Page 87 of Dead Man's Alibi

“You’ll be dead before you do anything to me with your gun.”

“Sure, but there won’t be any confusion about who killed me.”

Brian laughed, which sent a cold chill down Sam’s spine.Okay, maybe…thatwas a little intimidating.She didn’t let it show, or tried not to, anyway.She had a feeling Brian was the kind of guy who liked to know a woman was scared and intimidated.

So she refused to be either.

“The problem is, Sam, you won’t stop poking.Now, I figured that when I had the bright idea to make sure all the evidence pointed toBennet, no one was going to take the girlfriend seriously.Especially Hayes.Thenthis onegot involved.”

Apparently, Olivia wasthis one.

“You… killed Jules Hyatt,” Sam managed to say, hoping she sounded as bored as she was trying to.

Even though she just… was shocked.What the hell did Brian Mathews have to do with Jules?

“Yeah, I did.Didn’t mean to, obviously.She wascharmedby me, but then suddenly not interested?I’m so tired of you women.Always changing your mind.Acting like whores, then pretending you’re all innocent.”

Sam nearly gagged on her revulsion.Yeah, she’d known Brian had a kind of shitty opinion of women, but this was… God, this was disgusting.

“I was just going to shut her up, because she was all crying about how she wanted to go home, but you know what?I really enjoyed strangling her.Watching the life drain out of her eyes because ofme.Fuck, that’s a high.”

Sam had to swallow down the wave of nausea that swept through her.Okay, so he was more dangerous than she’d given him credit for, but she could still get out of this.She just had to keep a cool head.“So, you think you can have me shoot Olivia, and then what?They won’t take my word for it that you made me?”

“The police will arrest you.And you can cry to them about how it was all my fault, but firstly, you’ll have actually pulled the trigger, and secondly, all the evidence will be stacked againstyou.Just like it’s stacked against your boyfriend.”

It wasbaffling.“You don’t honestly think you’ll get away with this.”

“Why shouldn’t I?I’ve gotten this far.You think anyone is going to believeyou?I’ve played Hayes like a fiddle.He’s so fucking easy.I have thought of everything.It’ssoeasy to get away with this shit when you know how it works.Because even if you finally convince someone?I’ll be long gone by the time you manage that.”

It would have been smarter, to Sam’s way of thinking, if he’d already been long gone.But she’d never given Brian credit for being that smart.

He was right about one thing, though.He’d gotten this far.Because he’d played Hayes like a fiddle.Embarrassing.

She had to live to ensure she rubbed that embarrassment in Hayes’s smug face.

“Honestly, I have to wonder why I didn’t do it before.”He laughed again.Cruel.Just plaincruel.“I would have enjoyed stranglingyouback in the day.”His voice changed.

His face was suddenly closer.His breath hotter on her cheek.She was suddenly glad she hadn’t eaten in a while, because she was pretty sure it would have come back up.

“Enjoyed quite a few things actually.Showed you who isreallyboss.”

Sam gripped her gun tighter.Surely there was some way to whirl on him.Maybe if she just shot down at his foot, or pulled the trigger and missed even, it would take him by surprise.

Because he wasn’t going to doshitto her.

“But you’re lucky, Sam.I don’t want to leave any DNA just in case.But Icouldkill you both.You know what?I kind of like that idea.I really, really like killing.Can’t strangle this time, but maybe I’d like to watch you both bleed out.”

Olivia whimpered.Sam tamped down the spurt of panic because she’d bedamnedif they were both going to die at this piece of shit’s hand.

“Then who will you blame it on?”

“Maybe Hayes.That’s been your angle, hasn’t it?You figured it was Hayes framing Nate.And the guy sure acts guilty, doesn’t he?Yeah.I like that.I could make that work.I can makeanythingwork at the department.Everyone underestimates me.Hell, I got that dumb Bennet knife out of evidence and to the crime scene, and no one evenquestionedit twenty-four hours later.”

“So, you finally found something you’re good at?Killing women.Congrats.Real winner shit there.”

The gun dug into her back, the arm around her neck tightened.Harder and harder, until she was having a hard time getting a breath.

“Gasp for air, Sam,” Brian said, low and vicious.“I want to hear it.”