Cellar Door

I turn around, but it’s too late. Luke is already through the door. His eyes meet mine and, I see the truth in that ice-blue gaze. He digs his coin from his pocket and holds it up.

“Don’t, Luke,” I say, gripping the handle of the knife so tightly my knuckles ache.

“You have a choice to make.” He flips the coin. “Heads, you kill him. Tails, you wait here to kill me.” He peeks at the coin. “Damn. I really hope the coin is wrong.”

He slams the door closed.

I hear the bolt slide into place with a chilling clink.

19

Catch Fire

Luke

Jennifer Myer has amassed an empire.

Now that her husband is dead, she’s the sole owner of all his companies. All his shares. Stocks. Bonds. Every investment. Every property.

She wears the crown.

And like a true queen, she has protection. Before her hired PI went missing and Keller was taken out, before Milton was a pile of ash, she was safely concealed behind a man; she was unseen. Now, with a revenge-fueled vigilante on the loose, there’s a threat to expose her identity and position within Phiser.

She won’t be taking any chances. Too many players have been taken out for Jennifer not to have shielded herself with the best security that money—a shit ton of dirty money—can buy.

I’m parked across the street from Lake View Cemetery. Rain mists the air. It’s the kind of vapor rain that comes from all angles—the kind you breathe into you lungs with every breath. The gray-slate sky creates the perfect dreary backdrop for meeting unsavory types in a graveyard.

I reach into the passenger seat and grab the canister before I exit my Charger. I give the hood a pat, saying my goodbye. My car will probably become a heap of dismantled scraps when Jennifer’s guys get done with it.

Admittedly, Makenna was supposed to be here. She was the intended bait. She doesn’t present as a threat, and could’ve easily drawn Jennifer out with less of an entourage.

Me, on the other hand, I probably have at least three sharpshooters aimed at my head. But, I’m willing to bet no one pulls the trigger. Not out here. Not until Mrs. Myer gets what she came for.

There’s a particular thing this woman wants even more than a meddling ex-detective.

Besides, Makenna is a busy woman at the moment.

I feel a twinge of shame—but it’s brief. Easily snuffed out. I’ve mastered the desensitization process. I can’t let flashes of our heated encounter weaken me. As I make my way through the cemetery, I swear I can hear her voice, see those dark eyes watching me. Whatever happens next, I at least got to experience her, even if it was artificial, a manufactured moment. It felt real enough.

Makenna taught me enough during her short stay in my cellar. I’m wearing thick long sleeves, for one thing. Women like to scratch.

And two, women are in control.

There’s no denying this. These past three years have been a service to Jules, the first woman of my heart. Her memory dictated every choice, every move I made. Until I looked into Makenna’s eyes in that alley.

In that suspended instant, she made me question the truth of myself.

Monster or man?

The fear tasted like acid, a painful realization that I was crossing into a darkness no longer governed by my desire for revenge. I was feeding the beast.

And I could’ve easily fell off the cliff right into the abyss. It’s easier than living with the pain.

I place Myer’s ashes in the crook of my elbow as I walk past two luxury cars. One is Jennifer’s silver Lexus. The other, her security detail. She’d rather not be here, opting to let her associates handle any unseemly dealings—like her husband used to do for her—but this has to be done right. It’s too important. She can’t have any more mistakes.

“Stop right there.”

I halt at the command. A large man in a gray suit steps from behind a tree and directs me to place the canister on the ground. I do so, slowly, then hold my hands up as he proceeds to pat me down.