Page 42 of Killer Knows Best (Fallon Baxter FBI Mystery #4)

T he next evening the wind howls outside, rattling the windows like a thief trying to break in, but I’m safe here with Buddy curled up next to me in front of a fire. His soft snores mix with the crackling of the flames, and for a moment, everything feels still. It’s the quiet after the storm—the storm laden with chaos and killers that had overtaken our lives. But it’s over now. All of it.

I glance at my watch. Ten after seven.

Karen Holt’s arrest this morning feels like a lifetime ago. She received both human trafficking and racketeering charges. Nikki was ecstatic.

Jack and I made a pit stop on the way home and apologized to Phillis Hazelwood for the chaos we’d dragged her into. She didn’t hold it against us, though. In fact, she seemed relieved and more than thankful that we’d put away a killer—especially one who’d taken her daughter away from her.

Erin flashes through my mind, the way she looked last night, standing there like a stranger and yet still very much my sister.

And as for Erin, I let her sit in a jail cell for several hours. I made sure they did a psych eval on her, too. I’d like to say it was menial and somewhat petty payback for all she put my mother, Riley, and me through these last few years, but alas, it was the law.

She made bail and is happily staying at my mother’s place. We’re all having breakfast in the morning, a twisted family reunion of sorts. We’ll wade through the legal consequences of her arrest together.

My phone pings, and I pick it up, half-expecting it to be Hale, but it’s not. It’s Erin via my mother’s phone.

It’s me. Just wanted to say thank you—for everything. I’m going to make this up to you. To all of you.

I stare at the message for a second before texting back.

How about we start fresh?

The response comes almost immediately.

I’d like that.

“I would, too,” I say aloud as I wrap an arm around Buddy’s warm body. “Thanks for sticking with me, boy. Couldn’t have done it without you.” He snorts softly, already half asleep, but I know for a fact he understands.

A knock at the door cuts through the silence, and I hop up to check the peephole.

It’s Jack.

I swing the door open to find him standing there, windswept with a pizza in one hand and a very unimpressed cat in the other as leaves fly around him like crimson confetti.

“Well, well,” I tease. “If it isn’t someone I’ve been dying to see. Come here, Misty,” I say, taking the cute kitty from him. “Stone, you can come in, too.” I wink his way and he offers a lopsided grin.

“Extra pepperoni, extra cheese?” he says, hoisting up the box.

“I’d kick you out if it wasn’t,” I say as I shut the door behind him.

I let Misty down, and Buddy immediately chases her throughout the cabin.

“I wasn’t expecting the cat,” I say as he hands me the pizza, and I set it down on the coffee table before wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands find my waist and he pulls me closer.

Jack Stone holds the scent of a fresh shower, fresher cologne, and all of the pheromones my body requires to sit up at attention. The fire only adds to my smitten mood.

“I figured, like me, Misty needed to get out of the house,” he says, his voice low, and I take a moment to take him in. That dark scruff on his face, dark tousled hair, those neon eyes of his filled with dark intent. I can work with this.

“How is your mom?” I wrinkle my nose as I ask because I’m almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Feisty as ever.” He takes a deep breath. “Jet is with her, keeping her company. I figure they’re safe enough in the hospital, away from the ills of drugs and alcohol.”

“You do realize that place is a walking pharmacy.”

He closes his eyes for a second. “Let’s hope they lock up the meds like they’re supposed to.” His hands warm my back as his gaze pins onto mine.

“What are you thinking?” I ask.

His lips twitch. “I’m thinking, kissing you is a privilege, not a right.” He ticks his head to the side as if to ask the question .

I nod, biting down a smile. “You’ve earned it.” I take him by the hand. “In fact, if you don’t mind, I’m awfully tired. I wouldn’t mind kissing you while lying down. Say—in the bedroom?” I lift a brow and inspect him.

Jack’s mouth falls open and he glances around as if waiting for a different reality to set in.

“Really?” He tips his head, a devilish smile curving on his lips.

“Really.” I shrug. “I guess it’s my lucky night.”

“You mean it’s my lucky night.”

I shake my head as I lead him deeper into my cabin. “I meant mine.”

“You think we can hit the hot tub afterward?”

“Only if you’re good.”

“Oh honey”—he pulls me close before picking me up off the floor with one swoop of his arms—“I will be very, very good.”

And he is.

Ten forty-five

Text from Hale

Incident in progress. 12th and Kensington. Multiple casualties. I need all three of you down there now.

Jack and I groan in unison at the sight.

“So much for the hot tub,” Jack says, pulling me close.

“The night is still young,” I say. “Let’s go catch a killer or two.”

“You’re right,” he says, landing a kiss to my lips. “We’ve got the rest of our lives to continue this party. ”

“The rest of our lives?” I take a breath. “I like the sound of that.”

“That or forever,” he says, giving my ribs a tweak.

Our phones go off again, and this time we hit the ground running.

There’s a killer on the loose—forever will have to wait.

*Thank you for reading!