Page 96 of Killer Kiss

My mouth went dry, the fear sucking away any moisture instantly.

There was the shortest, tiniest electronic beep from Zane’s pocket before he handed back the phone. “I called my phone from yours, so I have your number. I’ll call you when I can.”

“Wait,” I hissed as he tried to walk away. I grabbed his arm. “What do you know?”

He lowered both his head and his voice. “Eddie is my Riddick.”

I instantly let go of him, that fear at just the sound of Riddick’s name echoing around my chest. An understanding passed between us. Zane’s eyes burned in the darkness as he turned away and went back to his friends.

I finally slid into my car, clutching the steering wheel.

Augie and I both stared dead ahead at the men leaving the parking lot. Zane cast one final look over his shoulder at me, and his words echoed in my head.

Eddie is my Riddick.

He was scared of his brother.

Or maybe scared of what he’d do.

“Do we follow them?” Augie asked, leaning forward, fingers pressed to the dashboard. “They have to know where Eddie is, don’t they?”

My heart squeezed at the hope in his eyes.

If Fawn was alive and well, Zane could have said that.

If she was dead, he would have just said that too.

I feared she was something in between.

And that still being alive might be worse than if he’d just killed her quickly.

I couldn’t stand the glimmer of hope in Augie’s eyes. I didn’t want to jeopardize the only lead we had on Fawn.

“We wait for him to call,” I said quietly.

Augie stared at me in disbelief. “If he doesn’t?”

But Zane had gone out of his way to get my number. He’d risked the suspicion of his friends, which would no doubt be reported back to his evil fucking brother.

He wanted to help.

I let out a long breath and prayed I was making the right call. “He will.”

26

AUGIE

The hospital reeked of antiseptic washes and misery. I held my breath and made my way along the corridors of the burn unit, trying my best not to look inside any windows, giving the patients the privacy the poor assholes deserved.

There was no happiness here. Only pain and suffering, and that feeling rode me hard while I searched for room eleven and knocked on the door.

A nurse poked her head out from the other side. “Yes?”

I cleared my throat, my fingers clammy with sweat. “I’m here to see Willa McCaffery. I was told this is her room.”

The nurse frowned. “It is, but she’s only allowed family—”

“Let him in, Penelope,” Willa called with a croak in her voice I’d never heard before. “Can’t you see he is family?”

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