Nikoli hangs up with an abrupt click, and I shake from the fury burning within me. When I heard Luce yelp on the other end, I almost punched the wall in my rage, but the fact that I'm in Luce's house made me stop.
My mind is in a panic, not knowing how to find my girl and confused about how to get the police to pay attention to the situation. I take a deep breath, needing the adrenaline high I'm on to recede. When I exhale, I think about what I have to do. First, I have to tell the police that she was actually kidnapper. Second, I have to find out where Nikoli is keeping Lucilia. And for that, I'm going to need help.
Exiting the house and slamming the door behind me, I start to sprint, the desire to save Luce propelling my speed and endurance to new levels. Multicolored trees pass me in a blur, and the road flies by beneath me. I hit the crossroad, turning left to go towards town.
Before I know it, I'm already on the other side of town, close to my destination. Seeing the house up ahead, I slow down, the toll of running for that long hitting me hard. My chest expands with each shallow breath, and I clutch my chest where my heart beats a rapid tempo. Feeling ready to collapse, I think about Luce and how much I want to kill Nikoli. The thoughts energize me.
Climbing the path to the cottage, I think about what I have to do after this: go to the police and then find Nikoli, except I have no clue how to find him. I rapidly knock on the wooden door, the thuds creating a beat comparable to my raging heart. Footsteps echo beyond the door, approaching me calmly. I bang on the door again, and a voice yells, "Hang on! I'm coming."
The door swings open, and Ethan looks surprised to see me. But then his expression turns cold, and he greets me with a punch to the jaw.
My head swings back from the impact, pain blossoming in my face and my other bruises flaring with agony. I stumble away from him, gripping my jaw tenderly. I stare at him, astonished.
Ethan shakes out his hand. "That was for Lucilia."
Accepting his statement, I nod. I deserved the hit he sent my way.
"Now what do you want?" He leans against the doorway, sweeping his hand through his brown hair.
"Luce is in trouble," I state.
That grabs his attention. "What happened?"
I shove passed him into the house. The room that greets me is the living room, hues of brown, green, and black adding to the woodsy feel. I sink into the soft brown leather couch. "A guy named Nikoli took her."
Ethan sits in a rocking chair across from me, and rage flashes across his face. "I knew there was something off about that guy."
Confused, I question, "You've met him?"
"Yeah. He was at the bookstore when I went to talk to Lucilia." Ethan shakes his head, rubbing his jaw in worry. "Now I know why she never answered my call and why she wasn't at her house this morning."
I get immediately get angry at him. If she was supposed to meet him, he should've figured out something was wrong. I'm about to voice my fury, but stop. I was the one who pushed her away, not Ethan.
"So what do we do?" He asks.
"We have to go to the police and convince them that she was kidnapped because right now they probably think she ran away."
His brown eyes flit to me. "How are we going to do that?"
"Nikoli called me when I was at Luce's house. I don't know how he knew I was there, but he did. I spoke to Luce, and sh–"
"Is she okay?" He interrogates frantically.
"She didn't sound too hurt," I say, thinking about her shout of pain, "but Nikoli doesn't care if he hurts her."
Ethan slams his fist down on the arm of the chair. "I'll kill him."
"You and me both." I stretch my sore legs. "You ready to find that sick dog?"
Standing up, he strides to the door, slipping on a jacket that hung on a coat rack near the exit. "Let's go. The longer she's with him, the more likely he'll hurt her."
In agreement, I follow behind, determined to find my girl.
We climb into Ethan's truck, peeling out of the driveway at breakneck speed. He drives us through town, even running a couple red lights, which in this town is not all that dangerous, considering the low population numbers. I raise an eyebrow at him. "You do realize you just ran your second red light?"
Ethan grins. "So? If I'm pulled over, we'll speak to the police sooner."
I smirk back. "Fair point."
Ethan speeds up, and soon enough the police station comes into view. He slows down, pulling into the first open parking spot he sees, and I jump out, hurrying towards the entrance. Ethan follows suit, slamming the weathered building's door behind us.
With that dramatic entrance, all eyes are on us. Officers' hands slip to their guns, instinct driven into them to do so. The secretary, a nice little old lady with a fondness for cats, climbs to her feet. "Ace, are you okay?" She comes around the desk, pulling me into a hug that was surprising strong for her bony arms.
I nod. "I need to see Westly."
She slides the glasses up her crinkled nose. "Oh, he's in the sheriff's office, dear." I head in that direction. "But wh–"
Her voice fades behind Ethan and me as we enter the office, which previously belonged to my father. Westly looks up at our entrance, eyebrows raising nearly to his hairline. "Where were you, Ace? You just stormed out of the house. You didn't even tell the Kersivats where you went."
I lean over his desk, placing both of my palms against the pine surface. "Lucilia Donovan has been kidnapped."
Westly' brows now dip down into a furrow. "This again? Listen, we got a call from her parents already, but let's be honest, Ace, there has never been a kidnapping in this town."
My aggravation rises.
"There's a first time for everything," Ethan pipes in, anger coating his voice. "And living with the belief that something won't happen because it never has before is stupid and irresponsible."
Westly' face twitches at being admonished.
"The kidnapper called me today when I was at the Donovans' house," I admit.
Westly straighten, appearing more interested now. "What? Why would he call you?"
I tug on my black hair. "Because I'm pretty sure that his problem is with me. Not Lucilia."
"Why do you think that?" Westly questions, rubbing his chin.
"Because first of all, he called me just to taunt me and make sure I know he has Luce, and second of all, we've been at each other's throats since we first me."
"Why does he hate you so much?"
