6

Chapter 6: Agreement

All this time I drank you like the cure.

When maybe, you were the poison.

***********

|Verena|

"I've called the police, they're on their way." Nate declared as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and made his way towards me.

I had finally gotten over my shock, whatever fear I'd felt before had been replaced by anger. 

Someone had broken into my home, wrecked my belongings and threatened me. The mere thought filled me with rage.

"Whoever this is, they're going to pay." I bit out angrily.

Nate eyed me evenly. "Please tell me you're not still considering living here."

My face broke into a scowl when he said that but finally my shoulders sagged in defeat.

"I guess I can't stay here. You're right, it's not safe. I'll check with Skylar, see if she still wants a roommate."

"About time you came to your senses. This whole place is a goddamned slaughter-house." He muttered.

I just rolled my eyes at him.

Why was he so concerned anyway?

"I'll move back in once things start to smooth out." I declared.

I started picking up the articles strewn on the floor, trying to salvage whatever I could.

"And you have no idea what this guy wants from you?" Nate asked finally.

"No!" I was quick to respond.

My mind kept wondering back to earlier when I'd been attacked.

"Where's Trevor?" The man had asked.

I felt goose-bumps rise on my arms.

How had he known about Trevor?

I needed to find out who this man was.

"Look Nate, I need a favor." I blurted.

Nate gave me a weary look.

"What?"

"I need you to train me."

His eyebrows shot up, his whole expression morphed into a one of confusion.

"I've seen you move, I wouldn't be lying if I said that I haven't seen anyone move that fast. And you're a really good fighter, I figured that out when you disarmed me yesterday and took on that man earlier today."

He studied me for a while before he spoke.

"Why?" He asked after a while.

"Because I'm going after him, the man who murdered Allison and who tried to kill me. I'm not a fool, I know I can't take him without the proper training. And it's pretty clear that he's going to strike again, I need to be prepared, and I need to learn how to defend myself."

Nate trained his heated gaze on me.

"Let me rephrase." He said coldly. "Why would I help you?"

"Because that man murdered and innocent girl." I responded not missing the beat.

When Nate's face stayed impassive I let out a sigh.

"And because the police still suspect you of the murder. By helping me catch him you get to clear your name."

Nate ran a hand through his hair as he contemplated his options.

"No." He said finally.

My  jaw hung open.

"You'd rather be blamed for a crime you didn't commit than help me catch the killer?" I shouted.

Nate gave me a weary look.

"Let's cut the shit, shall we?" Nate spat out. "I know there's something you're not telling me, there's a reason why you're so desperate to go after this man, right? Not just because he killed some girl and tried to kill you. You want something from him, don't you? Don't bother denying it, it's written clearly all over your face."

I opened and closed my mouth, trying to come up with a suitable response. When I couldn't, I folded my arms over my chest stubbornly and turned away from his intense gaze.

Nate let out a cold chuckle, I almost jumped when I felt his warm breath on the side of my neck. I hadn't even realized that he'd gotten this close.

His large hand grasped my chin and turned my head slowly to look at him.

"I don't know what game you're playing here baby girl. But you should know, when you play with fire you're bound to get burnt."

My hazel eyes locked with his dark ones.

"Maybe I'm not afraid of getting burnt." I challenged.

His eyes studied my face intently for a while before he finally let go and took a step back.

"Take care Verena. Good bye." He murmured as he started walking towards the door.

I watched him walk away. For some reason I felt a kind of heaviness in my chest. 

For some reason I wanted to run to him, beg him not to leave me.

I jumped when I heard the sound of my phone ringing. With shaking hands I fished my phone out of my jean's pocket. My face scrunched up in confusion when I saw the unfamiliar caller ID. I looked up and to my great relief saw that Nate hadn't left yet. He stood by the door looking at me expectantly.

The phone rang again and this time I answered. My eyes remained locked with Nate's.

"Hello?" I spoke into the phone.

For a while no one answered. I could feel the anxiousness starting to build up inside me.

"Anyone there?" I said again, my voice was a little louder.

This time the person was quick to respond.

"What a lovely voice you have Verena." The raspy voice spoke up from the other end.

I let out a gasp, I could recognize that voice anywhere. 

It was the man who had attacked me! 

"Who is it?" Nate demanded as he swiftly made his way towards me once more.

"It's him." I whispered.

I didn't need to say anything else to make him understand. He knew who it was.

The voice on the other hand chuckled coldly.

"Is that Nate? What a relief that he's still with you. Put the call on speaker I want him to hear me." The man demanded.

I let out a shaky breath as I put the phone on speaker.

"Hello Nate." The man spoke coldly.

"What do you want?" Nate snapped as he snatched the phone from my hand.

The man chuckled again.

"You want to know what I want? Here's your answer, I want revenge. And I will not stop till I have it. Your little girlfriend is going to die real soon."

Nate was grasping the phone so tightly, it was a wonder it hadn't broken.

"We'll see about that." Nate spoke up, his voice was calm but somehow that managed to make him sound more menacing.

The man snorted.

"You're messing with the wrong man Mr. Cohen, you're going to regret it. After Verena you're the next one on my list. I'll either kill you myself or make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your life. I'll just have to make sure the police keep suspecting you for my crimes." He hissed.

The line went silent. He had ended the call.

Nate cursed under his breath.He turned to look at me, his eyes flashed dangerously.

 "We're taking this sucker down!" He growled.

His hands balled into fists.

"Tomorrow at 6 AM sharp, meet me at the'Wolfe's Gym'. We'll start your training." He stated.

"I have college at nine, can we-" I started to say but he cut me off with a sharp look.

"I don't care. Either you do as I say or the deal is off." He cut in icily.

I gave him a glare.

"Fine." I finally agreed begrudgingly.

He started to walk away, just as he was about to step out he turned to look at me again.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl."

"The thought never crossed my mind." I countered back.

His lips curled up into a smirk at my response as he started to step out. He stopped in mid stride when he heard my voice speak up again.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a guy." I taunted.

Nate shook his head in amusement.

This was going to be fun alright.

Let the games begin.