Page 119 of With Spite

That would only be fitting.

If the two sick fucks that’d kept me and tortured me for six hours would then get the same exact treatment.

But the confusion on Birdee’s face had a slice of dread rocketing through me.

“Birdee, I need to know what’s going on,” I urged.

So Birdee told me what Creed and Hux were doing.

Torturing Chan.

They didn’t go into details, but I knew what they’d be doing.

But… “What about Randel?”

“Randel?” Mabel asked in alarm. “Who’s Randel?”

Panic started to edge through me. “Randel. The other half of the serial killer, Corpse Violator.”

Silence.

Abrupt and sickening silence.

Then Mabel was on her phone, calling someone.

Seconds later, Gentry and Black entered the room in full uniform. It was such a short amount of time that I knew that they’d already been on the floor, likely close to my room.

Both had dark circles underneath their eyes, letting me know that they hadn’t slept a wink since this had all started.

“Tell me everything,” Black ordered.

So I did.

Every single detail.

When I was done, and I felt hollow inside, Black left the room.

Gentry, however, stayed.

He parked himself at the end of my bed, sitting practically on my feet, and crossed his arms over his chest.

He stretched his legs out in front of him and looked down at his forearms, studying them with such intensity that I couldn’t help but kick Gentry with my foot.

“What is it?” I asked.

He sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

“It’s been forty-eight hours,” he said with little to no emotion in his voice. “You’ve been in an induced coma for that entire time, due to your breathing. Not to scare you, but…Randel is gone.”

I closed my eyes as my fear started to take root again.

He caught my knee with his big hand and said, “Don’t.”

I looked up at him. “I’m not sure how to ‘don’t.’”

He squeezed harder.

The pain, though light, seemed to help. “I’m not going to give up here.”