Page 86 of Overstaying His Welcome

I nearly laughed at the dumb joke. My brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders right now. I hadn’t been able to fully shake the lingering grogginess the drug created.

It was a wonder I even managed to follow along with everything going on.

“I’m done with this,” Pratt growled as he shot up from the seat he’d taken.

Lune crossed his arms. “You can’t be fed up with it. We’re family. Besides, this is what you wanted. I’ve taken care of everything to ensure you’d get your revenge. The Linds are already gone, and he's the last piece.”

Hearing him mention the Linds murder like something on a checklist was the final nail in his coffin. No matter what, this bastard was going to get what was coming to him.

“I didn’t fucking tell you to kill them.” Pratt stomped like a fucking child. “None of this was my idea. I wanted a quiet life where we got to lay low. But no, you had to go on to be a fucking serial killer whose tracks I had to cover up. Now the department is making connections and shit.”

“And you’ll do what you’ve always done… you’ll make it go away. Destroy the evidence. Clean it up so we can keep going. It’s the family way.”

“Says who? I don’t like this, Lune. It’s exhausting. First the murder, then the stupid donations to a political campaign. You keep stirring up shit that should be long buried.”

Pratt slumped, his energy gone after the adrenaline of their fight. It was pitiful to watch the two of them. Miscommunication was never fun, and it seemed they were swimming deep in its waters.

Glancing past them, I took a second to take in Mindy’s position. Her body had shifted since I last looked. I doubtedanyone else would have noticed, but it was obvious given I knew she was awake.

As I watched, her eyes opened to meet mine again. She raised her brow and flashed her gaze toward the bickering brothers.

I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to do at first. Not until she raised one hand to the side to wiggle her fingers at me.

Ohhhhh.

Distraction time.

“Why become a serial killer if you wanted to hide? That’s the kind of thing that attracts attention,” I stated.

They turned my way. Their expressions were confused for a second. Almost like they’d forgotten where they were or that I was awake.

How had they ever managed to pull off anything in the past? Maybe they’d been successful because they hadn’t worked together. The pair was clearly counterproductive when in a team.

“There’s no choice in becoming a serial killer. It just happens.” Lune shrugged. “Besides, I already said I was a killer-for-hire before. I liked to leave my own mark behind, though the authorities never picked up on it.”

“Because I buried the evidence!”

At Pratt’s outcry, Lune rolled his eyes. “Yes, you did. And I appreciate it, little brother. More than I could express. The fact still remains that all is well. No one is going to connect the dots anytime soon.”

I tilted my head. “But they already have.”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s confusing about what I said? A connection has already been made about the killings. My team found your little mark you left behind. We sent the details to Stabler, who then forwarded them to your director. Even if you manage to pull allthis off, you won’t make it far before someone else comes after you.”

They both froze at the threat. Lune’s gaze was assessing me, likely to see if I was telling the truth while Pratt’s panic poured out in waves.

“The director? As in MY director at the bureau?”

I nodded. “One and the same. Right after you took emergency leave, he put Stabler on the serial case because he thought he saw a connection in the style of the murders. Knowing how good we were with figuring out puzzles, Stabler gave us access so we could help.”

Pratt turned to Lune, his body vibrating as he spoke. “We’ve got to get out of here now. If this is true, we’ll never be safe. They’ll connect us just like these guys did. We’ll be on the run forever. I can’t… I won’t….”

Lune slapped his brother across the face. With a growl he said, “You will not lose your shit on me. I love you, brother, but I won’t be spoken to this way.”

With his hand on his cheek, Pratt stared at the other man in shock. Clearly they weren’t the kind of siblings who’d roughhoused as kids because Pratt was devastated by the blow. His eyes watered as his mouth hung open.

“You hit me,” he whispered.

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