Who created her?
“I kind of acted how you do most days.” She laughed. “I marched my ass in there. There were five men still standing. Two holding the girl. One getting ready to ruin her life. And the rest were guarding the man who’d already had his face beaten into the floor. So, I started shooting.”
She shook her head as she relived it.
“I had never killed anyone before, but I wasn’t even focused on that. I was focused more on the guy looking at me with his one eye that wasn’t swollen shut and the girl tied to the bed. He wasn’t sure what I was going to do, and the girl… she was crying.”
Her voice trembled. Barely noticeable.
“I didn’t know if these people were good or not, or what they did exactly to end up in this situation, but it wasn’t anything they deserved. I knew that. I went over to the woman and untied her. She must have been like that for a while because her wrists were red and cut up. Then I found a blanket to wrap her in. She couldn’t speak, just sobbed.
“I walked over to the man kneeling on the floor and heard “please don’t” from the girl. She had gotten off the bed but was so weak she couldn’t stand properly and fell. I guess why wouldn’t they have thought I would hurt them, but I wasn’t going to.
“I took the tape off his mouth and freed his hands. Then I radioed Vasile. Told him to get his ass to me because there was no way I could move both of them alone.”
Lina paused to take a drink of water, allowing my mind to process.
“When Vasile showed up, he yelled at me for not following orders. But he still helped me get the two out. We left through the back and reached an escape car. He went back to the team. I drove to one of our safe houses and called one of our medics.”
Her tone softened.
“They hadn’t eaten in days. I remember them sitting in the kitchen with bowls of food. And when I finally asked their names…”
She paused.
“It was Dorin and Vali. Their father left him drowning in debt. Dorin tried to pay it back the honest way. Did some illegal shit on the side, but nothing that hurt anyone. Didn’t matter. The interest kept rising. The money wasn’t enough anymore, so they took his sister. When he protested, they beat him and decided to make an example of both of them.”
She leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
“After that night, they didn’t leave my side. Vali is good with computers. Really good. She helps with all that shit. And Dorin… he would die for me. I don’t take that lightly.”
Lina finished and sat on the edge of the couch. I understood, because if it ever came down to her or me, it would always be her life that mattered more.
“Lina, if you hadn’t gone in there, they both would’ve died. Or lived in a different kind of death. You saved them. And whether you like hearing it or not, I’m proud of you. You’re an impressive woman.”
“Proud of me, huh?” She smiled, though it didn’t quite erase the strain beneath it. She handed me a drink, her hands quivering. She seemed restless. Something else weighed on her.
“You okay?” I asked, rubbing her back gently.
Lina reached for the remote, muting the TV with a determined flick. “Cezar, when was the first time you took a life?”
Her question caught me off guard, dredging up memories I’d rather forget.
I hesitated, speaking with a slight quiver. “It’s not a memory I like to revisit, and it wasn’t a choice I made willingly.”
She didn’t push, but the intent was there in her eyes.
I looked away and forced myself to continue. “There really isn’t much to it. My father made me kill someone. We all know this life comes with shit like that, but I didn’t want it. Any of it. I was young, and he didn’t care. He never cared about anything except power.”
She wanted more, waited for it…
But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give her that truth. She didn’t need to know the details of what I’d done. That part of me would stay buried until my last breath.
“That night still haunts me. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it. And it’ll never be enough, Petal.” I finally looked at her again, catching the concern in her expression. The confusion. That man wasn’t innocent, but he didn’t deserve to die by hands as pathetic and unworthy as mine.
I needed the focus off me, so I turned the question back on her. “What about you? First time you took a life on a mission you led, not one you stumbled into.”
“It was a mission, like any other,” she answered, tone low and steady. “Not long after what happened with Dorin and Vali. I was ready, so they assigned me a target, and I eliminated him.”
