by Leah Holt
“I'm okay, I guess, considering everything.” Rocking my head back and forth, I looked around the room. “Are we being taped or recorded?”
“Nah, you're not the one under arrest, they want Machi.”
“Are you sure?”
Shaking his head yes, he placed his hands in his lap. “They said you wanted to talk to me, why?”
“Machi came to you for a reason, that makes me feel like I can trust you too. I need to know what's going on. Is he okay? Was he hurt?”
Thinning his lips, his eyes drifted around my face. “He was shot, but he's all right.”
“Shot? Shot where, by who?”
“We don't know yet how it all happened, he's still in surgery. Did he tell you anything?”
“No,” I said, exhaling hard. “He hinted at things, but he didn't tell me anything about what he was doing. He didn't belong there, Bentley, he wasn't one of them. Machi was good to me, he kept me safe.”
Swirling his finger over the ledge of the metal, Bentley nodded. “Yeah, he's a good guy, always has been. But these past few years he changed, he's different.”
“Why? I don't understand, I can't understand. Please, tell me something—anything.”
Resting his head in his hands, he gripped his cheeks. “Imperial, you really have no clue about what he was doing there?”
“No, and if someone doesn't tell me something soon, I'm going to go fucking insane.”
Breathing in slowly through his nose, his lips frowned. “Did Machi ever mention anything about a girl he used to know?”
I sat stone still, eyes reaching for more. I knew nothing. My head twisted stiffly on my shoulders as my brows arched curiously, pleading for him to keep talking.
“Alright,” he said, leaning closer to me. “Machi and I go back, like way back, I've known him since we were kids. I grew up a few houses over from him and his family. Good family too, his mom was super nice, she used to make these little cookies out of almond butter and chopped pecans, they were delicious—anyway,” he said, shaking his head and dismissing the small details. “Machi had a sister.”
Had a sister? His voice had fallen off, his mind racing with a memory of a girl. A girl that wasn't just any girl, she was Machi's family.
Blinking, I opened my ears wider, allowing him to fill my head with a side of Machi that he refused to share. He had never spoken about himself or where he had come from. There was no mention of family or friends.
I saw one man, the man he had become, the man he needed to be. But who he was, who he used to be in a past life, was foreign. I was ready to drink Bentley's words, allowing them to quench my thirst to learn about the man who had risked his life for mine.
“The two of them were close, you know the big brother, little sister relationship you'd see in a Lifetime movie. Well, long story short, his sister got herself into some trouble. She started using drugs, heavy shit too, I think she was using meth at the time. But Machi, he never gave up on her, he refused to. That guy would go to the end of the earth to help his sister. And that's what he did. The Lancaster Hills, where you had been kept, he was positive it had something to do with what happened to her. We found her about four years ago, beaten pretty bad, her body just left like trash in a dumpster downtown. Machi, he kinda took a turn after that.”
“What happened to her? Who killed her?”
“We did everything we could to try and solve the case, but there was nothing. Every lead was a dead end. So Machi went out on his own, he left us, dropping his badge and walking out without a second glance. He needed to find out who hurt his sister, and he wasn't giving up until he did.”
“Wait, wait, wait—” Fanning my hands over each other, my shoulders wriggled as a shiver ran up my spine. “Machi used to be a cop?”
“At one time, but it's been years.”
“And he was there trying to find out who killed his sister?”
“Yeah, he couldn't focus on anything else after that. It consumed him, Imperial, to the point that none of us even knew where he was anymore. Shit, I hadn't even talked to him the entire time until recently when he came to me for help.”
“I. . . I don't know what to say. I had no idea.”
Bobbing his head up and down, the corner of his lip twitched as his hands flopped down in front of him. “None of us did, we had no clue what he was doing. And trust me, if I had known, if I had any idea that this was what he he had gotten himself into, I would've done something. I would never have let him go it alone.”
“How did he know it was them? I mean, how was he able to find out that place did that to her?”
Holding out his hands, Bentley shrugged. “We don't know. Machi just insisted from the beginning that they're the ones who did it, but we never had anything to prove she was there. Unfortunately, she was in a rough spot, the drugs and all that shit; a lot of the time people like that get swept under the rug after awhile. It's not right, but it happens.”
“I want to see him.”
“That's not going to happen.”
“Please, I need to talk to him myself.”
“Imperial, Machi is being charged with two counts of first degree murder. They're not going to let you see him.”
Anger was starting to fill my body, making my cheeks warm and my heart hammer inside my chest. “They killed his sister! How could you guys do this to him? Those men hurt women, you saw it! You saw the other girls on that stage! Fuck, they sold me to you! How can you justify charging a man who probably just saved thousands of women by ending it all?”
“We have no proof of anything, nothing to show his sister was even there. And right now, all we have is a handful of people who won't help us piece this all together.”
“What was her name?”
“Megan, Megan White.”
White?
Machi White— the white room, the safe word white—it makes sense.
That word had been everywhere he was. The first night he told me the white room was for girls he saw as special. But now I knew, he saw it as his room.
Machi White, M.W. . . Shit, the words.
The words on the bed were initialed by an M.W.
She had been there, she was in my room. I had something I could give them, something that was more than just hearsay or theory—I had her last thought.
“What if I can give you proof?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Machi
Her hand came out and pointed in my direction, firmly planting in the air with no hesitation. “That's him.”
“So this is the man you saw the night you were taken?”
“Yes, he's one of them.”
