Chapter 15

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Chapter Fifteen

  

Zeke ran his palm over the gun in his shoulder strap and knocked again. Pressing closer, he heard a dog yapping. He hated dogs. Then he heard music. He leaned close to the door. Christmas music? Frowning, he punched the doorbell two or three more times. He was freaking tired of this game.

In spite of dragging the lake, Kelly’s body still hadn’t been found. Exhaustion pulled at Zeke’s nerves, making him jittery. If he wasn’t careful, he would make a mistake, do something stupid, draw attention to himself.

He needed to calm down, to get his head together. To find Kelly. To kill him and be done with it.

* * *

Lacy snatched up her shirt and slipped it over her head. “I’ll get rid of him.” The soft cotton brushed against her nose and chin as she wiggled into it.

Chase grabbed her by the elbow, held tight. “No! Just stay here. He’ll leave.”

“He’ll just come back later.” She pulled free.

“Yeah, but I’ll be gone by then,” he said, raking a hand through his hair.

The thought of him leaving smacked Lacy in the face. But why? Wasn’t she going to give him his running papers? Oh, mercy, maybe sex without sex was no different than sex with a bat. Was it starting already? One orgasm and she’d caved? Was she falling hard and heavy for this guy?

The doorbell chimed again. Fabio’s bark grew intense. “I’ll answer the door and say I haven’t seen anything,” she said.

“Lacy, you’re the world’s worst liar.” Chase raked a hand over his face. “Zeke will know that—”

“I am not!” she snapped. And I’m not falling for him! I’m just concerned. “I can lie as well as the next girl.”

“You can’t. You really suck at it.” He rolled his eyes as if exasperated.

“Am I really so bad?” She took a deep breath.

He nodded. The doorbell rang again, only this time it came with a loud rapping on the door. “Police,” called a voice.

“Fine. I’ll treat him like my mom.” She took off out of the room, ignoring Chase’s objections, ignoring the reasons she wasn’t willing to let him do the talking. She stopped by her studio and collected her camera and hung it around her neck. Props, she thought, in case the man asked why she’d taken so long answering the door. But if she managed to pull this off right, the man wouldn’t get the opportunity to ask a question.

The doorbell continued to ring. As she moved down the hall, she picked up Fabio, who still wore his reindeer horns. “Just a minute,” she called out as she pulled open the door.

The man, wearing jeans and a black polo shirt, scowled at her. Then he caught sight of Fabio’s horns and appeared taken aback. Fabio immediately went into his serious growl. Lacy’s heart went into a spasm. It was the man’s gray eyes: cold, empty. Pure evil, she thought. He made Hannibal Lechter look like someone you’d invite over for dinner.

“May I help you?” she finally managed to say, praying the man couldn’t see the fear in her eyes.

He held out a badge. “Name’s Zeke Duncan, with the HPD. We’re looking—”

“Oh, my.” She’d almost forgot her rules: ask questions before they do, answer the question before they can, and never shut up. “I’m not in danger, am I?” she blurted out.

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