Love Me Dead (Lilah Love 3)

“Why come if you’re not going to show support?” He moves toward me, and I let him hug me, but in my mind, all I hear is “at least they didn’t kill you.”

He releases me and flicks a look at Kane then back to me. “I know you love him. I’ve spoken with Pocher. There is strength in us all coming together. Tonight is good. I need you on stage by my side.”

“I’ll be right there,” I say, still digesting the fact that he just basically told me that he thinks this truce between us and the Society means that Kane is now an ally. I think of Murphy’s agenda. They all want Kane, and they’re all going through me to get to him.

I turn to Kane and Roger. Roger is trying to hold a conversation. That doesn’t really work with Kane, but in this moment, I decide Roger is here to try to get a read on Kane, to try to find a weakness beyond me. Which could mean he’s with Pocher which would explain my change of heart with him that dates back to before I left. It could even be about his intrigue for a man like Kane, or the fact that Kane is suing the department, but whatever the case, I don’t like it. It pisses me off. I close the space between me and the two men, closing my hand down on Kane’s arm, stepping close to him. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight, Roger,” I say. “How did that happen?”

“The entire building is filled with law enforcement. Your father is one of us, former police chief and all. I was going to mention it today, but we lost each other.”

“You didn’t even mention it on the phone.”

“Yes, well, you got me all absorbed in this case of yours. As for old cases that might link to these new ones, I might have a few we can look at.”

“May I have your attention!” It’s my brother at the podium. “We’re about to get started.”

“Can I speak to you?” I ask, turning to Kane.

He nods, and I take his hand, guiding him toward a gap in the crowd and then toward the side of the stage. “You know this is all about you, right? They want you under their thumb.”

“Do they?”

“You knew coming into this?”

“Of course, I knew. I do nothing without intent. You knew, too.”

He’s right. Ultimately, I did, but I keep secretly yearning for everything I think about my father to be all wrong. It’s like my fear of looking into Roger’s eyes. It’s distracting. And I have that fear with my father. I’m not afraid he’ll see me. I’m afraid I’ll see him.

A woman steps to my side. “We need you.”

“Of course you do.” I wave her off. “The minute I step off that stage, we leave.”

Kane arches a brow. “No dinosaurs?”

“I believe I’ve had enough dinosaurs tonight.”

“Good point,” he says. “I’ll be right here waiting on you, beautiful.” He leans in close, and whispers. “And you are beautiful tonight, Lilah.”

I melt a little. This man is the only person on planet earth that can make me melt like a girl. I like it. I like it a lot. Somehow, that little comment makes my walk to the stage shorter, the face to face with Mayor Ellison that follows, almost palpable. “Agent Love. I didn’t know you were your father’s daughter. It explains a lot.”

“I don’t know what that means, and frankly, I don’t care.” I try to step around him.

He blocks me. “I had to do it. You convinced me that the only win was the one that made the city feel safer.”

“They won’t feel safer when Umbrella Man makes you look stupid.”

Andrew steps to our sides, and I twist away from the mayor. Soon, I’m on the stage as my father talks, and if I didn’t know he was a bastard, I’d vote for him. Okay, I wouldn’t. I don’t vote. I’ve seen too much. I know they all suck. My gaze shifts often to Kane and his is always on me until a phone call grabs his attention. It’s not a good call either. He walks away. Kane wouldn’t walk away with me on stage unless privacy was critical. Time begins to pass brutally slow. Finally, the speech winds down, and my father says we have a very special American flag cake tonight made by the Sweet Kings, just for us. A huge draped display is rolled out and drums roll, literally. Talk about overkill.

The drape is pulled, and I’m anticipating at least a piece of cake to remember this night by when gasps fill the room. There is no cake. It’s a very large dead pig dripping blood.

Chaos erupts, and Andrew turns to me. “What the hell?” My father steps to our circle.

