I’ve been searching for Irena since she departed and there is no sign of her vehicle. It has been four hours and panic begins to surface in my veins. She couldn’t have gone far and If she wanted space she would have gone to Abel’s place but when I checked on them she wasn’t there which only sparked my unease.
Maybe she had turned back home and didn’t find me there. As I drive back home I pray to whoever can hear me to make sure that Irena was indeed home and that I could explain everything to her so that she could forgive me.
Originally, I wasn’t going to tell her but fate took matters into its own damn hands and she found out. I knew I should have burned that awful contract before we left but my foolish self didn’t think that Irena would pay any attention to the mysterious folder that her uncle brought over. As I enter the gates of my house, I quickly exit the car and rushed into the house. I step inside, peeling off my coat and flinging it onto the hanger. My eyes adjust to the light, scanning the silence that stretches out before me.
The walls seem to be holding their breath, and the only sound is the rush of my own blood. My heart stumbles in my chest as if it knows something I don’t.
‘Irena!’ My voice echoes through the halls, but it’s met with silence. A knot forms in my stomach as I reach the bottom of the stairs. Please be home.
Before I can climb up to investigate, a sharp knock at the door steals my attention. Vin, one of my guards, stands on the other side with a mysterious brown file in his hands.
‘Who’s it from?’ I demand, eyeing the unmarked package with suspicion.
Vin shakes his head. ‘No sender, but it has your name on it.’
I take the package from him, My mind races with possibilities.
‘Did my wife return?” I ask suddenly.
Vin’s piercing gaze bored into mine as he delivers the sobering news:
‘Regrettably, Mrs. Dé has not made it back yet.” My heartache was palpable and my mind scrambled to make sense of what was happening. I resignedly acknowledged his report and shut the door on Vin’s steady presence.
Fumbling with the documents before me, I flipped through the piles of photographic evidence. Reality crashed around me like an avalanche as I landed upon a set of fatal images of the very same vehicle Irena drove out with. Preceded by the ghastly car crash. My breath abated as my eyes flickered to the next snapshot. That’s when time stood still.
Irena stood stripped down to just her underwear and a bra, her body marked with purple and black bruises that stretched across her skin, her head hanging low in shame. As I scrutinized the picture, scrutinizing every inch of it for any tiny hint or clue, I found nothing. The background was bleak and blurry, while she was the unmistakable focus of the image.
My heart ached as I saw her crumpled up on the cold, filthy concrete floor, her eyes swelled shut and her lips split and bloody.
‘Fuck!’ I explode, I flung the photographs away from me with frustrated force, slamming my fist violently into the wall until my knuckles bled. My hair was in absolute disarray as I paced the room, overcome with guilt and a rising wave of panic that was like a fierce storm crashing through my mind.
A vortex of despair had already begun swirling within, draining every last ounce of vitality from my being. A sudden darkness eclipsed my sight, and an overwhelming wave of fury hit me like a cataclysmic tsunami. I balled up my fist.
‘FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!’ With a thunderous roar, I shatter anything that is close by.
Who the hell had the balls to take her away from me!?
Where could she be?!
With unbreakable determination and a fierce sense of justice burning within me, I vow to track down those bastards and make them beg for mercy before their souls are doomed to eternal damnation.
I grab my coat and storm out of the house, unlocking my car and I enter and start the engine as it roars to life. Shifting the gear I press on the gas pedal and drive off with speed.
With a fiery determination, I snatch up my coat and storm out of the front door. Unlocking the car, I slide into the driver’s seat and ignite the engine, relishing the mighty roar that follows. My foot slams on the gas pedal and I gear shift into high gear, propelling my car into motion with reckless velocity.
‘Call Abel,’ I order with an icy coolness.
‘Calling Abel.’ The AI assistant intones, subsequently dialing my brother’s number. After two rings, the line clicks open.
‘Talk to me,’ he grunts, his voice gruff with irritation.
‘I need you to arrange a meeting. Now. The warehouse. Ten minutes.’ I bark into the car, my eyes darting to the timer on the dashboard.
Without waiting for a reply, I ended the call and grit my teeth, gripping the wheel until my knuckles go white. With a ferocious growl, the car hurtles down the empty road, so fast that the scenery outside becomes a blur.
I won’t stop until I find you doe. I’ll bring you back home, safe and sound, and we will make everything right.
I promise.
“Wake them up,” I commanded as my two guards remove the sack from the men’s heads and then douse them with icy water. Their bodies jerk and they meet my gaze.
I push myself away from the wall as I toyed with the torch in my hand.
‘What the hell is this?’ Prince questions as his gaze shifts back and forth between Zoltan and me. Zoltan attempted to break free as I securely bound him to the chair with chains and did the same with Prince.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and then take a deep breath to calm myself.
