Rejected, Abused, I Fall for the Forbidden Alpha (by Riley Scott) novel Chapter 244

Chapter 244

Third Person POV

The first thing that struck him was the smell of mildew in the air and the dimming of the lights. The air itself was cold, and the walls were dirty with the wallpaper peeling. As the team stepped in further, he smelt the distinct scent of herbs wafting towards him. On the nearby dining table sat a half-empty plate, the food still warm. Whoever had been here was gone, but had only left minutes before. It made him feel uneasy.

“Keep close and watch your backs,” Aaron murmured, and his men nodded in agreement. “Look for any clues as to who was here.”

It wasn’t a large apartment by any means. Judging by the dust that covered the surfaces, it had been a long time since it had been properly cleaned.

They went to work, opening cupboards and desk drawers, only to come up empty. Aaron wrinkled his brow and then pushed his way into the bedroom, his eyes automatically scanning for any signs of danger.

It had been easy. Almost too easy to gain access to the apartment. There had been no security system, just a plain set of locks that he’d managed to pick within seconds. The security was pathetic, really, considering just how shady this part of town was.

At first glance, the bedroom looked like any ordinary bedroom. A lone bed sat in the centre, and there was a basic set of drawers and a closet within. He stepped closer and opened the drawers first. Clothes filled them. He picked up some shirts and examined them. Women’s clothes. A woman had been living here. A slender woman, judging by the sizes.

He dropped the clothes carelessly to the floor and turned to the bedside table only to find the drawers empty. Aaron exhaled, feeling frustrated at the lack of clues. He wasn’t looking forward to returning and informing Damien they had come up with nothing.

The closet was next. At first all he could see was the dresses hanging from the hangers and the top shelf which at first glance looked empty. Something prickled in his consciousness, though, and made him push the dresses to one side, exposing the back of the closet. He let in a large exhale.

Photographs littered the back. Several of them, and they all looked recent. That wasn’t the most shocking thing however. No, what shocked Aaron was who was in the photographs. Damien, Marissa, Raven, Hades. All of their faces were circled in red, and when he sniffed, Aaron could smell old blood. Blood had been used to circle them instead of a marker. That made him feel even more concerned.

His men gathered in the room and stared at the photos, some of them looking shocked.

“Sir,” one dared to speak, and Aaron turned to look at him, the man, Lucas, nodding at the top shelf. “There’s something up there.”

Aaron frowned and then put his arm up, his hand sweeping over the shelf until he felt it. A box. He pulled it out. It was pitch black, blending into the shadows, which was why he’d initially missed it.

It was locked. Aaron put it on the bed and studied the lock carefully. It was a combination lock, which either meant bashing it until it broke or trying his luck. But what if breaking the lock meant breaking something inside? He pondered his options.

“Sir, maybe try a set of numbers first. If we can’t get it open, then we break it,” Lucas ventured.

“What combination?” Aaron said in frustration, “it could literally be anything, Lucas.”

1/2

+15 Banys

His first instinct was to simply break the lock and hell with the consequences.

“Um, if I may, I might have a suggestion,” Lucas continued to press, “we know whoever this person is that they are obsessed with um, those in the photos,” he swallowed hard, “so why not try some numbers related to them? Their birthdays or whatnot?”

“Not a bad idea,” Aaron was pleasantly surprised and then shot a look at their Tech specialist Ronan. Find out their birthdays. I’ll try Damien’s first,” he added, already twisting the numbers.

It didn’t open. That ruled out one possibility.

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