That is something I don't have an answer to. Before our first fight in the betting ring, I had never met him before. "I don't know," I state softly. "I only met him a few weeks or so ago."
Deputy Westly looks thoughtful for a moment, considering our words. "Okay. You say you know who the kidnapper is?"
I nod, relieved that he is finally paying attention. "His name is Nikoli. I don't know his last name."
Westly scribbles the name down on a notepad. "How did you two meet?"
Oh, you know, an illegal fighting ring. Where else do people meet? "We met in town."
"Okay. What does he look like?" Westly asks.
"He's tall, close to my height and age," I say, "and he has blonde hair and blue eyes."
"I'll issue an APB and an Amber Alert," Westly states. "And I'll have my officers start searching the town. See if they can dig up who this guy is." His eyes stare at me dolefully. "But Ace, it's been nearly a day since she was last seen. She could be anywhere by now."
"No. Nikoli stayed in town. I'm sure of it," I grit out, not liking what he was saying.
The Deputy stands up from his desk. "I'm just laying out the facts, Ace. I want to find her just as much as you guys, okay?"
I nod, as he leaves the room.
"At least they're looking now," Ethan says, trying to be hopeful.
"It's not enough." I leave the office, heading to the front of the building. The few officers here scurry around, suddenly looking busy. Ethan follows me out the exit. "C'mon. We're heading to the school."
"Why?"
"Because Nikoli once said he was going to school here," I speak.
"And why didn't you tell the police that?" Ethan demands sternly.
"They'll figure it out soon enough. I just want to give us a head start on our own investigation." I jump into his truck, and he sits in the driver's seat. "Now let's go. We don't have much time to waste."
~~~~~
The school welcomes us like an old enemy, and the office secretary isn't much better. "What are you doing here?" She spits out.
Ethan puts on a charming smile and starts to speak, "It's actually my fault, Mrs...." He glances at her name tag. "Nerster. I had just realized that I lost my locker combination, and I didn't memorize it because I'm horrible with numbers. So I was hopi–"
"We don't have time for this," I interrupt, shoving my way behind her desk and sliding her chair away from the computer. "Move, you hag."
Mrs. Nerster gasps, the sound full of shock and outrage, and stumbles to her feet. Running as best she can in extremely high heels, she flees passed us, heading for the principal's office.
"That was rude," Ethan states bluntly, but with amusement twisting his lips.
I click through her computer, searching for the student information files. "Never said I was nice."
I continue scrolling through, unable to find the students' information. "Let me do it," Ethan says, now shoving me out of the way. "You don't even have a phone. How can you expect to work a computer?"
"I know how to use both of those," I claim defensively.
Ethan snorts. "Whatever you say, Bill Gates." He flicks through multiple files, finally resting on one with a search bar at the top. I peek over my shoulder, looking to where yelling comes from the principal's office. Then I watch Ethan type "Nikoli" into the search box. We wait a second, the loading circle on the screen spinning and spinning. It feels like an eternity before it finally stops.
"No results found," the message that pops up reads.
At the same time, two people storm out of the adjoining room, matching glares on their faces. "What is going on here, Mr. Lancaster?" Principal Hollen speaks gruffly.
I stare at the screen blankly, hope leaking out of me. Walking away from the desk, I ignore the question and reach for the school office exit.
"Wait," Ethan says, and I halt, looking back at them. "Do you know a new student by the name of Nikoli?" He asks the two adults.
The secretary narrows her eyes. "Why?"
"We think he may have done something bad to our friend, and we need his address."
The principal stands there unsurely, while Mrs. Nerster remains silent, animosity covering her face. Hollen rubs his jaw, giving me a once-over, and when I see the pity reflecting in his eyes, I know the police spoke to him about my father. He speaks softly, "The last new student we've had here was you, Ethan. I don't know anyone by the name of Nikoli."
Ethan appears dejected, empty of his usual spirit. "Thanks anyway," he mutters before following me into the hallway.
I punch the nearest locker, wanting to scream out my frustration. "Hey. Hey!" Ethan yells. "That's not going to help Lucilia, so pull yourself together." His words are said harshly, but they make me focus.
"Now, what do we do?" He asks me calmly.
"I don't kn–"
A phone ringing breaks off my words, and we both glance down at Ethan's pocket where the noise comes from. Ethan pulls it out and looks at the screen. "Unknown number," he says, then answers, "Hello?"
Ethan's expression darkens right before he puts it on speaker. Nikoli, he mouths.
I step closer to the phone.
"Going to the school. Very smart," Nikoli's snarky voice echoes in the hallway.
Neither Ethan or I say anything in response, but I can tell we both feel the same hatred for the man on the phone.
"I know you both are still listening, so pay attention. If I tell you where to find sweet Lucilia and me, you cannot go the police station again. Or else we will have already disappeared by the time you get there."
Ethan shoots me a bewildered look, and I know we're thinking the same thing: How does he know what we've done?
"Ace, if you want your girlfriend back, you'll come alone. And Ethan, if you try to contact the police or anyone else, I'll know." I can practically hear the smile Nikoli wears.
"Why would you tell me where you are?" I question.
"Frankly," his voice sounds annoyed now. "I wasn't expecting you to involve the police because they had disliked you so much, but I guess that's changed. So I've had to speed up my plans a little bit."
He pauses in his explanation. "Anyway...do we have a deal? No police involvement and you get to find us?"
I stare at Ethan, and he stares back. His eyes give me no answer, but I've never depended on other people to answer for me.
"Deal," I agree.
<><><><><>
We're nearing the end of the book! Only a chapter and an epilogue, I believe.
Anyway, votes/comments welcome!