I was cooking with rage. I grabbed the rag from his mouth and tossed it to the floor.
Picking up the knife, I lifted the man’s face. There was no room for argument, and I made that clear in my tone as I spoke. “Why did you shoot at us?” I trailed the blade up and down his chest.
He remained silent, and I felt my left side muscles jump. Lifting my arm, I forcefully inserted the blade back into his leg. His screams echoed off the walls, but I didn’t care. Taking hold of his hair, I pulled his head back as I repeated myself. “Why did you shoot at us? Not once, but on multiple occasions. Who do you work for?”
He couched and looked at me. “Why?” he said. His voice was hoarse, and I had to get closer to hear him. “Fuck you!” he said, spitting at me.
I wiped the spit away with my clean hand before twisting the knife and pulling it out. He screamed louder. I stood back, watching as blood gushed from his leg. His face turned white as his screams stopped, and his head flopped to his chest.
“Shit,” I uttered, stomping my foot. Pavel stood like a statue to one side. This day wasn’t going as planned. “Get me a bucket with ice and water,” I asked, trying to keep my tone calm.
He nodded and headed upstairs. I watched the man as I waited. His chest was still moving, so I knew he wasn’t dead yet. Pavel returned with the bucket in hand. “Here,” he said, sounding solemn.
“Don’t you start,” I huffed, taking the bucket from him.
I walked back to the man in the chair and poured it over him. He shook and glanced at me. He cried out, startled, blinking rapidly as the pain flooded his nerves again. Bending down on one knee, I pulled the pliers from the table.
Taking hold of his pinky, I spoke calmly. “We can do this all day. It’s up to you, my friend.”
He shook his head and closed his eyes. Holding his finger tightly, I pulled out the nail. He screamed with each one but wouldn’t talk. When I got to his fourth nail, he could barely scream. He was only making strange gurgling noises.
Taking a short break, I went to collect more ice water. Pavel just stood there next to the table. I was angry and frustrated. I had to get to the bottom of this.
Returning with the bucket, I soaked the man again. “Ready to talk?” I questioned him. He remained silent. “Well, then we will just have to continue,” I added, grabbing the hammer again.
“He’s not going to talk, Makari,” Pavel said.
“You want me to give up?” I enquired.
Pavel shook his head and walked out without another word. These men were shooting at us. I felt sure it was them who came after Grace as well. I had to get to the truth. Turning my attention back to the man in the chair, I took the hammer to his knees first.
He still wouldn’t talk, and I wasn’t sure how much more he would be able to take. Picking up the knife again, I gave him another chance to talk. “Come on, man, who are you protecting?”
He looked at me through one eye and shook his head. “Okay, but you brought this on yourself,” I said as I made the first cut across his chest. He bit down on his lower lip, and by the fourth cut, his lip was bleeding.
“You leave me with no options,” I breathed, pulling the generator closer. “If you don’t still the beans now, you won’t even be able to get it up once I’m done,” I added as I bent down before him, pushing his legs apart.
His eyes flew open. I could see the fear in them. “Okay,” he spat between breaths. “We don’t know who he is. But this guy came to us and told us to be there. He showed us your picture and said he would reward us handsomely if we took you out.”
“Me?” I asked, feeling confused and slightly conflicted. “You weren’t looking for the girl?”
“No, man. We were told to take you out, that’s it, I swear,” he added before passing out again.
Standing up, I dropped the connectors to the floor. This was a mess. Heading upstairs, I decided I would take care of them in a bit. I had something else to do.
It had been a long day and night. When they finally broke, I was surprised. Sitting down on my bed, I felt hollow. We had been so wrong. Grace was right. I fell back and closed my eyes. Pavel and I could figure out what to do next in the morning.
Pavel had already gotten rid of the men by the time I got up. He was whistling a happy tune while making breakfast. “What happened?” I asked as I sat down at the table.
I called in a favor,” he replied, grinning. “They are gone, so we will just clean the basement today.”
He surprised me with his initiative, but I was proud of him. After breakfast, we headed down and cleaned up. It took us most of the day. But by the time we were done, you wouldn’t say anything had ever happened down there.
I took a quick shower and headed to my office. The days of labor had drained my energy, but I had to check in with Vadik. Plus, I wanted to find out how Grace was doing.
Picking up the phone, I stared at it for a bit before making the call. I had to scrape together all my courage. I didn’t want Grace to think of me as the monster she saw.
After dialing his number, I leaned back in my chair while waiting for him to pick up. “Makari,” his deep voice eventually rang through the receiver. “How did it go?”
Swallowing hard, I quickly informed him of our results. “But that’s not why I’m calling,” I added.
“Yes, I know. But business first,” he reminded me. “You know you messed up. But I also understand you wanted to protect her. Yet, you will have to consider your approach.”
“I understand, Vadik. It was a mistake. I will do whatever it takes to fix it.” I replied.
“I’m not done,” Vadik huffed. “Grace grew up in a shielded world. She isn’t like Tasha or even Nadia. They grew up in our world. Grace didn’t.”
He was right, and I had many things to consider going forward. Taking a deep breath, I wondered if Grace could handle the truth about our world. How would she react if she found out more of our secrets?
Maybe it would be best if I allowed her to identify the suspects and get her freed from her obligation to the Chernykhs. I was still pondering these when I suddenly heard her voice come over the line. “Makari?”
“Grace,” I huffed, sitting up in my chair. “How are you doing?”
There were a few minutes of silence, but I could hear her breathing on the other side. “I’m okay,” she finally replied. “How are you?”
“Good, thanks,” I responded instantly. I didn’t want her to wonder about things. I longed to have her back with me. I wanted to hold her, absorbing her sweet essence. My mind lingered there for a moment. Lifting my free hand, I rubbed my chest. My heart was heavy.
“Makari?” I heard her asking softly.
“Yes, sorry, I’m here,” I replied, sitting up.
She replied in the same soft tone. “Is something wrong? Can I help with anything?”
If she only knew how much hearing her voice did for me. “Thank you for the offer. You are so kind,” I replied, wanting to tell her how much I missed having her close. But instead, I declined. “I don’t think there is anything you can do at the moment.” As the words left my mouth, I wanted to pull them back.
I could hear some disappointment in her tone as she spoke. “Okay then.” She sounded sad. I wish I hadn’t said anything.
“There are many things I do need you for,” I added hastily. Before she could reply, I continued. “I meant to say that there are a lot of things that you need to do, which you can assist with, but just not right now.”
Sighing, I pulled the phone away from me as I rubbed my face. Everything came out wrong. I heard her laughing on the other side. This cheered me up a bit. “Sorry,” I added. “I’m tired, and now my words are all over the place.”
“No need for apologies. I understand what you mean,” she breathed out.
My heart warmed as she spoke. I knew she had a big shock and may require some time to adjust. I was just glad she sounded better. “Thank you for understanding. I have to go now, but I will see you soon, okay?” I asked.
“Yes, I hope so,” she responded, sounding positive.
Rubbing my head, I spoke calmly. “I promise, I will see you soon. Don’t worry.”
There was a pause as silence filled the line and my office. Our conversation was over, but it appeared neither of us was ready to hang up.
“Grace,” I finally whispered.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Sleep tight,” I said and hung up. I sat with the phone in my lap, wondering if her fear of me was leaving. Would she ever be able to look at me in the same way?