Chapter 79 OPTION ONE
\[HELL DEVILS' HIDEOUT\]
Nelly stood outside, contemplating whether she should go ahead and knock or not. She remembered him clearly asking her to return his jacket. Since then, she has been scared of going to him.
He's someone she has labeled as abnormal. What if he displays one of his madness? She blamed herself for accepting the jacket. She could have given it to him when he asked her to return it. But he gave her no option other than accepting.
She exhaled three consecutive times, trying to calm her fast-beating heart. Amongst all the days, she chose to return it today, a day she felt things were not alright.
The paranoid feeling came the moment she stood at the doorstep.
Better leave Nelly.
Her inner mind told her. She listened, deciding to come the next day.
The moment she turned, she heard the door bolt and squeak open.
She would have fallen if not for her strong stamina.
With a gulp, she turned, praying and hoping he wasn't the one who opened the door.
If he's not, she can easily come up with an excuse, saying she lost her way. She knew it might be Jaxon as Drexton and Ixora went on a business trip.
All colors drained from her face on seeing that it was Maddox. He stared at her with his reddened eyes, like a predator.
The look was scaring her; red eyes, messy hair, and his shirt was unbuttoned, giving him the look of a typical madman.
Now that she thinks about it, the shortened version of his name is Mad.
What happened to him? She hadn't seen him this way before, though he rarely looked normal.
With trembling hands, she stretched out the jacket towards him. "I... I came to return this." She stuttered.
Maddox's eyes went from the jacket, mirroring her face.
Nelly's mind screamed inwardly, asking her to run.
In his situation, she shouldn't be around him.
She took two steps back, before she could take the third, he grabbed her hand and dragged her inside.
Using her back, he slammed the door closed.
The jacket fell from her hand in the process. He pressed her hands by her side, looking down at her since he's taller.
Nelly's breath turned shaky. Everything happened so fast, she barely had time to process it.
"You shouldn't have come here, Nashira." The name rolled out of his lips dangerously.
Nelly couldn't help but notice the indifference in his voice. She has never been this scared all her life. He was scaring her.
"I..."
He cut her short by removing her glasses and tossing them away.
Pinning her hands tightly to the wall, he leaned in and crashed his lips on hers.
He didn't wait for her to process it before moving his lips on hers in a feral position.
Nelly's breath turned heavy, feeling helpless in his way. His body weight pressed down on hers.
No matter how much she tried, she wouldn't be able to escape.
He bit her lower lip, colliding his tongue with hers. He sucked her lips and tongued her throat until she gave in.
Her knees weakened beneath her, and she closed her eyes, returning the kiss at the same mad pace.
He released her hand and grabbed her waist.
She curled her arms around his neck, moving her body to match his rhythmic movements.
She rolled her tongue in his mouth, both refusing to pull out.
"It's time to leave. Drexton is waiting." Jaxon's voice sounded from behind.
Nelly got back to her senses and immediately pushed Maddox away.
Their breathing slowed as they caught their breath.
Nelly looked shocked, and her eyes instantly filled with guilt. Regret.
Her eyes burned red as tears slipped down her cheeks. She twisted the doorknob and ran out.
Maddox swept his messy hair backward, facing Jaxon.
Jaxon didn't say a word, but his eyes held questions.
Maddox didn't miss that.
"Will explain when we return." He buttoned his shirt.
Jaxon nodded and left.
Maddox wanted to leave when his eyes caught her glasses. He picked it up and fixed his gaze on them.
He pocketed them and left.
\--
Nelly's tears haven't stopped falling, nor has she stopped running. Her heart was like a beating drum in her ears as a result of guilt.
"I love you."
"We'll get married and build a happy family. Just you and me."
"Words can't describe how much I love you, Nelly."
"Either you or no one."
As those words echoed in her mind, her tears fell more.
She's wronged so many people, but she feels like a betrayer.
She shouldn't have kissed him back. She should have pushed him away.
Why did she have to melt when he kissed her?
Not only did she reciprocate, but he would find out more about her.
She kept cleaning her lips as if she could undo what happened.
She bumped into somebody due to her blurred vision.
The person held her waist, preventing her from falling.
"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized, freed herself and ran away.
She hadn't taken five steps when she stopped, the touch suddenly feeling familiar. Very familiar to the point her body had to react.
Panting, she spun around to meet emptiness. Just her and her shadow.
Thinking it was her illusion, she flagged down a taxi she luckily saw.
She got in, and they left.
The person came out of the shadow, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Still as beautiful as always, my Nelly."
\[U.C. POLICE STATION 12 AM, TORTURE ROOM\]
A person lay on the cold floor, cuffs moving slightly due to her movements. She wasn't sleeping, but her eyes were closed.
Under her were tears, a sign that she had been crying. Her face and skin were nothing to write home about, as she had been mercilessly tortured by Inspector Williams.
And her name is Clara, Lorraine and Caius' maid. They tried forcing her to spill the truth and give them a statement about what happened at Creed's mansion. She has refused to say a thing. She was shivering because of the cold floor.
Soon, she began hearing footsteps. Not that of one person, two or three.
She struggled to sit up, only to see three shadows coming towards her.
She scrambled back when she saw their faces. The faces of the last people she wants to meet.
She's worked at Creed's mansion for so long that she knows them well enough.
Immediate fear washed over her. Their steps weren't welcoming; they carried danger, and she knew she had no escape.
Drexton sat while Maddox and Jaxon stood by his side since only one chair was present.
She was shaking and trembling visibly. The cuffs tightened around her wrist to the point of cutting her. She dared not say a word, just gulp.
They haven't said a word, just staring into her soul. They were trying to get the answer that the police themselves couldn't get.
Each of them with the thought of making the person responsible bleed unnatural blood.
"I..."
Jaxon sank a scalpel into her neck, and she immediately shut up. She let out an excruciating pain as blood began dripping onto her clothes.
Heavy tears poured out of her eyes.
"Too loud," Maddox commented.
Drexton leaned near, so she could hear his words, no matter how low they came out.
"The scalper didn't reach your veins because we want you alive. You've already signed your death warrant. But there are options," he paused, pulling her closer with the cuffs.
The cuffs cut deeper into her wrist, to the point where she thought they'd cut off her wrist.
She wailed out, almost tearing down the walls with her screams.
"We'll do the asking, and you answer, truthfully. Easy death. Two, you stutter or lie—" he twisted the cuffs.
She cried out.
"Worse than this."
Clara opened her mouth, no words forming, so she did the only thing she could do... nodding her head.
"Being mute is not an option," Jaxon said, staring at the scalper in admiration.
"Option one!" She screamed out, wishing they'd set her free if she complied.
Drexton released her, leaving her to her agony.
He exchanged glances between Maddox and Jaxon, the darkness in his eyes deepening.
"First... the poisonous dagger, how did you know about it?"