Page 73 of Unholy Masks

“Trish, take a breath. He won’t come anywhere near you. I promise. Come on. You need to calm down. Take a deep breath.”

She ripped her IV off and stood up, her hospital gown listlessly hanging down her. She shook her head and took a few steps before she sat down on the floor.

“Trish…”

Her doctors and nurses hurried in, motioning me to get outside.

She looked alright just before this breakdown, but of course, trauma rarely left you intact.

I walked out and waited with the detectives as the doctors worked on her when Agent Hayes walked toward me with Detective Rosario.

“What happened?”

“She—she was alright, and then she wasn’t,” I said, wiping my face.

Agent Hayes cleared his throat. “What do you think, Doctor West? Could she really…” He didn’t look quite convinced. “He had never made a mistake like this. No, this is bigger than a slip-up. This is practically his death sentence.”

“Maybe we just got really lucky,” Detective Rosario said. “Or very, very unlucky. Depending on where he goes from here. He might disappear and never kill again…”

Agent Hayes pulled out his phone, typing something before he turned to us.

“Or he might come back for her. Finish what he started.”

16

THE CHAMELEON

YARA

He might come back for her.

She might.

Agent Hayes was right. If Trish was the Strangler’s first and only mistake, she would want to correct it.

I peeked in through the slightly opened door, studying Trish. Her eyes were closed, but her body still trembled from whatever nightmare still haunted her.

I walked out and called Ryden again.

“Are you busy?” I asked, staring at the gurneys that passed through the corridors, and the doctors that never stopped.

The world was moving. It was always moving. No matter what happened, no matter who died, it would still keep moving.

“The cops are still monitoring Valentina’s place. I hope I didn’t make a mistake.”

I knew it would destroy him if something happened to Valentina. She trusted him, turned to him, and if he couldn’t protect her…

“I’m going to meet one of the sisters who was at the Convent back then.”

“It’s late now. Can’t we go tomorrow?”

“I can’t wait. I found something. I had to check now. I’ll go by myself.”

“I’m already here, Red. Come on out.”

Smiling, I stepped out of the door, my chest tightening with something odd the moment I saw him. There he was. Looking perfect even amid this chaos that raged around. Steady, unwavering, mine.

The world could explode, and still Ryden would be there for me, having my back, just like he always had.