Chapter 24

Skimming the surface.

Micah

I’m walking away from her, but I have no idea where I’m going, passing rooms, white corridors and people in white gowns. People, strangers are trying to talk to me, but I dismiss them and keep walking, feeling broken. The truth is rotting the marrow in my bones, draining my heart of blood. I don’t want to believe that Josh is the person I’ve been searching for all these years. It’s too surreal.

We have been friends since we were toddlers. He never slipped, never showed that evil side, not even once. Or maybe I refused to see it.

 I get outside, furious, ready to find him and kill him with my bare hands, end this once and for all. He doesn’t deserve to die quickly. He has to suffer like Tahlia has. Steph died and my life ended all because he couldn’t deal with the fact that I wanted to be happy. I was so blind, so fucking stupid.

My old boss had evidence, witness testimonies, but no one had ever seen him. He made sure that he couldn’t be identified, that there were no pictures, no descriptions.

I clench my fists, cutting the circulation to my hands. The fury comes back, shattering my emotions. I have been played, fooled for years, not even realising that Josh was the one that was behind all my pain and misery.

Josh never spoken to me after that night when Tahlia came to me. He never tried to talk to me, to see if I was coping with the grief and pain. I left without saying goodbye.

The bitter cold air hits me and I keep walking, knowing that I have to kill him, punish him for everything he did. My career is not important anymore. I’ll never be able to fix it, not after what’s happened, but I can still clear Tahlia from all the charges. She doesn’t need to live this life anymore.

How could I not see the evil that was growing up by my side?

When I finally get to my van and lock the door, I start laughing. I had cherished Steph and he murdered her, then he used Tahlia, made her do despicable things and took away her freedom, her dignity. Then kept her in a hole like a dog. 

The pain is making me dizzy and desire for revenge is burning my loins. Apart from Josh, I still have to deal with the Russians. It’s just a matter of time before they get in touch.

I have been betrayed, spat on, and in all the time that passed, I never questioned his loyalty, his new friends. After I met Steph, I stopped paying attention to him.

My hands are shaking so bad that I can barely hold the wheel. Maybe I’m not even supposed to drive, but I don’t give a fuck anymore. Love burned a hole in my heart; now revenge is all that I can think about.

Before I even realise what is happening and where I’m going, my own instinct takes me back to the past, to those streets where I used to hang out with Josh. It’s easy to believe that being back can fix this, but deep down I know that no one can and no one will. Before I let that scumbag die, I need to understand how he fooled me and what happened to him once I left town.

 I park the van on the side street, just outside Josh’s old house. It’s still empty. I can’t do this, because the fury still grips my oxygen, my blood flow. I don’t blame Tahlia for anything. It’s my fault that I didn’t notice there was something wrong, that this bastard was hurting her when I was hanging out with Steph.

I start slamming my fists into the dashboard hard, until I see blood, until the anger fades away. The pain numbs me, but the guilt is not going away. I finally look back at the house, the place where I spent a lot of time with the murderer, the psychopath. 

All I want to do is to go inside and start smashing everything, but then I spot someone watching me from the other side of the road. Some random guy just stares back at me.

 This place, the street, the memories are suffocating and I’ve only been here about ten minutes.

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” says a deep voice that belongs to a man with tattoos on his neck. “I’ve been telling myself that it can’t be you. Micah Thomson wouldn’t have a reason to show up in his old neighbourhood,” There is something familiar in the man’s features, but I’m too torn up to even try to remember who he is.

“What the hell do you want?” I ask, getting out. He approaches, keeping his hands in his pockets.

“Oliver, the big Ollie,” he says, smiling. Blood rushes to my ears. Big Ollie, Josh’s next-door neighbour. These two used to hate each other. I remember that, but I can’t understand what the hell he is doing here after so many years. I thought that he moved away, that he disappeared.  

“I don’t need any company right now, mate. I’m here for the sadistic murderer that used to call himself Josh. If you can’t help me find him, then you better leave,” I warn him, not letting the old memories cloud my judgment. Even my old drunk father could show up here. I don’t care anymore.

“When you left, things started to shift around here. I was locked up, but my mother used to write me letters. Josh made a fortune on dope and other hard stuff. He put on weight, built up the muscles, and people stopped recognising him. No one remembered Josh Grey anymore. He’d transformed into Rudolf and had this whole estate under his control,”

I drag my hand through my hair. Ollie just confirmed what Tahlia said. Josh is Rudolf; I don’t know why I doubted her. I should have never left; I should have never gone to the academy. I didn’t deserve my life when other people were suffering.

“So there’s no doubt—he stopped being human,” I say, empty words. “His mother always influenced him. I wonder if she ever tried to change him.”

“He bought her a new house. She never suspected a thing, but everyone around here knew.”

 “What the hell do you want?” 

“Justice. That piece of shit raped my sister. I want to kill the son of a bitch.” 

***

Tahlia

“Miss Morgan, you need to lie still. If you keep shuffling around, aggravating your wounds, then there is no point in my putting on new bandages,” my nurse says, frowning. “I told your friends they were supposed to keep you calm.” She doesn’t understand how hard it is for me to just lie here, knowing that Micah is out on the streets, angry and pumped with revenge.

