One of Them (Vigil #2) Read Online Free PDF

shock you if you attempt to interfere.”
    “And the blood?” I asked, feeling the need for it again.
    “That will be delivered as you sleep.” He began to head out. “For all involved, I hope that you change your mind about cooperating. I would hate to lose you for real this time.”

Heartbreaker
    I could see his face through the bars. His eyes were teary.
    Recognizing that I’d awakened, he took a careful step backward, his dotted tie hanging loose around his neck and his shirt sleeves rolled high above his elbows. At first glance, he looked winsome and casual, the way he’d always looked, like it was all some carefully orchestrated seduction. The saddened expression he had put on for my benefit only added to his appeal. In truth, I was shocked he had the guts to come see me. He never seemed the type for confrontation, too tender around the edges. Mackenzie Douglass, the handsome detective who had pretended to be so enamored with me.
    “Good morning,” he said, dabbing at the wetness on his face. “I was told you’d be sleeping a while longer.”
    I sat up, freezing in mid-movement, realizing that I was wearing a plastic and orange muumuu dress. I was mad at myself at once. For some ridiculous reason I actually cared that this idiot would be seeing me when I was so out of sorts and degraded. I had no idea what my problem was. This man, this cretinous clotheshorse, had abandoned his post as violence was done to me—the very moment when he was supposed to be protecting me. He now stood whimpering outside my cell, betraying me again and again with every inactive breath that he took. Worrying about what a coward thought of me—I would not do it. I was going to make this prick pay like I was going to make all the rest of them pay. It would not be pretty.
    “What the hell do you want?” I said.
    “To see you. I just found out you were down here. I couldn’t believe it.”
    “Liar.”
    “I am not lying. They told us you and Beth had both died while we were searching for Jessup in the park. They had a funeral for you and everything. It was like six weeks ago. I met your Uncle Ray and your little brother Grant. The poor kid was devastated. He loves you a lot.”
    Six weeks. Six goddamned weeks. Had I been blacking out longer than I thought? Or had they been keeping me sedated? Or, had the transition into the new me actually taken that long to finalize?
    My nose made a wheezing noise as I spoke. “Do you expect me to believe I’ve been down here as long as you say I have and you had no idea about any of it?”
    “I didn’t.”
    The twit did look perplexed. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes had stopped tearing.
    “You have to believe me,” he said. “No one knew about this until Castellano told us yesterday. I nearly quit when I found out he’d been lying to me. Racine, too. All of us up in the bullpen are angry. We grieved for you, Grace. We blamed ourselves for what happened to you.”
    “And you should have.” My tone was acidic. “All that stuff still went down whether I’m alive or dead.”
    He nodded. “I am so, so sorry. You didn’t deserve any of it. Beth did not deserve any of it.”
    “Why are you here?” I asked, climbing all the way off the bed and positioning myself in front of it. “If you’re looking for absolution, you’re not getting it. If you’re here on Castellano’s request, I will not do anything that he says. And just so we’re clear, I will kill any motherfucker who comes into this cell.”
    Mac breathed out. He was shaking. He was either scared of me, or he truly was hurting. Even after he’d regained his composure, his words came out murmured. “I’m only here to see how you’re doing. I had to see you for myself. I didn’t think it was possible when he said you were actually alive.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed there were now two buckets on the floor. One was yellow and filled with blood. The other was black and empty. I could not stop staring