He emptied the half drank mug of coffee he’d used to deliver the sedative to his mother and washed it out twice to get rid of any sedative residue. Not that the cops would suspect him of his mother’s death.
How long should he wait before going back downstairs? He stared at the closed door, contemplating the pros and cons of going downstairs to watch her sleep. Temptation ate at him, clawing through his belly straight to his balls. He needed to touch her, but if he touched her, he would go too far.
He reached out to touch the doorknob to the basement when a knock sounded at the door. He spun, shock filling him. Who was here? Jenkins turned to the door to the basemen, making sure it was closed before going to the front door.
At first glance out the window, he swore the person was a kid, but when he opened the door, it was a pizza delivery guy.
“I’ve got a pizza for you.”
“I didn’t order one.”
“Well, it’s already payed for. Might as well take it.”
Jenkins reached for the pizza but something about the guy set off a warning in his head. He paused, his gaze connecting with the guy who seemed way too interested in him. There was a look in the guy’s eyes that told him he’d judged the man wrong. This wasn’t some teenager who couldn’t find another job, this guy was way too interested in him and his house. He jerked back and was about to slam the door when the guy put his foot in the way and stopped him.
“What are you doing?” Jenkins screamed as he tried to close the door.
“Just delivering a pizza.”
“Go away!” He shoved the guy away, needing to get the door shut.
When he slammed the door, he turned the lock to keep the man out. Something was up. There was no way someone had sent him a pizza and that delivery guy was too interested in him to be at the wrong address.
He had to get out of here with Elowen, or he would be totally fucked. There was no way any of this would turn out in his favor.
Chapter 35
Griz was watchingthe confrontation on a monitor two blocks away. He didn’t like how it was going. The SWAT team was still ten blocks away. They’d sent in the pizza guy first, thinking that would give them time to analyze the situation inside.
He couldn’t sit still. He moved away from the monitor and the detective, moving down the street to the front of another house. He looked between the houses and realized he could see a straight path to the back of the jerk’s house and an angled door that had to be an entrance to the basement.
Thario had followed and wasn’t too far behind him. He turned and met Thario’s gaze. The slight nod from Thario confirmed what he’d been thinking. He had to go in and find out what the hell was going on.
He covered the distance quickly and moved to the basement doors, seeing it was locked, but the wood was weak. All it would take was one good yank.
Without hesitating, Griz bent and pulled at the door. The wood snapped, and it wasn’t too loud. He ducked in,closing the door quietly above. He had moved about four steps down when he heard a scream.
That was Elowen.
He turned on the light for his phone and raced ahead, slamming into the door. He’d kicked down doors before, and usually it was hard. The doorjamb had wood rot, so the frame gave quickly, and he spilled into the room, stumbling into the man who was holding Elowen by her hair with scissors in his other hand poised right above her head.
Chapter 36
Elowen woketo find the man in the room with her. She let out a scream because the weirdo scared the hell out of her.
“Shut up!”
He pulled scissors from his pocket and held them up. She shrank back against the wall, her body still numb from whatever he’d given her.
“Wha-what are you doing?”
“Time to make you look different. I’m going to shave your head after I cut off the length you do have.”
“No!” She shook her head and tried to stay away from his grasp, but he caught her hair and pulled, sending pain through her body.
“Turn around and face away so I can cut your hair to make it easier to shave or I’ll sink these scissors into your thigh.”
She whimpered as she moved, afraid he would stab her. A crash sounded outside, but it could have been anything. She knew her hair would grow back, the main thing was staying alive.
