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“I can’t believe this has happened. Two other inmates escaped at the same time as Lovejoy.”
“How is that even possible?” I sputter. “I mean, without anyone knowing?”
Miller’s eyes narrow to dangerous slits.
“Some of our own people were helping them. They forged checklists and computer logs, while pretending the missing inmates were in the infirmary.”
Cole scowls. “I’d like to talk to these guards.”
“Me too,” Miller growls. “Unfortunately, none of them showed up for work today. It’s looking like Lovejoy paid them off.”
I don’t know how I should feel about all of this. I know I should be angry with the prison, or with the people who helped Julian escape. But it just seems like they’re all set dressing. The important thing is my stalker Ex escaped, and could be coming after me.
In a way, I guess I almost saw this day as inevitable, from the time I filled out the first restraining order.
“If the guards are a no-go, can I see the files on the men that Lovejoy escaped with?”
Warden Miller slides behind his desk and taps on his keyboard for a moment, then clicks the mouse. A second later, papers begin humming out of the printer.
“Lovejoy’s accomplices are just as dangerous as he is,” Miller says as Cole peruses the files. “Glen Banner, PhD. Former chemist at Berkley, until he was convicted of poisoning his ex-wife and her new family.”
Banner appears in his photo like a mild-mannered man in his forties. His glasses would mark him as a soft academic if not for his crimes.
“Phil Blumbert is the one who’s really troubling, though.”
My blood runs cold, because I recognize the thin, unassuming man in the photo, as well as the name.
“Oh my god. The Surgeon? My ex busted out with the help of a serial killer?”
Cole glances sharply my way, his eyes wide as the moon.
“I’m afraid it looks that way. Any one of these men is a threat on their own, but together…” Miller shakes his head. “I’m still not convinced that they planned this jointly. I mean, none of them have anything in common.”
“Other than a desire to escape,” Cole points out.
“Indeed,” Miller replies with a nod. “Of course, now that they achieved that goal, there’s no reason to believe that they are still together. They likely split up when they made it out of the penitentiary.”
Cole shakes his head, staring hard at the files in his hands.
“No. These men are staying together. They’ve formed a pack, with Lovejoy as the Alpha.”
“But they come from three radically different walks of life,” Miller insists. “Blumbert, despite the name the press gave him, never even finished high school, while Banner was a PhD. Lovejoy is practically a celebrity. They just don’t seem to mesh.”
“When I was in the Navy, I served with a lot of guys I didn’t mesh with. At first. But circumstances can breed camaraderie, especially when there’s a shared goal and a charismatic leader.”
Miller sighs. “So let’s assume you’re right, and these three men have formed a wolfpack of some sort. What do you think they’re going to do?”
Cole’s scowl deepens.
“They’re going to do what packs do best. Hunt.”
4
COLE
Jake died on a beautiful day.
It didn’t seem right at the time. Just like now. Lovejoy escaped. He’s on the lam with two other men as bad or more dangerous than himself.
