Page 111 of Lady Killer

Lucian gave him a nod.

“Royal is our best lead so far, but we don’t have enough to hang him yet.” Nixon sat forward playing with the lighter in his hand. “So, let’s give him a little more rope.”

Lucian’s and Locke’s brows furrowed while Alister remained expressionless.

“Luz said that Clayton sought her out once. We’ve been keeping him away from her, but maybe that’s the wrong idea.”

The implication of his words hit me. Absolutely not.

“I know you have issues with her for stabbing you and stealing Ali’s attention, but if so much as a hair is harmed on her head, the Blackwells will be out half a set of twins and an economics professor,” I snarled.

Nixon smirked, continuing to flick his lighter on and off. “No one is talking about handing over your preciousStarbright. I was merely suggesting we play it smart and set a trap. And what better bait than the girl who is at the center of all of this?”

Yeah, I still didn’t like it.

“Go on,” Lucian said, earning an incredulous lookfrom me.

Daddy, no!

“Have Luz reach out to Royal. She said he was interested in talking about Melody. She can tell him she thinks she might have a lead on her disappearance.”

“What makes you think he would reveal himself so easily?” Locke said.

“I wasn’t finished, cousin. We need to create a temptation the killer can’t resist. So, we have her suggest somewhere isolated to meet, and at the same time, she baits whoever has been texting her.”

Lucian frowned in a way I was far too familiar with. He was considering it.

“The killer has been extremely precise and methodical thus far. Why would they risk anything now?” Locke challenged.

“They were until they couldn’t get to Luz on Valentine’s Day,” Alister said. “They’re likely to spiral now, which is why we’ve been keeping Luz so close.”

“You agree with your brother’s plan then?”

Ali twisted his head from side to side, cracking his neck before responding. “I don’t like it, but in lieu of extracting information from Royal, logically, it’s our next best move.”

I opened my mouth to protest, loudly, but was interrupted by the sound of the door to Lucian’s office slamming open.

“She’s gone!” Luz cried, her eyes wide and her voice choked with distress in a way I had never seen before, immediately sending Alister and me to our feet.

“Who’s gone?” Alister growled.

“Autumn. Autumn’s gone.”

Chapter thirty-one

Luz

Simone was a wreck.

It had been forty-eight hours since anyone had seen Autumn, and there wasn’t a trace of her anywhere.

“We have to find her . . .” The usually reserved beauty sobbed into her friend Joy’s shoulder. The other woman soothed her, reassuring her that it would all be okay.

I wish I could offer the same words.

Everyone suspected the worst, but I was the only one who understood truly how much danger my bestfriend was in.

The killer usually keeps the girls for months . . .Until you pissed them off and they changed their pattern. . .

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