Nate POV
By the time we reached my house, Rhymes was already sitting patiently waiting for our return.
His eyes widened as the sight of blood on my shirt. I sensed his concerned, so I cleared my throat.
"Cough..The blood isn't mine." I said to him in an awkward tone. He let out a sigh of relief. His gaze now set on Lila who had a puzzled look on her face.
"Lila, this Detective Bryan Rhymes, his my best friend. You can trust him." Her demeanor softened as she forced a smile on her face. Rhymes quickly understood and extended his hands to greet her. However, she flinched away from him. I gestured to him not to take it personally. He had a friendly smile.
"Hello Lila, it's a pleasure meeting you today. I'm a seasoned detective in the police force. You're safe here". He gestured for her to enter into the house. She nodded in gratitude as she hesitantly climbed the stairs. She walked into the living room slowly and gasped at the board filled with pictures of Victor and his empire. She had a cold glint in her eye as she scanned the entire structure. We quietly entered into the house behind her.
She regained her composure and sat down on the sofa. Minutes later, she glanced at me.
"Pls where is the rest room." She asked in a gentle tone.
"Take the first door by your right, you can rest and drop your luggage there. We'll be here when you wake up. I smiled at her in a warm manner. She curved her lips a little and walked to the room firmly holding her hand luggage.
Later, I quietly checked on her. She was fast asleep like a newborn baby. I let out a deep sigh of relief when I closed the door gently. During that time, I unloaded what happened in her house alongside the burly men to Rhymes.
"Hope there is no evidence that can be traced back to you?" I shook my head. During my sting in the prison, I learnt a lot of criminology and spent hours studying on evidence. I wanted to know how Victor framed me with false evidence and documents. I became quite an expert in making evidence disappear without trace.
The next day, Lila finally woke up and met me in the living room. She gazed intensely at me drinking coffee in the kitchen wearing just my singlet revealing my biceps and muscular physique. I felt I was been undressed with her eyes, which made me uncomfortable. I cleared my throat and adjusted my seat. This made her snapped back quickly.
"Good morning, how long was I out?" Lila asked while occasionally stealing a peak at me.
"You slept for 10 straight hours." I had a smug on my face as I replied. I offered her a cup of coffee which she stylishly sipped.
Later in the day, Rhymes came back to the house. Lila respectfully bowed when he greeted her. I shot a surprised glare at him while I chuckled.
After everyone settled in, Rhymes discussed the aftermath of yesterday's incident. "The house was wiped clean and all the evidence of the break-in ceased to exist. I suggested to my supervisor to list Lila as a missing person. Victor was only think Nate completed his mission."
I pressed my lips before glancing at Lila. "If Victor sent me to find you, he will also send someone to find your source."
Lila paused for a while before meeting my gaze. "I always try to protect my sources' identity…but if her life is in danger I've to help out." Lila pouted. She gave us the details of her source.
Evelyn 'Evie' Sinclair. A girl in her early twenties. She was a skilled hacker who discovered some dark secrets about Victor and his empire through the dark web. She and Lila became close due to the common interest against Victor.
She jotted down Evie's home address. It was at the outskirts of the city. I rushed out to quickly get a taxi to hurry to her location.
I arrived in time to meet two burly men dragging her out from her apartment. As soon as they spotted me, one of them charged towards me wielding a knife.
Thud!
I twisted his wrist and slit his throat with the knife. The second burly man eyes turned crimson as he pushed Evie aside and ran towards me with a murderous intent.
Thud!
Still holding the former's knife, I swiftly ran it across the burly man's neck. He held his throat in a feebly attempt to avoid the blood loss, but the 300 pounds man fell to the floor. I carefully dropped the knife in his hand and hurried towards Evie.
She had traumatic look on her face and trembled in shock. I entered her flat and picked up some few belongings already packed. I held her hand gently.
"Hello Evelyn, I'm Nate. Lila sent me to bring you to her. You'll be alright." Tears welled up in her eyes as she glanced at me. We both walked gradually outside and hailed a taxi to take us back to the city. I let out a sigh of relief as we got a taxi who will drive us home.