Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Basically, they only needed the PD and the coroner there to document the scene and remove the body. They would not tell them about T-Bone. They’d handle the prospect themselves.
He timed it so Decker and Finn would arrive first because once the local cops were on scene, he didn’t want to risk them being complete dicks and barring them from going back into the room.
Rez waited until the big man unfolded himself from the driver’s seat before he approached. “Deck, I went to the office and got a spare sheet to cover her. Warning, the smell is foul and what’s under that sheet is even fouler.”
“Fuck. She’s already decomposing?”
Rez grimaced. “That and other things…”
Decker’s head tipped to the side in question. “What other things?”
Rez only shook his head and once again swallowed down the bile that didn’t want to stay in his gut.
“You think she OD’d?” Finn asked, rounding the back of the car to join them.
“Hard to tell,” Rez answered him. “Her body simply might have quit on her. She had wasted away to nothing.”
“She was already in bad shape when that fucker stole her from Good Samaritan,” Decker growled.
“Yeah, well…”
“Want to give me a run-down?” Decker asked.
“No.”
Decker’s forehead creased. “That bad?”
“Worse.”
“Fuck,” Deck whispered, then said louder, “Okay. Since you already called the locals, let’s get this over with before they get here.”
“I’ll wait out here,” Rez announced. No fucking way was he going back into that room. He’d never get that stink out of his nostrils or what he witnessed from his nightmares.
That was a mark he might never be able to erase.
After both Decker and Finn stared at him for a few seconds, their expressions turned grim and both went into the room.
Not even a minute later, Finn was running back out and to the edge of the parking lot to expel whatever he ate last.
“I warned you,” Rez called out.
Once his stomach was empty, Finn remained bent over with hands planted on his thighs, spitting onto the ground.
When he was done, he headed over to the car, grabbed a bottle of water and rinsed out his mouth.
Rez headed over to him. “You okay?”
“No.”
“Do you need me to rub your back?”
“Fuck off.”
“Did you look under the sheet?”
“Didn’t get that far.”
“I didn’t know you were such a wussy.”
“Says the asshole standing outside, refusing to go back in,” Finn said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
Rez shrugged. “I’m not stupid.”
With a sigh, Finn turned and leaned back against the car. He scrubbed a hand through his thick, red hair as he glanced around. He frowned. “Where’s Nox?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Finn asked.
“He got one look in the room and bolted. Kind of like you, but without the puking.”
“What? Well, we need to find him.”
“No shit. But he’s a big boy and we have other shit to deal with first. One of those is making sure we’re here to support Decker.”
“Fuck,” Finn muttered, glancing back at the room. “How the fuck is he staying in there that long?”
“My guess? He has no choice. He’s the one that has to break the news to Sloane. He needs complete knowledge on the situation so he can do that.”
“Holy fuck. We figured it would be bad, but not that bad.”
“If you didn’t see her, let me tell you, it’s worse than you think.”
Finn’s eyes, shadowed from the early morning light, met his. “What do you mean? What did you see?”
“When I got into the room, she was spread-eagle on the bed without a stitch of clothing. The dried matter caked to her inner thighs, on her chest, even coming out of her mouth wasn’t from her decomposing…”
“Get the fuck out,” Finn groaned.
“Dude, I’m never going to unsee that. No lie, it’s going to haunt me for the rest of my fucking life.”
“And Nox saw it,” Finn concluded.
“Yeah. Like I said, he split a few seconds after, but yeah…”
“With what happened to his wife…”
“Finn, you’re telling me shit I already know.” That was another situation Rez didn’t want to relive.
“For fuck’s sake,” his redheaded brother exclaimed, “we should’ve left him back in PA.”
“Again… you’re telling me shit I already know.” Rez pushed out a breath, then added, “And now regret.”
He elbowed Finn when Decker rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
They both headed over to the big man, now pacing with a hand clamped to his forehead and chanting, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He abruptly stopped and screamed, “FUCK!”
Oh shit. Damage control was needed. “She didn’t want to help herself, Deck, you know that. She was swallowed up by her addiction. Sometimes they’re not savable. No matter what you do.” Rez was trying to ease the turmoil Decker was feeling but it wasn’t helping.
“I know that only too well, but that doesn’t make it any easier for Sloane.” The agony in his voice cut Rez to the core.