Delivered (The Monster Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free

hands, while terrified she would be beaten for making a mess of the rug. Surely this couldn’t be the same girl. So many years had passed.
    But if his father had wanted to rid his house of the girl after perhaps sensing a connection between her and Monster, wasn’t it entirely possible he’d passed her off to Rodriguez’s family?
    Unaware of his recognition, the woman ran forward to put her arm around his waist and support his other side. “What happened?” she asked, as she helped them into the house.
    “G.S.W. to the shoulder,” the other man said. “Happened a few hours ago. Think the bullet’s still in there.”
    “Get him into the back. There’s a gurney he can lie down on. I’ll grab my bag and be right there.”
    Was this woman a doctor? Or a nurse?
    The idea she was the same girl his father had owned was crazy, wasn’t it? He’d lost a lot of blood, and had been losing consciousness. It was probably his delirious brain trying to feed him lies. Perhaps the loss of Lily had recalled the time when he’d felt he’d lost this nameless girl as well, and he’d conjured up an image and attached it to the face of this stranger.
    She hadn’t looked at him with any recognition; why would she? He was a stranger to her as well.
    Rodriguez’s man helped Monster through the house and into a large kitchen-dining area out the back. As she’d said, a hospital gurney was pushed up against one wall, and a silver tray was on wheels beside it. Bringing back people with injuries they couldn’t take to the hospital was obviously a matter of routine here.
    “You need to get onto the bed,” the man said.
    He was so weak he felt like he could barely lift his own feet up. “I can’t.”
    “You’re going to have to help me. I can’t get you up there by myself. You’re not exactly a lightweight guy.”
    Monster found the backs of his thighs bumping against the bed. He just needed to get his ass onto the bed and then he could lie down. If he could lie down, then he could sleep. And right now, all he wanted to do was sleep. Even though he knew there were important things to do, his body was a dead weight. He’d never needed to rest more in his life.
    With a boost, he managed to get onto the bed. His shoulder screamed in fresh pain, and the edges of his vision started to gray out. The room appeared like it was at the end of a tunnel. A hand helped him lie back, and the moment he was flat, his eyes slipped shut.
    He needed to sleep. He just hoped no one died while he did.

 
     
    Monster (Twenty-three Years Earlier)
     
     
     
     
     
    A squeak caught the boy’s attention.
    A squeak? Nothing in his room made a noise like that. His ears strained as he looked up from the book he was reading—Robinson Crusoe—his eyes slightly narrowed as he concentrated.
    There it was again! Definitely a squeak, followed by a scurry of little feet over by his dresser. Wildlife wasn’t something Monster ever saw much of. Did he dare hope something had made it into his room? Only on the rare occasion did he not eat his meals in the room, so, even though his father had women come and clean the room thoroughly once a week while Monster exercised, crumbs were bound to be missed. Where there was spilled food, there were mice.
    Monster got to his hands and knees, and peered beneath the dresser. Right at the back, a small brown mouse sat on its hind quarters, using its front paws to wash its face and ears.
    A wide smile broke out across Monster’s face.
    “Hey, little guy,” he said softly. “You’re cute, aren’t you?”
    The mouse paused its washing at the sound of his voice and looked in his direction, its tiny black eyes alive and alert with interest.
    “Well, looks like you’ve found some food,” Monster said amiably, noting the half eaten cookie which must have fallen down the back of the dresser. “If you’re going to stay for a while, you’re going to need something to drink as well.”
    Monster found the mouse a thimble