Page 48 of Cole: Bloodlines
“Savannah,” Cole whispered against her brow. “Abel is home… he’s safe.”
The girl shuddered hard, her breath hitching in her throat. She raised reddened eyes to his face. “What…?”
“He’s alive,” Cole spoke quietly. “He’s with Devlin right now.”
“He’s… he…” Her face crumpled as another wave of sobs hit her. “Maddy…” She choked on her grief. “I saw him…”
“No,” Cole whispered. “The boy you saw… that wasn’t Maddy.”
“Huh…” Savannah looked up, her dirty face streaked with tears, fearful uncertainty in her eyes. “It wasn’t…”
“No.”
“Is he… is he… alive?”
Cole cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen him,” he whispered. “But I believe he is. Don’t give up hope, sweetheart. Please, I need you to hold on, okay?” He kissed her forehead. “Gabe is here… we’re going to get you out of here.”
Savannah looked past him to the Mangler, who stood near the door, too far away to hear their whispered words. “How?”
“You leave that to us,” he murmured. “Just try to stay strong, okay? We’re going home.Allof us.”
When the man came, his creamy fluids shot all over the bars and Maddy. He squeezed his eyes shut, his stomach turning. Cum smeared his hand when he pulled his arm back inside the cage, his body shaking as globs of the killer’s semen oozed down his chest and stomach.
“Not bad,” the man panted as he stuffed his flaccid cock back inside his pants. He winked at Maddy. “Bet you jerk off a lot with a prudish little girl like Savannah cock-clocking you, huh?” He reached between the bars, dragged his thumb through a glob of cum on Maddy’s chest, and smeared it across the boy’s lower lip, then inside his mouth. “Can’t wait to see what that mouth can do.”
Bile surged in the back of Maddy’s throat at the nasty taste of the man’s cum on his tongue. His eyes watered, and his stomach began to heave; he couldn’t control it. Maddy jerked away and puked. Little came up, but he continued to dry heave until his stomach pushed up thick, rancid bile that left a horrible, bitter taste in his mouth and throat that made him dry heave even harder.
Maddy coughed and gagged, his arms shaking badly as his hands pressed against the floor of the cage. Tears dripped off his face into the small puddle of nasty bile as his stomach revolted, again and again, until he was sure he’d start puking up blood.
The man chuckled and stood. “You’ll get used to it,” he said. “And if you don’t…” He shrugged. “… doesn’t matter. I like fucking a gagging throat.”
When he left, Maddy frantically wiped at the cum oozing down his front, but there was nothing to use to clean it off, and he only managed to smear it all over his skin. The stench of the cum filled his nostrils, reigniting his gag reflex.
“Uuh!” Maddy wiped his hands furiously against the bars, rusty slivers embedding in his palms. Panic and revulsion fused as he desperately tried to rid himself of the vile fluids clinging to his chilled skin.
Thetasteof the man’s cum in his mouth—thestenchof it on his skin—awakened something inside Maddy, asurvival instinctthat had gone dormant after the island, turning him into a victim. After coming home, he hadn’t fought back—he’dsurrendered,allowing the fear and shame of the island to consume him, keep him afraid, andisolatehim from the people who loved him most… the people who could help himheal.
You gave up with no thought or care of what it was doing to Angel… or Savannah.
Maddy gripped the flaking bars and pressed his head against the cold, rusty metal, warm tears rolling down his chilled, grimy face.
I have to get out. I have to get home.
Angel had sacrificed everything for Maddy, fought to stay sane in an insane situation—toprotectMaddy. If he died here, disappeared into thin air… Angel would never recover.
He fought for you!Maddy screamed at himself.The least you can fucking do is fight back for him!
Whatever Henry said to the girl was of no importance to Daniel. He didn’t care if he told her that her brother was alive, or that the boy she saw gutted wasn’t her boyfriend. None of it mattered. What did matter was Henry’s love for the young woman, his determination to protect her, and keep her alive.
“Visiting hours are over,” Daniel said. “Time to go.”
Savannah sobbed and clung to the man, desperate to keep him with her. He whispered to her as he gently freed himself from her grasp, likely reassuring her that everything would be okay and they would escape this place. Daniel smiled; let her believe it. When reality hit, and she realized there was no escape—just as all his victims eventually did—the complete desolation of mind and spirit would add that final dash ofseasoning.
“You gave her hope,” Daniel said when they were outside the room. “That was cruel.”
Henry didn’t respond as he walked along the debris-riddled corridor, boots crunching on broken glass and crumbled plaster.
“Are you wondering about the boy?” Daniel asked. “If he’s still alive?”
