Page 45 of Her Guardian
I walk a little closer, but stay several feet away from the blood. It’s a gruesome sight and seeing it in person is a lot different from looking at photographs. I cansmellthe blood. It makes me a little nauseous, so I walk out of the bedroom.
Boyd is still talking to the detectives, so I wander down the hallway and look around. The Brennan residence has a lavish décor that is clearly influenced by the family’s Irish roots. They’re criminals, just like the guy who brought me here, but Liam Brennan was just a boy. He didn’t do anything wrong.
“Sarah,” Boyd calls out. “Let’s go.”
Boyd is already walking down the stairs when I turn around, so I hurry to catch up with him. That’s easier said than done. He’s already standing by the SUV with my door open when I step outside.
“Find out anything useful?” I question as I get to the vehicle.
“I’ll tell you in the car,” he mutters, motioning for me to get in.
I wait for Boyd to get in, but he doesn’t say anything until we’re outside of the iron gates.
“Alright, so the cops think this is the real Mafia Prince Killer,” Boyd says. “There was apparently some evidence from one of the crime scenes in Chicago that always made them question if Dykstra was really their guy.”
“Evidence? What kind of evidence?” I ask. “I’ve never heard anything about that.”
“It was never released to the public,” he rumbles.
“Yeah, but it should have come up at the trial,” I say. “If there was evidence that pointed to someone else, Arthur Dykstra’s attorneys should have used that. It could have exonerated him!”
“After everything they found in New York, do you really think they wanted to introduce evidence that could prove he was innocent?” Boyd asks. “They buried it. That’s what cops do.”
“Not good ones,” I mutter.
It wouldn’t be the first time. The true crime circles are full of people who think law enforcement fabricates evidence or hides things that could prove someone’s innocence. I’ve always been skeptical, but never got into the deeper conspiracies. Especiallywhen it came to the Mafia Prince Killer. Everything pointed to Arthur Dykstra once they raided his apartment in New York.
As the adrenaline from seeing the crime scene begins to wear off, I find myself stealing glances at Boyd. Thinking about what happened before I fell asleep in his arms. Imagining him inside me again.
But I’ve still got a podcast to save. Big Boyd just gave me an exclusive that is going to set the true crime world on fire.
The Mafia Prince Killer isback.
And this time, I’m right in the middle of the action.
CHAPTER 17
Boyd
As soon as we get back to Sarah’s hotel room, she goes live with her podcast.
I fix another drink, light a cigarette, and listen from the other bed while she rambles on excitedly about all the developments from the latest murder. Including the exclusive I gave her. That makes her so excited she turns her laptop so I can see how many listeners she has. I guess it’s an impressive number, considering that it didn’t look like many people listened to her last podcast.
It’s nice to hear the excitement in her lovely voice and watch her eyes flicker while she delves into all the intrigue. This is who Sarah is. I made her mine, but this is her in all her natural glory. It’s a beautiful sight, despite the fact someone died tonight.
I didn’t really know Lloyd Brennan’s kid. He was too young to be around for anything serious. The Brennan family runs a small territory on the outskirts of Las Vegas. They keep to themselves and pay us our cut without causing any problems. I rarely interacted with them before I was Erica’s bodyguard, much lessafter my primary job was hanging around Emilio’s estate and escorting his wife to fancy brunches.
What is my job now? I’m not even sure. Nobody fucking called me.
The podcast seems to last forever. The ones I listened to didn’t last longer than an hour, but Sarah keeps going long after the hour mark passes. When it finally looks like she will wrap things up, I finish my drink and crush out my cigarette.
“I don’t know when my next podcast will be, but I’ll be back as soon as I have something new to share! Live from Las Vegas!” Sarah adjusts her air pods and smiles. “That’s all for now. As always, I’m your host Sarah Parker and these have been… yourTrue Crime Minutes!”
Sarah ends the podcast, takes a deep breath, and reaches for her vape.
“You really enjoy that, don’t you?” I chuckle, watching the strawberries and cream roll off her lips.
“Yeah,” she admits. “I mean, obviously it’s a tragedy that Liam Brennan got murdered. He was just an innocent kid.”
