Walking With The Outcast

Chapter 29 - Ace

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."