Larissa Judson and Haskell Palmer novel Chapter 613

Larissa entered the bedroom to find Sire lying on his side, facing away from her. She sat on the edge of the bed, took out her needle case, and gently took Sire’s hand to check his pulse. After a moment, she let go.

“You can stop pretending, Sire.”

The figure on the bed flinched.

“I know you’re awake. A sleeping person’s breathing is steady. When I first treated you, you were unconscious, and your breathing was even. Right now, it’s shallow and erratic.”

The figure on the bed finally moved, and Sire turned over to face her.

“Why pretend to be asleep?”

Knowing she understood sign language, he sat up and signed: [It’s nothing.]

“Nothing?” Larissa said, wiping a silver needle. “If you and Rigby are hiding something from me, I can’t continue your treatment.”

At this, Sire’s eyes hardened.

[Fine. Don’t treat me. I’m not afraid to die.]

“Yeah, you’re not afraid to die,” Larissa agreed calmly. “If you were, you wouldn’t have killed Gertrude in such a brutal way.”

The mention of Gertrude ignited a fire of hatred in Sire’s eyes. His signs became sharp and furious.

[People like her deserve worse than death. I wanted her to feel true terror!]

“I agree,” Larissa nodded. “Her gruesome end was quite satisfying.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “Gertrude had a daughter. She’s in the same business, only she traffics young women instead of children.”

“Why not?”

“Because he doesn’t trust my Haskell,” she said bluntly. “Why should I waste my time on a thankless task? If it weren’t for Haskell, I never would have agreed to treat him in the first place.”

Rigby was speechless. Finally, he sighed. “I’ll get him. We’ll go see Thatch.”

As long as he could see his so-called father, he would tell Haskell everything, whether Sire agreed or not.

…

Across the street from the apartment complex, a man sat in the passenger seat of a black sedan. When he saw Haskell’s group emerge and get into their car, he immediately called Fraser.

“Haskell has left with his brother. It looks like they’re heading toward the asylum… Yes, I’ll continue to follow them.”