And as if answering her question, her phone rang. It was Dave.Her finger hit answer before she even thought.“I see you couldn’t even get this done. Maybe Jace isn’t unskillful…maybe you’re the one who’s clueless. Didn’t know you had this level of…pride. Shame on you. I’ll figure a way on my own, fucking bitch.” He hung up.That was the last straw. Getting dirt thrown at her from every angle wasn’t something Maya was used to—and it certainly wouldn’t become a habit now.She dialed another number.“Hello,” she said, changing her voice as much as she could. “You want Iris, right? If I give you access to her right now, what’s in it for me?”“I’ve gotten a lot of prank calls. I’m no longer interested,” the voice said.“I’ll put you right in on her in real time. You’ll listen, hear every conversation she makes. How’s that?”“If you can do that, I’ll offer you special payment: fifty grand for the sweet spot, and when I’m done with the operation, I’ll send the remaining fifty.”Maya ended t

Before Jace even noticed, Paxton bolted from the reception and ran to the car. What a simple asshole, leaving the car unlocked, the keys inside! It was almost impossible to stay mad at a guy like this. He jumped in just before Jace returned.Jace came back a few minutes later, glanced at Paxton, said nothing, and slid into the driver’s seat.“Wanna come to my place? My nanny has a ton of treatment for this. And she makes really good food too,” Paxton offered.“Fucking in.” Jace said.By the time they arrived at Paxton’s house, it was around 4 p.m. The nanny was happy to see them at first—but the moment she noticed Paxton’s injury, her welcome look vanished. Jace figured what she really saw was Paxton’s head dangling slightly to the side, like it was barely attached, not the small bump that was actually on Paxton's head.After a flurry of scolding, treatments, and careful bandaging, she finally let Paxton be—but not without glancing at him every two seconds, as if the world would end

“What? Should I bawl my eyes out? By the way…that was impressive. Calling yourself a serial killer as if that's how they go about disclosing their identities,” Jace muttered. Paxton glanced down at the spot he had been sleeping, then back at Jace. “Did I…drool?”“That’s fucking gross, man,” Jace said, shooting him a look. “Do you always sleep on the floor? Because now I might have to fly out of this room if you do.”“I’m sure, Jace,” Paxton said, trying to stay patient, “but freakin’ sure we both heard the same voice on the phone. The freak said he knows your location. That means…he knows my father’s house?”“What's the time even?” Jace muttered, checking his watch. “Oh, shit. It’s just nine. When the hell did I fall asleep?”“Jace…we’re talking about my father’s property here. I don’t give a damn about the man. But if anything happens, dad's going to have to will it to me property, how can we go about that?” Paxton asked in a whisper, really looked like he was considering the fact

“Well, if the GPS says this is the place, we can’t be more right than this,” Paxton muttered.“This is your freaking neighborhood. You didn’t even know the place?”“I’ve been around,” Paxton said, peering through the windshield. “Doesn’t seem that bad…though. If he’s some serial killer, he’s probably going to look young and innocent, tell some bullshit about how he was a kid and this playground was the best place in his childhood, and while we’re engrossed in his story…poof. The two of us are dead,” Paxton added, as if announcing the greatest theory in the universe.“Come on…let’s go meet him,” he said, opening the car door and stepping out.Jace eased around carefully, scanning for anything unusual before even opening his door. He might have had a fucked-up life, but he sure as hell wasn’t planning to die today.A man was already walking toward the car.Jace didn’t recognize him, but the precision with which the guy was approaching told him everything he needed to know: this dude kne

Paxton’s father looked like his blood pressure just did a backflip.Then—Another loud noise, but this time, it was coming from the room. Paxton flinched.“It’s my phone,” Jace muttered, pulling it from his pocket. “Alarm.”“Oh shit… I thought some spirit broke in,” Paxton groaned, clutching his chest.Even the nanny had come out, looking terrified.“I’ve got this,” Paxton’s father said, already barking into the phone to one of the cops he knew.Jace checked his screen.Ten missed calls.All from Iris.“What the hell…” he muttered. Who calls like that in the middle of the night?He called her back. Even he was surprised he was being this much of a gentleman.She picked up immediately.“Jace!” she screamed. “I’m in front of the gate! What are they doing to you?” She was crying.“The front of—where?” Jace asked, his eyes locking with Paxton’s. “No. You’re not the one hitting the gate right now?”“You can hear it? Can you run out? Can you do something?” she asked frantically.Whatever t