Jesus. Did that make me a monster? Did I finally tip over the edge? Lose all my sanity only to tumble headfirst into a darkness there was no coming back from? If so, the buzz that lingered inside my veins, the feeling of control…it was worth the fall.
I took a shower and watched the red stained water flow down the drain. The scent of ylang-ylang did nothing to mask the scent of blood. Of death. It was on me. Around me. In me. But there was power too. Strength. Confidence. I liked it. I liked the feeling of being empowered.
The name Mancuso repeated inside my head while I stood underneath the pulsating hot water. There was something familiar about the name. Something that made me unable to forget it.
“Mancuso,” I whispered, leaning my head against the shower wall, water cascading down my back. “Mancuso.”
Flashes of the night my mother died forced their way inside my head. My body trembled, my spine shuddering from the memories. I remembered what it was like when I heard those men storm into our home. Their voices. The hate that spat from their mouths while they hurt my mother. Did they mention that name? Talk about someone named Mancuso? I couldn’t think clearly. I couldn’t place it.
But why? Why would the name Mancuso make me think of that night? That specific night. Was there a connection? Was my subconscious trying to tell me something? Why did it feel like I suddenly had all these puzzle pieces in the palms of my hands, but had no clue where to start to piece it all together? And the better question—was this a puzzle I wanted to figure out?
Goddammit. So many questions. So many loose ends.
I heard the bedroom door slam and stood up straight. “Antonio, is that you?”
I turned off the faucet. “Antonio?”
Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a white towel from the rail, wrapping it around myself. “Antonio?” I turned and looked straight at the mirror. I gasped with my hand in front of my mouth. There was a message—a message written on the fogged-up mirror. A message that made my heart sink to the soles of my feet.
Only you can save her.
It didn’t take me two seconds to figure it out. It was her. It was Karina.
My blood ran cold. Every fiber of my being was assaulted by fear, panic making it impossible to breathe.
As I rushed out of the bathroom, I stumbled over the towel which had slipped off my body, falling over my feet. I got up, grabbed the first dress I could find, and pulled it on. But the second I reached the door, I balked when I spotted a piece of paper stuck to the back of the door. And even with the desperation to find Karina, I hesitated. I hesitated by just looking at the paper, instead of reaching for it. Reading it.
The sound of my heartbeat echoed inside my head, the real world around me on mute. Tunnel vision cut out everything around me except the damn piece of paper.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
That was all I heard. My heart, beating like a drumroll against my ribs.
I willed myself to reach out, plucking the letter from the door. If I could, I would have taken a deep breath before reading it. But it felt like nails were being hammered into my lungs, making it impossible to breathe.
There’s a car waiting outside of the estate.
Make sure you aren’t seen.
If you don’t come, she dies.
If you don’t come alone, she dies.
If you’re followed, she dies.
Disappoint me…and she dies.
My legs wanted to give way under me. I was fucking waiting for someone to wake me up so I could stop living this goddamn nightmare. Tears stung the back of my eyes, my chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. Whimpering, crying while still clutching the piece of paper, I struggled to think straight. I always knew this day would come. I knew he’d find me, force me to go back to him. And I always thought I’d rather die than go back to him. I’d rather be in the clutches of death than in the hands of that madman. He knew it. Vadik knew I’d rather be dead than back with him. That was why he took her. That was why he took Karina instead of coming straight for me. He knew. He fucking knew me better than I knew myself.
It scared me. It scared me to the core knowing Vadik had a direct line to my mind. And he was right. He was so right. There was no question. I had to go to him if I wanted to save the only friend I’d ever had. Determined, yet scared as fuck, I yanked open the door before gasping and swallowing a breath when I saw the body of the security guard who had escorted me earlier. His throat was cut, the laminated floors stained by the blood that pooled around him. The metallic stench assaulted my nostrils and forced bile up my throat. Funny how the scent of my victim’s blood didn’t make me want to hurl. Maybe I wasn’t a monster after all.
Lightly, I stepped over the dead body then rushed to Karina’s room. Her door was open, and even though I knew she wouldn’t be there, I did a quick sweep of her room. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but when I caught sight of her phone stuck between the pillows on her bed, I picked it up.
I swiped across the screen and saw the bubble image of Lorik’s face on the side of the screen. When I clicked on it, it opened a series of messages sent between Lorik and Karina. The last message she sent him was an image of a black heart. It was the time that got me. It was sent a mere ten minutes ago, which meant she couldn’t have been far.
I had to go. I had to get off the estate, find the car the piece of paper referred to. Maybe Karina would be there too.
With a racing heart and a mind rushing with trepidation, I ran out of Karina’s room and down the stairs. My will to save my friend was the only thing that drove me to put one foot in front of the other.