Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace (Dexter) novel Chapter 306

"Phoebe..." Dexter's voice carried an edge of desperation, the sting of mistrust tasted all too familiar now. "Why can't you just trust me once? Caleb is dangerous, and you should be running the other way, not... not falling for him. He's deceiving you, playing on the fact that you've forgotten your past. Dr. Damian told me that Caleb is a psychopath; he lacks empathy, incapable of love. His mind, his vision, it's all consumed by obsession—not a soul in sight."

I tuned Dexter out. He was relentless in his bad-mouthing of Colin.

"Foebe?" As I stepped into the hospital, Robin caught sight of me. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, pointing a thumb at Dexter. "Him."

A nurse approached to assess Dexter's injuries and ushered him off to the treatment room.

I whispered, "Henry's men."

Robin nodded in understanding. "Stay inside if you can."

"Why are you here?"

"There's been another incident," Robin murmured, glancing around. "Came to check it out. The victim's still hanging on, fighting for his life. The assailant was sloppy, panicked—didn't make sure the target was dead before dashing off, scattering spices to cover the track."

I nodded in acknowledgment. "So if the victim wakes up, he could ID the attacker?"

"We have already got surveillance footage of the suspect, they're moving in to arrest. I suspect there's a puppet master behind all this. If the victim survives, he might just flush out the mastermind." Robin spoke softly. "Look."

He shared his findings with me. "This person, another parent searching for his child, an eighteen-year-old gone for three years."

I paused, looking at Robin. "The common thread... the killers are parents driven to the brink by the loss of their children."

Victim and killer were one and the same.

"Did their kids all go missing at the same time?" I wondered aloud, suspecting these disappearances were connected to the shadowy figure behind it all.