Chapter 67 Maria
Chapter 67 Maria
Maria’s POV
His scent still clung to me, lingering in the air and on my clothes long after he'd left, as if etched into my senses. His taste remains on my lips, velvety and faintly sweet, while I swear I can still feel the gentle press of his fingertips grazing my skin, warm and hesitant. Maybe this concussion is making me loony.
How has it only been a few hours when it felt as if mere minutes had faded by?
Sigh, I really need to get my mind off of him.
Construction sounds had started not too long ago, and my only assumption was that they wanted to fix this place up in tip-top shape so it would be as secure as possible again.
This spur-of-the-moment decision I was making more than likely wasn't one of my best ideas, but I desperately needed to see something besides the four walls of this bedroom. Grabbing hold of the wall, I brace my hands on it and push myself up.
Standing still for a few seconds, I made sure I wasn't going to have another crazy dizzy spell like earlier. Once I felt confident I'd be ok, I slowly put one foot in front of the other, and I made my way toward the door.
After another step, I kept heading toward the door.
I opened the door and stuck my head out. Not seeing anyone, I stepped out into the hallway and shut the door.
I had on pajama pants and a t-shirt, so I wasn't too worried about being seen half-naked by any of the guys. That was just one less thing I had to worry about.
I slowly walked over to the banister, peering over to where I could see the hustle and bustle a story down. Men were moving back and forth, carrying what I thought was drywall and tubs of plaster. I guess one of the first items on the list was patching the bullet holes in the walls.
I saw another man run by towards the kitchen with small, grayish pipes and a toolbox, so I'm guessing he's the plumber. I could only imagine the amount of water damage that must have occurred with bullets and grenades flying every which way.
This house, or should I say mansion? It was an absolute work of art, rivaling, I'm sure, any mansion in Europe.
Taking my hand, I swipe a tear away that had slowly fallen down my cheek.
And now, because of a man named Viktor, this beautiful home was in utter ruin.
Sniffling, I needed to pull myself together. Crying or beating myself up over a situation that was so far out of my control wasn't going to help anything.
Crying wouldn't make any of this go away.
Turning to head back the few short steps to my room, I stop when I hear my name being called.
Was that Dimitri? That was him. He was hobbling down the hall as fast as he could, sweat pouring off him as if he had just run a marathon, and looking at him from head to toe, every inch was covered in dark purple to fading yellow bruises.
He looked like shit!
“Maria…..Maria….Thank God I found you,” he exhaled completely out of breath
Grasping him by the shoulders, I do my best to steady him as well as myself.
“What's wrong? You look worse than me, shouldn't you be resting too?”
“I don't have time to play fifty questions with you. Where's Alek?”
Immediate concern etched over my face.
“I thought he'd be with you or Henry. He left me a few hours ago.”
“Fuckkk,” Dimitri screamed so loud the devil himself must have heard it.
“You're scaring me, Dimitri. Tell me now what the fuck is going on.”
“There’s no time to sit and chat; we have to get to Maxim.”
Grabbing me by the arm, he began forcibly pulling me down the hall.
“Stop, that hurts Dimitri!” I screamed, but he was paying me no attention. It was as if I were a doll being pulled down the hall by a toddler.
Like a crazed man, he jerked my arm harder, where I could feel it trying to come out of the socket, “I said fucking stop!” My hand swung out, slapping him so hard his face snapped back.
Dropping to one knee, he let go of my arm, and I immediately flinched up against the wall.
He was just down there muttering like a man possessed.
“Again, what the fuck is going on that gave you an excuse to drag me down the hall like a fucking doll?” I spat.
Looking up from his crouched position, his eyes met mine, filled with terror. That's when he said the words that chilled me to my bones.
“I know who the mole is!”