Page 34 of Black to Light

Black shrugged, eyes on the road. He steered the SUV with its blacked-out windows down the 101 freeway going south.

“According to the company representatives who hired us, theyplanto report the murder,” Black said, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. “Just not yet. As a condition of our employment, we’re not to tell anyone about it, either. In fact, neither of you know anything about this. I was told, but I didn’t tell either of you––”

“Why the hell would you agree to that?” I cut in, bewildered.

“It was a lot of money, doc.”

I scoffed openly. I barely refrained from spitting out something a lot ruder.

“Money?” I fell deeper into my seat, arms crossed. “Ah, I see. Because we sodesperatelyneed the money, Black, and money is so very, very important to you.” When he didn’t react, I clenched my fists under my folded arms. “What’s the real reason? And if you’re going to just lie to me again, at least pretend you don’t think I’m an idiot and make it agoodlie.”

Black’s gold eyes swiveled towards mine.

“I’m notlying,doc. Everything I’ve told you is the truth… well, except the money part,” he conceded. “They assured me our involvement wouldnotbe reported to the authorities. They just would rather not involve the police, not until they have everything looked at by outside experts, including us––”

“Why on earth not?” I demanded.

“Because they don’t trust the cops, obviously,” Nick grumbled from the back. “They think the investigation will be sabotaged by the ‘shadow state’ filled with ‘powerful, malign forces’ aligned against them and the victim.” The way Nick said it, I could practically hear his eyes roll. “Their two main suspects are some bizarre, quasi-mythical, ‘man-hunting’ club that’s supposedly seven hundred years old… and Archangel.”

“Archangel?” I looked between them, dumbfounded. “Is that possible?”

“You’re just going to blow by the seven-hundred-year-old, serial killer death cult?” Nick smirked at me in the mirror. “You go right to the shadow organization we know actually exists? Boring,” he pronounced. “I vote for the society of rich psychopaths hunting humans. At least it’s new and interesting.”

My mind and ears rewound what he’d told me.

“A man-hunting club?” I asked, bewildered. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Nick had clearly been waiting for a chance to scoff about this with someone. “According to yourhusband,they claim quite the illustrious membership. Jack the Ripper. Rasputin. Lady Bathory. BTK. The Nightstalker. Oh, andHitlerwas supposedly a card-carrying member. They claim to have produced hundreds of other, undiscovered killers over the years who had enough money to partake in murder as holiday sport, and enough connections and sanity to never get caught.”

“You don’t believe it?” I looked at Black. “It’s not true, is it?”

Nick scoffed louder. “Of courseIdon’t believe it. You’re not saying you think something like that is evenremotelypossible?”

I looked at Black.

I couldn’t help noticing how quiet he’d gotten.

“Well,” I said, clearing my throat. My eyes were still on Black as he gunned the engine to slide the SUV around a green Jetta. “If such a thingdidexist, I highly doubt they’d be offering membership cards to me or you, Nick.”

Hearing the meaning behind my words, Nick did a double-take, then followed the direction of my gaze until he stared at Black. He scowled after a few seconds, clearly recognizing something in Black’s expression that he guessed the meaning of.

“Jesus.” Nick scowled. “You’re joking.”

Black gave him a bare glance in the mirror. He lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug, but I saw his jaw harden perceptibly.

“I never got an actualinvite,”Black clarified. “More what I’d characterize as a ‘feeling out’ on the bare bones of the idea. And it only happened after I’d started making appearances on the big media channels, acting like an egomaniacal sociopath.”

“So… a regular Tuesday,” Nick grunted.

“They never approached me again,” Black added, his voice a touch warning. “So apparently, I didn’t say the right things. That, or someone told them what I did in Thailand to stop Ian’s killing spree.”

I flinched at the mention of my ex-fiancé, but didn’t speak.

“Either way,” Black added to Nick. “I didn’t pass their little test.”

“Nice to know they havesomestandards,” Nick muttered.

I was staring at Black, though.

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