Page 44 of Property of Scythe
Lottie slams on the brakes, jerking the steering wheel, and swerves the Hummer, narrowly missing the wall. I can see her panting, gripping the steering wheel as I rush toward her. When I yank open the door, she stumbles into my embrace.
“I have you, baby. You’re okay.”
She’s shaking, and I know it’s fear and adrenaline. “Scythe.” Her tears soak into my shirt. “He stabbed him.” She hiccups. Twice. “He stabbed Chris.”
Fuck. I don’t want to drag her over to the killer’s body to check on him and Chris, but she’s got a death grip on my shirt and arm. She’s not going to listen if I tell her to get back inside the Hummer. I hold her tightly against me as we walk around the front, creeping forward until we can see the lawn.
There’s only one body.
It’s not the killer.
I spin around, reaching inside my cut for my gun. During the scuffle, I must have lost it. I’m pissed. Did that motherfucker take it?
Lottie is crying, blubbering about Chris. He’s dead. We both know it.
“I’m going to check on him. Okay?”
She lets me drag her over to where Chris is lying on his back. His lifeless eyes stare up at the darkening sky. The sun has set, dipping below the horizon. Even in the dimming light, I can tell he’s no longer with us.
I cradle her head against my chest and hold her as sirens alert me to my brother’s arrival. His flashing blue and red lights bounce off the pavement and the nearby windows. When Boomer skids to a stop and throws his cruiser in park, I don’t have to tell him the scene is gruesome.
He hangs his head as he notices Chris’s body. “I should have stayed.”
“You couldn’t have known this would happen.”
“I still feel responsible.”
“It’s none of our fault,” Lottie tells him. “It’s that clown killer.”
He nods. “I’m going to call the coroner.”
Boomer walks away, but I call after him. “Lottie struck the killer with the Hummer. He’s run off, but he has to be injured.”
“Then he’s not far.”
“We need to find that fucker and end him, Boomer.”
“We will.” Boomer grabs a blanket from his trunk and covers Chris’s body.
I lead Lottie to the Hummer and help her inside. People are looking out the windows and standing inside the entrance, staring at us. I’m surprised no one has walked outdoors and contaminated the crime scene yet. Maybe the concierge is holding them back.
Boomer’s deputy, Officer Thompson, joins me. “I’m going to contain the scene while we wait for forensics.”
“Get security footage. I’m sure it’s all caught on camera.”
“I will.” She glances at my prospect. “Does he have any family?”
“Not outside of the club.”
“Then you’ll handle his remains?”
“Yes. Once the coroner is finished.” Fuck. This is going to hit the rest of the club hard. We voted him in during church a fewdays ago and planned to hold his patch party at the end of the season. Now we’re going to be planning a funeral instead.
“I’m going to take Lottie to The Barn.”
“Go on. I’m sure Boomer will stop by for your statements.”
He will.
