Page 14

14

SEBASTIAN

Twenty-four hours had crept by, and we were still no closer to finding my wife. Desperation coated my sweat-slickened skin while my nerves teetered on the edge of sanity. My world had changed on a dime, Ella had been taken, and my best friends had told me I was two different people in one body. Panic clenched its icy fingers around my throat, threatening to choke the life out of me. I fought to stay conscious, straining to focus on the task in front of me and finding a way to connect with this Death person. But what terrified me most was that I had no recollection of him. It was as if he had erased all memories of our encounters from my mind. And the realization hit me like a sledgehammer; those missing chunks of time were not just a coincidence. My brain was protecting me from him.

Dope finally returned with his laptop and settled in at my desk. “Give me a few.” He opened his computer, and his fingers flew across the keys as he worked his hacking magic.

Ryan cleared his throat. “And?”

Dope never missed a beat as he continued.

“Cami. Is she going to turn us in? Is she leaving?” Ryan’s pitch jumped with his anxiety. Hell, we were all anxious.

“Oh. Yeah, she’s cool.”

“Dope, for fuck’s sake. We’re sweating over here. Tell us what she said,” I demanded.

Dope sighed and dropped his hands to his lap. “She’s not going to the cops because we need to find Ella. She’s terrified of meeting Death.” The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Aren’t we all?”

“Not the time to joke around, mate.”

“Anyway, Ryan, she hates you. Not sure if you two will patch shit up or not. But, she loves Ella and the kids so she’s on our side there. After we bring Ella home, I don’t know how it will play out, but she gave her word no cops or FBI. We can trust her.”

“Goddammit. Why wasn’t I more careful?” Ryan said, his head hanging down.

“None of us were. It’s not on you,” I added.

Kip walked over behind Dope and tapped him on the shoulder, urging him to continue. “Okay, that’s one problem solved for now. Let’s get to Ryan’s plan to see if we can coax out Death.”

Other than the sound of the second hand on the grandfather clock, a heavy silence fell over the room as Dope searched for what he needed.

“Ryan? Is this what you need?”

Ryan leaned over and stared at the screen. “Go here.” He pointed at something I couldn’t see since they’d blocked me from the view of what Dope was doing.

“Fuck,” Dope said as he winced and shrank back from the computer. “I’ve seen a lot of shit, but …” He swallowed hard and shot me a skeptical look.

“You’ve always been so careful except for the guy you left dangling from a hook in the warehouse a while ago.”

Kip chuckled, apparently enjoying whatever they were looking for. “Death’s a thorough motherfucker, that’s for sure. I admire his work, though. I mean it's skilled precision.”

Ryan walked over to me. “Go check it out. You need to check out what you do on your days off from being Sebastian.”

I shot him a bewildered look. “Crickey, sometimes you have a real way with words.”

Ryan gave me a half shrug.

I tried to prime myself for the worst, but nothing, and I mean nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. A barely recognizable man dangled from a meat hook in an old warehouse. Blood pooled below him and deep gashes erased his face. His heart and stomach were on the floor next to the puddle. Revulsion shot through me like a shock wave as I stared at the image, speechless.

“That’s Death’s work,” Kip said with pride in his tone. “And the knife you have from your father? That’s Death’s favorite tool. He just keeps it nice and clean. Bleaches the shit out of the blade to make sure there’s no evidence.”

“Show him some more, Dope,” Ryan said.

Horror twisted my chest into knots as Dope showed me images from every angle of the victim. Somehow, I managed to find my voice. “Tell me he deserved that. Tell me that I’m not a stone-cold killer devoid of any empathy.”

“I know this is hard to see and most likely hard to believe that this is your work, but his nickname was Dahmer Junior.”

I stared at my friend in disgust. “He raped boys, then ate them?” Bile churned in my gut, and I pushed it down, unwilling to lose my lunch in front of my mates.

“Yup,” Kip said.

Ryan ran his hand over his short hair. “I think it’s one reason you left him there. I’m not positive though. I’m pretty sure you were sending a message to let the cops know he wasn’t a problem anymore. You should have heard the cheers at the station when they found him. At least you were careful and didn’t leave evidence, but I’m guessing Kip had something to do with that since you hadn’t called me.”

I staggered backward, my thoughts reeling from all the information. “Why are you showing me all of this?”

Dope leaned back in my office chair and folded his arms over his chest. “We’re hoping to stress you out enough that Death comes out to play.”

I resisted the urge to smack him upside the back of his head, my temper hanging by a thread. “Ella being taken; her life in danger—that’s not fucking stressful enough?”

Kip chuckled. “We’re short on time, man. We’ll do anything we have to. I think Death might know who is behind Ella being kidnapped.”

“Let’s bring up some images of the real Dahmer’s cases. See if that helps,” Ryan said to Dope.

Dope’s forehead scrunched. “Man, I don’t even want to look at those. I barely kept my snacks down. You and Kip are the ones in the field cleaning up the bodies and evidence. I don’t have the stomach for it.”