Imperial's hair was pulled back into a snug ponytail, the ends were curled up, fanning out like the petals of a sunflower. A dark blue dress melted against her curves, following all the lines and architecture of her body to perfection.
She looked more amazing than ever, gorgeous and strong sitting up on the stand.
That wasn't exactly how I pictured our first encounter after everything went down, and still, I couldn't take my eyes off her.
Since she got up there, all I wanted was for her to glance at me, to give me one last look so I could see if she was okay or not. I knew if she just allowed her eyes to drift to mine, I'd be able to read her without her having to speak.
“One of them? So there were others there that night?”
Leaning into the small microphone, she spoke clear and steady. “Yes, there were three men there that night.”
The prosecutor turned in my direction, slamming his finger into the air. “Was this man there the night you were sold to Officer Roberts?”
Imperial's eyes skipped to mine for a moment, holding still for a single breath. My heart froze, unable to shed the elastic bands wrapping it tight. She was sad, she was lost and scared.
But not from what happened, her unspoken words tumbled through my head; she was afraid for me.
Nodding to her subtly, I wanted her to know it was okay, that s
he could tell them everything they expected her to.
None of this was her fault, not one second of it. There was nothing for her to hide when she hadn't asked for any of it to begin with.
I was the one on trial, it was my hands that did all the damage. Just mine.
“Yes, he was there.” Bringing her eyes back to the lawyer, she swallowed a thick gulp of air.
“And were you present when he decided that Sylvan Dullow needed to go?”
Fiddling with her thumb, Imperial looked down at her hands. “I can't say for sure.”
“You can't say for sure?”
“No.” Shrugging her shoulders, the corner of her lip flicked down. “He didn't tell me anything about that.”
“Do you remember the night he took you?”
“Of course, do you think I could forget that?” Veering her stare, she looked at him with a wary expression, unsure of where he was going with his question.
“Do you realize that another man was found murdered that same night? Another man, who we have linked to Mr. Dullow, was found strangled to death, do you know anything about that? Or is it just coincidence?”
“Objection your honor! My client is not on trial for the murder of Hans Fitzgerald, this has no relevance to the case.”
The prosecutor held out his hand in apology, brushing away the question. “I'm sorry your Honor, I'll move on.” Stepping in a large circle, he turned to face the seats behind me. “Why don't you tell us about that night, tell us how you ended up in the hands of Mr. White.”
Scrunching up her nose, she let her eyes fall over the twelve people all staring her down, eagerly waiting to hear the gory details. “I don't remember what happened.”
“Miss. Klein, do I have to remind you that you're under oath?”
“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 it was one 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. “Machi never hurt 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.”
“And how can you know that? How can you know that's what he meant?”
“Because of what he did to set me free.”
She sees it now, she finally heard me.
Bringing my hands to my mouth, I covered the smile that started to form on my face. Imperial had pulled back the layers, peeling me open like an onion. The outside was harsh, it stung her eyes and burned her heart.
But now she saw it all, it was the sweet after the bitter, the sun after a storm; she could see me.
“Can you tell the jury what he did to help you?”
Turning to the jury, Imperial looked at each and every one of them individually. “He brought in a police officer to buy me, he made sure that man was the one who left with me. Machi. . .” Her breath hitched as tears bubbled up on the edge of her lids, slowly dropping off one by one. “Machi kept his promise, he got me my freedom, and he always kept me safe. But that man still has to live with what happened to his sister, that pain will never go away. If I were him, I would have done the same thing. I would've wanted to kill them too. His sister didn't deserve what happened to her, and he doesn't deserve the pain of the memories he has from it. He's a good man, and I'd do everything all over again, even if it killed me.”
Every nerve in my brain fired off, realizing that Imperial was finally seeing me as the man I wanted to be. For years I was lost, roaming the earth with one purpose and one purpose only. Revenge.
That was no way to live.
My muscles
surged from head to toe, ready to launch me out of my seat and across the room. I wanted to hug her and hold her and tell her I loved her with everything I had.
I wanted her to know that no matter what, I would always keep her safe. She was my sun, she was my air; without her, I'd be nothing. My body would be an empty cavern, unable to take one more step through life.
She saved me, she gave me a reason to want to keep breathing, to fight through the dust and find my way home.
We had both been taken, separate and together.
Without her, I'd just be another soulless face in the dirt.
And as the lawyers made their final statements, all I could do was hope that the jury could see the same man she did.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Imperial
Five months later
“How are you feeling?” Machi asked, holding his hand up to the glass and smiling.
“Big.” Giggling, I pressed my hand against his and blew him a kiss.
Pushing the phone into his ear, his grin widened. “You look beautiful.”
The trial was hard, watching them try to hammer Machi into the ground. The prosecutor did everything in his power to try and burn Machi at the stake. It didn't work.
After the jury learned about the writing I found on my bed and saw all the pictures taken inside those walls; they didn't see the monster he was painted as, they saw a man, they saw a person who had been to hell and back, and lost everything along the way.
The verdict came in after only five hours of deliberation, and I couldn't help but think someone was looking out for Machi from above. They ruled in his favor, while being confined to the terms of the law.
He was never charged with Ethan's murder, they agreed unanamously that he had acted in self-defense. As far as Sylvan's case went, they weren't as harsh as they could have been. Sylvan wasn't armed, but the jury took pity on Machi, finding him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
When the judge read the verdict, my world slowed to a stop. I was angry and frustrated, unable to comprehend the fact that he would actually have to do time behind bars.
In my eyes it wasn't fair, not after all the women Sylvan probably led to their deaths.