“It’s a gift to the mayor from the killer we’re hunting,” I say. “I told him not to speak today. Get everyone out of here. He likes poison.”

Andrew takes control of the stage, and the microphone, speaking to the crowd while I talk to security. We get the guests moving to the doors, and finally, I make my way to the side of the stage to have Kane lift me from the top. He takes my hand and walks me away from the crowd, tension radiating off of him. That call was trouble. There’s more going on than a pig at a party. He pulls me around a corner and into a hallway.

“I need to go to Texas,” he says. “Now. That problem exploded.”

“Now?”

“Now. Come with me. Get away from this.”

“You know I can’t do that. I can’t leave when someone could end up dead.”

“We’ll be back by late tomorrow.”

“No. I can’t. I need to get back in there.”

He cuts his stare, clearly battling with his need to leave before he fixes me in a turbulent stare. “Then I’m having Jay stay the night in the apartment with you.” Jay steps around the corner. “He’s your shadow.”

“I don’t need Jay to stay with me.”

He cups my face. “You will do this for me, woman. I can’t deal with this and worry about you.”

His voice vibrates with those words. Kane’s voice doesn’t vibrate. He’s on edge. This problem is bad, maybe even worse than I know. “Yes. Yes, okay.” I ease back to look at him, that emotion that only he stirs in me welling in my chest. “No one kills you but me. You understand?”

“I’ll be back. You’re here.” He kisses me, deep and passionate, and then he leaves me with Jay, a dead pig, and a bunch of politicians.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“What can I do now?” Jay asks.

“Look for the sick bastard,” I say. “He’s here, watching the show. And look for Detective Williams. She’s next.”

He nods and heads back into the main party as I do the same. I’m greeted by Andrew and Houston. “We got your father, the mayor, and Pocher out of here,” Houston says. Apparently, my father demanded it. “I’m calling in a forensics team now that we have the place clear.”

A man who actually knows his job, thank you, Lord.

“What is this, Lilah?” Andrew asks.

“I told you what this is, and I warned Mayor Ellison not to taunt this guy.” I consider sharing details and decid

e I have no choice. “He picks targets and goes after their loved ones first. He makes them commit suicide to save the real victims, but he kills them anyway. He’s fixated on me. I think that I’m just part of the game, not a victim, but you need to be careful and make sure dad’s people are on high alert.”

“I really hate that this is your job,” Andrew says. “Can you quit already? I mean you and Kane are both rich. Just quit.” He’s serious. He’s frazzled, and my bother isn’t one to get frazzled, but he’s also the human side of this family and thank God for him.

I grab his arm. “I’m good, okay? I promise. I’m not a delicate flower.”

“But you bleed, Lilah.”

“Not anytime soon. I’m too much of a bitch. You told me so more than once. Go make sure dad’s safe. And stay in the Hamptons until this is over.”

“Come with me.”

“I can’t do that. Go, Andrew.”

He scrubs his jaw. “I need to tell you that dad took Roger with him. The mayor wanted his input.”

I don’t even blink. “Good.” I think. “Every pain in my ass but you are now in one place.”

He laughs. “You mean that don’t you?”

“Oh, hell yeah, I mean that. Go be with them and then you’ll all be in one place.”

“Fine. I’m going. Call me when you get home.”

“Don’t count on it.” I motion him away. “Go. Leave. Now.”

“Call me, you pain in my ass.”

“No.” He scowls and kisses my temple before he leaves.

I turn my attention to Houston, and he says, “I got this, Lilah. You go do whatever profilers do.” “We’re going to lock this place down and require special gear.”

“I need to walk the scene.”

“Hell no. We have no dead body this time. We aren’t taking the risk of extra personnel, you included, walking around the place.”

“We’re walking around it now.”

“Which is stupid. That is the word of the day, right?”

“Okay, but the cameras and—”

“I got it all,” he promises. “Cameras, witnesses, prints, you name it. Go do the part that might actually catch this guy.”