Chapter Twelve - Stranger

Shane’s POV.

The loud thuds of our footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as Chase and I approached the cell that the stranger had been kept in.

The moment I was informed of the man that was caught trying to perpetrate another crime, all sane thoughts fled me. All I wanted was to lay hands on the enemy and get the answers I’d been searching for out of him. It finally felt like I’d caught onto a missing piece of the puzzle and I was on the right path to finally solving this mystery and ending the case.

My heart slammed hard against my chest, beating wildly as my blood streams were fueled with adrenaline and determination. Wordlessly, Chase led the way to the cell where the stranger had been kept hostage, in the dungeons. The farther we got into the dungeon, the faster my heart beat and the more energy surged through me. Finally, we got to the last cell in the building and he came to a stop.

I turned towards the wrought iron bars segregating the small cell space from the hallway to see a dark figure perched beside the wall at the far end of the cell. At first sight, he appeared to be a shadow but when I stepped closer to the cell, I made out his human form clothed in a black cloak, with his head bowed and hidden by a thick mass of shoulder-length unkempt hair.

It was hard to completely identify him as the cell was dim, except from the light streaming in from the other empty cell opposite his.

“No light?” I threw the question at Chase, who was already working on the locks holding the iron bars in the stranger’s cell.

“He doesn’t deserve it,” he grounded out.

A minute later, he pushed the iron gate aside and it creaked noisily but when he stepped in, he flicked the light switch on the wall and bright white light flooded the entire cell, almost blinding us but the stranger made no move to even spare us a glance and that annoyed me.

With the entire cell illuminated with bright light, I noticed his limbs were in shackles, with his hands strung taut to the chains hanging from the concrete ceiling and his legs shackled to the concrete floor. It made him appear like a clothed statue, with his dusty cloak still draped over him and his mass of tangled dark hair effectively hiding his face.

Wordlessly, I stepped closer to him, with Chase beside me but as I closed the distance between us, a strong stench sailed into my nostrils, almost choking me and cutting off my air supply but I did my best to swallow it down with great discomfort.

I couldn't remember a time I’d ever inhaled such an offensive odor yet, I couldn’t place what it was. All I knew was that it was emanating from the stranger.

Chase spat on the floor in disgust but I did my best to hold back the strong urge to throw up while wallowing in a thick wave of nausea.

“Were you able to identify him?” I asked Chase when I finally stopped beside the stranger.

A simple shake of his head was his response. Immediately, I grabbed a fistful of the man’s hair and yanked it hard until his face was in view and I noticed his swollen eye, split lip, and the deep gash on his cheek with blood oozing from it, dripping down his neck. Deep feelings of satisfaction settled within me, seeing how well he’d been dealt with. I didn’t need a prophet to know it was all Chase’s hand work but even that would be nice compared to what I was about to do to him if he wouldn’t provide the answers I needed.

“I see you’ve gotten a bit of a warm welcome,” I gritted in satisfaction, letting my words wash over him but his eyes that had been shut remained so and his face was still a mask of an expressionless facade.

His show of apathy and indifference only fueled my rapidly growing anger.

“Open your eyes,” Chase gritted out as though he was reading my thoughts and I tightened my hold on his hair, but he made no move to obey or even show emotions.

“I’ll gouge your fucking eyes if you don’t open them now,” I snarled, and instantly, his eyes flew open, meeting my furious gaze but yet, the indifferent expression was still etched on his face, giving nothing away.

Deep down, I could already feel that he’d be a tough fellow but I was ready to deliver whatever punishments there were, just to get him to open up, even if it meant breaking every single bone in his body. If there was one thing my father taught me, it was to be ruthless when dealing with the enemy.

“Who are you and who do you work for?”

My bellowed words echoed in the small space but all I got in response was eerie silence. My free hand immediately gripped his throat in a choking hold, intending to strangle him but I could hear Axel’s warning ringing in my head.

He was our only lead to putting an end to the disappearance of my people. Ending his miserable life would do no good, rather, it’d only complicate things.

“I’ll ask you again, who are you and who do you work for?”

