Chapter Sixteen – Malachi
I watched with a mix of pride and concern as Nika unleashed her fury upon Levon, her fists pummeling his flesh with savage intensity. Each strike echoed through the dimly lit room, the thud of knuckles colliding with flesh and bone reverberating in my ears. Levon’s grunts of pain mingled with Nika’s ragged breaths, created a haunting symphony of violence and retribution.
Her silvery hair whipped wildly, framing a face twisted into a mask of rage and anguish. Sweat glistened on her brow, and her knuckles grew raw and bloody, but she persisted, obviously driven by a primal need for vengeance against the man who had tormented her.
For a few minutes, I allowed her to vent her anger, understanding the catharsis she sought, but as the seconds ticked by, her blows grew more erratic, and I had to intervene before she crossed a line from which there was no return.
Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around her from behind, pressing my chest against her back as I enveloped her in a firm embrace. Her body trembled with exertion, and she fought against my restraint, her fists still lashing out at Levon’s battered form. Rurik put his arms around her too, and we held her as she breathed raggedly before making a halfhearted attempt to break away and hit him again.
“Enough, Nika,” I said, my lips grazing her ear. “You’ve made your point. Let it go.”
She shook her head defiantly, gasping with exertion. “No, not yet. He has to pay.”
Rurik hugged her once more before stepping back. His footsteps echoed across the concrete floor as he approached Levon, his gun drawn and leveled at the prone figure. The metallic click of the safety disengaging cut through the silence around us like a knife, and she stilled in my arms, her gaze locked on the weapon.
“I’ll manage it from here,” he said, his voice laced with a cold, calculated edge.
Nika tensed, coiling like a spring as she prepared to lunge forward. “No, I want to do it. He’s mine.”
Tightening my hold, I pulled her closer, keeping her back flush against my chest. “Nika, you’ve done enough. Let Rurik finish this.”
She thrashed in my grasp, her nails digging into my forearms as she fought to break free. “No. I need to be the one. He needs my face to be the last thing he ever sees.”
The raw anguish in her voice tore at my heart, but I couldn’t let her cross that line. As much as Levon deserved death, I couldn’t bear to see the light in Nika’s eyes extinguished by the weight of taking a life, even one as wretched as his.
“Do it, Rurik.”
Nika let out a guttural cry of protest, her body contorting as she strained against my iron grip. With a brisk nod, he returned his attention to Levon, his finger tightening on the trigger. The deafening roar of the gunshot echoed through the room, and the Armenian’s body jerked violently before falling still, crimson blooming across his chest. Nika went limp in my arms, her strength sapped by the intensity of her emotions.
Holstering his weapon, Rurik approached us, his expression unreadable. “It’s done.”
I nodded, my hold on Nika loosening as I turned her to face me. Her eyes were haunted, the fire that had burned so fiercely moments ago now reduced to smoldering embers. Cupping her face in my hands, I brushed away the tears that streaked her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs. “It’s over, Nika,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “You’re safe now.”
Her lips parted, but no words came, her gaze drifting to the lifeless form of her tormentor. Pulling her into a fierce embrace, I cradled her against my chest, shielding her from the grim reality that lay at our feet.
Nika suddenly ripped herself from my arms, eyes blazing with a fury I had never witnessed from her before. “You had no right to make that choice for me.”
The venom in her words stung like a slap to the face, and I recoiled slightly, taken aback by the intensity of her reaction. Her chest heaved with each ragged breath, and her fists were clenched at her sides as she glared at me.
“Nika, I—”
“No,” she snapped, cutting me off with a sharp gesture of her hand. “Don’t try to justify it. You took away my chance for closure and vengeance.”
Rurik stepped forward, his expression one of grim determination. “We did what had to be done. Allowing you to take a life would have stained your soul in a way that can never be undone.”
Nika whirled on him, her hair whipping around her face. “Who are you to decide what I can or can’t handle? You think you’re protecting me, but all you’ve done is rob me of my agency.”
The muscles in Rurik’s jaw tightened, but he held his ground, unflinching in the face of her wrath. “We’re trying to spare you from a burden that will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“That’s not your decision to make.” Nika’s voice rose to a shrill pitch, her words laced with an angry desperation that tugged at my heart. “You don’t get to choose what burdens I carry.”
I stepped forward, hands raised in a placating gesture. “Please try to understand. We never meant to diminish you or take away your power. We only wanted to protect you from the darkness that comes with taking a life.”
Her gaze snapped back to me, and I was struck by the depth of pain and betrayal that swirled in those azure depths. “Protect me? Or protect yourselves from the guilt of dragging me into your world?”
The accusation hung between us, and I was at a loss for words. A part of me knew she was right, but I couldn”t regret what had happened. I couldn’t bear the thought of her innocence being tarnished by committing murder.
Rurik spoke again, his voice low and measured. “We’re not going to apologize for trying to preserve what’s left of your humanity. The path we walk is a dark one, and we never wanted you to be a part of that.”
Nika’s shoulders slumped, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of doubt cross her features, but then her resolve hardened once more, and she lifted her chin defiantly. “Take me home.”
The words were spoken with a finality that left no room for argument, sending a pang of loss through my chest. Rurik’s gaze met mine, and I saw the same conflict mirrored in his eyes.
“Nika, please don’t shut us out like this.”
She shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. “I need time to process this, to figure out where we stand. Just...take me home.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded, knowing any further protest would only drive her further away. Rurik fell into step beside me as we escorted Nika out of the warehouse, the heavy silence hanging over us like a shroud.
The drive to her apartment was a tense affair, the air thick with unspoken words and lingering resentment. She stared out the window, arms folded across her chest, and her body language shouted for us to keep our distance. As we pulled up to her building, she made no move to exit the vehicle, her gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the windshield. Rurik cleared his throat, the sound jarring in the oppressive silence.
“We’ll give you some space, but there”s been too much space between us already. Don”t punish us too long, dorogaya.”
Her jaw tightened, but she offered no response. Her silence was a deafening rebuke. With a heavy sigh, Rurik exited the car to open her door, leaving me alone with the woman who had become such an integral part of my life.
“I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but please, don’t shut me out completely. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
Her shoulders tensed, and for a fleeting second, I thought she was reconsidering, but when she turned to face me, her expression was a cold mask betraying nothing. “I need time to decide if I can trust you again and figure out if I can safely be a part of your world without losing myself in the process.”
The words cut deeply, but I forced myself to nod, knowing any protest would only drive the wedge between us deeper. With a heavy heart, I watched as she exited the car and made her way toward her apartment, her steps heavy with the weight of the emotional turmoil she carried. She gave Rurik a stiff nod as she walked by him, but otherwise, she didn”t speak to or interact with him.
As the door closed behind her, a profound sense of loss hit me, feeling like a hollowness that threatened to consume me. Rurik took the seat she’d occupied, sighing heavily. “Give her time. She’ll come around, or she won’t, but either way, we’ll face it together, as we always have.”
I nodded, my throat too constricted with emotion to form a response. As we pulled away from the curb, I cast one last glance at Nika’s apartment, silently willing her to find her way back to us.
For now, all I could do was wait and hope the bond we had forged was strong enough to withstand the trials that lay ahead.