Page 108 of A New Days Don

What is he doing with Gerardo?

I shake my head, rubbing my eyes before looking back at the door. Both of them are gone.

My skin prickles with nerves. My pulse is thrumming so hard I can’t hear a thing. That couldn’t have been him.

It wasn’t.

It has to be the heat. That’s it. Just a lack of hydration.

“Are you okay?” Daisy’s voice trembles.

I nod, “Yes, let's go.”

The drive to the rehab centre was quick, but the entire way there, I felt on edge.

My stomach twisted into knots, and despite holding onto the steering wheel, my hands won’t stop shaking. My phone vibrates, but I ignore it, stepping out of the car and into the sweltering heat as Daisy follows suit.

“Yah don’t hav’ta do this,” she murmurs meekly and I offer her a soft, genuine smile.

“I want to do this,” I insist, “Any friend of Jazzy is a friend of mine, and you want to get better, don’t you?”

“Yes ma’am,” she nods.

I sigh, realizing she won’t let that go, and accepting it as her way of appreciating and respecting me for what I have done so far to help her, even if it wasn’t much.

“Then I want to help you. I have never been to a rehab, but this one comes highly recommended.” I tell her as we walk up the treelined path to the front door, “I know you don’t know me, but I will come by once a week to see you, more if I can.”

The pallor of Daisy’s cheeks takes on a slight pink colour as she whispers, “Thank you.”

When she looks up at me, her eyes are brimming with tears, “I haven’t had a friend or family in years… Not until Jazzy.”

“I’m sure Jazzy will come visit,” I tell her, “I will make sure she knows you’re here.”

“Okay…” Daisy’s head dips slightly, as if all the energy she had in her petite body has all but left her.

“C’mon, let's go get you signed in.”

Chapter 43

Mila

My heart hammers in my chest as I read the text over and over again. After signing Daisy in and organizing payment for her care, I left her with one of the nurses. I have been sitting here, staring at my phone screen for the last ten minutes.

I haven’t heard from my unknown texter for a while. After the house incident and his pitiful piece of information, I gave up trying to wring any evidence out of him. The only regret I have is not being able to retrieve more women who had been killed.

How many more women are there?

The question has been haunting me for weeks now. I knew it wasn’t the seventeen we had found, but after this game we have been playing, dozens more have been found.

Nausea squeezes my stomach in a vice grip as I think about the numbers. It has been at least six years. There could be hundreds. There could be thousands.

The only reason we have found these women is that the unknown subject has gotten bored. He wants to watch us scurry to find evidence and figure him out. Every day that goes by, he gets cockier that he will never get caught… At least up until now.

I yelp as my phone begins to ring. Clutching my chest, I answer it without looking at who is calling.

“Do you have a dirty little habit I’m unaware of?” Massimo purrs through the line. His voice fills the jaguar, and it makes my stomach swoop for him.

I missed him.