What if it's a trap? The thought had occurred to Cole many times during the drive that took him deeper and deeper into the seedy neighborhood. He had tried to kill the man all those years ago. What if Cole disappeared down here? No one would know where to look. Then again, even if they did—by the time they found him, he would be dead, anyway.
His head filled with heartbreaking imaginations of Gabe struggling to move forward without him. Cole had almost lost Gabe once before—and even now, Gabe fought for his life on the operating table—Cole understood the emptiness and horror that would accompany a life alone, without the love of one's life.
A reality you may be facing even if you survive the monster.
Gabe could die on the operating table.
And if he survived... would he remain married to the son of a serial killer?
Either way, I need to be there with him. The desire to turn around and speed back to the hospital almost halted Cole. How could he leave Gabe when he was fighting for his life?
Yet had he stayed... what would the monster do to their baby Abel? Maddy? Savannah? If Gabe came through the surgery and learned that Cole had sacrificed Abel and the kids for him... he would never forgive Cole.
Cole would never forgive himself.
It had to be this way. There were no other options. As it stood, the monster was in control. As long as he had their loved ones, Cole and everyone else were the puppets, and the monster—the puppet master, dictating their every move.
This was the monster's game; he made the rules and everyone else had to play by those rules... or lose everything precious to them.
Cole found the small pub where he was instructed to go and parked out front. The establishment was hardly lit and blended into the dark, shabby neighborhood. Cole sat for a long time in the dark car as the warmth of the heater slowly seeped away and the cold crept in. He listened to the tic of the engine as it steadily amplified in his head until his skull threatened to crack in two.
You have to go inside.
His body refused to move. Inside the pub... the monster of his childhood awaited. Even now, a part of him didn't believe the orchestrator of this nightmare was the same monster. Once he saw it face to face, though...
Cole gripped the steering wheel, struggling to summon the courage to get out of the car. That day in the woods while the monster lay bleeding out into the dead leaves... Cole had thought it was finally over, the monster dead. He hadn't imagined it would come back to life and hunt him down.
Gabe's phone buzzed. Cole checked the message: Tic tock.
"Shit." Cole rubbed his damp eyes and climbed out of the car. His feet were heavy as if he were wearing cement shoes as he walked to the pub entrance, hindering each step, and causing him to walk with a stilted gait. A chilled numbness came over him when he pushed through the entrance door. The pub was dimly lit, and shadows lurked in the far corners. A few shadowy, shady figures lingered at the bar and the small tables.
Cole passed by the bar and the tables and walked toward the rear of the pub and the highbacked booths. His steps faltered and froze when he neared the farthest booth. All he could see of the single occupant was the man's leg—denim pants and work boots.
Like he wore around the farm.
Like the ones he was wearing the morning he came home after taking Ezra home the night before...
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It's Halloween—and Ezra's birthday!
YOU ARE READING
COLE: THE MADMAN: Book 3 (A Phoenix Club Serial Thriller)
Mystery / Thriller"The Madman would get revenge... by taking away everything he loved." With Gabe in the hospital and three others missing, Cole must unravel the dark secrets hidden within the shadows. As the only one privy to the kidnappers' identities and their chi...
