Page 185 of Bishop

“You can’t kill me,” he cries. “I was just doing my job.”

“And I’m just doing mine.” Bishop draws back the blade, lowering it to his side as he leans close, right in Geppet’s face. “Where’s the kid?”

“I don’t—”

Bishop stabs the knife into Geppet’s abdomen.

I gasp as my attacker’s eyes widen, the shock or maybe the pain rendering him speechless.

“Getting stabbed in an organ doesn’t feel the same as a limb, does it, Gep?” Bishop claims another blade. “I’m told it’s a pulsing, throbbing pain unlike no other. One with the potential to render you unconscious. And maybe you’re too amped for it to feel like that just yet. But it’ll eventually hit, and you’ll wish you were dead.”

Geppet’s eyes remain wide, his mouth gaping like a fish.

“You might even feel like you’ve pissed yourself,” Bishop informs clinically. “And hell, maybe you have. Lord knows most do. But it’s also likely that the warm sensation traveling from your groin all the way down your leg is the blood seeping from your gut.”

“Sh-she’s…” Geppet struggles for air.

Bishop cocks his head. “She’s?”

“Sh-she’s this side of H-hudson.”

I straighten, devastation rendering me rigid. “That close?”

My daughter has been living a few short miles from me this entire time? All her life? Where I could’ve watched her grow?

“Give me an exact location,” Bishop demands.

“I-I don’t know.” Geppet shivers. “Somewhere in W-weld County. I can’t remember the name of the s-street.”

“Try harder.”

Aaron shakes his head, his eyes losing their wideness. “I…” His breaths grow shallow and sharp. “I…”

“I what?” Bishop snarls.

I stalk closer, my anger renewed, savagery taking me by force. My daughter has been within reach for years, right under my nose while my parents acted as if she was a world away.

I snatch the knife from Bishop’s hand, livid. “Where in Weld County?” I lower the weapon, positioning the tip of the blade against Geppet’s crotch.

He winces, turning his head away. “I-it’s in my phone. In the maps app.”

I fumble for his pants, retrieving the cell sticking out of his pocket. But it’s my phone, not his. “Where’s yours?” I dig the knife deeper.

He tenses against the blade, whimpering. “In my b-back pocket.”

“Let me, belladonna.” Bishop grabs my shoulders, leading me a few steps back as if this macabre art piece pinned to the wall could hurt me.

I let him claim my prize and hold up the device to Geppet’s face to unlock the screen.

Bishop scrolls silently until he pauses and looks at his victim. “Does Bayvis Street ring a bell?”

My heart kicks up pace, the location I’ve wanted for so long humming in my ears.

“Yeah.” Geppet hangs limp against the wall. “That’s it. Now can you let me g-go?”

Bishop turns to me, posture stiff, eyes questioning. “Is there anything else you want to know from this piece of shit?”

I open my mouth only to be rendered speechless by indecision.

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