Page 3 of Cole: Bloodlines
He led her into a room where the walls were painted the color of old teeth and a single chair sat in the middle under a spotlight, the kind she’d seen in interrogation scenes on TV. Its metal seat glimmered faintly. An array of tools rested on a cheap folding table nearby—pliers, clamps, a hammer, and beneath them, the tape, cords, and knives, all laid out tidily like silverware at a picnic. She stared at them, recalling rumors she’d heard about the gangsters’Guest Room,and had always imagined a scene like this.
The man sat her in the chair and turned his back to her as he studied the tools. “Tell me, darling,” he spoke casually, as if they were friends having brunch. “How did you feel when I pushed the knife into your boyfriend?” He turned, an odd look in his eyes. “Describe it to me, I need to know. I feel so little. I’m always curious and intrigued by what normal people experience in these situations.” He squatted next to her and rested his hand on her knee. Her legs were shaking, her heels tapping rhythmically against the cold stone floor. Her insides felt like liquid—her very bones sinewy—nothing solid to hold her together.
Savannah stared straight ahead, eyes vacant, seeing nothing but Maddy’s body crumpling to the floor… blood everywhere. Their family had always awakened from the nightmares… but not this time. The nightmare had consumed them, and there was no way back to what used to be.
Abel curled into a tight ball in the farthest corner of his cage, his fists jammed against his mouth to stifle the anguished cries that threatened to escape. His eyes were wide and frantic, tearsstreaming down his flushed face in torrents. Each breath he took was a desperate, ragged gasp, his chest heaving violently and constricting as if it might collapse under the pressure, leaving him gasping for air. He couldn't tear his gaze from Maddy's lifeless body, abandoned where it had collapsed, blood oozing out in a thick, dark crimson pool, relentlessly inching its way toward the bars of his cage like a creeping tide of horror.
Abel whimpered as he clawed the cage floor, heels scraping raw against metal, desperate to escape the crimson tide crawling toward him. The blood crept closer like some sentient, viscous predator, its metallic scent filling his nostrils. His mind fractured, thrusting him back to his childhood, living with parents who didn’t give a shit, waking up from nightmares, and forced to soothe himself because the only other person in the world who loved him was Savannah—and she was too young to comfort him.
Except he couldn’t soothe away these terrors—because this nightmare wasreal.
Maddy… Maddy…
Outside the spacious room, Savannah’s screams had ceased. Would the madman kill her, too?
If he were going to kill her, he would do it in front of you.
Fear crippled Abel as horrific images filled his head of what the manmeantto do with her.
You have to get free! You have to save her!
Abel sat as if frozen, his body unresponsive, while his mind oscillated between a frenzy of thoughts and an unsettling numbness. His gaze was locked onto the slowly spreading pool of blood, its deep crimson hue inching ever nearer to the cage. The sight held him captive, and without realizing it, he pulled his knees closer to his chest. His lips pressed firmly against his knuckles, and his teeth sank deeper into his skin, the pressure intensifying until a metallic taste of copper flooded his mouth.
This is the end… we’re going to die…
Would Devlin know what torment he suffered before the madman finally killed him? Would the monster make sure he knew—that they all knew? Had he chosen Abel and the kidsfor a reason?
It doesn’t matter. Knowing the reasons why won’t change your reality.
As the pool of blood crept toward the cage and started to seep through the narrow bars, Abel clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the horror. He curled his arms protectively over his head, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps as he huddled against his bare, ice-cold knees. The chill of fear enveloped him, and he felt like a terrified child once more, utterly alone with no comforting presence to calm his fears or rescue him from this nightmare.
I wanna go home… I wanna go home…
Daniel watched the girl’s face closely as he caressed her thigh. She was barely responsive, her eyes adopting a vacancy he found nostalgic; thatlookthat crept into his former victims’ eyes when they realized there was no escape, and they were going to die. Fuck, he’d missed that look while in prison. Leroy, the guard, was dealt with too quickly for him to fully recede into that state of despair that fed Daniel’s cravings.
But this girl… she was a fighter, and her descent had been slow at first—which enhanced the flavor of her fear. Witnessing the brutal death of the boy had shoved her over the edge, though, as Daniel had anticipated. He suspected her brother wasn’t far behind her, although it might take a bit more to break him, as he was aprotector, and protectors fought harder and longer, even when consumed by hopelessness.
The young man had nearly broke when he was convinced it was his sister that Daniel raped and killed in the other cage. Had it been his sister, the boy would have mentally checked out. So, now, Daniel knew which method of torture would be most effective for him. When the time came, Abel Simms would get thewholeshow—and it would be alongone. But the young man wouldn’t be the only “viewer.”
The girl only responded when Daniel slid his hand between her legs; a whimper, like a baby animal in distress. Her expression remained empty, yet tears formed in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She was still with him—if not, she wouldn’t be shedding tears. He’d had ladies who checked out completely, and regardless of what he did to them after that, they didn’t feel it, didn’t exhibit fear, because inside… they were already dead.
Savannah Simms wasn’t dead yet, though she teetered on that edge. There remained enough life in her to still play with her.
To prove his point, if only to himself, Daniel ran his hand beneath her shirt and cupped her breast—so pert and rounded, nestling perfectly in his palm. The girl began to breathe harder, chest hitching, almost gasping for air. When he squeezed her soft, warm flesh, she came back to life and tried to jerk away from him.
“No…”she cried, choking on her sobs, twisting her body. “Don’t… Don’t!”
“But it’s been so long since I’ve had one as fresh and young as you,” Daniel cooed close to her ear. He pressed his nose to her neck and inhaled her sweet aroma, then licked her tender skin, moaning pleasurably.
The girl whimpered and turned her face away, breath catching in her throat. “Please stop… leave me alone… let me go… please let us go… please…”
She didn’t really believe he would let them go; her words were merely the desperate pleas of all condemned victims when they had exhausted all other options, and begging for their lives was all that was left.
Still, the pleading made Daniel hard. In some respects, it was his favorite part—that final signal that the victim knew they would die, but still fought for survival.
“Let you go?” Daniel murmured, nuzzling her ear. “But we’re just getting to know one another. I thought you liked me? Don’t you want me to… make you a woman?” He kissed her neck and rubbed his fingers firmly against the crotch of her pants. “An older man who knows what he’s doing? Thatboywould have disappointed you; young, inexperienced, awkward. Mm-Mm.” He inhaled deeply. “A pretty young girl like you needs amanto show her the ways.”
“No…”the girl sobbed and squirmed against his invasive touch.
