Page 13 of Cole
Devlin was nearby when chaos broke out in Gabe’s room. He quickly dashed to the door and rushed in, discovering the nurse grappling with Gabe, who was trying to pull out his IV.
“Let me out of here!” Gabe raged at the nurse as he ripped at the tape holding the IV in place.
The poor girl was no match for Gabe, and Devlin rushed to her aid. “Gabe!”
“Dr. Grant!” the nurse looked relieved. “I’m not sure what happened,” she said, visibly shaken. Being young, just in her early twenties, and new to the hospital staff, she added, “He just panicked.”
“What’s going on?” Devlin pressed, turning his focus to Gabe. “Gabe, stop! You could hurt yourself! What are you doing?” Devlin pushed Gabe to recline against the elevated bed and kept him there briefly. “Gabe,” Devlin said in a soothing tone, even though he felt far from tranquil inside. “What’s wrong?”
Gabe looked frantically at Devlin, his chest heaving. “Where is Cole?”
“He’s in the hospital's waiting room. He’s fine.” He wasn’t fine—far from it—but Gabe didn’t need to know that right now. “Just calm down and speak to me.” He looked at the nurse and gestured towards the IV that was coming loose. “Tape it down again.”
The young woman paused, glancing nervously at Gabe before she obeyed Devlin’s instructions to fix the IV.
Gabe gripped Devlin’s arm with his free hand, his fingers gouging. “Abel…” he whispered tightly. “Is Abel okay? And Savannah? Maddy?”
They weren’t okay—but how did Gabe know? Why was he asking about them?
Devlin’s hesitation intensified Gabe’s fear. “Tellme!” Gabe cried. “Are theyokay?”
Devlin swallowed hard and glanced at the nurse who had finished with the IV. “Can you excuse us, Nurse Amy? I’ll take it from here.”
The woman nodded, looked concerned at Gabe, and exited the room.
“What the fuck is going on?” Gabe breathed heavily. “Who was that man who was here before?”
“What man?” Devlin tensed.
Gabe’s voice trembled as he recounted his visitor’s words to Devlin. “Who the hell is Henry?” Gabe asked fiercely. “What the hell was he talking about?”
Devlin felt himself shaking; the monster was here? Right here in the hospital, inGabe’s room?
Until now, everything Cole had shared seemed… phantastic… like some sinister tale of dark fiction. Yet the monster was real—and he displayed no fear as he strode into their midst… and claimed what he desired.
“Devlin.”
Devlin flinched as Gabe’s fingers dug into his arm.
“Who thefuckwas that man?” Gabe demanded. “Why did he say those things about Abel and the kids?What the fuck is going on?”
“You…” Devlin cleared his throat, overwhelmed by emotions. “You have to speak to Cole. I can’t…” His vision became hazy as fear for Abel and the kids surged within him. “Just… talk to Cole.”
Gabe struggled to speak as he whispered, “Get himnow.”
Cole sat with his head in his hands. He didn’t look up when the waiting room door opened; his mind was fragmented.
“Cole,” Dane said quietly, touching his shoulder.
His head felt heavy as he slowly raised his bloodshot eyes to the law officer standing before him. The man swam in Cole’s blurry vision, his features distorted. Cole sniffed and cleared his throat, sitting up straighter.
“Mr. Young?” the cop asked.
Gathering his strength, Cole pushed himself up with some effort. “Yes.” His voice was thick and raspy, tinged with tears. “I’m Cole Smith-Young.”
For a moment, the officer simply looked at him.
As Cole's vision sharpened, he saw the man more clearly and realized he knew this person.