It’s been several hours and he hasn’t even called. Tequila keeps telling me that his phone is turned off.

 “Janine, I mean Rose … fuck, what am I supposed to call you now?” Hunter asks, when the nurse leaves looking irritated. From the moment Micah left the room and told me that I don’t deserve him, my head has been all over the place.

I thought that the hard part was behind us, that we could forget about what happened in Braxton. He was angry and has no idea what he’s saying half the time.

“Hunter, I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t want anyone to know what happened and who I was. I wanted to get to Josh before he got to me. Meeting you in the club, that was unexpected.” I feel so exposed around him now, so self-conscious. Hunter saw me, he witnessed what I went through, and he was one of Josh’s best guys. For some reason I want to trust him. He saved my life yesterday, and I remember his small kindness in the past.

“So that arsehole that just left threw you in jail and then managed to get you out after realising that you were innocent. What the hell happened to the witness protection programme?” he asks, dragging his hand through his hair.

Tequila raises her left eyebrow but looks over his body with that strange gleam in her eyes. 

“I see that you filled him in,” I say.

“Rose, this is crazy. The police are looking for you. Sooner or later one of the nurses will recognise you and then we’ll be done, all of us,” he says.

“Listen, Stud Muffin, just back off for a second, okay? You need to calm down before you draw any unwanted attention to us and I need some time alone with my girl here,” Tequila says, standing in front of him. “Go and check what Kiki is doing. I don’t trust her being  alone, especially in the hospital.”

Hunter looks like he wants to stay and argue, but after a moment he frowns and disappears.

Tequila sits on the chair next to my bed, looking concerned. “I’m worried about Micah. He disappeared a few days ago for hours only to come back in a strange mood. He made this dirty deal with some mafia type gang and he was behaving just like he is now.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, forcing myself to keep my eyes open.

“He went to Rudolf’s rivals because of you,” Tequila explains, talking quietly. “He was willing to do anything in order to track you down. He promised to kill Rudolf in exchange for his location. He was convinced that it was Rudolf that had you.”

For a split second I thought that she was ready to lecture me on truth and lies again, but this sounds so much worse. I thought Micah would have worked on his own when I was hiding away in that hotel room, planning my assassination on rat. Surely he wouldn’t have gotten Tequila or Kiki involved.

“Tell me exactly what happened.”

 “We paid a visit to The Semya, you heard of the Russian twins? Well, he made a deal with them. He agreed to kill your ex, to end his life and hand his head over to them as proof in exchange for information on your whereabouts so he could get you back. Then the same night, he vanished, disappeared in the middle of the night.”

“And?”

“He showed up a day later looking like something really bad happened, with that twisted look on his face. He refused to talk to me and Kiki. Something went down that night. I have never seen him in that kind of state. It’s as if the one that hunts for survival became the hunted.”

I close my eyes, trying to imagine what he must have gone through. Even that day when he saved me, he was calm, and he made me trust him instantly. It was the first time I looked at someone and I began to live again, seeing hope. Although, I remember seeing that look on his face, the one that Tequila just mentioned.

I hear voices, so many voices, and it’s not Rat. He hasn’t been down in the basement in days. I haven’t had anything to eat. My stomach feels so empty, hollow. I’m weak, so tired. The darkness drains all my strength. I just want this all to end.  

The steps are confusing me. I look through the small space behind the washer to see the light. I stop breathing for several moments, seeing a man. He is looking around the basement. I have counted to a few thousands today, praying for rat to come and feed me. I don’t want to die in the hole. It’s not fair to be dying like this, lost and alone.

I start scratching my nails over the back of the washing machine. The rat won’t like that I bring attention to myself. He will punish me, but I’m desperate, starved and scared. If I die here the small rats will start eating my flesh from my bones, until there is no flesh left and all that is left are my bones that will crumble to dust.

The man is looking around, so I keep scratching harder. My throat is too dry to speak and this is all I can muster. My nails are bleeding, but I got used to the pain. The wounds from the burns are still fresh. It hurts mainly in the night. Sometimes I can even tell what time it is, until the rats try to get near me.

He starts moving the washing machine, looking behind at the stairs. I hear voices upstairs. Something is going on out there, something bad for Rat. When the man finally stops struggling with the washing machine, he notices me. I keep my body as close as I can to the wall, suddenly petrified to leave my hole.

“Hey, it’s okay. You can come out now. No one is going to hurt you,” he says, kneeling so our eyes are at the same level. My heart skips a beat, as my mind starts telling me that I know him. I have seen him before. It’s Micah, who was Josh’s best friend back when we were in high school. My whole body begins to shake when I notice a badge that hangs over his chest. I slowly step out of my hole, feeling brave. 

“Micah, what the fuck are you—”Another man stops in his tracks when he notices me and I want to crawl back to the hole.

“She was behind the washing machine,” Micah says, lifting his hand to me.  “It’s okay, don’t be scared. We are here to help you.”

I believe him, because I recognise that look on his face—it’s that empty, hunted look. My look.