Page 58 of Deadly Sights

“Thank you,” I say.

Surprised, he asks, “What are you thanking me for?”

“For saving me time. I’d much rather spend the rest of the night wrapped in Julian’s arms than torturing you for answers I won’t get.” I aim my gun at his head and shoot.

“Nadira?”

I turn to Julian’s doubt-filled eyes. “Come on, we have work to do. I assume you have a method for disposing of his body.”

“I do, but what…”

“I believe he’s finding it difficult to accept that you didn’t believe the utter nonsense this sack of human excrement was spewing about him.” Alastair reappears wearing an apron and holding a body bag. He lowers Night Stalker’s body, removes him from the hook, and unchains him.

“Is that true,” I ask Julian. “You think I’d believe him?”

Julian shrugs but he doesn’t shy away from looking me in the eye. “He only repeated what you once said to me.”

“That was before…” For loss of words, I circle the air with my hand.

“Before…”

“I believe she means before professing her love for you while doing the nasty in the back seat.”

“Alastair,” I glare at Julian’s butler, but he ignores me while digging out the bullets I put into Night Stalker’s knees.

“Is that true?” Julian parrots my question from earlier.

“No.”

Julian’s shoulders slump in defeat and Alastair spins around to glower at me.

“I’ve trusted you since I read the letters you wrote to me. Everything you’ve done since then has reinforced my belief in you. I know you won’t betray me.”

Julian pulls me into his arms and I lean into the sweetest kiss he’s ever given me.

“Although I’m fitter than most men my age, I would appreciate a little assistance,” Alastair says while zipping Night Stalker into the body bag.

Julian and I leap to help him.

As we bury the latest casualty in the war against Julian’s organization under enough wood chips, sawdust, and grass to decompose his body within a month, Julian breaks the tension by saying, “I told you after more murderventures together you would agree we’re a couple.”

I shake my head at him, unable to fight the grin breaking across my face. “You got me.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, and there’s no out for you now.”

“I never needed one.” He takes my hand and the three of us walk back to the car.

On the ride to the mansion, which I discover is on the same property as the building we left, I can’t help but wonder if there is any truth to Night Stalker’s claim about a traitor within my circle.

CHAPTER 24

A THANKSGIVING TO REMEMBER

Nadira

For the past few weeks, Julian and I haven’t left his mansion. Instead, we busy ourselves with the files we took from the orphanage. Because there are so many, representing the thousand kids who were there during my stay, we’ve established a process to minimize the handling of the documents. It’s cumbersome and at times frustrating.

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