by WL Knightly
Virgo
Zodiac Killers #10
WL Knightly
BrixBaxter Publishing
Contents
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Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
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Description
Hot off the pages of a tabloid scandal with his ex-girlfriend, supermodel Sharron Steele, Ethan Cline, Nashville superstar and the Zodiac’s Virgo, is shaking off rumors and upholding his commitments with a performance at a New York City fashion gala.
Despite attempts to reconcile the couple for a publicity stunt that would secure the success of the event, Ethan is determined to dust off his boots and find a better path in life, preferably one that will take him as far away from the Zodiac’s killer as possible and in the arms of a new love.
As Lizzy and Darek deal with the aftermath of the killer’s recent murder of Raven’s cousin, Honey, the case is blown wide open when, after some goading from Bay Collins, the killer makes their biggest threat to date.
As the final four attend the charity event of the year, will the killer make good on their promise?
Chapter 1
Ethan
It had been too long since Ethan had shared a bed with another warm body. He knew very little about the woman next to him, except that she had the usual doe-eyed admiration for him and his music that all his fans did. At six a.m. in his hotel room, all that really mattered was the lust she had for his body.
He rolled over and pressed against her back, nuzzling her neck as if she were more than a one-time lover, which roused her from sleep.
“Oh my God. Are you sure I’m not dreaming?” She giggled like she had the night before, like she’d won the lottery when he’d picked her out of the crowd.
“Nope, still not dreaming, sweetheart.”
Her hand snaked down and gripped his erection. “Looks like you’re gonna need a little help with that.” She met his eyes and then disappeared under the covers.
A moment later, her warm tongue twirled around him, and she took him deep like she was trying her damnedest to impress him.
That was how it usually was with groupies. They all had something to prove. They knew their time with him was fleeting, so they performed to their fullest, eager to show him they had something special in hopes that he might call them again.
He never did.
But Ethan’s life wasn’t all fun and games. He had a certain level he had to live up to, especially now that every eye in America had been on him. His recent scandal, where he’d done nothing more than end a relationship with his supermodel girlfriend, Shannon Steele, had landed him in every tabloid in America and plenty of others across the globe.
They had been Ethan and Shannon, couple of the year. They had spent a rocky year and a half together, complete with him buying an engagement ring and baby rumors spreading, but it all ended rather commonly, with her fucking someone else and him reacting like any man would by jumping into bed with the nearest warm body.
As his toes curled, he reached down and laced his fingers through the nameless girl’s hair, pushing her down deeper until she spat and sputtered. He had no choice but to let her come up for air, and when she did, she straddled him and began to ride him like a wild stallion, her tits bouncing as he bucked.
She threw her head back and moaned, and he let her grind over him until his release was close. Then he pushed her off him.
“You could have finished inside me,” she said. “I’d have your babies.”
That kind of crazy talk forced him out of bed, and he gathered up her clothes and tossed them beside her. “I don’t want children. And if I did, I’d at least want to know their mother’s name.”
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s Mandy, remember?”
“Look, Mandy, I appreciate the good time, and you’re a really talented girl, sweet and pretty. But I need to hit the shower. I’ve got a long trip home today.” He went to his bag and handed her a piece of paper and a small packet.
She snatched them out of his hand.
“Sign it and take the pill,” he said. “You can leave your number if you want.” He only added that last part because the prospect of seeing him again took some of the sting out of his quick dismissal.
Not this girl.
Anger turned her cheeks red. “Don’t worry, cowboy. This isn’t my first rodeo.” She signed the paper and took the pill. Then she grabbed her clothes and hurried to step into her panties. “You’re a piece of work. Just like those tabloids said you were. I should have taken Shannon’s side. I bet you were sleeping around the whole time. You made her get an abortion, didn’t you? I knew it. Asshole.”
She mouthed off all the way to the door, and before she could open it, Nate threw it open, barging in as usual, with a bag hanging off his arm.
Mandy took the opportunity to push past him to leave. Nate looked after her. “Jesus, Ethan. Are you fucking kidding me?” His manager had told him not to pick up anyone until the media coverage of his breakup died down. “I hope you wrapped it up.”
Ethan shrugged. “NDA and morning-after pill. She’s a bit sore at me, but she’ll get over it. Or not. Who gives a shit?”
“You’re going to stir the shit pot, my friend, and I’m going to make you lick the spoon.” He put the bag on the small table across the room. “I brought breakfast. You need to eat, and then we need to get moving. We’re on our way home for a short stop, and then it’s on to New York for that fashion gala bullshit.”