It was obvious the man had a death wish because he continued to stare at me with mockery in his eyes, yet he maintained his stoic indifferent expression. Not once did he make a move to speak or to even show his emotions, even after how hard my fingers were gripping his throat.

My fury doubled, my fingers tightening more around his throat with the intention of choking him to death. I watched as his bruised face turned into a dark shade of red but I got contentment from watching his miserable life slip out of him. As if he knew what was at stake, his mocking gaze was still on me and it infuriated me to no end. A growl of annoyance and frustration rumbled deep in my chest when I finally let go of him, with gritted teeth and a clenched jaw.

I punched the wall closest to his head and the effect was hard, my knuckles cracking with bruises forming on them as blood began to leak from the injury. I could feel the beast in me demanding to be let out as my carmines began to grow from my frustration and anger but I knew I couldn’t let him out. Axel wouldn’t think twice before tearing him to pieces. I pushed away from the wall and turned my back on Chase and the stranger, moving far away to the other end of the cell before grabbing onto the rusted metal bars and resting my head on them with my eyes closed. I drew in a deep breath and expelled it while struggling to calm myself but that flew out the window the moment I heard the agonizing groan of the man after Chase punched him.

His cries of pain brought me a bit of satisfaction and that calmed my nerves. Expelling a gush of air, I turned around to see Chase pummeling his face and stomach with his bloodied fists, and groans of anguish kept falling off the stranger’s lips, sounding like music to my ears.

Chase kept on hitting him and I watched with pleasure as blood dripped from his mouth and nostrils onto the floor.

“All you have to do is tell us who you work for and why you’re targeting my people and you’d be free,” I said, in a bid to coerce him into speaking as I approached them with slow steps.

By now, Chase had stopped his assault and was holding him up by the neck to keep his bloodied face upright and to keep his swollen eyes on me. Instead of the response I expected, he spat on me, his slimy saliva mixed with blood landing on the white fabric of my dress shirt.

“Fucking peace of shit!” My words were followed with a hard blow as my fist connected with his mouth just as Chase slapped him hard across the face, before yanking hard on his hair to the point of pain.

This time, when the stranger spat, it was on the floor and a few of his teeth followed his bloodied saliva.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Just like your father,” he slurred out and that single statement had me seeing red. It became obvious that the bastard truly had a death wish.

Blinded by my rage, I swung at him again, my fist connecting with his eye and the loud painful bellow he released wasn’t enough to stop me as I attacked him with the intention of ending his miserable life but luckily for him, Chase tackled me and pulled me away from him, swiftly driving me outside the cell and quickly putting the locks in place.

“Let me kill him,” I roared but he slapped a palm to my chest, tackling me in a man hug when I tried to reach for the iron bars separating the prisoner from us but all I could do was to rattle them noisily as Chase wouldn’t give me the chance to get in again.

“Calm the fuck down, Shane. He’s an idiot and you will not let him get to you.”

His words did nothing to pacify me as I stood there glaring at him when he finally let me go. His unwavering glare was fixed on mine in no retreat as he blocked me from the sight of the prisoner with his huge muscular frame.

“You will let him be for today and deal with him some other time when you’re calm.”

His words were more of a command than an advice and it angered me more. I took a step forward, intending to get past him and have my way with the bastard behind the bars but Chase quickly read my intentions and he moved before I could take the first step, swiftly pushing me away from the direction of the cell and farther away from the man I wanted to kill.

“Control your damn anger and think clearly,” he shouted. “Remember, if you kill him, you lose it all and we return to being clueless. You know your dad would never let his anger override him.”

His words must have snapped me back to my senses because suddenly, a deep breath expelled from my nostrils, and my jaw clenched in part anger and annoyance. I knew he was right.

My dad would never act on his anger and as much as I wanted to tear the stranger apart and feed him to the vultures, I needed him alive to get to the bottom of the case.

Chase, seeing that I was finally back to my senses, patted me lightly on the shoulder before draping his arm around it and we turned to exit the dungeons but before we could take our first step, the prisoner’s slurred words sailed into our ears.

“An eye for an eye.”