Andrews stood on the other side, his hair blown up at an odd angle from the wind pelting his back. “Can I come in?”
“How did you find my house?” I stepped aside, and he rushed past me, dragging clumps of snow inside.
“Google.”
I frowned. “Did you want to have the meeting now?” I walked into the living room and flung my messenger bag on the couch. I hadn’t gotten as far as putting it away yet.
“You have to understand about Tyler.” He ran a hand through his hair, which only made it look more windblown.
“How do you know him?” A deadly calm filled me as I crossed my arms.
He paced in front of the tree, shoulders hunched. “You have to understand. I was in a bad place when my wife left me. My boyfriend found out about her when she found out about him, and by the next week, he was gone, too. I started drinking.”
My blood boiled because I had a horrible suspicion. “How many times did you visit Tyler in that nasty alleyway behind the pawnshop?” My voice was so low and sinister it made me flinch.
He raised his hands, begging me for mercy. “I didn’t mean to be that rough with him. He told you about it, right? I was just out of my mind. Drinking too much. Hating myself for being stupid. Hating everyone else for being happy.” He hung his head.
“Tyler wasn’thappy.” The trip to reach Andrews was a blur. I grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and shook him. “What the fuck did you do to my boyfriend?”
He wheezed like he’d been running up the side of a mountain. “One night when I was using his services?—”
“Fucking someone who needed cash so bad they would do anything,” I hissed. “Get it right.”
His face crumpled. “I was furious, just thinking about my wife screaming at me. And I’d been drinking for two days straight. I visited Mike because we grew up on the same block, and I was ranting. Raving. He told me I needed to relax. Told me about Tyler. I shouldn’t have gone near anyone that night.”
I was going to hit this fucker. It wasn’t a question. “Then what?”
“Huh?” He blinked at me, looking fucking pathetic.
“Did you keep him around? Make sure he was okay?”
He bit his lip. “I kicked him out first thing in the morning as soon as I sobered up.”
My fist connected with his chin, and I got the idea that he allowed it to happen, but I didn’t stop, and his eyes widened in surprise as I cracked him on the jaw. He stumbled against the coffee table and went down on it hard on his back, then rolled from the coffee table onto the red glass stars on the floor.
The ones Tyler had insisted were dangerous.
Holy. Fuck.
“Shit! Not again!” I slapped my hands to the top of my head and my heart nearly stopped.
The red glass spikes protruded from his back, glinting prettily in the Christmas lights. Scarlet blood oozed out around the glass. Andrews turned his head and coughed blood onto the floor, but his eyes were as shiny as the ornaments on the tree nearby and he didn’t seem like he was able to think anymore.
My right hand throbbed as minutes ticked by and I chose not to call an ambulance.
About an hour later, I was rubbing my knuckles and staring numbly at the mess when the front door opened, then closed again.
Panic swamped me as Tyler came into the living room and his gaze immediately dropped to the newest corpse. He frowned between the body and me, then slowly walked around it while my heart hammered in my ears. When he caught sight of Andrews’s face, he gasped.
Tyler ran to me and wrapped me in a warm, comforting hug that chased away some of the chill in my veins. “Thank you.”
Guilt swamped me. I hadn’t killed Andrews for him on purpose. But this time? Well, I guess I sort of did do it, for the most part. He rolled, but I’d punched him. He was here seeking absolution from me—not Tyler, which was messed up—and I’d told him to go fuck himself. I carefully hugged Tyler back. “How—Uh, how was your info meeting about the classes?”
He grinned at me as he stepped back. “Great! Let’s get rid of this mess.”
I grabbed his wrist and his smile shrank. “I’m sorry he hurt you. Did you want to talk about?—”
“He got exactly what he deserved.” Tyler kissed me, teeth nipping my lips before he attacked my mouth, pushing his tongue inside to own me. Hetsked. “I told you those stars were deadly.”
