Next to him stands Ennio, calm as ever, staring down at the screen of his phone.
"Chi cazzu succidìu ccà?"(What the fuck happened here?)I snap.
"Tanner came back," Ennio says, astonishingly calm for someone who must have just dealt with an alpha a head taller than him. "He walked in like nothing was wrong, grocery bags in hand. The bastard never saw it coming." He taps the holster at his hip, where the dart gun rests.
I stare at Daniel Tanner in disbelief. However, there is a much more pressing issue.
"We got him, Ennio," I whisper hoarsely. "What I found down there… fuck. You won’t believe it!"
Ennio snaps his head up sharply.
"What did you find?"
"Seven cages with omegas in horrible condition, all still alive."
Ennio’s eyebrows rise. "Ohhh, yeah, you’re not wriggling out of that one, buddy," he murmurs toward the unconscious alpha. Then he adds, "I want to see it with my own eyes."
"Yeah… just be warned. It’s a horror scene."
Without a word, Ennio follows me into the kitchen. When he sees the refrigerator, he nods, almost approvingly. "I have to admit, that never would’ve occurred to me. Clever."
"You were right. Perverts really do go to extreme lengths to hide their perversions."
"They always have. They think whatever waits for them on the other side is worth it."
We head down the stairs and step into the horrifying space below. Only now, when I really look around, do I realize there are not just seven cages. In the far section, there is a full-on torture room connected to the recording studio. Looks like my instincts were right after all. That part upstairs was just for show. This is the real thing.
Two tables standing there, are fitted with chains, and the walls are lined with tools. Torture tools. And tools for very kinky sex. It all blends together down here.
There are cameras too, all aimed at the tables.
"Tanner recorded everything," I mutter.
"Looks like the police are going to have a very unpleasant job," Ennio replies.
"What a sick bastard," I murmur.
Ennio approaches the first cage. The omega inside has his eyes open and is staring at us, but there is barely anything left behind that gaze. He does not seem to understand who we are. Hard to blame him. We do not look like the police.
Ennio moves on to the next cages, studying the omegas inside.
Every cage holds an omega in a varying condition. Some are slightly better off, some far worse, but all of them are dirty and covered in bruises.
Finally, he stops at the last cage.
Something about it draws my attention too.
My heart starts pounding as a horrifying, impossible thought forms in my mind.
I step closer. We both look at the person inside.
Curled up in the corner is a naked omega, impossibly filthy. The dirty clumps of hair framing his face might once have been blond. His face is so caked with grime it is hard to make out any features at all.
But in that dirt-streaked face, I see his eyes.
Large, hazel eyes.
Well, a lot of people have hazel eyes, but then my gaze wanders to his dirty hands. The omega has them pressed to his chest, and I can see some tattoos on the lower part of his forearm. Could they be part of the word "FOREVER"…?
