AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At home, the porch light sees me in, a sign that Gavin is still out or in bed. The house is quiet, so his job must have taken longer than usual. It’s not uncommon, Gavin getting home in the middle of the night.
I’m out cold in minutes.
Until a loud ringing interrupts my dreams.
It’s… the telephone? The land line.
I debate letting it go until I realize the porch light is still on and I see the clock above the fireplace, just visible in the glow through the window. 4 a.m.
Gavin’s still not home.
I bolt off the couch, right into the kitchen, snatching the receiver off the charger.
“Hello?”
There’s no sound, except what might be breathing.
“Hello? G–Gavin?”
“Urm… L–Lena…” It’s so faint I can barely hear it.
“Gavin! What’s wrong?” The line is silent again, panic rising as I strain to catch any sound. Finally, he growls, closer to the phone.
“Shot. Bleeding out. N–need you.”
19
HELLENA
Shock jumpstarts instinct. Instead of overtaking me, making me lock up, it cannonballs me into action.
I’m dressed and sprinting out the door before I even have a chance to process. The line went dead. He won’t answer.
So I have to find him.
But I have no clue where he might be. He could be fucking anywhere!
A million horrible possibilities rush through my mind.
The first is to call Tell, hope that he can come help me. But he left me to go to work. He may not answer. And I can’t just risk someone else’s life dragging them into whatever took down Gavin Rorshak.
Next is Evan. I’m sure he might have some method of finding out where Gavin is, but by the time he does, it may be too late.
Come on, Hellena, think!
I’m clutching the truck keys so hard my hand stings, and I open them, staring at the ring. There’s one unfamiliar key on the ring. And I’m pretty sure I know what it goes to.
The office in the garage.
Rules be damned, I find myself jerking the rolling door up, barely waiting for the fluorescent lights to warm up before jamming the key into the lock and praying it turns. The low, hollow click of the bolt sliding back is like music.
I only hope there’s something in here that can help me.
What I find inside is… disturbing.
A medical table graces the center of the room, vats of chemicals along one wall beside a huge tub, equipped with a massive sprayer and a drain trap. I know without a doubt what he uses this room for. This is a butchering room, designed to dissolve and dispose of remains.
I force the thought out of my head, scrambling for the desk on the other side of the room. It’s as organized inside as I would expect from Gavin, spartan, minimalistic. Which works in my favor as I look around, my eyes settling on an old rolodex of cards, most of them faded and wrinkled.
