Chapter 45 – Elijah
45
ELIJAH
“ I have absolutely nothing to lose. Either you talk, or you die.”
“I don’t know anything, I swear! He used to bring some of the girls and women with a letter containing instructions from the client, and then the mercenaries would kill them after captivity. That was all,” the man stammered.
He’s useless.
I was promised one of Lukas’s dogs, but all I got is a dumb and useless bastard.
I wipe the blood off my hands onto my shirt, the crimson staining the fabric. Blood, and more blood .
My grip tightens around his throat. “Such a shame, you see. I don’t like rapists, and I don’t have any remorse for killing them.”
10. Death.
I watch the life drain from him. The feel of his neck almost breaking under my fingers, the cartilage crunching and his face turning into that pale shade of purple and blue brought me a cold satisfaction.
I can feel his trachea giving way, fading, dying.
That perverse and primal control I have on him, taking his life away— Dominance.
Fuck .
My hands tighten even more, each squeeze stronger than the one before, slowly suffocating him.
So much rage, so much red.
Niko stands behind me, silently observing.
He understands.
I left her side for this, to hunt down those responsible. I stepped out of that fucking hospital for the first time since the incident for what? For this worthless piece of shit?
I leave his body on the ground and walk out, taking my bottle with me. I see in Niko’s eyes that he doesn’t want to disturb me, that he wants things to get better. But even he has been in a horrible state since that night.
They may not have killed her physically on the night of her abduction, but they stole away every ounce of life from her— slowly, painfully, torturously .
They tried to extinguish that gentle soul, tormented her grace, abused her body, and she survived, she fought them.
Fiercely and deadly.
My love, the Huntress, my obsession. She is going to get her revenge and I’ll be here to be her own blade, cutting through anyone who’s standing in the way of her vengeance.
We’ll bring them retribution together.
I just need her to wake up, I need it because I can’t live without her anymore. I’m losing it, worse than I was before, killing anyone who could have an information on where the fuck Abla hides.
I collapse on the stairs outside, my head hurts, my heart hurts. I hurt.
Everything in me feels raw, everything .
Niko settles beside me, our eyes both fixed on the same distant point, lost, sad, hopeless .
My grip on the bottle was jerky and disordered.
I’m so fucking lost without her, it’s maddening.
Nothing makes sense.
I am blind to life without Zanae.
I miss you so much.
I drink in silence, then hand Niko the bottle which he drinks from before grimacing in disgust.
“Fuck, this shit is horrible.”
I take the vodka back from his hands and take a big gulp.
Zanae baby, why did you do that?
I pull the necklace out of my pocket. The star sparkling in the faint light. “They took her first, and now they want to take Zanae from me.”
I can’t bear another death. Not hers. Never hers.
I need to die before her because I can’t imagine a world without her.
Why can’t she survive for me?
Niko nods and his hand lands on my shoulder. “They’ll never take anything from you again, Brother. We’ll get them before that.”
Yet they are.
After that, we headed back to the hospital.
Night after night, I spend my days there, sitting on the chair watching my own battered soul laying on a bed, connected to countless machines.
It’s been seven days since I last saw her eyes.
168 hours without my fire, 10,080 minutes without my soul, 604,800 seconds without my Little Nightmare.
I miss them, I miss her .
I feel like I’m drowning in my own agony.
Her pulse was more stable, but she needed rest. Niko has been a constant presence by my side. He stayed with me for long hours this week, just looking at her and talking to her about all the things we’ll do once she opens her eyes again. Ben came every day before and after his shift.
And I’m pretty sure he threatened the nurses to ensure she’s okay and that nothing needs changing.
Miranda came one time and cried, sobbed even. Now she’s waiting with June, hoping to see her friend wake up.
Brian always comes at the same hour every day. She sits there, working on her laptop, making sure Zanae is still breathing.
And I was always there, watching them come and go, every day, but only left her side to hunt them down.
A large hand rested on the other side of her bed, Niko looked at her with so much hopelessness. “I’ll tattoo your face on Elijah’s back if you open your eyes again.”
I stroked her hand, she was warmer than the first days, still pale, but warmer. Planting a kiss on her wrist, I whispered, “I beg you, Zanae. I beg you. Come back…”
Niko’s voice continued, filled with determination, “Okay, I’ll tattoo it on myself too, and underneath, I’ll write that you’re the best.”
But then, Zanae stirred, her eyelids fluttering to break free from the agonizing weight that kept them closed.
My heart skipped a beat, “ Milaya , I’m here. Listen to my voice and find your way back to me.”
On the other side, Niko stood, offering a silent whisper for her to react and wake up. “That’s good, Little Z. Come on, show us how stubborn you are.”
We were fucking desperate.
Anything to make her open her eyes was a promising idea. We tried stimulating her with music, with gentle touches, with our words.
Her doctor and Benny explained to me that they had to place her in an induced coma the day she nearly took her own life. My baby had lost so much blood that it caused significant changes in her blood sugar levels, which began to threaten her organs. She was in a delicate balance between life and death, and her diabetes made everything more complicated.
She laid there, in front of me, motionless but serene.
I held my breath, waiting for her to grant me what I longed for the most—her amber eyes, full of life.
And then I felt it—the subtle shift in her expression, a faint and small twitch between her eyebrows, a sign that something was changing.
Slowly, her eyes opened.
Fire warmed up my soul again.
She blinked once, and then a second time. I saw a glint of recognition cross her face, remembering everything.
She found my gaze and held it.
Curious, tired, but she was there.
She was alive.
And somehow, I felt alive again.
Squeezing her hand tightly, I turned to Niko who approached her.
“You’re back, thank God.” Niko breathed, pressing a gentle kiss on her palm. Leaning in towards her, I gently brushed my lips against her forehead. “There you are baby. You scared me.”
Those eyes felt like my own inferno.
My baby woke up, she’s not dead.
“You heard me,” she whispered, coughing, her voice raspy, her eyes locked onto mine. “I called out to you, and you heard me. You pulled me back.”
That voice.
How I missed her.
My life was breathing again.
“I promised you; nothing could keep me away from you. Not even you,” I smiled again, for the first time in what felt like an eternity of torture and pure torment.
I love this woman more than the fucking depths of the ocean, more than the roots love the earth beneath.
I was breathing again, after so long; the air finally felt sufficient in my lungs because she was here to share it with me.
“You saved me.”
I was lost in her, lost in the depths of her eyes, trying to understand the profound pain she’s going through. “You’re here now.”
She took my hand and placed it against her cheek, weakly, slowly but she did it and in her other hand she slowly took Niko’s.
Tears running endlessly on her soft skin, she repeated the same words, over and over again, “ I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry .”