22. MADDOX #3
“See, I have a theory of my own,” she says, fixing the woman with a look that could strip paint.
“I think people like you spend so much time looking for somebody else to blame that you never stop to consider how little you actually contribute to the conversation. You want to blame bars because they’re open at night?
That’s cute. Should we blame grocery stores next?
Maybe the killer bought milk once. Maybe we should shut down every business across Onyx Heights just to be safe. ”
A snort escapes somewhere behind us as the woman’s eyes narrow. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Oh, I’m being ridiculous?” Lyra says smoothly. “I’m just bringing the same bullshit energy that you are.”
Hunter grins on Lyra’s other side when the woman braces her hands on her hips. “You run a place that encourages drinking, poor decisions, and questionable behavior.”
Lyra scoffs. “Have you met people? They were making poor decisions long before alcohol got involved.”
A few laughs ripple through the crowd, and despite it being more than clear that this woman is losing this battle, she still doubles down. “Well maybe if business owners like you cared more about public safety and less about profit, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Oft. The room goes quiet again.
Lyra slowly tilts her head. “You know what? You’re right,” she says, her tone shifting so low.
“Let’s close every bar, restaurant, venue, and club in Onyx Heights.
While we’re at it, let’s shut down the roads too.
Statistically, they’re way more dangerous than serial killers.
” The woman opens her mouth, but Lyra steamrolls right over her.
“Actually, let’s go ahead and ban stairs too.
Those things kill people every year. Should we also slaughter our pets?
You know, dogs have been known to attack.
Don’t even get me started on planes, trains, and cars.
What about surgeons whose patients die on the table?
Straight to the electric chair for them. ”
The woman is practically vibrating with anger now. “You’re being absurd. You’re making light of murder.”
“No,” Lyra says. “I’m making light of you.”
A few people audibly gasp, and I start preparing for impact, then Lyra glances around the room. “Besides, if statistics are right, I bet the killer is in this room right now.”
The entire building freezes, and every head turns, and just to fit in, I start looking around too.
Lyra pretends to scan the crowd, then holds her hands up around her mouth and calls with her whole damn chest. “Oh hey, killer, if you’re here and looking for your next target, might I suggest the haughty bitch at the front?”
The room erupts into chaos. People start yelling, offended on the woman’s behalf while others snicker under their breath.
“Okay, okay. Everybody settle down. This is getting way out of hand,” the mayor calls before fixing his heavy gaze on Lyra.
“I understand your concerns. You raise some very good points, and while valid in their own right, I must stand with the people. The safety of our citizens is top priority. The curfew stands.”
Lyra scoffs. “This is ridiculous. Have you even bothered to search the police records?”
He just stares, and she scoffs again before asking the whole room.
“Has anybody? Because I have. And the man who was murdered in his apartment two weeks ago was killed in the afternoon. That’s daylight hours for any of you small-minded people.
This curfew is not going to dissuade the person responsible for this.
All this curfew is going to do is cripple our local economy. ”
That starts another round of chatter, but the mayor isn’t having it, and he grabs his gavel as though it gives him real power.
“The curfew stands. Thirty days. All residents must be in their homes before 10 p.m., and all businesses closed. Failure to do so will result in hefty fines.” His gavel comes down, cementing this bullshit into reality.
“We will reevaluate in thirty days. You may all be dismissed.”
The mayor shuffles away from the dais and in the space of a single blink, Lyra whips around, looking between me and Hunter.
Her jaw is set in stone, her green stare icy and cold.
“Dead to me,” she tells us both, glaring at us with such a lethalness that it has my balls crawling back up inside my body.
And with that, she turns on her heel and stalks out of the hall.
Hunter and I scramble after her, and just as we leave, we hear the woman with the big mouth scoffing at Lyra’s back. My hands ball into fists, anger bubbling below the surface.
I step in closer to Hunter, our shoulders brushing as we slip out into the night. “We can’t kill her,” I say, her face already committed to memory.
“I know.”
“Not after what just happened. They’d think it was Lyra.”
“I know.”
“Fuck.”
Hunter glances up ahead to where Lyra stands by the passenger door of his Challenger, before glancing back at me, his lips twisting with a wicked smirk. “That doesn’t mean we can’t fuck with her though.”
I grin right back. “Ahhh, nothing quite like sweet justice.”
Lyra glances back at us, her gaze narrowed. “What are you two idiots talking about?”
I walk up to her and press a kiss to her temple as Hunter unlocks the car. “Nothing, Savage. Nothing at all.”