Page 143 of Say My Name

“You make me sick,” I tell him, glancing out the floor-to-ceiling slider that leads to the balcony. It’s locked, and I can’t figure out how to open it or I’d have jumped and taken off in a sprint by now. “Why go through all of this?”

Guy scoffs at my statement. “The whole town’s in a frenzy over some worthless whores. Who cares if they’re dead? They were trash. Besides, haven’t you seen the news? They caught the killer.” He smacks his gum and then laughs.

I swallow hard, trying not to reveal my anger. “No one deserves to die.”

Guy powers forward, eating up the space of the large master suite. “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. How can you be a cop and not believe there’s good and bad people in this world? I killed a couple hookers, who cares? But you…” He shakes his head with a sinister smile that implies he can’t wait to off me.

I try to get through to him. “Just because someone does bad things doesn’t mean they deserve to die. Besides, who made you the judge and jury?”

He chortles again, and the sound makes me want to vomit. Like straight up puke all over him. “Why shouldn’t I be the judge? I’ve lived by the law my entire life and look where it’s gotten me. Nowhere. I’ve got more bills than I know what to do with and a fucking pension I’ll never see.”

An icy knot forms in my stomach. “No one made you become a cop.”

“He has my life,” he screams at me.

I rear back. “Who?”

“Devereaux Huxley. I should be the rich billionaire with more women than I know what to do with.” He stabs a finger in his chest. “That should be me.”

He’s got my attention now. “What do you mean?”

“We have the same father. Yes, Daddy Dearest chose his mother over mine. He got them both pregnant and decided to marry Devereaux’s mother and leave my mother penniless.”

I gape at his revelation. “That’s not true.”

His eyes blaze with hatred. “Oh, it’s true. When I was seventeen, I found out who my true father was, and I confronted him. Daddy Dearest didn’t even acknowledge me when I confronted him about being his son. Asshole pretended I didn’t exist. He wouldn’t even say my name.”

I blink rapidly, tongue-tied, trying to process what he’s saying.

“I should be a Huxley. I should have that name too, but I don’t.”

“I’m sorry,” I say in a gentle tone, trying to gain his trust.

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t act like you pity me. I paid him back.”

“Who? Paid who what?”

Guy holds his gun higher. “I took what he loved most. My father lovedhermost.”

“Who did he love?” My heart thumps wildly waiting for his response.

A chill black silence falls over us and I try to keep my raw emotions in check.

“His wife,” he finally says. “She was so easy to kill too. They all thought it was a suicide and I got away with it.” His voice is quiet, yet holds an undertone of belligerent violence. He pops a piece ofBig Redgum into his mouth. “It was all too easy to frame Devereaux for the murders.”

“But you didn’t frame him.”

His broad-carved face shines with confidence. “Yeah, but they caught that other guy and everything worked out.”

“Why kill Luna?”

“That little bitch figured it out. I ran into her and the way she stared at me. I just knew she knew.”

I study the maniacal man in front of me. He’s no longer the partner I worked with day in, day out. The murders have driven him crazier by the minute.

I can’t hide my disgust. “How did they ever let you be a cop?”

He laughs. “I even failed my psych evaluation.”

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