Page 7 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
“All right. But you know kidnapping is a felony, right?” I throw an easy smile her way, testing the crack in her wall. “There are easier ways to ask a guy out.”
A split second of surprise flashes across her eyes, and I catch a little bit of her real personality. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
She sighs. “You’re quite arrogant for a man in your position. Tell me, Mister Ethan—”
“Ethan Langley,” I cut her off, reaching through the bars and extending my hand. “But, just Ethan is fine. ‘Mister Langley’ reminds me of my father, and that’s a whole thing.”
“I’m not interested in your name preferences, human!” she snaps, a deep frown creasing her forehead. “Let’s be clear. I’m here because I need to determine what level of threat you pose to our community.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Threat? I’m unarmed and locked in a cell.”
“And yet,” she says, leaning forward slightly, “you happened to enter the apartment at exactly the moment we were there.” Her eyes narrow, searching my face for any hint of deception. “That kind of timing suggests either very bad luck or very careful planning.”
I laugh, which makes her eyes flash with irritation. “If I’d planned to get kidnapped by a beautiful woman and her henchmen, I would’ve at least worn better underwear.”
She slips the ghost of what might be amusement in her eyes before she shuts it down without letting it reach her lips. Every glimpse into what makes her tick is a tiny victory.
I study her face, searching for more clues. The way she holds herself — back straight, shoulders squared — screams military training, but something in the set of her mouth says she’s working harder at this severe demeanor than she wants me to know.
“You know, I’m still trying to figure out why I’m here.” I shift on the uncomfortable mattress, wincing at my sore muscles. “If I’m such a threat, why keep me alive? You clearly don’t have issues with violence.”
Her jaw tightens. “Don’t mistake restraint for weakness.”
“I don’t,” I say. “But there must be a reason you haven’t killed me yet. Maybe you’re not allowed to.”
When she doesn’t immediately deny it, I know I’m on the right track. Despite the absurdity of my situation, I’m finding it hard to think about plans of escape when her mere presence keeps clouding my thoughts.
“Tell me, what’s your connection to Luna Thea?” she demands. “Why were you in her apartment?”
“Luna? Like the moon?” I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but the Commander doesn’t offer any clues. “I already told you. I’m her co-worker and I was watering her plants.”
“What do you know about Thea?”
“Know about her? Like, what happened to her? She vanished into thin air.” A twinge of pain twists in my chest at the memory of her disappearance. “And it’s my fault. . .”
She leans in, her curiosity piqued. “How so?”
My gaze bores into the dirty floor, reliving that night in my mind. “I always walked her home from the diner after closing. But that night, I had agreed to take someone’s shift the nextmorning. When we reached my house, Thea insisted she could walk the rest of the way alone, since I had to get up so early.”
My voice cracks slightly. “I let her go, and that was the last time I saw her. I reported her missing after she didn’t show up for work two days in a row. The police found nothing. Not a single lead.” I dig my shoe into the dirt. “Neither one of us has close family, so we were supposed to look out for each other. . .We even gave each other keys to our places in case of an emergency. Great job I did in looking out for her.”
“It never occurred to you that she, perhaps,wantedto leave? Maybe she was just tired of your little town and didn’t want to tell anyone.”
“Of course, it’s possible.” I shrug. “But people don’t tend to skip town without taking anything with them. All her things were still there — her clothes, her sentimental items, even her toothbrush.” I pause. “Besides, Thea would’ve told me if she planned to leave Creek Falls.” I shake my head, though the possibility I could be wrong has crossed my mind more than once.
Thea had dreamed about leaving for a long time, but she never showed signs of having any explicit plans, nor did she have the money to simply skip town. Plus, she told me everything.Everything.
Before she disappeared, I had noticed that she seemed more guarded than usual. I considered asking her about it, but I knew Thea would never keep anything from me for long. She knew that if she tried to lie to me, I would see right through it. Still, I wanted to give her the space to share what was bothering her when she felt ready. Unfortunately, that moment never came.
Ithoughtwe were close enough that if she ever did decide to pick up and leave without telling anyone that I would, at the very least, be the one person she’d send a postcard to.
“So . . . you’re close to her?” my captor asks.
She talks about Thea in the present tense. That’s a good sign. “Yeah,” I answer. “Pretty close.”
“Were you lovers?”
“No! It was never like that between us. She was like a sister to me.”
