BK 3 - Chapter 39 - Interrogation
Raul looked around at all the shifters and vampires staring at him. How was he going to get out of this? His eyes kept going to the woman he had raped the night before. Why was she here? When the man next to her stepped in front of him, blocking his view, Raul met his eyes and shivered. He realized he was going to die.
"You don't get to look at her. You've done enough. We have rented out this entire hotel. So you can scream and shout as much as you want, and no one will hear you. We have some questions that need to be answered. Depending on what you tell us depends on how long we torture you." Wesley looked toward Melanie and Saxon nodding. They whispered to Alex and Lisa, who stepped over to the cage. Raul looked at them in confusion. What were they going to do, make him babysit? Yeah, that would be torture. He hated kids.
"Do you know us?" Lisa asked, glaring at the man. He studied the two cubs, and his eyes widened. How had they gotten so much bigger so quickly?
"The lion and the bear. Why are you here?" Raul asked. Mindy looked at Lisa and Alex in confusion. Why did he refer to them as the lion and the bear?
"You made that mean man hurt us. He stuck needles in us and made us cry. Now my friend Vilma has something for you that's going to make you cry." Lisa looked over to the witch, who came over with a smile.
"That old lady can't do anything to me. I'm a man. Men don't cry." Raul argued with the little girl. Lisa smirked at him.
"We'll see." Raul couldn't explain why the little girl's words gave him chills, but they did. He looked up at the woman who leaned over the cage with a terrifying smile. Her eyes flickered from green to blue. She reached into her pocket and brought out a handful of dust.
"Pain," She said softly before blowing the dust over Raul. At first, he didn't feel anything. He started to laugh, but then all at once, his entire body felt like it was being stuck with thousands of needles. He screamed before falling onto his back, scratching his skin until it bled.
"Make it stop. Please make it stop." Raul begged through his tears. Lisa crossed her arms, shaking her head.
"No. When me and Alex screamed for them to stop, you laughed. So now we're laughing at you." Lisa grabbed Alex's hand and led him back to Melanie and Saxon. Everyone in the room stared at the little lioness with respect and a little bit of fear.
Mindy didn't know what to think. The old woman blew dust on him, and he was screaming. How does that happen? Was she in an episode of the twilight zone? When she started feeling anxious, she felt a calming presence next to her.
"It's okay. If you don't want to be here, you don't have to be." Cat smiled at the young woman. She had seen her expression and knew it would all be overwhelming for someone who didn't know what was happening. Mindy smiled at her.
"Thank you. I want to be here, but I don't understand your family. When this is over, I'm going to have a lot of questions." Mindy said honestly, looking between Cat and Trey. She wanted to tell them they had almost saved her but figured she'd wait for a more appropriate time.
"I'm sure you will. Would it be okay if I held your hand?" Cat asked, and Mindy nodded eagerly. As soon as their hands touched, Mindy felt better.
"I don't know how you do that, but I'm determined to find out." Cat chuckled, which sounded like little bells, especially compared to the agonizing screams coming from the cage.
"You'll know everything soon. If you need to leave at any time. I'll go with you. I'm not letting you get away from us again." Mindy gasped. Cat winked, squeezing her hand. "We'll talk later, okay?"
"Yes, please," Mindy answered, trying to hold back her tears. Why couldn't she have had a mother like Cat? She'd shown more compassion in the past few minutes than her mother had her entire life. Mindy looked back toward the cage feeling empowered with Cat's hand in hers. Wesley smiled when he saw Cat was taking care of his mate. Now it was time to get to work.
"Do you think you can answer some questions now, or do you need more?" Wesley asked Raul, who had stopped screaming after leaving his flesh a bloody mess. No one in the room had even touched him, and he already looked like he'd been attacked by wolverines.
"Wh...what do y...you want?" Raul asked weakly.
"Who else is working with you?" Trey asked, walking around the cage, trying to keep Atlas from shifting. Raul had kidnapped his mate and daughter. Tortured his grandchildren. Attempted to kidnap the twins. Killed Belinda and raped Mindy. It was time for him to die, and they were anxious to see it happen.