“The charity thing?” Ethan asked. His manager had been vague about the type of show. “It’s fashion related? Are you fucking serious?” He grabbed his shorts off the floor and slipped them on.
Nate held out his hands. “Calm down, Ethan. We booked it a long time ago.”
He took the bag and pulled out his food to try and eat it before he lost his appetite. “You didn’t tell me what kind of event it was. You’ve deliberately kept that from me.”
Nate grinned. “Maybe. And maybe I didn’t want to listen to you bitch about it, but it’ll good for you, Ethan. You’ll see. The media will eat it up. They’ll see you getting back on the horse and doing it in her territory. It’s going to make you look like a true professional.”
“Fucking media,” Ethan said. “I’m sick of playing their games and doing things based on what they think. I need to move on in my own way, away from her and her fashion bullshit. Those are all going to be her people, people who are loyal to her. It will be like walking into the lion’s den.”
Nate shrugged. “Sure, you might have to deal with a few dirty looks, but so what? Swagger in there like you’ve got the biggest swinging dick in the room, and no one can touch you. You’ll see. This is going to be a good move.”
Ethan trusted Nate, but he was really taking Ethan to the brink of his sanity with trying to play the media game. They didn’t play fair. Ever.
And when they had nothing real to talk ab
out, they just made shit up. They claimed he had already married Shannon in a secret ceremony. They said he proposed to her because she was sporting a baby bump, which nearly killed Shannon by triggering an eating disorder, which her people somehow covered up. Then when she lost weight, the tabloids claimed she’d had a miscarriage or an abortion, which led to their breakup.
The truth was that Shannon fucked things up by sleeping with his bodyguard, Riggs. The man had been like his best friend, or a brother even. Things had been going south since, and Ethan was still on his desperate climb back up.
“Have I ever steered you wrong, Ethan?”
“Do you really want me to answer that? Cause I’d say, yeah. It was the day you introduced me to that psycho bitch and told me I should ask her out.”
Nate shook his head. “You fell in love with her all on your own, and I was just trying to get you laid by someone other than one of those little groupie sluts. You’ve got to stop that habit before it comes back to bite you in the ass, and you’re supporting some little slut’s bastard baby for the next eighteen years.”
“Excuse me for being sick of beating myself off. I need pussy to survive. I think it’s time I found someone else, or a few, and show this world that I’m moving on.”
“Let’s just get through this fashion event,” Nate said.
“Fuck that. It’s New York, man. I’m taking you out and loosening you up a bit, and I know just the spot to do it.”
“You think you’re going to loosen me up?” Nate asked. “Being tense is my job. I’m tense, so you don’t have to be.”
“You’ve been that way since college.”
Nate frowned. “If I hadn’t recognized your talent and taken on being tense for a living while I managed your career, you’d be the one sitting around with high blood pressure while your hair thins and your ulcer bleeds.”
“And I’m forever grateful, but I think you just need a little pussy, my friend. Consider it therapy. I know a place where you can get all the pussy you want.” Ethan had always wanted to put his VIP band for Bay’s club to use.
“No way,” Nate said. “We’re not getting seen at some brothel. If you think your life is complicated now, just wait until that spreads across the headlines.”
“You need to learn to trust me. This place is different. I have VIP status and know the owner. He’s going to welcome us with open arms.”
“How do you know this guy?”
“He’s someone from my past. I talk to him now and then, crazy motherfucker, but from what I’ve heard, this place of his is nice. Any kind of sex and kink you want, and you never leave there unsatisfied.”
“Sounds like heaven, almost too good to be true.” Nate didn’t look convinced.
“Trust me, Nate. I’ve never steered you wrong either. We’re going to party in New York, my friend.” Ethan felt his pulse race with excitement as he bit into his breakfast sandwich, but Nate still looked uncertain.
“Can your friend guarantee discretion? Of course not. So that’s the only downfall. Someone recognizes you and spills the beans? Then we’re both fucked.”
“Look, from what I’ve heard, the place operates on discretion. It’s key. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll call him up later and talk to him about it. I’m sure he knows someone who would want to go out and have a good time. Someone who knows how to keep their mouth shut.”
Nate snorted. “Yeah, like your bodyguard.”
“Riggs was just bitter because we fired him and Shannon dumped him. He saw a way to collect some money by airing our secrets, and the media took it from there. This isn’t going to have that kind of outcome.” Nate worried too much, and Ethan knew one day, it was going to kill him.
