belladonna | alejandro vargas ✓

【Chapter 17】

Getting Alejandro out of his imprisonment meant that Beadie got captured and a lot of Shadows died when 141 came for them.

The handcuffs on her wrists were a little too tight and dug into her delicate skin. Whenever she moved it rubbed against her skin, a red mark already forming under it. She was hyper-aware of the way the metal pressed against one specific bone in her wrist. The cuffs were tighter on her right hand.

She let out another breath as she adjusted in her seat, the back of her chair digging uncomfortably into her shoulder blades. The room was dark and moist, the roof leaking and some of the rain from the night before dropping inside with single, rhythmic drops. There was a metal bucket in the corner right under the small hole, the water dropping in it.

In the beginning, the sound soothed her. Now, she just wanted to rip her hair out because of it.

Just as she closed her eyes to rest a few minutes – she hadn't had the chance to sleep in two days and it started to show – just as the only door in the room burst open.

Her head snapped up to look at whoever came to see her, silently hoping that it would be Alejandro since this was his base. She wanted to see him more than anything. He was almost like a drug – and she had to suffer through the worst withdrawal because he hated her now.

I'll never trust you again.

His words still hurt. But the fact that it was only Rodolfo who stepped inside the room and not him somehow hurt more.

He only glanced at her before he turned his attention back to the papers in his hands. Not far behind him followed Ghost, his dark eyes shadowed by his mask. And suddenly, the four walls of the room seemed to close on her.

"Did you bring him to intimidate me?" the words flew out of her, her lack of energy not being able to hold back her words.

She didn't receive an answer as Ghost leaned against the wall next to the door, his arms crossed in front of his chest. It was obvious she couldn't leave, she didn't understand why they decided to bring him and take the non-existent hopes away from her, too.

Even if she was dumb enough to make a run for it, that absolute unit of a man wouldn't hesitate to hunt her down. Slit her throat before asking questions.

Then she remembered his title. Lieutenant. So of course he had to be here, watching the interrogation first-hand.

Beadie was way too tired and had no energy to try and convince another man about the truth, so she just leaned back in her seat with her legs crossed and followed Rudy with her eyes.

With a sigh, he pulled out the chair right across from her and sat down on the other side of the metal table. Rudy placed the papers on the table, his eyes scanning over them for one last time before he looked up at her, meeting her blue eyes.

Is Alejandro okay?, she wanted to ask more than anything. But this wasn't the time and place for it.

"Why am I here, Rodolfo?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. She tried to hide the fact how good it was to see him again – see him being okay. She didn't think she could take another death.

"We need all the information about the Shadow Company, Graves and everything you know about Shepherd," Rudy replied, his tone just as gentle as his warm brown eyes.

They were close to friends once. He was there on the night when she danced for hours with Alejandro. They shared drinks and talked about movies. And now, he was treating her like a prisoner.