Page 9 of Lady Killer

“We’re not locking her up either,” Alister pushed back.

The girl spoke up. “Do I have any say in this?”

“No,” all three men said at the same time.

Impressive. They almost never agreed.

“So, what, I let your little friend live and she’ll help the three of you do the job you were already supposed to be doing? That hardly seems like a fair deal to me.”

“I’m good with poisons.”

“Little girl, I lead the most exclusive network of killers for hire in the world. You think I don’t have access to half a dozen of the best poison makers alive at a moment’s notice?”

She bit down on her lip, swallowing her response, but the acrimony in her eyes told me I had wounded her pride. Good.

“You always say to do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Alister argued. “Luz is what it takes. She remains our best chance at catching the killer, the one arrogant enough to knowingly flout our rules on our land. No one knows or cares that she killed Croft, but if word spreads about the serial killer running amuck in Shady Harbor, it will start to impact our family’s reputation.”

“And if the killer kills her before we can catch them?”

“Then she’s dead, like you wanted,” Alister replied evenly.

I pretended to mull over his words, but my decision had already long been made.

“You have until the end of the spring semester,” I said, causing Everest to jump to his feet to argue.

I raised my hand to silence him. My decision was final.

“Alister is correct. We need to catch this Virgin Sacrifice Killer, or our true enemies will use it as an excuse to undermine us. The longer this goes on, the weaker we look. Which is why you have until the end of term. If the girl cannot be used to draw out the killer by then, then her time is up.”

Everest looked furious but said nothing, while Alister simply nodded. It was the most generous offer they would get from me, and they knew it.

I turned my focus back to the girl. There was a softness to her expression that I hadn’t seen before. Where one might have expected fear or even gratitude, there was something else—careful, contemplative—and I couldn’t quite discern how she felt about the deal. Not that it mattered.

“Four months to catch the killer, and you do not kill on your own again without permission. Do you understand?”

She pursed her lips at the final condition of her sentence but ultimately nodded.

“Words, little girl,” I ordered.

“I understand, Mr. Blackwell,” she replied without inflection.

“Excellent, and remember: if you fail to catch this interloper by then, my family will have no use for you, except to send the killer a message of our own.”

Chapter four

Luz

This was the tenth circle of hell.

Inconspicuous and bland, the La Quinta Inn & Suites was a punishment I wouldn’t have wished on my worst enemies . . . maybe Locke and Lucian.

Everest and Alister claimed that hiding me out here in this suburban hellscape for the holidays was for my own good. Apparently, I couldn’t be left alone on campus with a serial killer outfor revenge.

I’d been warned in no uncertain terms that if I returned to campus without permission, Lucian would consider it a violation of the deal we’d struck.

At least they’d been gracious enough to leave me with a credit card to order food while I was trapped here.

Flopped down on the aging queen mattress, I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until I hit the local news station.

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