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“Drive safely,” Spike said, climbing into the truck.

Viper followed him.

Their two murderous guests ran to their car, climbed in, and sped out of the lot first.

Spike turned to him and laughed.

Viper pretended to laugh with him, to keep up appearances.

“Can you believe those two?”

Viper put a little doubt out there for Spike to think about. “I wonder... which one of them actually hatched this plan?”

“I think the husband got caught cheating on the wife by the brother.”

“Maybe. I just hope the two of them have kept this between them.” Viper could spin this to his advantage.

“Rich seems smart enough to keep quiet. He’s got too much to lose. The other guy... he seems like someone who runs his mouth.”

Viper nodded, not needing to say anything more and happy as hell this was over. Now he could try to smooth things out with Lyric.

Chapter Five

Lyric sat by the fire in her little apartment above the bar, strumming her guitar and staring at her phone, which she was using to record her singing the song she wanted to post on her YouTube channel tonight. Anything to distract her from thinking about Viper standing her up and not returning her text.

So stupid. She’d read things all wrong. Still, she couldn’t help hoping.

She tapped Record on her phone. “Hello, music lovers. I’m so happy to see you all tonight. It’s been one of those days where everything seems out of sorts and I find myself alone. With you. And my thoughts and a lot of feelings. This song seemed perfect for tonight. So here goes. Kenny Chesney’s ‘Come Over.’”

She lost herself in the sound of the guitar, the lyrics, the feeling behind the song about being home alone, wanting someone who maybe isn’t good for you but you crave them anyway, and all you want is for them to come over and be with you. Just for tonight. Just for this moment. Just to make everything else go away, and it’s just the two of you wrapped up in each other.

She finished the song with the title’s plea over and over again, wishing the man who probably wasn’t right for her would come over anyway.

When the last sounds of the guitar strings silenced and all that was left was her breath and the popping and crackling of the logs behind her, she laid her head on the guitar and gave a wistful smile to the camera. “Good night, music lovers.” She held the pose for another moment then tapped the Stop button.

It never failed. Music made her feel better.

She sipped her wine, then took her phone, edited out her starting and stopping the recording, then posted it to her YouTube channel not really caring who saw it tonight.

That one had been solely from her to him.

Someone knocked on her door.

She sat upright and stared at the shadow behind the curtain-covered window. The distorted image didn’t give her a hint of who’d come looking for her. Probably one of her sisters, who were still down in the bar closing out the night. At nearly midnight on a Tuesday, they’d already had last call: the two o’clock closing was only for Thursday to Saturday.

She bet Melody wanted to check on her again.

She hoped they didn’t want her to help clean up. She’d already done the kitchen.

She opened the door ready to tell her sister to mop the bar floor herself but stopped short with her mouth open in shock.

“Hey.” Viper stood on the little deck outside her second-story apartment taking up every square inch of it and looking uncertain of his welcome.

The freezing cold seeped into her skin and made her shiver as the warm air in her place rushed out the door.

“You’re losing all your heat. Can I come in? I only need a minute.” Despite his not showing upearlier, she was ready to let him stay as long as he wanted.

How did he make her want him so much?