Page 7 of The Madman's Nightmare
Skid stood behind everyone, not judging me or offering commentary. He had been loyal from day one and throughout all the bullshit we’ve been through, he and the Death Hounds were always there to help. I just prayed once they heard everything, they didn’t throw me away.
When James concluded the explanation of what we believed to have led to today, tonight, however long I’d been here, I cleared my throat and pushed myself up to a sitting position.
“I know you probably hate me, but I’m not the same person who did all those things.” I reasoned, and when Stella went to speak, I talked over her, not needing placating at that moment. “I need to know if you will help me find Elise, and after that, you can hate me all you want to.”
It was James who spoke. “No one hates you, Devlin. We just need to find Elise and neutralize the threat. No matter who it’s coming from.”
“Where do we start?” Stella asked.
Lucian inquired, “What security is at the lake? Are there cameras and does someone monitor them?”
I perked up, remembering the paranoia I experienced over the last few weeks. Looking at James, I saw him offer a smile as I responded. “I had cameras put throughout the area. If someone can get to the server, they will be able to pull all the footage.”
Skid stepped forward, “I’ll get Aubrey, and we can get started going through the footage. We have a timeframe and the location, so we just need to go back and see who came into the area, and where they went when they left.”
He went to walk out of the hospital room when Hannah offered, “I can help, and I know Rhys will offer whatever help he can.”
I looked at my sister, who we just discovered last year and simply said, “Thank you.”
“No thanks are needed big brother. That’s what family is for.”
“I think the more eyes we have on this the better,” Lucian reasoned and started to walk to the door when he paused, looking at James. “You coming?”
James looked at me then to Lucian before he answered, “I’m coming.”
Stella and Regan sat with me as everyone left, hoping they could locate who took Elise from me. I didn’t want to engage in conversation, and it seemed my sisters understood. Stella only said, “No one hates you, Devlin. We all did things we’re not proud of to survive the hell Sergey put us through.”
I nodded and glanced over to the darkened window before I closed my eyes, trying not to let them see me at my breaking point. All I could think of was what Elise could be experiencing and if she was hurt. Surviving without her wasn’t an option.
And then thoughts of her returning to me and not wanting anything to do with me for the secrets I kept bombarded me from every direction.
My Lamb had been the most important person in my life and if she was through me with, then what purpose did I have anymore?
Chapter 4
Elise
Ididn’t know how long I’d been out for but when I started to come to, I tried to remain as still as possible, not wanting to alert anyone that I was awake. It took a moment for me to remember Devlin lying on the ground, bleeding, and maybe dead before the tears pushed into my eyes.
Why would anyone want to take me and kill him? If he was dead. I prayed to a god I’d heard about from the church people, but hadn’t met personally, begging the omnipotent being to save Devlin. He was a good man, and we had just started to get to the good parts of our life. I wasn’t ready to survive without him.
And I would survive this. For my sons. They couldn’t lose both of their parents.
A door opened and footsteps echoed into the room where I was. I cracked my eyelids, hoping to see anything familiar and who was coming, but the room was dark and it was impossible to see anything. The concrete floor I was lying on was freezing and hard against my shoulder, and I fought to remain still as the footsteps got closer.
“When will she wake up?” a man asked and I tried to place his voice, but it wasn’t ringing any bells with me.
“Who knows?” another man said. “They told us to watch her and let them know when she was awake.”
One of the men nudged me with their foot and I allowed my body to go limp, rocking as they tried to rouse me from the drugs they pushed into me. I heard a sigh above me as the footsteps started to retreat out of the room.
“We’ll come back in an hour and see if she’s awake,” one of them said. “If she’s not, maybe we can take a few minutes while she’s passed out.”
“She told us not to touch her, and I don’t want to piss her off,” the other one said as I couldn’t understand the last part as they got too far away to comprehend their conversation. They closed the door and I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest.
Peeking again, I didn’t see anyone in the room with me, and carefully, opened my eyes and swung them around, trying to make out where I was. I had to figure out who took me and where so I could get out of here. Whoever took me might not want anyone to touch me now but might not always be the case. And I didn’t know if I couldn’t endure anyone touching me other than Devlin.
The room was dim, but as I let my eyes adjust to the darkness, I started to see things in the shadows. Quietly, I pushed myself up and touched the painful spot on my neck where they injected me. The drugs gave me a headache, and my mouth was dry, but otherwise, I think I was okay.
