>>Matthew
I couldn't tell for sure if this was a dangerous situation or not.
Something definitely had gone down in Clio's apartment considering the two people on the ground. But I'm also sure Clio wasn't the one who shot them. That means there was another person here.
But who?
And I have no idea if Clio managed to run away from that person or if he's in trouble.
"Woah," Harou had followed me here, "That is..." He stepped inside the apartment, "Shit," Persistent bastard but I guess it's good that he's here I guess. He took out his phone and called for emergency services.
I let out a sigh
My wolf is calm though. That means no harm is coming to my mate at the moment.
"Harou," I looked at the detective as he finished his call, "Look for Clio,"
"Clio?" He looked at the apartment, "Is this the intern's place?" He eyed me suspiciously, "Why did you come running here?"
"I don't think that should matter to you more than the fact that he's missing."
"He could simply be running away after shooting those two."
"I doubt he has the guts to do that," I replied
"Oh," Harou smirked, "You don't know that. People are capable of all kinds of violence."
...
I don't know how, but the detective's words hit me and I recalled all the times Clio has been aggressive. It made me think that something like that could be possible if he's put in a situation like that.
I looked back at the two on the floor.
But I still doubt he shot them. I didn't notice a gun in his apartment the two times I was here and I get a strong feeling there was someone else involved.
"Still," He dialed another number, "I'll look into it anyway."
***
>>Clio
The night was captivating with the glow of skyscrapers, the golden trails of traffic weaving through the streets, and the distant hum of the city. The glow from street lamps and neon signs created a mosaic of colors that reflected off the wet sheen of rain-slicked streets.
The view from this high up was mesmerizing and it was the only thing that was managing to calm me down while I tried to process the fact that I had been kidnapped.
Why was I kidnapped? I shook my head in denial.
Am I going to get tortured or something?
Zhou-Lin belongs to the Chinese mafia. He even tried to kill me at the club. But why kidnap me? He could have killed me in my apartment! He already knows I was the girl at the club.
The door opened and I turned my head to look at Zhou-Lin walking in with a file in his hands while I sat on a single-seater couch with my knees next to my legs. I had taken a defensive and anxious stance but he didn't say anything about it.
"So you woke up," He came and sat down on the couch across from mine, "Good," He crossed his legs and rested his elbow on the armrest, leaning against his knuckles as he stared at me.
I was scared.
The situation made no sense and the only thing going through my head was that I was going to get tortured. My life simply sucked. I can't believe I've gotten into the same kind of trouble I've been running from all my life.
Zhou-Lin didn't speak, he stared at me for a while that managed to unnerve me even more, and then he opened the printed file in his hands and began to read through it.
"How long do you plan on keeping me here?" I asked softly
"As long as I want," He didn't raise his head and I chewed my lower lip in anxiety.
"Why?" I asked, "What did I do to you?"
"Well, initially," He flipped to the other page, "You got on my nerves, but right now, I'm simply curious."
"About what?"
He held the page between his index finger and thumb, then raised his head to look at me, "Why dress up as a man?"
I stared at him. I didn't want to answer him but I was afraid if I didn't I might get in trouble, "I have my reasons," I avoided his gaze.
"What possible reason could there be for someone to do that?" He flipped to the other page, "Honestly, I haven't been this curious for a while." He let out a chuckle, "Because you're going to a lot of lengths to pretend to be someone you're not," A shiver ran down my spine as his gaze intensified, "Your national ID states you're a man. That is enough to fool anyone."
!!!
My heartbeat began to accelerate. But I didn't want to answer him. I could get in even more trouble if I told him the truth. But if I lie, wouldn't he catch on?
"It seems you recently went through a surgery." He smacked the paper and smirked, "Interesting."
!!!!
"How do you know that?!"
He smirked, "Because I want to."
"The hospital doesn't release a patient's personal information." I chose that hospital because it had a high confidentiality rate. Only the doctor who's in charge of my mom knows I'm a girl and only because she had to do my surgery.
"Oh," He showed me the file, "It's not from the hospital per se," He let out a snicker, "But getting info from someone working there isn't all that difficult." There was this dangerous vibe to this man.
As we sat in the dark, he felt like a big striped cobra staring at me with venomous eyes.
"So," He stared at the written text, "It seems you were stabbed, so you had to go through emergency surgery."
!!!
I looked away.
Oh No...
Shit.
He knows I was stabbed! The only reason I had to get surgery was because 'that' incident happened. I was so scared but Mom and Nolan talked to the doctor and asked for my gender to be kept hidden.
"And then you got some injections but it seems there is no connection between the surgery and the dose you got a few weeks later."
God!
How much does he know?
"What was the injection for?" He asked.
"For my health..."
"Ah, right, you said you had a medical problem." He thought about it, "How did you get sick?"
I avoided his gaze, I didn't want to answer him. All of this was private stuff that I always want to push to the back of my brain and not focus on it. But the longer I kept my mouth shut, the greater the pressure of his gaze got.
It made me uneasy. Especially because with each passing second I could feel it turning sinister.
"... I got anorexic..."
"Oh," The pressure dropped and I felt like I could breathe. But I honestly didn't want to answer him anymore. I was already disturbed enough. I had a huge fight with the man I once loved and he was the only one protecting me from the danger.
But now, Nolan won't help me if 'they' find out, will he? We still hadn't come to a conclusion for that problem.
Everything's turning into a mess and then I got caught by a mafia guy... This is exactly why I didn't want to come to City A. And I didn't want to get involved with people from the underworld.
I gritted my teeth.
Nolan knew this all too well, yet he asked me to do this!
GOD!
"Why bring me here?" I wiped the sweat from my brow, "You could have asked all these questions at home too."
"Impossible," He flipped through the pages and closed them, "Matthew was going to be there at any moment and I couldn't risk it."
"Why would Matthew be there!?" I felt frustrated, "How would he know about anything happening to me?"
He smiled at me "Oh Clio," He seemed to be enjoying it, "It seems you know nothing." He seemed to love the fact that I was oblivious.
???
"Know what?"
He shook his head, "You don't need to know."
"Then let me go!"
"Not until you tell me why you're going around pretending to be a man."
...
My heart pounded in my chest. He was asking me a question I couldn't give him the answer to. Telling him the truth will just land me in trouble. There's no guarantee what Zhou-Lin will do with the information. And if I give it to him, what would be the point of all I've done to survive this long?
"You'll let me go if I tell you why?" I gulped.
He smiled at me, but it was the kind of smile one just couldn't decipher and I hated it so much. He was a meticulous and dangerous person. One who kidnapped me in broad daylight after shooting two people without hesitation.
He had no fear and that was exactly the thing which was filling me with fear.
He was capable of doing anything and I couldn't run away from him even if I wanted to.
Besides, now that he knows my secret, he can catch me any time...
"Of course," He showed me his pinky, "I promise,"
I grimaced,
Was there really no other way around?
I know I can't just run off.
The doors weren't locked but when I woke up, I tried to leave, except that the bodyguards in the corridor made me turn back and close the door quietly. And then I came and sat on this couch with crippling anxiety.
"Go ahead," He relaxed on the couch, "I'm waiting." And then he continued to stare at me with his hands intertwined above his lap.
I stared back at him for a while, trying to think of a way around it but nothing came to mind.
In the end, I closed my eyes and let out a sigh,
"I had a twin brother." I said softly, "I took his place,"