Cody stopped the car in front of the fence and looked over at Trista. She looked back at him and nodded.
"It's a direct invite," he said.
The gate was open and they were able to drive straight in. He drove into the area with the other police cars following behind. They drove up to the house and stared for a few seconds at the red brick walls and the white windows and doors. Someone was taking care of the house. It didn't look old at all. They all got out of their cars and hid behind the car doors with their guns drawn.
"Talk to him," Cody said.
Trista grabbed the megaphone and aimed it towards the house.
"Roman Reigns, come out with your hands up and surrender," she said.
They waited a minute but nothing happened. She raised the megaphone again.
"This is your final warning. Come out or we'll come in," she said.
They waited another minute. There was still no reaction from anyone inside that house.
"Okay, guess we're going in," Cody said. "Listen up. We have no clue what we might find in there but we think this is the whereabout of Roman Reigns. The place might be full of traps so be careful. We know he has weapons and knows how to use them. It's a big house so we need to make sure we're not missing anything. If he's in there, he'll either leave in handcuffs or a body bag."
They all moved towards the house with their guns drawn. Cody grabbed the door handle and the front door opened without trouble.
"Direct invite," he sighed. "He's expecting us so be on your toes."
They all moved inside the house and slowly spread out. The house was big and he could be hiding anywhere. They moved around for several minutes when a loud alarm suddenly went off. It was so loud that everyone covered their ears. It was impossible to move around in that loud sound. Trista felt arms grab her around her waist, and she was pulled backwards. It only took a few seconds before the person let go. She spun around and came face to face with Roman and a wall behind him. It wasn't hard to figure out what looked like a wall had to be a secret door since she was pulled through it. She raised her gun and aimed it at him. He held up his hands to show he wasn't a threat.
"You're under arrest," she said.
He chuckled and walked past her. She didn't have time to take in everything in the room. She kept her eyes on him. He walked over to a table where a laptop was placed.
"They all ran outside. The noise was too loud. How long do we have before someone comes out here with ear muffs for everyone?" He asked.
"You're under arrest, Roman," she repeated.
He looked up at her and smiled. He didn't seem scared of her at all.
"Look behind you. There's no door handle. You can kick and scream all you want. They won't hear you on the other side," he said. "Let me tell you a story and then I'll let you out."
"How about I just shoot you and tear this room apart until I find a way out?" She asked.
"That won't do you any good. It only reacts to my voice and I have to say the magic words," he said.
She looked over her shoulder and then back at him quickly. He sat down on a chair and folded his hands on the table where she could see them. If he wanted her dead, he would have killed her already. She knew that. He wanted something else.
"I won't hurt you," he said.
"You invited me here," she said.
"I knew you'd get the message," he said.
"Why?" She asked.
"You remind me of the love I once had and lost," he said.
"What happened to her?" She asked.
"She was in an accident," he said.
His eyes turned sad and she nodded. The big, bad wolf had a soft spot and apparently she reminded him of it. She could only hope he wasn't delusional enough to start thinking she was his lost love.
"Look, I get it. You lost someone. That's sad but it doesn't give you the right to blackmail, torture and even kill people," she said.
"Those people deserved it. You know that. We never spilled the blood of the innocent. Erick is only alive because I needed you to get my message. His status on life might change later," he said.
"What the fuck are you playing at?" She asked. "I'm not her. You know that, right? I don't give a fuck that I remind you of her. I am not her."
He sighed and looked at the laptop again for a moment before looking back at her.
"What will happen if you stop taking those pills? Do you even know what they do?" He asked.
She wavered for a second. There was no way he should know what type of medication she was taking but she knew this man had a way of finding out things that no one should be able to find out.
"Yeah, I know," she said. "And I know it's none of your fucking business."
"I guess we're done here then," he said.
"You're still under arrest," she said.
"When that door opens, you only got 10 seconds to get out before it closes again. 10 seconds is a long time when all you have to do is walk through a door, but it's a very short time if you stop and think about walking through it. If you try taking me down, it will close for good. You won't ever get out of this room," he said.
"Roman!" She growled.
"You can't trust Cody," he said.
He picked up the laptop and held it closer to his face.
"Sera Reigns," he said.
The sound of the alarm reached her from behind. She spun around and saw the wall slide open. She looked back at Roman and saw him disappear down a secret hatch in the floor that had opened at the same time. She wanted to run after him but knew she didn't have the time. Instead she covered her ears and ran out of the room before the wall closed again. She ran through the house and outside where everyone else was.
"What the fuck took you so long?" Cody asked.
"I got stuck in a bathroom. The alarm wasn't so loud in there and I tried waiting it out but it doesn't seem to stop," Trista said.
He nodded and clearly bought her lie.
"They're on their way with ear muffs. We'll figure out how to cut the alarm somehow," he said. "That motherfucker is toying with us. He's going down soon enough."
"I don't think he's in there," she said.
He looked at her with an angry look.
"Do you think he's hiding in there wearing ear muffs?" She asked. "No, this is a game to him. He was watching us from somewhere else, and he's probably laughing his ass off seeing how we ran around like headless chicken when he hit the alarm."