Page 74 of Beyond Hate

“Yeah, like Mr. Caulson. He usually came in alone and asked for me specifically.” I was completely willing to throw him under the bus if it meant keeping Otto safe. I was beginning to realize I’d throwanyoneto the wolves if it meant I could keep Otto by my side. “It didn’t happen very often, but… maybe word got out or something. I don’t know.” I shook my head slowly, forcing my eyes to go as virtuous as I could make them. “Honestly, I’m too spooked to go back. Too much has happened there.”

I kept waiting for him to mention Hudson, to bring up the fact that he was missing. It probably helped that he didn’t really have many friends, and the ones he did have were the kind of friends who wouldn’t call the police if you suddenly disappeared. He worked odd jobs, so there was no boss to report him for calling out of work either.

And honestly… I wasn’t sure if many people even knew we were together. I was the dirty little secret he kept closed away in the apartment and took to parties when he wanted to show off that he was fucking someone pretty.

And we hadn’t done that since before Otto…

Was there really a world where we could just leave once this was all over and done? Where I could be someone else?

Where I could just behappywith Otto?

The thought made it easier for me to look at the pictures, made it easier for me to lie about the man who had died because of me. It was easy to admit, even if it was just to myself, that I would sell my soul to keep the happiness I’d found… and I’d sell anyone else’s that I had to if it meant I could finally give Otto a life where he could be happy.

He deserved it more than anyone I’d ever met… and I owed it to him to make sure he got it.

I was exhausted by the time Officer Renn stopped asking me questions. He asked me about my client list at Til’s, and if anyone had ever made me feel uncomfortable before. There still weren’t any questions about Hudson, which made something in my chest slowly relax. If people had even known we were together, they’d probably thought we’d broken up. When I got back to the house we were renting I was going to ask Otto to just give this up… I wanted to go.

I wanted to get out of this town and start over.

And I was suddenlyveryhappy that I’d never filed a report about the first time Otto had taken me. It made it easier for me to seem innocent in all of this.

I blew out a breath when Renn left the room and came back a few minutes later, holding the door open for me.

“I’m sorry about interrupting your day, Mr. Ellis.”

I offered him the prettiest smile I could. “You can call me London. And it’s okay. I just want to make sure everyone at Til’s is safe.”

Of course, if I left the area, they would be, wouldn’t they? There wouldn’t be a reason for any more attacks or notes—no reason for Otto to off clientele because they were looking at me funny.

Honestly, everyone here would be better off if we just left. I just had to figure out how to convince Otto that figuring out who was trying to hurt me wasn’t worth it.

The only thing that really concerned me was the note—the one with the handwriting that looked exactly like mine…

Whoever was trying to hurt me somehow knew about our past.

I wouldn’t blame Otto if curiosity made him want to stay. I wasn’t sure if finding the person who’d left the note couldsomehow satisfy the anger he felt toward his past, or if it would even be worth the danger it seemed to bring.

“I can give you a ride home.” Renn’s voice was soft, still apologetic. It made me feel confident that I’d done a good job handling the situation.

“Sure, thanks.” It wasn’t really his fault that my… what was he? Boyfriend, lover, soulmate? Whatever else he might be, Ottowasa psychopath who couldn’t help himself when it came to killing people who hurt me. I wasn’t even surprised that he hadn’t told me about the man from the club… It wasn’t really a lie, I just wasn’t sure he would havethoughtI needed to know.

We were going to have to have a discussion about killing people. I didn’t know if it would stop him, but at least he could warn me next time. It would give me a chance to figure out a better lie than whatever I’d spewed today.

Chapter 28

Otto

Myentirefrontwassplattered in blood, but it wasn’t doing a damn thing to alleviate the irritation pouring through me. I’d been careful and meticulous—I’d made sure to completely cover my tracks when I’d cleaned up the house I’d been staying in. I was stillpayingfor it, so there was no reason for someone to have come in.

So how had they found Hudson? That was the only body they could have found that would have led them to London. There was no one else it could have been. And yes, two men dying with their throats slit was a bit suspicious… but…

Well, the man at my feet was absolutelynotrelated to London in any way I knew. He was just a stranger I’d found conveniently stepping into an alleyway. It wasn’t hard to close my eyes and remember all the places I’d hurt London’s ex, every stab wound. It feltgoodto do it again, if I was being honest… because that bastard was still causing us problems, even in death.

It wasn’t hard to replicate them on the fresh corpse. I was careful and meticulous, as methodical and quick as I could be… and I was obvious when I dumped him. After all, they needed tofind the body and realize it was so fresh that there was no way London could have been the one to do it, since he was at the station being questioned.

He’d been there for hours, but as I pulled out the man’s phone and dialed 911, his blood was still warm on the floor of the abandoned building I’d pulled him into.

I just had to be confident that my instincts were still on point, that I wasn’t accidentally leaving behind evidence that might implicate me in the crime. There weren’t any cameras—London really did live in a shitty, run-down town. There weren’t any witnesses.

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