Page 107 of Shadows of the Past
Amalia grabs Maksim’s hand. He looks at me and knows exactly what I want:get her out. The tension in the room is a ticking bomb, and I won’t risk her life. For a split second, I see something flicker in his eyes, a warning, a plea not to make him leave me behind, but I need them safe, no matter what.
“Juls…I’m not leaving you here with them.”
“Por favor, amor.”
It’s the first time I’ve called him that, and I know he hears the desperation in my voice. I could never forgive myself if something happened to Amalia when I could have gotten her out.
It’s selfish, I know. If the situation were reversed, I’d see it as a betrayal too, being asked to leave him behind, in danger. But my sisters are all I have left. If I have to die so they can breathe free, I’ll take that deal even if he never understands.
He must sense what I’m thinking because he finally leads Amalia toward the exit. Before they disappear, his voice brushes my ear.
“Don’t do anything reckless.”
I almost laugh. He knows me too well, but if it comes down to it, I won’t back down from this fight.
Amalia glances at me, so many questions in her eyes, but all I see is our father’s gaze.
“He’d be proud of the women you’ve become,” I whisper, and her lip trembles. “Go with Maksim, Amalia. He’ll keep you safe.”
I feel it the moment they leave the room, like a piece of my heart goes with them. What’s left of me faces Aleksandr, who’s wearing nothing but a smug smile on his face.
“How did you find us?” he sneers, stalking around Lupe with the cold precision of a serpent about to crush its prey.
I want to scream at her, to make her see that I’m not the enemy. I’m not the one she should fear. But when her eyes meet mine, it feels like a fist tightens around my heart, squeezing the air from my lungs.
¿Por qué él, Lupe?
“My uncle, the man you shot in that kitchen, left us a message. The car’s license plate.”
I lock eyes with Lupe as I say every word. I want her to see the truth in my words. I want her to feel the pain that cuts through my heart every time I remember our uncle’s empty eyes.
“What?” she whispers.
“Stop lying, Julia! Their uncle was alive when I left, and you know it, rybka.”
The Russian pet name makes my skin crawl. Every one of his victims got a nickname: bunny, kitten, darling, butterfly. It’s always the same game.
Aleksandr’s soldier glances at him, and if I hadn’t spent years training with Akim and Maksim, I would have missed the subtle nod, the signal “go.” The snake’s silent command.
Before the soldier can react, I pull the trigger. Lupe’s scream echoes through the house as the man collapses, his gun clattering to the floor. For one awful second, I look at my sister, and that brief moment is all Aleksandr needs.
He lunges. He’s not as solid as Maksim, but he’s got at least sixty pounds on me, and that’s enough to knock me off balance.He knows I can’t match him for strength, but I have speed. I fight back, twisting, scrambling, until my gun slips from my grip and skids under the dusty couch.
“Lupe, get the gun!” I shout, knowing Maksim must be close.
I manage to flip Aleksandr, locking his head between my thighs. I’ve never killed anyone like this, but there’s something poetic about a snake dying from suffocation.
He struggles, pushing at me, but he’s never been good at hand-to-hand combat, and I’m running on pure fury: every time he called me a whore, every time he made me feel dirty just for being in the same room, every scream I’ve stored away now fueling me. His eyes bulge, blood rushing to his face, and I hope he feels every ounce of what he’s done. Every girl he’s raped, every child he’s hurt, every drop of blood he’s spilled.
“Let him go, Julia! You’re killing him!”
I look up. Lupe’s eyes are filled with tears, her whole body shaking.
“You don’t know what type of monster he is, Lupe. How many girls he’s raped. How many lives he’s shattered. How many times I had to close my ears to not hear their pleas. How many nights I had to pray for them to forgive me because I couldn’t save them all,” My voice cracks, but I try to hold it together.
She shakes her head, denial etched on her face. She can’t accept that the man she loves is just a monster in disguise. Guilt twists inside me for hurting her like this, for the pain radiating from every inch of her.
Just a little longer…He deserves worse, so much worse…
