Slaves to Evil - 11 Read Online Free Page A

stopped at a water fountain to refill his bottle. That, at least, was still free.

    He returned to the building. Elena was still tied to the doorknob. The T-shirt rope had held up surprisingly well. She’d obviously spent the time he was gone struggling to free herself. Her wrists were raw and bleeding.
    Matt pulled the hydrogen peroxide from his shopping bag and approached her. “Let me look at your wrists.”
    She kicked out at him viciously, barely missing his ankle. Matt backed off, raising his hands in surrender. “Fine.”
    He sat down across the room and tended to his own injuries by lantern light. He cleaned and bandaged the entry and exit wounds. One benefit of his resurrection—he’d become a quick healer. Didn’t make it hurt any less, though. He took several pills with a gulp of water.
    He turned to Elena. “You should drink some too. And have something to eat. Can I get close enough to untie you?”
    She considered this and decided some cooperation was worth it. “OK.”
    Matt picked up the revolver, which was still resting on the floor. He shouldn’t have left it in the room with her. He really did suck at kidnapping. Now he tucked the gun into the back of his pants. Elena still needed to think he might use it.
    He untied her hands, watching to make sure she didn’t grab for the gun. He put a granola bar, two apples, and the water bottle on the floor beside her and stepped back. They both ate quietly. Matt knew he should say something, use this opportunity to…do what? Try to talk her out of avenging her brother? He didn’t know if that was even possible. He suddenly wanted Janey ferociously. She was always better at this kind of thing, soothing hurt feelings, sweet-talking the salesman into a lower price. She’d know exactly what to say.
    “You probably have to pee, don’t you?” Matt winced as he heard himself. Smooth, Cahill, he thought.
    But Elena nodded. “Yeah.”
    “OK.” He stood, holding the gun at his side as before. “Let’s see if there’s a bathroom.”
    She walked ahead of him out of the room and into a hallway lined with doors. She looked behind a couple and found the bathroom. There was no running water, but it would have to do. He nodded for her to go in. As she tried to close the door, he held it open.
    “I’ll be right here,” he reminded her, then turned to face the other way. He heard her pull down her jeans and sit on the toilet. A pause, then a stream of liquid hit the bowl. Matt thought this might be the most uncomfortable moment of his life. Elena finished. No tearing of toilet paper. No flush. Just cloth sliding back over hips.
    “Done?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    Matt turned back toward her. He motioned for her to walk first back to the room. He took another stab at conversation.
    “Does your family know where you are, what you’re doing?”
    “No,” she said. “They think I went back to college.”
    “You know they wouldn’t want you looking for revenge.”
    They stepped back into the room. Elena turned to him. “Actually, Dad’s more concerned about whether Mom will try to OD on pills again when she comes home from the hospital.”
    Her words were like a physical blow. She kept going, wanting it to hurt more. “She always denied it, but Peter was her favorite. I don’t think she’ll ever get over losing him.”
    At that moment, Matt hated himself. As horrible as he’d always felt about ending human lives, no matter how corrupted by darkness, this was a new dimension of guilt. How much grief had he caused, for how many families? They’d never know the circumstances, just that their loved ones were gone forever. Matt knew that Mr. Dark played a big part in those deaths, but he couldn’t dismiss his own role. He did kill those people. Maybe if he’d been a little smarter, thought a little harder, he could have come up with an alternative to at least one death.

    Maple Grove, North Carolina
    Once he’d found the half dozen corrupted souls within