It was probably stupid, but I thought taking my two best friends from Vegas out to the Christmas market on the town square would make me seem more approachable to the locals. Ieven dressed in my cutest, most fun outfit. I thought if people saw me as someone other than the stuffy mayoral version of myself, they’d relax around me.
No such luck. I barely even got smiles out of the locals manning the booths. The council is making everyone think I’m the problem. They’re screwing over their own town just to make me look like the bad guy.
“Maybe it would be better for everyone if I just quit.”
“Nope.” Marcus shuts the freezer door and puts his hands on his hips to stare me down. With his head shaved bare and his muscles practically popping out of the neon green Henley he’s wearing, he looks good enough to help me forget all about this town and the people who hate me. Unfortunately, Marcus and Francis are both gay. Sex would ruin our friendship if they weren’t, anyway. “You aren’t going to run scared just because of a—”
The roar of some sort of engine interrupts Marcus. His eyes go wide and I sit up.
“Is that a chainsaw?” I ask.
“Sounds like it’s right outside your door.” Francis doesn’t move from his seat. Calm as he ever is.
I get up, intending to cross the room and look through the peephole, but the door bursts open and a giant chainsaw flies into my apartment.
There’s probably a person attached to it, but all I see is the chainsaw. “This is it. This is how I die.” I race to the kitchen, past Marcus, who’s frozen in place, to the window that overlooks the fire escape.
Francis screams and something crashes to the ground with a loud bang.
Lilith lets out a screech to wake the dead and leaps onto me, her claws landing right in my butt cheeks through my short dress as she hangs on for dear life.
I pull her off my butt and cradle her in my arms, even as she flails around with claws out. “Hold on, baby. I’m getting us out of here.”
Last year, I received death threats that gave me more than a few nightmares. The guy who sent them is currently serving time in jail, but I still have the occasional nightmare.
And I have thought in great detail about how to escape if someone ever shows up to kill me.
I wasn’t expecting a chainsaw to be the instrument of my death, but I’m ready. Right outside this window is a very large tree with a branch that extends under this window.
I’ve never been a tree climber, but I’m climbing that tree today, with Lilith in my arms.
“Need any help?” Francis says behind me. “He’ll have to get through me to get to you.” He’s so close behind me his body is blocking mine.
I never need any help. “Got it.” I flip the lock and shove the window up with one hand.
“I’m calling the cops,” Marcus yells as he leaps onto the counter and tosses a plate at the chainsaw killer. He misses by a mile.
Behind us, the chainsaw stops. “What the fuck are you doing with my girlfriend?” a very familiar voice asks.
“You have a boyfriend?” Francis asks. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Red flags all over this guy, sweetie,” Marcus says.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.” I spin from the window and stalk over to Garrick, my heart still pounding like death is after me even though my brain has registered there’s no real threat. Garrick’s standing in the middle of my living room, chainsaw hanging limply in one hand, while he glares daggers at my friends. “This is the asshole I told you about. The one who’s making my life hell.”
“You didn’t tell us he’s gorgeous,” Marcus says.
I turn a glare on my friend, but he just grins. “Crazy doesn’t negate hotness.”
“Which is exactly why your last three boyfriends were mental cases,” Francis says.
Garrick’s glare slips and his brow crinkles in confusion. “Oh, dear,” I say. “Were you hoping to cockblock me again?”
Behind me, Francis and Marcus guffaw.
“What the hell is going on here?” Garrick asks.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Francis and Marcus are my friends. They’re visiting from Vegas. If you were hoping to chase them away, good luck. They’re not so easily cowed.”
