Page 28 of Pleasure & Prey: Vol. 2

Had he been as turned on as I was before the knocking had been enough to throw a metaphorical bucket of cold water over my head? From the way he adjusts his clothes before touching the door, it definitely seems like it.

I walk around the couch as well, belatedly registering that I’m hungrier than I’d realized, and slide down to the sofa. I rest my head in my hands as I hear the sound of the front door opening on its hinges.

“Mr. Shaw?” That’s not Wren’s voice, and my head snaps up at the sound, eyes darting for the open space between the doorframe and the wall.

“We have a few questions. Could we come in?”

It isn’t Wren standing at the door.

It’s the police.

14

My breath catches sharply, and for a moment I can’t seem to draw air into my lungs. I sit there, fingers clenched on the edge of the sofa, and when I stare at the two stern, solemn officers at the door, all I can think is one thing.

This could be my way out.

They would take me out of here, and I’d have the chance to tell them everything that’s happened. I could be back in my bed, in my too-loud apartment that’s not very welcoming, with my almost dead plants, by sundown.

Hell, they could probably even find my car. All I have to do is tell them what’s happened. All I have to do is show them to the slaughter-shed and the body parts still there, along with the bloody chainsaw. I’m sure the smell alone would tip them off by the time we opened the door. They wouldn’t even have to go inside.

That’s all I have to do to make all of this a memory.

My eyes lock onto Jed as he opens the door wider, arm up to gesture them into the cabin. He looks at ease and relaxed. Like he has nothing to worry about and nothing to lose. I have no idea how he’s doing it, when I know he must be worried about what they could find. Or, worse, what I could tell them.

But he barely glances my way before closing the door behind him and offers the two officers water. They decline, and Jed just shrugs before dropping into an armchair, looking like he’s the definition of relaxed.

It’s such a change from the normally hesitant and cautious looking Jed. In fact, he reminds me more of Wren as he crosses one leg over the other, runs a hand through his hair, and settles back lazily into the chair. It’s such an accurate impression of Wren’s comfort from when he was here that I’m pretty sure that’s where he’d learned it. That would make sense, after all. None of them can have a weak link if all of them are going to stay out of jail. If he used to be unable to face a police officer, they would’ve had to do something about it to help him.

That’s my guess, anyway. But what do I know? Maybe he’s just naturally good at this…though I wouldn’t take bets on it.

The officers look around the room and I take that time to inspect the two of them, though I’m not exactly impressed by what I see. The man, who’s definitely older than the woman, looks like he might be able to chase a criminal twenty steps before doubling over, wheezing. His brown hair is graying at the sides, and his snub nose looks like it had been broken at least once in the past. Beady eyes complete the too-small features of his doughy face, and they dart everywhere in the room with boredom.

It’s the woman that appears to be the hard-ass. Her mouth is too big for her face, and set in a line that gives her resting bitch face. She, unlike her partner, wears a pair of sunglasses that she whips off as I watch, folding them and shoving them into her shirt pocket. She’s shorter than the man, and possibly around my height. Her black hair is chopped short and layered, like the start of the typical Karen Cut that was so popular a few years ago.

Absently, I pull my hand to my mouth, chewing on my thumbnail as I watch her suspicious gaze flow over everything in the room. She’s looking for something, it seems. Her partner is just looking like he has nothing better to do.

“I’m Officer Rayez,” the woman introduces, pivoting to look at us. She hooks her fingers in her belt loops, glaring at both of us as she does. “This is my partner, Officer Brown.”

Yeah, he looks like a brown. Just standing there, wheezing, even though he isn’t doing anything physical and existing in a brown way. He’s unimpressive, non-threatening, and probably the worst partner for her possible, unless there’s a side of him that’s not exactly obvious here.

“Can we help you?” Jed asks, rolling his shoulders as he watches her with eyes that remind me of chips of ice, instead of the warm blue of a Caribbean island commercial I see when he looks at me. “Because I’m not sure what we did to warrant this visit.” He grins at them, all sweetness and innocent puppy-dog eyes.

But all I can think is that he needs to be careful. He has too many secrets and too many bodies buried here to piss them off. Surely he knows it, too.

Blinking, I realize too late the female cop has zeroed in on me. She crosses the room and, without invitation, plants her ass on the sofa beside me. She watches me the whole time, her dark eyes never leaving my face. “What’s your name?” she asks, whipping out a small pad of paper from her shirt pocket and nearly knocking her sunglasses to the floor.

I have a choice. I know that the moment she gives me that glare once more, obviously waiting for my answer. All I have to do is tell her what’s going on. Hell, I’m sure that if I even look nervous, she’d get me out of here. I could glance at Jed right now, to see his face, and I know even that would set off her instincts with how high-strung Officer Rayez is.

It’s so easy. I can get out of here just like that.

“I’m Saylor,” I tell her, tucking my black hair back behind my ear. “Saylor King.”

“How old are you?” She barely waits for me to finish telling her my name before she goes on, her tone demanding as my heart pounds in my chest. “And where are you from?”

“I’m twenty-four,” I inform her, keeping my voice level. My fingers still dig into the couch cushion, but I draw one foot up under me, trying to keep my shoe off of the couch while I make myself more comfortable, as if I actually live here or visit often. “And I live in Akron, when I’m not here.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Jed stir, but I’m too afraid to actually look at him, in fear of Rayez realizing something is wrong.