AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His eyes flew open.
“Because that’s what you have been doing, isn’t it, Beau? You’ve been hunting killers and leaving them tied up for the police. Tied up with a pretty, red bow.”
Shit.
Chapter Sixteen
She eased back and stared up at Beau. While she waited for him to speak, Avalon counted the passing of time by the hard beats of her heart that seemed to echo in her ears.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four…
“The bow was Royal’s idea. Bastard has one sick sense of humor.”
Her breath expelled in a rush. “You’re hunting killers! You are seriously hunting killers.” She staggered away from him.
His fingers—the fingers that had just been holding her wrist—flexed and curled. Flexed and curled. Then he dropped his hand to his side. “Sweetheart, you write books about killers. You go into prisons and have casual sit-down conversations with them.” He grimaced. “All I do is bag them and tag them. Can’t we just view this as me giving you more business?”
“Beau!”
“Oh, come on! The cops weren’t even close to catching the bastards! The first prick—Owen Bell? We caught him following a co-ed home. He had a syringe in his hand, and he was literally running up behind her in an alley. What were we supposed to do?” A shake of his head. “Royal and I knew that women had been going missing after leaving bars in the area. We were worried that someone was roofying them. We were wrong about that. He wasn’t doing it in the bars. The prick waited until they were alone, and he straight up drugged them with enough horse tranquilizer that they were out. Helpless. This is my town now. That shit wasn’t gonna keep happening on my watch.”
In and out. In and out. She breathed in and out. Deeply. Hard. “You could have called the cops.”
A shrug of his right shoulder. “We did. After we’d secured Owen. Not like we killed the guy in cold blood.”
“Did you think about killing him?”
“I didn’t.” A prompt reply.
But she realized there was more he wasn’t saying. Did Royal think about killing him?
“As for Everett Thomas, he’d been hunting along the southeast. The Slasher’s crimes were all over the Internet. Ophelia and Lane were digging into his past vics and…Look, I’ve got another buddy in town, Saint. Saint likes to solve cold cases.” His lips twisted. “Bastard used to be an insanely good bounty hunter. Don’t ask me how I know that, by the way.”
“I don’t have to ask. I’m guessing Saint might have hunted you down—or Royal down—at some point?”
He smiled. That killer smile of his that rocked its way through her whole body. “Told you, Saint is a buddy. I’ve actually had him helping out on your case, too.”
Who wasn’t working on her case? Other than, you know…me.
“You’ll meet him eventually. Though I should warn you, he’s a lot. So is his wife, Alice. She has a great speakeasy in town, by the way. Stellar.”
Alice. “Are you…talking about Alice Shephard?” The name Alice hadn’t just rung a bell. It had set off major alarms. When Avalon had first moved to Savannah, she’d wanted to interview Alice Shephard. The woman had been a suspected black widow. But Alice hadn’t exactly been in a cooperating mood. Then hell had broken loose in Alice’s life. And?—
“She was Alice Shephard. She took my buddy’s last name when they got married. And I’m not the least bit surprised that your crime-obsessed mind would know about her. I’m certain that you’ll have fabulous chats with Alice in the future. I’ll be sure to take you in her speakeasy at the first opportunity so you can become fast friends, but for now, are you about to take out your phone and call the cops? Sorry, but it feels like a good question to ask. Trying to decide if I will be sleeping in a jail cell tonight or not. It’s important to know.”
She blinked. “The cops?”
“Yes. Because I’ve confessed to you. I attacked two men. They deserved it, one hundred percent, but Detective Cunt—sorry, Cunningham might not see things in the same light.”
She had to unclench her teeth and get Beau to focus. “You didn’t tell me how you figured out Everett Thomas was the Slasher.”
“I put together pieces that I’d learned from hearing Saint and Ophelia and Lane talk about the Slasher cases. Then Everett started nosing around my bar. I noticed he paid a bit too much attention to one of my waitresses. The way he watched her…” The faint lines near his mouth deepened. “Predatory. And he tried following her when she’d go into the back. Then he put his hands on her even as she told him to back the hell off. When I got in his way and told him to get the fuck out of my place, he said some things to me that put me on high alert. Crap about how a woman’s screams were the best music he’d ever heard.” His hands weren’t loose at his sides. They’d fisted. “Who the hell says that? He told me some twisted BS about how he’d found the best way to hear screams. Water muted them. Fire fought them.”