“Excellent. Maybe Sebastian won’t either,” Kip added.

Dope pulled up the crime scene images, then hopped out of my chair. “Sit. I’m going to go check on Cami.”

Before I could respond, Dope practically ran out the door.

I cracked my fingers and attempted to find the courage to look at the twisted, sick pictures.

“Ticktock,” Kip whispered and tapped the face of his watch.

I glowered at him while I reminded myself that Ella was missing, and we’d already lost a day. I gulped, then proceeded to shock myself with the horrible findings when they arrested Dahmer. “The guy in the warehouse. He did the same things to his victims too?”

“Yup. He was a copycat. I’d mentioned him to Death a few times, just in case he got bored and needed something to do.” Ryan folded his arms in front of him, grinning like a cat that caught the mouse.

“Good. I could see where Death could come in handy in situations like those.” I hated to admit that out loud, but it seemed as though Death’s intentions were good or at least a little bit justifiable. What the fuck was I thinking?

“All the time,” Kip chimed in.

I stared at the morbid, grotesque images and waited to feel a headache coming on, but there was nothing. Blowing out a heavy sigh, I said, “It’s not working. I don’t know what will work if that didn’t. I’m literally sick to my stomach.”

A soft knock at the door caught my attention, and we all turned to see who it was as Kip closed the laptop.

“Hey,” Cami said softly. “Two little people want to see you.” She adjusted Alaric on one hip and Verity on the other. “The twins know something is wrong. I mean the tension is pretty thick around here.” She glared at Ryan as she walked over to us.

I rose from my seat. “Come here, little man.”

Alaric’s eyes were rimmed with red, and a string of snot hung from his nose. “No need to cry. We’ll bring her back. I promise.”

“Alive?” Cami asked.

“You have my word.” I gritted my teeth and hoped I hadn’t just lied to her. In my mind, there was no other choice except to bring Ella home safe and sound.

Alaric grinned as he held out his pudgy little hands. Once I had him in my arms, he placed his head against my chest and grabbed a fistful of my T-shirt.

“Mama. Ma-ma-mama.” Still in Cami’s arms, Verity chanted and then she sucked on her fingers, slurping loudly.

“I know, baby girl. She’ll be back soon,” I said while I sat down and rubbed my son’s back. His little head popped up, total trust in his big green eyes. “Def.” He slapped his palm against my arm. “Def.”

Kip glanced over at me. “Jesus Christ. He knows the difference. Alaric, who is Death?”

I shot Kip a dirty look. “Do not ask my nine-month-old about that monster,” I growled between clenched teeth.

Before Alaric responded, his sister piped up. “Da-da.”

In response to Verity, Alaric nodded and kicked his feet with excitement.

“Nothing you can do. The kids know, Bass. And they clearly like him by how excited they are.”

My heart sank to my toes. “Do you think they … that they have a connection because they’re similar?” I stared into the sweet innocent face of my son and then my daughter, who was now pulling on Cami’s hair, wondering if one of them or both took after a serial killer. A terrifying shudder traveled down my spine.

“Ella has mentioned that to me. She has wondered the same.” Kip ruffled Alaric’s soft curls. “Tell Death to come out and play, little man. We need his help.”

Alaric released a high-pitched squeal as he clapped his hands.

Verity’s cry rang through the room as she leaned forward in Cami’s grasp.

“Come here, baby girl,” I said.

“Def. Def. Def,” Verity chanted.

I handed my son to Kip before I gathered Verity in my arms, our gazes connecting as she stilled. She reached up and placed her warm palms on my cheeks and flashed me a big smile, showing off her four teeth. “Ma-ma … Def.”

The room stilled as I looked into my little girl’s eyes, which were filled with trust and excitement. She and her brother understood more than I’d realized, at least enough to know who I was at any given moment. Although every cell in my being wanted to continue to deny the truth, it was clear even my children knew I was two different people in one body.

A sudden sharp pain ricocheted through my mind, and I gasped as I grabbed the side of my head.

I staggered backward, my vision blurring as the agony intensified. Alaric’s giggles filled the room, but they sounded distorted, warped somehow. Kip’s voice seemed to echo from a great distance, his words muffled as if underwater. Panic gripped my chest as I struggled to focus, to fight against the overwhelming force invading my mind.

“Fuck,” I whispered hoarsely, trying to push the pain away, but it was like trying to hold back a tidal wave with my bare hands.

Alaric’s joyful laughter turned hollow, sending a chill through the room. The air grew thick with an oppressive darkness that seemed to seep into my very bones.

“What’s happening?” Cami hurried to take Verity as I fell to my knees on the floor.

“You should leave,” Ryan said to her.

“No, you’ve all kept me in the dark long enough. I’m not going anywhere. If Alaric and Verity aren’t scared, then …” But the expression on her face said otherwise.