Page 88 of Pushed

“No, I understand that. But I don't actually know what happened. I remember looking through a window, I remember seeing three men. I'm not sure what happened after that exactly.”

She lied.

Why would she do that? Why is she lying to them about what happened?

Tilting my head a hair, Imperial glanced at me again, then darted her eyes away. Her fingers continued to tug and pick at her thumb, nervously digging at the cuticle.

She doesn't want me to suffer for something she knows I had to do.

Reading her mind, seeing her battle with herself over what to give and what weight to keep; it solidified my veins, making my entire body hurt.

I never wanted her to be a part of all this. Her innocence was what would help her, and she was willingly shattering it into pieces.

Mr. Sille walked up to the stand, resting his arms on the wood podium. “Imperial, this man is not going to hurt you anymore, you can tell us the truth. Tell us what happened, tell the jury how he hurt you, how he used bindings and wrapped you up, stealing you away.”

“I never said he did anything like that to me. I told the police that he saved me, I told them that he took me to keep me safe.”

“The scars on your wrists tell me a different story, they say you were hurt and tortured, they say you were held against your will and you tried to break free.”

Her face softened, brows raising high. Leaning closer to the lawyer, Imperial's lids hooded deep and fierce. “You can keep trying all you want to put words in my mouth, but I will never say that Machi is anything but a hero.” Turning to the jury, thick lines stretched over her forehead as her eyes stayed static. “Because that's what he is, he saved women from suffering the same fate as his sister. To me, that's nothing less than heroic.”

Sucking in a quick breath, I felt my heart start to race inside my chest. It beat harder than it ever had, thumping so loud it drowned out the noise of Mr. Sille.

She was refusing to give me to them, she was denying them the one thing they wanted. I couldn't understand why she would protect me after what I had done.

“Were you or were you not tied up and kidnapped?”

“I was, but like I said, there were three men there. And out of all of them, I know one thing without a doubt, Machi is not the bad guy.”

Chuckling, he turned towards the jury and smiled. “Maybe itwasone of the other guys, the mysterious men, Fior or Z. . .” Pausing, he slapped the large photo of Sylvan's lifeless body on the floor. “But the one man we know is responsible for murdering two others, he couldn't possibly have done that to you. That's what she wants us to believe, that's what she wants you to believe.” Pointing at the jury, he stepped back to his table. “No more questions, your Honor.”

My attorney stood tall, stalking towards Imperial. “Miss. Klein, did my client ever hurt you?”

“No.” Shaking her head, a hint of a smile rested on her lips. “Machineverhurt me.”

“Did my client tell you he was keeping you there? That you were never allowed to leave?”

Her eyes grew wide as her head continued to shake side to side. “No, it's the complete opposite. He promised me he'd get me out, he promised me safety and protection from all the other creeps in that place.”

“So the other men in there were bad, is that what you're saying?”

“Yes.”

“Ethan and Sylvan, were they horrible men too?”

“Yes, they were evil bastards.”

The judge stopped the courtroom as voices mumbled and heads turned. “Miss. Klein, please refrain from giving your opinion, we want facts, not subjection.”

Imperial looked up at Judge Bernstine, pursing her lips razor thin. “It's not my opinion, it's the truth. It was written all over that place, on every wall, floor, crack and crevice—they were rotten men from the inside out.”

“Did you ever see any of them doing anything horrible to the other women?” My lawyer flipped through his papers, turning one over the other as he stacked them on the table. “Can you tell us how you're so sure?”

“I saw the aftermath of it, I saw women with violent bruising and black eyes. I heard screams and saw fear in their every move. The noises never stopped, that's the one thing that still gets to me. I can hear it when I close my eyes, when I'm sleeping, when I'm alone, they never leave my head.”

“And did my client ever try to protect you from that?”

“He did, he told me not to listen. Machi told me that not everything was how it appeared. I wasn't sure what he meant at first, but now I do. There were women who enjoyed what was happening to them, that's true. But that's not what he meant, he was talking about himself. He was trying to tell me that he wasn't a part of it.”

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