Chapter 7

"I can't believe there's another body," Godfrey said while staring at the news on the TV screen in my office. "People are calling him the Bleeding Heart Killer."

"It's a copycat with a twist," I said, looking at the image on my phone.

Detective Sean McNally showed me the image because he knew about my past and the similarities of this serial killer to Victor Hawthorne, the psycho who ran a successful business trading human organs while imprisoning kids and forcing them to help him carry out his sick crimes. These details weren't released to the public.

"Bleeding Heart is trying to scare people."

"Or send someone a message." I met Godfrey's eyes.

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe Bleeding Heart is trying to frighten people by using Hawthorne's methods. It can't be Hawthorne, he's dead. Bleeding Heart is probably a former follower." My lips pursed as the image of the explosion resurfaced in my mind.

"Fuck." Godfrey crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in the chair. "Hawthorne probably had a lot of followers. It's been quiet all these years. Why now?"

"We can't predict what a psycho does."

I stared at the ink on my arm, which captured the underground map of the bunker and the locations of the hidden traps around his cabin and the surrounding vicinity. I'd memorized it every time he sent me out. There were so many tunnels in and out of that place.

"What if he had another place we didn't know about?" Godfrey asked. What if his followers are finishing what he started?

"Then we do what's necessary."

"We fucking kill them," Godfrey said casually, sounding like a mafia boss. Though my friend was a billionaire running a successful jewelry empire, he could wield power and mayhem just like a crime lord.

All my boys could.

Our past had hardened us, making us men who walked between the lines of right and wrong. The past had given us a solid foundation of what darkness could be. We could navigate that terrifying terrain better than most.

"Right now it's just a hypothesis," I said. "Just be careful."

"I'll have someone look into Bleeding Heart. See what I can find." Godfrey's jaw tightened. "We've worked hard to build a life. No one is coming at us. These fuckers want to play. We'll play."

Money gave us access to things that others didn't have. Though I trusted Sean to do a thorough job with this case, he had other cases on his table and a boss to answer to. Politics often delayed things, so it was better to take matters into our own hands.

"Keep me posted," I said.

I knew of some people who could also investigate Bleeding Heart, but my plate was swamped. Godfrey could cover this angle.

Maybe Bleeding Heart was just some fucking idiot who thought it was amusing to mimic a popular psycho. People did unimaginable things these days, so anything was possible.

Eva popped into my mind. She was too beautiful, too perfect for this darkness. I didn't want any of this to touch her.

A reminder buzzed on my phone, and I smiled like an idiot.

"Haven't seen that smile in a long time." Godfrey smirked. "You seeing her?"

"Yup."

"About time, man. You've been single for so long—I thought something was wrong with your dick."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks." Godfrey held up his hand.

It was strange how thinking about Eva changed my entire mood. She extracted me from my dark thoughts and pulled me into her beautiful warmth. No woman had done that. My heart opened a little more each time. I supposed it had opened the very moment I spotted her. She was like the mystical key that had unlocked me that day.

"I'm heading to California for a gem show tomorrow." Godfrey rose from his seat. "I'll keep you posted on what my men find out."

"We'll need to inform the rest of the boys."

Hudson, Timber, and Roarke had to know the past was sneaking back into their lives, even if it was a copycat.