KINGMAKER by Franca Storm

Author:Franca Storm [Storm, Franca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-10T18:30:00+00:00

7

CHAOS.

It swirled all around me.

It lived inside of me.

It took more effort than it ever had not to reach for my gun. It was my go-to whenever I was in an intensely worked up state. I’d only ever entered that headspace on-mission. Until I’d met Carolyn and fallen for her. And then, whenever she’d been in any sort of danger, it took me to that state too.

Intensely focused and attuned.

Hyper-vigilant.

On edge.

It was a dangerous state to be in.

The door to my dark side was opening. Any slight provocation could have me unleashing its full furor.

But it was also that headspace that decimated my enemies.

And it kept the innocent safe.

Innocents just like Carolyn.

I slammed the door of my vehicle shut and bolted toward the popup club.

I pushed my way through the cops and crowds alike, forcing my way into the building.

Strobe lights inundated me, neon decorations every color under the sun, glow sticks still live and strewn all over the place, all an assault on my vision. Aggravating dance music still pulsed, a frantic and irregular beat seeming to match the wild thump of my heart, the thing feeling like it was slamming against my ribcage.

I made it deeper into the club, nearing the dance floor.

And that was when I saw it.

Police tape over by one of the bar islands a few feet away.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw a phone discarded within the cornered-off area.

A zebra-print case.

No. No. No!

Hers.

It was hers.

Before I could register it, I was sprinting toward the tape.

As soon as I rounded the bar, I pulled up short at the sight.

A white sheet covering a body on the ground.

And the blood.

Blood pooled around the sheet, all fucking over.

I ducked under the tape.

And then somebody moved into my path.

I slammed up against them.

As I stumbled back, I looked up to see Chief Wagner standing there staring at me.

It wasn’t with his usual disdain this time.

No, it was pity.

And that was when I knew for sure.

I knew exactly who was under that sheet.

“I’m sorry, Adam.”

I moved to dodge past him.

He pressed a hand to my chest. “Hold up. You don’t want to see. Wait until—”

“Step aside. First and final warning,” I growled.

“You don’t want it burned into your memory, it’ll overshadow all the rest. It will haunt you.”

Haunt me? I was already haunted.

I needed to see that I was wrong, that it wasn’t who I thought it was beneath that sheet, that it wasn’t the one person who’d managed to bring me in out of the cold and given me warmth, the person I was building a good life with, a happy life, a family.

I pushed past Wagner, not sparing him another moment. He meant shit all. Nobody did. Nothing. Nothing but that sheet.

I had to be wrong.

It couldn’t be true.

I was just sleep-deprived.

I was just on edge, hopped up on intensity and paranoia.

Yeah, that was it.

That was all.

I reached the sheet and two uniforms I didn’t recognize stepped up to me, blocking my path, at Wagner’s orders, no doubt.

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