probably die.”
Squirrel’s eyes went wide. “Can’t you see I did this all for him? I did this to take care of him. If only I’d had more time with Lena. I should have hidden her body. Why would they think he killed Lena?”
She needed to make him see some kind of reason. “Because the feds have been on to you for a while now. Well, not you. They think Jared did all of this, and if you don’t talk to them, he’ll go to jail.”
“He’ll get the death penalty,” Sarah corrected. “They’ll stick a needle in his arm and everything he’s done will be tainted.”
“He won’t be a hero anymore.” Kori was willing to try anything to keep this from happening.
“I think I should kill you, too. For good measure,” Squirrel said. “You’re his type, you know. You and this one. You’re exactly the type of women he adores to fuck, but Jared wouldn’t ever make it real. He wouldn’t be seen on the red carpet with a woman like you. You’re too fat. He’d be a laughingstock.”
“Then why kill her? Why kill me? He won’t ever love us. For that matter, I’m involved with his brother and Sarah was just a girl he almost kissed. We can’t hurt your place with him.” He’d done that all on his own when he’d decided to start killing women.
Squirrel stared through her. “Once he starts taking fancy roles, he’ll drop me, too. Now that he has his brother back, I don’t think he’ll need me anymore. I never wanted that fucker to come back in our lives.”
“You’re the one who slashed my tires.” He’d thought the car was Kai’s.
“I hate him. He always told Jared I wasn’t good enough for him. He’s still fucking saying it. For years he ignored Jared, and the minute he’s willing to talk, Jared dumps me with the rest of the crew. Like I was another employee. I couldn’t stand it. It eats at me. I can usually go a year or so before I really need to hurt someone, but the minute he started talking about his brother, I knew I would have to do this. I thought I could hold out, but the pressure’s too much. I can’t wait.”
“Please stop.” She could see a thin line of red on Sarah’s neck, see the pain in her friend’s eyes.
And that was when she heard the wailing of a siren. It was distant but becoming more and more distinct every second. Was it nothing more than a cop chasing down an errant driver? Would that sound rush past them and be gone again?
Or had someone known she needed help?
She caught the sight of something moving past Squirrel, just a glimpse of sandy hair darting across the kitchen window. Kai. Kai had figured it out and he’d come for her.
Soon she wouldn’t be alone. Of course, it also put Squirrel in the position of fight or flight.
She was worried about the choice he would make. He didn’t seem ready to go down alone.
“I can’t stop,” Squirrel said, his eyes going dark.
“Then take me instead,” a deep voice said. Jared walked in from the living room, his palms out, showing he had nothing in his hands. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, sneakers on his feet, and he looked positively haunted. His eyes took in the scene, going to that place on Sarah’s throat where the knife dug in. “Let her go and we’ll talk about this.”
She seriously doubted that. Kai was out there. He wasn’t in here and that meant something nasty was likely to happen. Kai wouldn’t wait on the police. Not if he could help it. He stepped up to the back door, apparently realizing there was no way Squirrel could see him from where he was standing. The only trouble was the door was locked.
Kai stared inside, his gaze finding hers. He put a finger to his lips, asking for her silence, but offering her hope. He wouldn’t allow this to happen. He wouldn’t let her die.
Squirrel faced off with his best friend, his arms tightening as though Sarah was a shield. His eyes had gone wild and Kori prayed the gun didn’t go off, that the knife at Sarah’s throat didn’t cut deeper. “I never meant for you to get hurt.”
Jared stepped in front of Kori, blocking her out and proving that even though he wasn’t a member of McKay-Taggart, he was definitely in the brotherhood. “How did you think killing women I