Zoltan had droplets of sweat forming on his forehead as Prince glared at me with confusion. ‘Irena has been abducted.’ Was the first thing that escaped my lips. ‘What does that have to do with us? Why are we restrained instead of assisting you in finding her?’ Zoltan questioned as he attempted to break free from the chains but fails. I lift my gaze to meet his, my jaw clenching as the venom seeps into my veins. ‘Because I’ve been suspicious of both of you. You know how we’ve been searching for the mole. All the evidence I’ve personally gathered has led to both of you. Normally, I am a patient man when it comes to discovering a traitor but Irena has disappeared and I cannot waste any time.’ I declared. ‘So, whichever one of you it is should make things easier and confess now. Or I could take my sweet time with roasting you alive until you finally surrender.’ I uttered, flicking the torch on as the golden hot flame danced in front of my face.
‘Come on, man, why would we be the betrayers? We have known each other for nearly two decades and have been in this profession for ages, man!’
Prince exclaims and I shrug nonchalantly. ‘People change.’
Rolling my neck, I groaned in satisfaction as the cracking sounds of my bones reach my ears.
‘Who do you work for?’ I inquire, my eyes scanning their gazes and they look at each other. ‘Saint, you can’t be serious,’ Zoltan scoffs and I raise my eyebrows as I inquire. ‘Oh really?’ In an instant, I turn on the torch and move the flames over his skin. Zoltan maintains eye contact as he starts to tremble, his skin bubbling and slowly tearing, causing him to turn red. ‘Let me ask again.’ I declare. Turning to face Prince, I switch on the torch and instruct my men to expose his neck to me. ‘Who do you work for, Prince?
Why does all the evidence I’ve gathered lead to both of you? Are you the one who kidnapped Irena?’ I question, the anger inside me ready to explode, but my tone remains calm and composed. As his flesh bubbles, his screams reverberate within the concrete walls and he shakes uncontrol ably in the chair. ‘I could continue for hours. You know how I operate. You wouldn’t want me to reach that level with you guys.’ I state, and they both look at me as sweat starts to trickle from their pores.
I sigh, pulling back as I hand my torch to one of my men. I roll up my sleeves, and after a moment of silence, I strike Zoltan across the face. His head jerks to the side, and a second later, I do the same with Prince. My fist flies back and forth between the two until my skin tears, and so does theirs.
I grab Prince by his face, blood now staining his mouth as he glares at me.
‘It’s not me. I would never betray you, Saint. Not now, not ever. It ain’t me, man.’ He declares, and I squint my eyes, searching his face. Pushing him away, I turn to Zoltan and grip his face. Examining his expression, I ask. ‘Is it you?’ A moment of silence passes, and he finally responds, meeting my gaze.
‘No.’ He states.
And that’s all it took for me to understand who it was.
‘Take Prince to the adjacent room,’ I order my men. The three of them hoist the chair Prince is bound to and leave me all alone in the cell with Zoltan.
I chuckle to myself, pushing my hair out of my face as I gazed at Zoltan.
‘You cunning bastard.’
Zoltan spits out the blood onto the floor and looks at me with a groan.
‘Who are you working for?’ I inquire again, peering down at him. ‘I’m not working for anyone Saint.’ He retorts bitterly and I chuckle to myself before striking him across the face with all my might, moments later a tooth flies out of his mouth. ‘I don’t collaborate with anyone.’ He declares through clenched teeth. ‘I work alone. Everything I’ve done was solo. To eliminate you. The failed shipments, that was me. The betrayal to the police, that was me. Convincing individuals to turn against you, that was me. Ever since that woman of yours Irena entered your life, you’ve become weak.’ He groans.
‘You used to be ruthless Saint. Slaughter dozens of men in cold blood.
But now you’ve become a coward. You’re feeble, a damn romantic and it’s sickening.’
My jaw clenches as I glare at him, my anger reaching its peak.
‘You want my personal perspective on the entire situation regarding Irena…?’ He pauses, a cruel smile spreading across his lips. ‘I’m glad she was taken from you, that way you can return to your old ways. Our old ways. We can-‘
In an instant, I find myself on top of Zoltan, the chair thrown to the ground as I continue to strike him across the face.
Again and again and again until he is unrecognizable, blood splattering onto my face, his skin tearing open as he gurgles on his own blood. I was consumed by the rage that I hadn’t noticed Abel entering. Until he called out my name.
‘Saint?’ He calls out, I turn to look at him, breathing heavily. ‘Bring the flamethrower.’
Abel takes a quick glance at Zoltan, sighing before he exits. I stand up, lifting the chair that he was tied to.
‘I’m not finished with you,’ I mutter.
He’s going to regret ever uttering those words.