“I hope you’re right. But for now, hurry up and eat. We have a plane to catch.” Nate began tossing Ethan’s things into his suitcase and even laid out his clothes for the day. He had taken on every role possible in Ethan’s life as his manager, and there was no one closer, not even his family, who had abandoned him when his dreams of being a star got in the way of their dreams of him becoming a doctor like his father.
As he bit into his sandwich, he reached for the remote and turned on the local news. “I wonder if they’ll say anything about last night’s show? The fans were tearing shit up when I left the stage.”
“Yeah, you’d think a bunch of country music fans would know better,” Nate said as he walked over to join him.
Ethan saw Carter’s face staring back at him and turned it up. “I know him.”
The news reporter’s voice filled the room. “Hamilton hasn’t been heard from in over a week, and the elders of his church reported a large sum of money had been taken out their bank account. With suspicions growing, church officials are speculating that the pastor might have left the country to avoid facing recent scandals, as many of the women in his congregation step forward with reported cases of sexual abuse and harassment.”
“Jesus, Ethan. How well do you know him?”
Ethan thought back to all of those days at camp, fishing with Carter and the rest of his friends. They’d had some good times and were all so innocent back then. So many of them were gone now, and he had to wonder with all of the death following the Zodiacs, had Hamilton become the latest victim, or had he simply gone into hiding to avoid his problems?
“We’re old friends,” said Ethan, still stunned from the news.
Nate sighed. “Well, let’s hope the tabloids don’t figure that out.”
Chapter 2
Darek
Darek rolled over against Lizzy and smiled before he opened his eyes. She had stayed over nearly every night lately, and Darek liked to think it was because she really wanted to wake up next to him and not because Raven was back in town.
With the recent murder of Raven’s cousin, Honey, the case had been back on. And with the killer choosing to murder Raven’s cousin, which was most likely supposed to have been Raven instead, and the fact that they left a calling card with a Sagittarius symbol, Darek couldn’t help but feel like the killer was sending him a message.
“It’s about time you woke up,” said Lizzy. “I thought I was going to have to cook breakfast all alone.”
“Never leave the bed before I’m awake,” he said as if it were a rule she’d contemplated breaking.
She rolled over and faced him. “I’m hungry. I want food.”
“I’m hungry too,” he said. “And horny.”
Lizzy smiled big, her eyes widening as he pulled her across his chest and kissed her. Her legs settled astride him. “What do you know? Now I’m horny too.” She moved against him as they shared a laugh.
“Funny how that works, huh?” He captured her mouth with his, and they kissed, rolling her over to her back as he buried himself inside her. His hips pumped as she moaned. He worked her steadily until her orgasm had her panting and curling her toes.
He closed his eyes as her tight walls quaked around his cock until his release poured into her. Darek collapsed against her, and she brought her legs up around him to hold him there inside of her.
“I want pancakes,” she whispered in his ear. “With blueberries.”
“No way. I want strawberries and bananas.”
She rocked her hips. “How about all three?”
“How about round two, then all three?”
She smiled and gave a nod. “That sounds even better.”
He rolled over, bringing her to the top, and she bounced up and down, riding his cock until they both came together.
“I still want pancakes,” she said when they were done.
He shook his head. “Showers first. Then I’ll give you anything you want.”
She climbed off him and hurried to the shower before he could catch her, and she set the water a bit cooler, just how she liked it.
He stepped in behind her. “You’re killing me with the cold water, Lizzy.”
She turned and brought her arms around him. “I like it. It’s refreshing.”
�
��It’s shrinking my balls.” He kissed her then stepped back. “You’re going to starve to death if we keep that up.” He made quick work with the soap, lathering, and rinsing, and then stealing another kiss before getting out and drying off. He slipped on his robe and headed to the kitchen to find blueberries.
Things had been amazing between them, despite the strain of having Raven back in the picture. But that wasn’t what kept eating at Darek. As he gathered the ingredients, his mind returned to a thought that had been nagging him for over a week. Had Max been in New Orleans the day of the shooting? Not only would it have to be a huge lie, but why? Why would he say he was in Tennessee?
“Why the long face?” asked Lizzy when she joined him. “Or is that deep thought creeping into your expression, detective?”
He couldn’t spoil their morning by asking Lizzy about his suspicions and decided it was better to keep his thoughts to himself when it came to Max. He had tried his hardest to forget the guy had his hands and mouth on Lizzy, and now he had to wonder if the man was spying on him too?
He poured the milk into the mix and stirred.
“Are you thinking about Noah?” She nudged him aside and took over the stirring. But what he really thought she wanted to ask was if he was thinking about Raven.
“No, and before you ask, I wasn’t thinking about Raven either.”
“Well, that’s good to know. How is she doing?”