The Note on Jolene’s Monitor Said Two Words

was long gone by then. One nail hung by a strip. I ripped it off with my teeth and kept moving.

Ryan was inside, tied to a chair.

His face was bruised. One eye swollen. His shirt had blood on the collar.

When he saw me, he started crying.

Actual tears. Wet chin. Snot.

“Emma,” he said. “Please.”

I stood in the doorway.

Behind him, Malcolm Harrington held a continue reading …