Page 64 of Whisper

And then we waited. And waited. And waited. Grayson leaned on things and played on his phone, Sam doodled on a notepad a kind nurse gave him, and I stared at the wall and wondered where Sofia and Teo were. I wondered if I would be too late. I texted Teo but got no response so I watched his location on my phone instead.

“Victor made it through surgery,” Dr. Saba said, her voice laced with relief. “We were able to repair most of the damage but he’s still in critical condition. We won’t know his full prognosis until a few days from now.”

“Can we see him?”

“Later,” Dr. Saba said. “Right now, it’s important that we let him rest.”

We were in a little room, away from public scrutiny. The hospital smelled like bleach and Dr. Saba’s make-up wasn’t nearly as tidy as the first time we had seen her.

“This looks like it was intentional. Would you like us to report it to the police?”

“Absolutely not,” Sam responded, his tone sharp and decisive as he flashed his badge. It did come in handy to have a cop around sometimes, I thought. “We’ll handle this ourselves. We’re off duty officers, and we have a feeling we know who’s responsible for this.”

“Alright,” the doctor nodded hesitantly, her eyes darting between us, probably taking note of the tension that radiated from our group. “If there’s anything else you need, please let us know. You might want to call his next of kin, by the way. Like I said, we think he’ll be okay, but it’s a long road. His family might need to know.”

There was nothing else to do at the hospital. After a few minutes, we did some research and found a small hotel nearby. As we made our way to it, a bone-deep exhaustion enveloped me. The realization of how much danger we were all in was setting in, and it was starting to sink in just how close we came to losing Victor...forever. We had to find out who was behind this...and make them pay. But first, we needed to rest and regroup. And to do that, we needed to make sure that Teo and Sofia were with us.

The hotel was small, with a barely lit lobby and a musty smell that clung to the walls. Everything around here smelled like swamp.

Grayson had booked us a few rooms on the upper floor. As we made our way up the stairs, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the silence that surrounded us. It gave us some time to process everything that had just happened.

But there was no time to sit and regroup. Not when Teo and Sofia were still in mortal danger.

Now that Victor had been taken care of, we needed to go back there and find them.

Before the Viper found them himself.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Sofia

Thedampairclungto my skin as Teo, Miranda, and I made our way out of the creepy Everglades cabin. My heart pounded against my ribcage, each thud echoing in my ears. We stayed low, our senses on high alert, scanning the twisted trees and dark shadows for any signs of danger.

This was fucked. As if we didn’t have to worry about people trying to kill us, I was pretty sure there were alligators around and we would’ve made a tasty meal.

“Stay close,” Teo whispered, his voice barely audible over the symphony of insects and rustling leaves that filled the night. I could tell he was just as on edge as I was.

I glanced at Miranda, who lagged behind us slightly. She was clearly still scared.

“Keep up,” I said.

She glared at me, but said nothing.

We moved like shadows ourselves, trying to blend into the darkness that surrounded us. The ground beneath our feet was a mix of thick mud and tangled roots, making every step a precarious dance. But we couldn’t afford to be slowed down; there was too much at stake.

As we made our way deeper into the swamp, I couldn’t help but feel like we were getting further and further away from safety. The Viper could be anywhere, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

“Stop,” Teo said.

We stopped. I turned to look at him. “Is everything--”

He held a hand up to stop me from talking.

“We’re being watched,” he said in a whisper. “We need to hustle. Stay behind me, both of you.”

My heart raced as we followed Teo, our footsteps silent against the swampy ground. Every sound seemed amplified, making me jump at the slightest rustle of leaves or crackle of a twig. The humidity made the air feel thick and suffocating, and I couldn’t help but feel like we were walking into a trap.

And then something creaked, and our entire path was blocked. The silence was filled with riotous laughter and teasing as masked men surrounded us, blocking any chance of escape.

My pulse raced as I gripped my own gun tightly, ready to fight if necessary.

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