Page 33 of The Madman's Nightmare
James smiled the sinister smile I’d grown used to over the years as he answered, “He’s hunting.”
“Then take me home. I can rest there just as well as I can here, and I want to be home when he gets back,” I requested and saw some trepidation in his movements before he nodded and agreed.
I knew what hunting meant, and I hoped he brought Kendra and Bradon back to Pierce Bluff so I could face them before they died. Because I had no doubt that my husband, the madman, was going to cut them into pieces and scatter the parts. No one gets away with what they did to me when Devlin Callahan was around and lives.
Chapter 17
Devlin
I’d spent every night since we rescued Elise by her bedside, watching over her, hearing her whimpered moans of pain, and wishing there was more I could do for her. Before she woke in the morning, I’d slip out the door, not wanting to see the hate and disappointment in her eyes, directed at me.
And I deserved every ounce of her disdain. Everything was my fault, and I had to make it right. Every day, I slipped out and went hunting, looking for anyone with any connection to the siblings. I’d been rolling through the Flats of Portstill, searching high and low for them, only to come up short every time.
I was getting pissed that they swooped in, kidnapped and beat my wife, manipulated her mind into believing horrible things, then disappeared without a trace. Regan was still working on the junkie’s phone, looking for the location where the truck was delivered to, but Lucian had damaged it pretty badly. We verified the truck hadn’t been returned, and it seems the man who rented it to Timothy didn’t’ like trackers, so he disabled them. Which left us without a location and the dumbass without a truck.
Lucian and I were moving though the old mill warehouse, seeing if there were any squatters inside when my phone chimed from my cargo pocket. Pulling it out, I saw a message from James and opened it. He’d been spending days with Elise at the hospital and if he was messaging me, something must be wrong.
James:Elise is being discharged with pain meds and restrictions. I’m taking her to your apartment.
I stared at the phone. Part of me wanted to run to her and beg for forgiveness, and the other part of me wanted to keep hunting. It was the only thing that was keeping my mind from running crazy, and with the few hours’ sleep I’d had over the last five days, I felt like I was slipping into madness.
Lucian stepped up to me and looked over my shoulder at James’s message. He glanced at me before taking the phone from me and typing a response. I snatched it back and looked to see what he had responded.
Me:Finishing up now and will meet you there.
“We still have three more building to search,” I explained and tucked the phone back into my pocket.
“Bullshit,” he said as I started to walk away from him. “You’re afraid of facing Elise, but it’s better to rip the band aid off and get everything out on the open.”
I have him an exasperated look and inquired, “What would you know about it?”
“I know all about regrets, little brother. The ways things started with Rylee, the secrets I kept from her, nearly destroyed both of us.” His guilt was heavy, even after marriage and kids with Rylee.
“But none of your past regrets tried to kill her,” I interjected.
“Didn’t they?” he inquired. “She was kidnapped, forced to witness an assault, and made to believe that it was all part of some grand plan. Not far off from what that crazy bitch tried to do to Elise.”
I turned to face him and asked, “How can I face her after what they did to her?”
He placed his hand onto my shoulder and looked me straight in the eyes as he spoke. “You take whatever anger she has and use that to fuel your revenge. You find those two assholes and you make them suffer for every scratch and bruise on her body.” He paused and added, “And you don’t let that bitch’s genderslow your rage. You bulldoze right her and put her in the ground where she belongs.”
“What is Elise can’t forgive me?” I asked, speaking my worst fear out loud.
“She’ll forgive you. She loves you and once she sees what they did to try and make her believe their crazy shit, she’ll be just as pissed as you.”
We started to walk toward the front doors of the old warehouse as I replied, “Let’s hope so.”
Our vehicle was parked outside the entrance where we walked in and as we were getting in to leave, something caught my eye from the side of the building. I pushed the door back open and walked around to the edge of the building. Lucian was right beside me as saw an older man trying to rush away.
I remembered him from when I ran these streets, so I called out his name. “Herbert. It’s Devlin Callahan.”
He looked over his shoulder and replied, “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Jesus, is everyone afraid of you?” Lucian muttered as we walked closer to the scared-looking man.
“Fuck you, Lucian,” I remarked as we got closer to Herbert. He kept glancing around as I stepped in front of him. “I need to ask you a question.”
He gave a timid nod.
