COLE: THE MADMAN: Book 3 (A Phoenix Club Serial Thriller)

CH 5: Deadly Games

"Tell me about my son-in-law. Gabe, isn't it? How did you two meet?"

Gabe. The sound of his beloved husband's name on the lips of a psychopath filled Cole with nausea and heightened his fear. The monster had already attempted to take Gabe down—and lost. He only lost if Gabe survives surgery. He would survive. There was no other acceptable option.

Staring at the man, Cole wondered if he had meant to kill Gabe—or abduct him. Killing him would have been too quick. He wanted to make Cole suffer, and torturing the man he loved would have tortured Cole as well.

Answer him. Don't piss him off.

"I, uh..." Cole cleared his clogged throat. "We met at... work."

"The strip club? Is he a stripper as well?"

"Yeah," Cole mumbled. "Not so much anymore, but... yeah."

"Tell me about his family."

"He... doesn't have family. He spent most of his teen years on the streets."

Daniel stroked his chin. "I guess that explains why he didn't go down so easy. Street kids are tough."

Cole left out the part where Gabe was "adopted" by the boss of a crime family.

"How is he doing, by the way?" Daniel mused. "I hope the stab wound wasn't fatal. I would like to meet him under less... chaotic circumstances. He is my son-in-law, after all."

Cole swallowed thickly. "He's in surgery," he whispered. "I... I don't know how he's doing."

"That's got to be rough, not being there with him."

"It is," Cole replied tightly.

"And here I am, keeping you away from him." Daniel sighed. "I'll let you get back soon enough."

Was he telling the truth? Cole didn't expect the man meant him any harm at this point, he'd called Cole here to mentally torment him. It was working.

"I can see you love him a lot."

Cole's anxiety and terror rose a few more notches.

"Are you sure he loves you, too?"

Lowering his head, Cole closed his eyes. "Yes."

"You were convinced Ezra loved you," Daniel spoke with a flare of smugness. "And he left you without a word."

Cole looked up, tears shimmering, hating the monster across the table with everything inside him. He didn't leave me—you took him from me! I know it was you!

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The first day back to school after Halloween was a hard day for Henry. The magnitude of Ezra's absence was everywhere. He moved from class to class like a zombie, his limbs functioning but feeling dead inside. At lunch, he sat alone and picked at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich—which he'd always traded with Ezra because his friend liked strawberry jam and his foster parents only bought grape jelly. Henry liked both. Even if he hadn't, he would've still traded because no sacrifice was too great or small for Ezra.

After lunch, the vice principal stopped him in the hall and asked about Ezra, and if he was home sick. Henry thought it strange that the school didn't know about Ezra moving away—surely his foster parents had contacted the school and let them know. Or maybe they hadn't gotten around to it yet?

During the bus ride home, Henry sat in the far back of the bus in the seat he and Ezra always shared, and stared blankly out the window until he was let off at the end of his long driveway. At that time of year, the sun was already down by the time he got home, and the evening fog starting to roll in.