Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 51

"Claudia?"

"Raf! I meant to call you, but the staff converted an entire room to an indoor garden for me last night so I went to check and fell asleep after-" "Claudia!"

I stilled. I had just hopped out of the shower after oversleeping and running around in a hurry. I was feeling good, if I said so myself. But Raf's voice... I pulled the towel off my head and sat at my desk, frowning. "What's going on, Raf? Is something wrong?" "Um... Actually, I was just wanting to know... Are you okay?"

What? Was she worried about Evan and me again? I had told her she didn't have to be. Ever since he had begun coming home in a stellar mood, things had changed a hundred and eighty degrees. In fact, this was the best week I'd ever had, to be honest. Every since that night and for seven straight days, Evan had lavished outrageous attention on me, never letting me rest but for a few hours before wanting to make love again...

My face flushed like someone had lit a match under my chin. There was no way I was going to share all my love life details with Raf, not like this. She was going to have to settle for a vague explanation.

"He's been really attentive lately. We're spending a lot of time together, and it's... the best it's ever been." I suppressed the urge to bury my face in my hands at my too-telling language and forged on. "So nothing's wrong. It's actually amazing. He's been in a great mood, and there are leads he's following into, you know... Osborn's death."

"Right, Osborn... Yeah."

"Raf? Is there something wrong? What's going on, you sound like you were expecting me to say I wasn't okay."

"Um... No way, I was just worried because you didn't call last night."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. I was so disoriented when I woke up that I went straight to the shower. I didn't notice all your texts and missed calls until literally right before you called. I was in the middle of doing it, but you called first."

"Oh! Oh, great. Yeah. Then that's fine. Um... so, if anything happens... you know you can talk to me, right?"

Okay. Something was up. She was being way too dodgy, and my anxiety had just shot up to an all time high. I had tried to give her multiple chances to come clean, but it looked like I was going to have to confront her head on. "Raf. If you know something I don't, spill. I'm not going to do the keep-Claudia-in-the-dark thing with you too, when everyone else is already trying to do it to me."

"No, no way..."

"If I have to, I'll go over there and make you say that to my face."

Ever since I had confessed to Raf that I could read thoughts, I'd learned to use that threat at opportune moments. Not for my own gain, but for both our sakes. There was something she wasn't telling me, and it was eating at her.

"I don't know if you want to hear this from me, Claudia. It'll only make you upset. But." She cleared her throat. "You know that Evan's been wiping out the drug rings operating out of Medea City. But the news broke yesterday, there's been some resistance... and some of the prisoners that were supposed to stay in Medea's city jail were brought to Scarlet territory. It's been happening for a while now, apparently."

"Scarlet? But we're so far. Why would they bring them here?" Oh, right - "Wait, Evan wanted to interrogate them personally, right? He's been going out more often lately." "Yeah, but... he's kind of in trouble now, you know? He killed them... and he's been caught torturing them. I mean he got the information he wanted from some of them but..."

What? T*****e?

"I'm not supporting being merciful to the ones who had anything to do with murder, don't get me wrong," she hurried to add. "But, um. The problem is that he ended up torturing and killing certain people who had nothing to do with it. Like, low-level drug mules... They're not innocent, but they weren't evil either. They were desperate. And some of them were like... really young. I'm sorry, Claudia. I know you didn't want to hear this. And I swear I'm not doing a l-told-you-so thing. I thought you knew, and that was why you didn't call me last night or answer any of my texts."

I couldn't breathe. Young? Torture?

Evan wouldn't. He had been tormented himself as a child. Had he caught other children, young adolescents on the street who had gotten mixed up with the wrong gangs? Had he hurt them, used his fists and feet, his claws and fangs?

I didn't realize I had gotten up and walked to my bedroom door until I stumbled, knees buckling so hard I crashed to the floor. The phone dropped from my hand with a vicious clatter that echoed in my ears - no, wait. That was Raf's voice, chattering in a panic. I picked up the phone.

"Claudia! Claudia, what happened!"

"Sorry, I'm here. I tripped."

"Tripped! Wait, are you going somewhere? Hang on! You're not going to try to replace Evan, are you?"

"I have to."

"Don't! Not yet. Not while you're alone. I'll be there in thirty minutes, don't you move!"

"He won't hurt me. He would never. I'm just going to ask him if it's true, so don't worry. It can't be real, it must be rumors or something going around because they're trying to discredit him. You know he found all those drug stashes in Medea City, so whoever stands to lose face once he replaces out who's connected is trying to-"

"Claudia. Claudia, listen to me."

I shut up. My heart was pounding too fast for me to speak anyway. I couldn't breathe. My tongue filled up my mouth, dry with dread. Raf's voice was the only thing grounding me...

Oh, Raf.

She had said so many times Evan was dangerous. But more than that, the reason she had opposed us being together was...

"Don't do anything without me. I'll be there in thirty- no, twenty minutes. Please, Claudia, don't. I'm scared. If he's gone off the rails then there's no telling what he'll do now, okay? He's he's got a reputation, Claudia! That doesn't just come out of nowhere! He's killed, I mean, he's... he's slaughtered whole packs, okay! I won't let you confront him like he's some, some misbehaving kid. Just wait for me. Please!" "Raf... Even if you come, what can you do?"

"I'm not saying he'll stop just because I'm with you! I'm not stupid! I just..." A sniffling sound. "Please don't go alone. I'm so scared. Wait for me and I promise I won't say a word, I just don't want you to see him by yourself when you..."

"He won't hurt me." I clutched the phone to my ear, hands trembling. It was the truth. Evan would never. We had made love and he had told me he cared about me. I was hurt, and I was terrified, but that was because I couldn't bear to hear it from Evan's own mouth, if what Raf said was the truth.

What would I do?

What would I say?

A man was dead. Degraded. Humiliated even in death. Did I have any right to tell Evan where to draw the line when I wasn't the one who had lost a friend, a son, a husband? I wasn't even a Delta soldier on reserve, protecting the city from the evil lurking everywhere like a cloud, the evil I'd only realized days ago existed at all.

In my cloud of ignorance and the easy life Evan had given me, it was easy to cast blame. Maybe it was wrong to confront him. Maybe I needed to let him handle it.

And yet if he had gone down that path, I couldn't let him go without a fight.

"I'm sorry, Raf. I have to go."

"Claudia, wait!"

"I'll call you after. I promise."

I hung up, heart throbbing even harder. My chest was going to explode. I patted myself down, making sure I was presentable before stepping out into the hallway, only to realize I was in a slim nightgown and nothing more. And where was I going anyway? Evan wasn't even home. My head was drowning. I couldn't think straight.

I didn't call him. I didn't trust my voice to stay level. He would know in an instant that I was upset, and he would drag the truth out of me even over the phone. I had to get him to come here, not avoid me.

I'll be home in ten minutes. Already on my way.

I clutched the phone to my chest and waited.