Chapter 73: Good Cop, Bad Cop
Nina
I woke up the next morning to the sun streaming in through the massive window as it rose over the ocean. My night of ecstasy with Enzo made me temporarily forget about the horrors that happened in the forest the night before, but as I rolled over and realized that Enzo was no longer there, I suddenly sat up and remembered everything.
Feeling a pit in my stomach as I worried where Enzo might have gone, I quickly crawled out of the enormous king-sized bed and looked around for my clothes.
After I looked around for a minute, I finally found my clothes; they had already been washed and dried, and were folded neatly on a chair by the window. Had Enzo done this for me? I couldn’t help but smile a bit as I put on the clean clothes, my smile growing as I realized that they smelled like him now. He had left one of his hoodies for me as well on the chair. I put it on gratefully and inhaled his scent.
“Enzo?” I called, poking my head out of the bedroom door once I was dressed. I looked both ways in the dark hallway and didn’t see anyone, but I heard voices downstairs.
When I walked downstairs, Lewis and another man were talking in the kitchen in hushed voices. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but by the time I was close enough to be able to hear anything, they both snapped their heads up as I approached and halted their conversation.
“Good morning,” I said timidly, hoping that they hadn’t heard my moans the night before and that they hadn’t seen me naked in the backyard during our midnight swim. “Have either of you seen Enzo?”
Lewis turned around to look at me. His face appeared weathered from years of hard work, but his green eyes were still bright, a stark contrast from his tanned skin. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he had broad shoulders and a muscular build. He wore jeans and a dirty denim jacket, as though he was dressed to do manual labor. The other man was dressed similarly, although he was much taller and lankier.
“Your prisoner woke up a little while ago,” Lewis replied, nodding his head toward the basement door. “Enzo is down there questioning him.”
I nodded and muttered a word of thanks, turning and walking over to the door. Lewis called after me: “I wouldn’t go down there if I were you, kid,” he said sternly. “It might not be pretty.”
I lingered for a moment with my hand on the doorknob, wondering if I should just turn back and wait for Enzo, but decided against it. “It’s alright,” I said, opening the door. “I’m the one Ronan was hunting, anyway.”
Lewis didn’t stop me as I headed down the basement steps, but I heard him pick up his conversation where he left off with the other man. Did I hear him whisper something about a hybrid?
As I descended into the cool basement, I heard the sound of Enzo’s muffled voice coming from a room in the back. Biting my lip, I quietly walked toward the door to listen in on what he was saying.
“Tell me who sent you, or I’ll take your finger,” I heard him growl, followed by a chuckle that sounded like it came from Ronan. “I’m not telling you shit,” Ronan replied.
I heard the sound of skin hitting skin and a grunt, as if Enzo was punching Ronan. My eyes widened as I leaned closer to the door, horrified at what I heard on the other side.
Suddenly, the noise stopped. I heard the sound of approaching footsteps on the cement floor and jumped back just in time for Enzo to yank the door open with a concerned look on his face.
“I figured you were out here,” he said quietly, barring me with his body from seeing Ronan. “I don’t want you seeing this. It’s no place for a girl like you.”
“A girl like me?” I asked, folding my arms. “You think I can’t handle blood? I’m the one Ronan was hunting; I think I have the right to be here while you interrogate him.”
Enzo paused for a moment. There was blood on his knuckles and sweat caked to his forehead. Finally, after I glared at him for several seconds, he sighed and stepped out of the way. I walked past him to see Ronan tied to a chair in the middle of the room. He had a bruise on his cheek, but otherwise seemed fine.
“Ah, Nina,” Ronan said in a sing-song voice as I entered the room. “Lovely to see you. Would you be so kind as to tell your boyfriend that he’s wasting his time trying to get me to talk? It’s not gonna happen.”
Frowning, I glanced over my shoulder at Enzo to see him still standing in front of the door with an angry expression, his red eyes fixed on Ronan as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. I turned back to face Ronan, narrowing my eyes at him. “Why not?” I asked, slowly approaching him.. I could feel Enzo’s eyes on the back of my head, but for some reason, I felt wholly confident that I could get
Ronan to talk. It was almost as if there was something inside of me, giving me strength and confidence that I didn’t always possess before this moment.
I walked up to Ronan and placed my hands on the arms of the chair. leaning over him so that our faces were mere inches apart. His eyes flashed orange as I stared into them, but there was a small amount of fear behind his gaze.
“Tell me why you’ve been hunting us,” I said, my voice low. Ronan swallowed and glanced over my shoulder. I shot my hand out and grabbed his face, holding it still so he was forced to look into my eyes. Now, the fear in his eyes was even greater. I couldn’t explain how I was making him so afraid, but whatever it was seemed to be working, because he spilled the details only moments later.
“Listen,” he said, his voice shaking as I continued to stare into his eyes. “I’m just the middleman. I’m only doing this because she paid me well.”
“She? Who is she?” I growled. “The witch,” he replied. “Rhea. She said I need to bring you to her. She says the last guy failed, and if I fail too, she’ll kill me like she did to him.”
My mind raced with a million thoughts. Was he referring to K? Had K also been hired by this Rhea woman to bring me to her?
“Why?” I asked. “Why me?” Ronan shook his head vigorously. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me; she just said to find you and bring you to her.”
I let go of Ronan’s face finally and stepped back, turning to look at Enzo. He was still standing by the door, his arms folded across his chest. I nodded, walking up to him. “He’s telling the truth,” I whispered as I glanced over to see Ronan, the man who I had once viewed as tough and manly, now sobbing uncontrollably out of fear with his chin on his chest.
“How do you know?” Enzo asked. I shrugged, pushing past him to open the door.” call it a sixth sense.”
