Page 37 of The Fighter
“Did he ever come back?”
“Yes.” Erika used the sleeves of her sweater to dry her eyes. “He came back five months later while Marcus was at work, telling me that he came to see if his seed had taken root. When he saw my bulging belly he was satisfied and left again.”
“But it could have been Marcus’s child.”
“That was what we were hoping for, but when Khan came out with olive skin and black hair we both knew whose son he was.”
“And Magni is definitely Marcus’s, right?”
“Yes. But it took many years for us to get back to having sex. That’s why there’s almost six years between the boys.”
“You and Marcus didn’t have sex?”
“No, Raven, I was traumatized, and Marcus had lost his self-respect. There’s no greater shame for a husband than not being able to protect his woman. I think that’s what drove him to obsessively strategize and plan the attack for years, and when it finally happened…” Erika sighed and closed her eyes. “That wonderful night in 2406 when Marcus finally killed Wolf, everything changed and nine months later Magni was born.”
For a minute we sat in silence, digesting the horror and triumph of her story.
“Do you think Dina ever told anyone about what she knew?”
Erika shook her head. “No one knows, and it has to stay that way. If the word came out, the peace in this country would break down and there would be chaos. Khan and Magni can’t know either.”
“But they must suspect it.”
Her tone became firm and close to a hiss. “No, they don’t suspect anything, so you’ll keep your mouth shut, Raven, do you hear me?”
“Yes. I hear you.”
“Good.” Erika rolled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “This world isn’t as nice a place as some people would have you believe. Maybe my story will make you reconsider the path you’ve chosen. We women are fragile, after all.”
I understood her pain and trauma, but I wouldn’t let it stop me from achieving my dreams. “I don’t feel fragile and I guarantee you that if anything like that ever happens to me, I don’t need to wait six years for a man to avenge me. I would have killed Wolf on the spot or at least castrated him.”
“Well, I never learned how to fight and even if I had, it would have been hard with a baby in my arms.”
“I’m not blaming you, Erika. It wasn’t your fault. I’m just saying that I won’t allow it to happen to me or anyone else. That’s why it’s important that I join the police force. What better way to fight injustice?”
Erika didn’t look convinced. “Just promise me that you’ll stay safe, Raven. It’s a dangerous world out there. And now you’ll have to excuse me. I think I need to go and lie down a little.”
“Of course.” I walked Erika to the door and hugged her, once again telling her how sorry I was for the pain she had suffered.
“You’ve always been too curious for your own good, Raven.” Erika caressed my hair. “But now that you know, I hope you can let it rest in the past where it belongs.”
When she was gone, I sat down and made more notes. This investigation was confusing and I felt like I was finding more questions than answers. If only I had all my other research that Leo had confiscated. I wondered if there was a way to convince him to give it back to me.
Would he have hidden the research at work? My gut told me no. There were too many people at the station. It would be more logical for him to bring it home with him, not least because he was probably curious to look it over himself.
The thought made me frustrated. What if Leo decided to solve the murder case and take all my glory?
This wasmycase!
My friend Willow called me up half an hour later when I was in my room coming up with arguments on how to convince Leo to let me have my research back.
“Hey, my bird, what are you doing tonight?”
“Not much. Some work, what about you?”
“I’m alone with the puppies and I finally got Nora to sleep.”
“Ah, okay, is Solo on a mission tonight?”
