Omerta

Chapter 58

         I got to cry for a short time, but I received a rather urgent call from Mikhail once the meeting ended, and he found out I almost burned in a fire. "How couldn't you tell me that!" he exclaimed from the other line. "I knew you'd freak out and you wouldn't have been able to do anything from overseas. I felt it would be better if I waited until you actually came here and saw I was alright," I explained. "Are you though? Are you even alright?" he asked. My mouth didn't want to lie, so it said the truth. "No." 

That made Mikhail come to me. He asked my uncle if he could see me, and of course my uncle understood why and granted him access to my bedroom. "You've been crying," he rushed over to my bed and cupped my face. "It's just stressful to think about over and over again. Mikhail...I'm not the same person you left here last month. I'm different. Things are different," I told him.

        He pulled me into a hug and cradled my head. "I know, it must've been so traumatic. I couldn't stop thanking Nicolas enough for having gone in after you. I wish it were me. I wish I'd been here. You were strong and brave getting all that information. They told me honestly that it was you who figured everything out. I don't blame you for feeling different. Near death experiences are hard, but you're still Gia, the beautiful woman I know," he tried reassuring me. 

I pushed out of his grasp and sat up better on the mattress to look at him. I wiped underneath my eyes where I'm sure mascara was running.

"No, you don't get it Mikhail. I had to see things I can not unsee. And do things...things I never thought I'd ever do. You think you know the full story, but you don't. I'm not pretty little Gia. I'm not your kukolka," (little doll) I exclaimed. 

His expression turned flat. "I know, I understand you've been through a lot. You need time to process. I just want to be here for you. The thought of you almost dying is eating away at me. I don't know what I would've done. Vincent is lucky he died by Nico's hand. I would've made him wish he were dead, but I'd keep him alive. Suffering. It's what he deserves for what he did to you," Mikhail's eyes turned suddenly dark.

        I was surprised by how sinister he looked. That was more Nick's style, but I guess the thought of me dying really did stir something within Mikhail. I noted that they didn't tell him that I was actually the one who killed Vincent. Just another secret amongst all these secrets. 

"Lay down, you need rest," Mikhail fixed me in the bed and cuddled up behind me. He rubbed my arm and brushed back my hair while we laid there in silence. All the screaming in my head shut off for a few moments and it was enough to put me to sleep.

-

        Vincent sat by me in the garden while I tended to the veggies and flowers. "You're like the trojan horse," he told me. That got me to put my clippers down and laugh. "How?" I asked. He looked off into the distance and was quiet for a second. 

"On the outside you look like this perfect peace offering to the Russian's, but really, on the inside...all your little sins are lined up for destruction as soon as they wheel you in. Murderer," he harshly said. 

My jaw dropped and I stood up in anger. "You're the murderer!" I hissed. "You're coming with me," he said, lifting the gun he hadn't had in his hand only a second ago. 

I screamed, wanting to run away from his aim on me.

        "You're always on one side of the gun. Either you're looking down the barrel or you're pulling the trigger," he shouted after me, but he sounded more like Nick- and I didn't want to see Nick right now. 

When the gunshots started firing off I screamed again. I rounded a corner and gasped when I saw Richie there. "Come on, we've gotta go. He's shooting!" I quickly grabbed his arm and tried dragging him with me. He stayed put and I aggressively pulled at him again.