Chapter 16 Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Dimitri's POV
"There is no other way," I said, my voice low and broken.
There was silence at the other side of the door.
I pressed my palm flat against the wood. "Mikhail. Please. Do not do this to me."
"I am sorry, Dimitri," Mikhail said. "But my mind is made up. You will stay locked in until morning. Until you are thinking clearly."
"I am thinking clearly!" I slammed my fist against the door. "Clearer than I have ever thought in my life. She is everything to me. Everything! And you are keeping me from her!"
"For your own good," Mikhail repeated.
Something inside me snapped.
I stepped back from the door. My hand went to the gun in my belt and I pulled it out slowly.
"Mikhail," I said quietly. "Open the door."
"No."
"Open the door," I repeated. "Or I will shoot myself."
He was silent for a while. "You are only bluffing."
"Am I?" I raised the gun and pressed it against my temple. "You think I am bluffing? You think I care about living in a world where she is gone? Where my brother has taken her from me?"
"Dimitri, put the gun down," Mikhail's voice was sharp now. He was worried. "You are not thinking…"
"I am thinking perfectly!" I shouted. "I am thinking that if you will not let me go find her, then there is no point to any of this!"
"You are drunk," Mikhail said. " You do not mean this."
"I mean every word," I said. My finger moved to the trigger. "Open the door, Mikhail. Now. Or I swear on my parents' graves, I will pull this trigger."
"Do not be a fool…"
"OPEN THE DOOR!" I roared, my finger tightened on the trigger. Just a little more pressure and…
A sharp sting pierced my neck.
I froze.
What was that?
I reached up with my free hand and felt something small embedded in my skin. I pulled it out slowly.
A tranquilizer dart.
"What..." I turned around slowly, my movements already sluggish.
Ivan stood ten feet away, holding a tranquilizer gun. His face was pale. His hands were shaking. But he held the weapon steady, and pointed directly at me.
"You," I whispered.
The gun slipped from my hand. It hit the floor with a heavy thud that echoed through the hallway.
"You bastard!" I growled. Rage exploded through me like fire. "You shot me! YOU SHOT ME!"
I charged at him. My vision was already starting to blur at the edges. My legs felt heavy, like moving through thick mud.
But I had enough strength left for this.
I reached Ivan. My fist connected with his face with all the force I could muster. He went down hard, his back hitting the wall.
"Traitor!" I screamed. I tried to kick him but my balance was off. I stumbled. "I will kill you! I will…"
My legs gave out and I fell to my knees. The world was spinning violently. Everything was getting darker, like someone was slowly turning off the lights.
"No," I whispered. "No, no, no..."
I could not pass out. Not now. Not when Irina needed me. Not when… I collapsed. My cheek hit the cold marble floor hard. The impact should have hurt but I barely felt it.
Ivan's face swam into view above me. He was bleeding from his nose where I had hit him.
"I am sorry, Pakhan," he whispered, his voice void of emotion. "I was just following orders."
Orders?!
The word echoed in my mind.
Orders from who?!
Who had told him to do this?!
I tried to speak, but my mouth would not work. My tongue felt like lead. My lips would not move.
"Help," I tried to say. But it came out as just a weak, and pathetic sound.
"Guards... Mikhail... help..."
But no one could hear me.
Someone had given him orders.
Who would dare?
Who would dare betray me in my own house?
My mind tried to work through the possibilities, but everything was getting fuzzy and distant.
Could it be Mikhail? Had he ordered this to stop me from killing myself?
But that did not make sense. Mikhail would not drug me. He would talk to me. He always reason with me.
Unless... unless he thought I was too far gone to reason with.
Or was it someone else?
Someone who wanted me out of the way?
Someone who…
The darkness swallowed me whole, plunging me into unconsciousness.
That was the first thing I felt when my consciousness started to return was pain.
My head throbbed like someone was hammering nails into my skull. My mouth was dry as sand. Every muscle in my body ached.
I tried to move but I could not.
That made my eyes snap open.
White light flooded my vision. It was too bright it burned my eyes.
I shut my eyes quickly, groaning.
Where was I?
What happened?
I opened my eyes slowly again. This time just a little. Letting them adjust to the harsh light.
I looked around, taking in my surroundings. White ceiling, white walls and white floors.
I knew this place.
The interrogation room underground in my own mansion.
The room where we brought people who needed to be questioned. Where we got information from enemies. Where we made people talk.
Why was I here?
I tried to sit up but could not move.
Then, I realized mybhands were tied. I looked down and saw thick ropes binding my wrists to the sides of a metal bed. My ankles were tied too.
Someone had tied me up.
In my own house.
In my own interrogation room.
Rage flooded through me, hot and violent.
"UNTIE ME!" I roared. My voice echoed off the white walls. "UNTIE ME RIGHT NOW!"
There was no answer. No movement.
I pulled against the ropes. They dug into my skin but did not budge. They were tied well.
"GUARDS!" I shouted. "IVAN! MIKHAIL! ANYONE!"
Still no answer.
My mind raced. What was happening? Who would dare do this to me?
Ivan. Ivan had shot me with that dart. He had claimed to be following orders.
But whose orders?
Who had the authority to order my own men to drug me? To tie me up like an animal?
I pulled against the ropes again.
Harder this time. It only made my wrists burn. I felt warm blood start to trickle down my hands.
I did not care.
"MIKHAIL!" I screamed. "I know you can hear me! Let me out! LET ME OUT!"
The lights suddenly flickered.
I froze.
The harsh white light dimmed. Not completely dark, just bright enough to see shapes but not details.
Then I heard footsteps.
I waited patiently for the person.
I wanted to see who had the audacity to treat me like an animal.
A tall figure appeared in the doorway. All I could see was the silhouette of a man dressed in black from head to toe. His face was hidden in shadow.
He stood there watching me without saying anything.
My heart pounded. Who was this?
"Who are you?" I demanded. "Show your face!"
The figure took a step into the room slowly and confidently.
"I said show your face!" I pulled against the ropes. "Do you know who I am? Do you know what I will do to you when I get free?"
The figure stopped at the foot of the bed without saying anything.
My blood ran cold.
"Alexei?”