Page 4 of Cole: Bloodlines
Daniel stood and lifted the girl to her feet. He cupped her face, stroked her wet, flushed cheeks with his thumbs, then kissed her on the mouth. Not the kiss of a shy teenage boy—the kiss of a man who knew what he wanted and meant to have it.
The young girl whimpered loudly and squeezed her eyes closed as she pressed her lips tightly together. His tongue was stronger and forced into her mouth. The girl gagged as he dipped the appendage into her throat. His erection inflated at the sound of her gagging—he would hear it again when something much larger found its way into her mouth and throat.
Daniel broke the kiss, and the girl dropped to her knees in a sobbing heap, coughing and gagging. Watching her kneel before him, it was almost too much to resist. One hand went to the front of his pants, intent on satisfying his lust right then, but he paused. It wasn’t time yet. When he took her innocence—rippedit from her virgin body—he wanted an audience.
A veryspecialaudience.
CHAPTER 2: FOR BETTER OR WORSE
Cole raised his headwhen he heard movement inside Gabe’s room. He rose numbly to his feet and stared at the door. His whole world was coming apart before his eyes, and he was powerless to stop it. He didn’t even feel “real” anymore, like he had already died, and he was merely a ghost haunting his old life… bringing the nightmare of hell to everyone he loved.
For a moment, he was stuck there, feet rooted to the hard tiled floor, eyes locked blankly on the door handle. He wanted to cry, scream, punch the walls until his hands bled and his fingers broke… and another part of him just wanted to crawl into a dark corner, close his eyes, and hide from the horror that had followed him from his childhood. But neither course of action would change a goddamn thing. Only the monster could stop this nightmare, and he wouldn’t—not until everything good in Cole’s life was obliterated.
The paralysis broke, and Cole mechanically opened the door to find Gabe out of bed, detached from his I.V., and searching for his clothes.
“Gabe…” Cole entered and let the door slide closed behind him with an audible click.
“Where are my clothes?” There was a strained panic to his voice, along with stubborn determination as he yanked open drawers and closet doors, slamming them shut when he didn’t find what he was looking for. He turned on Cole. “Where are my goddamn clothes!”
Cole just stood there, feeling nothing and everything all at once—wanting to grab his husband and hold on for dear life… and almost afraid to get close to him for fear he would detect the monstrous entity inhabiting Cole, living in his veins.
“Cole!”
Cole flinched and blinked. “You… you don’t have any clothes here,” he mumbled hollowly. “Just the…”
“Thewhat?”
“The clothes you were wearing when the ambulance brought you in,” Cole whispered. “But they’re—”
“Where are they?”
“I’m not sure. But they’re covered in… blood.”
“I don’t fucking care,” Gabe snapped. “Get them!”
The man subconsciously pressed his hand to the freshly bandaged wound, displaying signs of fatigue and discomfort.
“Gabe…” Cole stepped forward, concerned. “You shouldn’t be up…”
Gabe shot him an incredulous look. “Getmy clothes.Now.”
Swallowing hard, Cole nodded and backed out of the room. Once in the corridor, he dropped onto the bench outside the room, his head falling into his hands.I can’t handle this… I can’t… I fucking can’t handle it…He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, his throat clogging with sobs. His head pounded until he grew dizzy.Just let me die… maybe he’ll stop if I’m dead… maybe he’ll leave them alone.
If he really believed that… Cole wouldn’t hesitate to take himself out—not if his death would save his family and friends. But the madman wouldn’t stop if he lost out on his chance to torture Cole; he would becomeenragedand prolong their suffering.
“Cole?”
Clearing his throat, Cole raised his head, his vision distorted with tears. Devlin stood before him with Deputy Roland. “Gabe wants his clothes,” Cole said, his words raspy, hollow.
Devlin looked concerned as he glanced at the door to Gabe’s room. “Is he out of bed?”
Cole lowered his head and nodded.
“Dammit,” Devlin murmured and entered the room.
Cole stared at the floor, the tips of Roland’s boots just within his line of sight. “Did you call them?” Cole whispered.
“I did.” Roland sat beside him. “The local police will contact the FBI and get them here as soon as possible.”
