Page 27

Sorry. It’s a club thing. Thorn owes the club fifty bucks because he wasn’t signing.
Everyone knows the rule. Didn’t mean to offend you.
I hang my head and take a deep breath before lifting it. “Can you read lips?” Grim nods so I continue. “No, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.”
I hand him back his phone and take my seat on the couch. “I apologize for my outburst. It’s been a long night.”
Soul grabs a bottle of Jack and begins handing out glasses. When he gets to me, I shake my head. “No offense, but I don’t drink with men I don’t know.”
“Smart,” he replies. “So, you say the guy in the parking lot was the Phantom Strangler. How do you know that?”
“He told me he’s been waiting for me.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Seeing how my twin sister was one of his victims, I’d say it means a lot.” I take another swig of my Coke.
A collective gasp fills the room, but it’s Thorn who speaks. “What did you say?”
“I can’t say it any clearer,” I huff. “Five years ago, when we were out celebrating our twenty-first birthday, he killed my twin. And tonight, he said he’s been waiting on me. I would’ve had him, too, if you hadn’t spooked him.”
“I was saving your ass,” Thorn argues.
“I had it handled.” I rub my temples in frustration. “How do you know about the Phantom?”
Thorn hesitates and glances over at Soul who nods slightly. “My girlfriend was his first victim when I was a senior in high school.”
My jaw drops. “His f-f-first victim was your high school girlfriend?” I stutter.
Thorn nods. “Tamara had a party at her house while her parents were out of town. I bailed on her when she asked me to stay and help her clean up. I had to work later that day and needed to crash and sleep off some of the alcohol,” he explains. “Her parents came back, and Tamara was gone so her parents reported her missing. They found her naked and strangled to death in a creek behind my house.”
“How long ago was that?” I ask.
Thorn doesn’t answer. He just hangs his head and begins pacing back and forth.
Soul pours another round for everyone, and this time, I take the glass when he offers.
“Twenty-fourteen,” Soul replies for Thorn.
“Holy shit,” I mumble. “That’s five years before he killed Daphne. How many women has this asshole murdered? I’ve only been searching for four years.”
Thorn stops and whips around to face me. “You’ve been actively searching for him? Alone?”
“Of course, he killed my sister.”
“That’s the dum?—”
“I know you don’t know us,” Soul interrupts. “Would you be willing to come with us to our clubhouse? Maybe we can work together to finally bring this psycho down.”
“Where’s your clubhouse?”
“Boulder City, Nevada,” Thorn grits through his teeth.
“Will I be safe from all of you?”
All the men nod, but it’s Soul who responds. “You have my word that no one in our club will harm you.”
“And I can leave whenever I want?”