Page 87 of Cole: Bloodlines
“I don't give a fuck what youthink.” Clint's vision narrowed to a crimson tunnel as he brought the tire iron down with savage force. The impact sent shockwaves up his arms as steel pulverized bone, cartilage, and tendon. The deputy's kneecap exploded inward with a wet pop that Clint felt more than heard. Before the scream could fully tear from the killer's throat, Clintpivoted and destroyed the other knee, bone fragments piercing through skin. The man collapsed, gurgling and convulsing. Clint's teeth bared in a feral grin as he methodically obliterated each elbow joint, the tire iron's arc whistling through frost-laden air before connecting with sickening thuds.
Cochise, eyes black with vengeance, wrenched the Mangler's remaining good arm with such violence that the limb twisted completely backward in its socket. The sound—like wood splintering—cut through the morning fog as the Mangler's mouth stretched into a silent scream, bloody froth erupting between his teeth.
Tossing the iron aside with a dull thud against the frozen earth, Clint muttered through clenched teeth, “Strip them.”
CHAPTER 40: LIFE SENTENCE
Max and Horatio hurriedthrough the waiting room doors, rushing to the ER nurse's desk. Max took a deep breath to speak calmly despite his rapid heartbeat. “We’re Maddy Harris’ parents. He was brought in earlier with his girlfriend, Savannah Sims. Do you know which room they’re in?”
“Max?”
Turning around, Max saw Devlin. “Maddy…?”
“He’s okay.” Relief shimmered in the doctor’s eyes. “Savannah, too.”
Max approached him and embraced him tightly, barely holding back tears. “Thank God, they’re finally home,” he whispered with a tremor in his voice.
Devlin hugged him back, trembling. “I have, many times over.”
Withdrawing, Max asked, “How is Abel? Angel?”
“They...” A change flickered behind the man’s eyes, disrupting Max’s joy and relief.
“What?”
Devlin licked his lips, staring at the two men as if hesitant to continue.
“Is something wrong?” Horatio asked uneasily.
Devlin motioned for them to follow and led them into an empty room. He paused for a moment, one hand covering his mouth as he stared at the floor, tears in his eyes.
“You’re scaring me,” Max said quietly. “Talk to us.”
Devlin lifted his head, took a shaky breath, and cleared his throat. “Something... something happened last night.” His chin trembled as tears started to well up. “Something...reallybad.” The look on his face frightened Max. “Horrifying.”
Max exchanged a worried look with Horatio. “What, Devlin? Tell us. These boys, they’reallour kids.”
Devlin once again covered his mouth and leaned against the empty bed made up with fresh white linen. His head drooped, and his face crumpled as tears spilled over. “When… When Gabe traded himself for Abel and the kids…” His voice quivered as he stared at the floor, his eyes reflecting a distant horror. “We were told they were waiting for us at the park.” His arms folded around his stomach as tremors shook through him.
Max sat beside him and wrapped his arm around the younger man. “What happened at the park?” Max whispered, suddenly terrified to hear the answer. Horatio moved closer, his hand resting on Devlin’s shoulder.
“Abel…” Devlin squeezed his eyes shut, breath catching in his throat. “He was… He was sitting on the ground, in just his underwear,tiedto a tree, gagged, and…” Devlin shuddered as a sob hitched in his chest. “And hanging above him was…” He started shaking harder, and Max held him tighter. “… was two… teenagers. A boy and a… a girl.” Devlin pressed against Max, breaking into sobs. “Their bodies were… werecut open…bleedingall over him. They were wearing Maddy and Savannah’sclothes.”
“Jesus,”Horatio breathed, horrified.
Through broken sobs, his words hardly coherent, Devlin told them how Abel screamed for the others to keep Angel back, but he still saw the bodies, believing it was Maddy and Savannah—that theyallthought it was the kids.
“Their faces…?” Max whispered shakily.
“They were covered… with cloth bags,” Devlin trembled. “Only… Only after the cops came and took them down did we… did we find out it wasn’t…” Fresh sobs escaped him. “But by then, it was… it was too late. Abel and Angel, they… they justwent away… mentally. Even after we found out it wasn’t our kids, they were still… traumatized.”
“Of course,” Horatio murmured sickly. “That’s understandable.”
“When we came back to the hospital,” Devlin whispered. “I gave them both something to sleep, because… because the kids were still missing and we knew that what happened at the park… could still happen for real. Angel and Abel knew it, and it was too much for them.”
“You did the right thing,” Max said softly. “At that point, it was surely best for them to just sleep.”
Devlin inhaled a shaky breath. “When the kids came back… Angel and Abel were relieved to see them safe and unharmed, but…” He shook his head. “… what happened at the park… that’s not going to go away even with the kids home. You didn’t hear theirscreams…” Devlin broke down again, trembling against Max. “You didn’t see thehorroron their faces… how they justchecked outbecause the nightmare was just too much to face.” His breath shuddered. “It isn’t over. Maybe it wasn’t our kids out there, but… but the monster still got what he wanted. He did it to break us… and he did. I’ll never…” Devlin shook his head, crying. “… I’ll never stop hearing their screams… stop seeing thelookson their faces. I don’t think that nightmare will ever go away… for any of us who were there.” He closed his eyes, swallowing thickly. “And Cole… he saw it all… I-I don’t know if he can hold up under the guilt.”
