Page 2 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 8
“Okay… But for a second let’s say that they both are murderers. Let’s put ourselves in their murdery shoes. Why didn’t they kill me when they had the chance?”
She snapped her fingers. “They were trying to gauge how close you were to the truth. And all you had was a stock photo of Rosalie alone at the Emerald Oasis. Not nearly enough to pin it on them, so they didn’t need to kill you. Those dirty murderers!”
“So youdothink they were planning to murder me?! I thought you said he wasn’t a murderer!”Shit! Shit, shit, shit!Chastity’s insistence that he wasn’t actually a murderer had been the only thing keeping me from totally spiraling. God, who was I kidding? I was already spiraling!
“Ash, you told me to put myself in their shoes. I was just going along with your theory. But...”
“Gah! I don’t want a but!”
Chastity shrugged. “To each their own.”
What the hell is happening right now?!
“What I was going to say was that putting myself in their shoes opened my eyes. I do believe they were planning on murdering you. But not because they’re murderers. Like I said, they’re too hot to be murderers.”
“Nigel is too hot to be a murderer?”
Chastity laughed and waved off the question. “Tanner’s too hot to be a murderer. But he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect himself.”
“So they aren’t murderers but they murder people?”
“Exactly. Daddy ordered plenty of hits, but it wasn’t because helovedmurder. It was just a necessary part of the business. The same applies to Tanner. Picture this. Tanner and Rosalie, full nude in a sex dungeon. Tanner takes a step back, slips on a puddle of lube, and his elbow hits a lever. The wire sparks as 250 volts of pure energy get delivered straight to the alligator clamps on Rosalie’s delicate little nips. Her heart can’t take it. Tanner panics and calls for Nigel. They get a human sized cooler and some weights and…”
I didn’t listen to the rest of her wild theory. I was pretty sure that wasnothow Rosalie died. But something similar could have happened. Who knew what kind of kinky stuff went down in therooms attached to the sex hallway at Club Onyx? Tanner could have easily choked her to death.
“…and now they’re coming for us,” finished Chastity.
“Wait, what? Why?” I asked. And then it hit me. “Shit. Because now we have proof.” I pointed to the picture of Rosalie and Tanner.
“Exactly.”
“God, I should have seen this coming. I knew he was a stalker. The obvious next leap after stalker is serial killer.”
“We don’t know if it’s a habit or it’s just something he does to Coopers. But you could be right.”
I hated how Chastity was suddenly encouraging my theories. She was supposed to be the one to talk me off the edge of the cliff. Not push me over it!
“And you just told him where we are.” She slammed her computer shut and tossed it in her purse. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“And go where?” Tanner knew where I lived. And since he was a creepy stalker, he probably knew all my friends’ addresses. And my parents’. And Chastity’s parents’.Oh God, I’m going to die!
“Anywhere,” said Chastity. “Preferably a public place.”
I looked around at the fancy BIMG offices. “This is kind of a public place.”
“Yeah, that’s currently deserted. If it was a Monday morning we’d be fine. But Sunday night? We’re sitting ducks.”
“Should we call 911?” I asked. I grabbed my phone off the ground. The screen was shattered, but it was still lit up. And it was stuck on a screen showing three new texts from Tanner.
Tanner: Ash? What happened?
Tanner: I guess your meeting started.
Tanner: I’m on my way…I’ll wait for you outside so we can grab dinner when you’re done. :)
“He’s coming,” I whispered.
“What?” asked Chastity.