"Karlee and Vincent found the shifters for us to auction." Several people looked toward Mindy, who was staring at Raul in confusion. What was a shifter? She wondered.
"We know about them. Who else?" Aiden asked, joining Trey and Wesley.
"You already killed most of my men. Who else do you want?" Raul yelled at them.
"We know there's more. We know you didn't do all this on your own because of what happened twenty years ago. Who are you trying to protect?" Thatcher asked, kicking the cage hard enough to make Raul vomit from fear. When he saw Vilma take a few steps toward him, he shook his head and vomited again.
"Fine. It doesn't matter anyway because I'm dead either way. Do you know Lorin Brycen?" Raul asked, looking around at the group.
"The billionaire playboy who does nothing but spend his daddy's money?" Wesley asked, wondering what that good-for-nothing man had to do with this as Saxon started walking toward the cage.
"That's him. He found out about shifters several years ago. He's been working on a collection of shifters and wants one of every kind." Raul's eyes darted between Cat and Melanie. "A caladrius was something he'd never thought he'd get his hands on. When he learned about those two, he had to have them. I planned on doing my own thing with them and then selling the pair to Lorin."
Trey and Saxon were having a hard time controlling themselves. Hearing him talk about their mates made them want to tear him apart. Wesley could tell he didn't have much more time before they got him out of the cage. He glanced toward Mindy, who was clearly confused.
Mindy's mind was racing. What was a caladrius, and why did Raul look at Cat and Melanie when he said that word? She figured it had to do with how she felt when they touched her. She glanced toward Cat, who was still holding her hand.
"Everything will make sense soon," Cat said with a small smile. She was worried the entire room would shift, and Mindy would think she had just walked into a house of horrors.
"Okay, but I already know there's something different about you and everyone else here. I just don't know what." Cat's grin got bigger.
"You have good instincts." They turned back toward Raul, who was shaking.
"What does Lorin do with his collection?" Wesley asked, keeping an eye on the two men circling the cage.
"I don't know. I guess he keeps them in the buildings he has on his property in Oregon." Raul looked around the room hopelessly. This wasn't supposed to be how he died. He was the head of one of the largest mafia families in the world, which should mean something. However, that meant nothing to those in the room.
"Who else was involved in the trafficking of shifters?" Melanie yelled at him, holding onto Lisa and Alex. Janel stood next to them, holding Jade while glaring at Raul.
"Sweetheart, there are so many I don't know them all. I guess you'll have to find them like you found the rest." Saxon kicked the cage bending several bars.
"Don't call her sweetheart, or I'll snap your neck." He said, clenching his jaw. Raul rolled his eyes.
"Oh, stuff it, bloodsucker. I know I'm not getting out of here alive. Why don't you let me have one of those women before I die? It will be my last request. Ask her how good I am." Raul nodded toward Mindy, who looked at him with repulsion. There was suddenly, a loud growl that filled the room. Raul looked up and saw Wesley shaking with anger.
"Do not look at her or talk to her." He said while trying to keep Sankar from taking over. Wesley glanced toward Mindy. She stared at him with wide eyes but didn't look scared. Raul followed his gaze and smirked.
"So I guess I got a piece of your woman before you did. Do you want me to tell you how she was and what positions she liked?" Raul knew he was pushing Wesley's buttons but didn't care. If they were going to kill him, he wanted it to be over quickly.
"Cat, take her out of here," Wesley said, feeling his body getting ready to shift. Trey, Saxon, Thatcher, and Aiden were there with him, ready to get their piece of Raul. Everyone else in the room stayed back. When he saw Cat and Melanie taking Mindy and the cubs out of the room, he let Sankar out.
Mindy looked over her shoulder when they got to the door. She gasped when she saw Wesley there one minute and next a giant grey wolf. What was going on? Then she saw Trey and Aiden change into massive lions. She wasn't scared, even though she thought she should be. When she glanced at Cat and Melanie, they were watching her reaction with interest. She gave them a little grin turning to walk out of the room before speaking.
"I think it's time we had that talk."
