Killer Unleashed

by Beth Prentice

  "Well, no, I haven't tweeted it yet. Thought I'd wait to hear his reply before I did that." He stood back on his heels and grinned.

  Bastard.

  "He's in the kitchen," said Adam, quietly, "and you look beautiful. He's an idiot if he says no."

  "What about Becky?" I asked, the anxiety swirling in my stomach making me feel ill.

  "She went home," he said, smiling.

  Well, at least that was one less person to witness my humiliation. I still wasn't one hundred percent sure I could do this, but it was now or never. As I pushed the door open, I could hear the excitement as everybody whispered between themselves, but as I quietly closed it the noise disappeared, and I felt the stillness surround me.

  Brody sat at the table with his back to me, a mug in his hand. He looked over his shoulder as I closed the gap between us but turned back to stare at his drink, his thoughts unreadable.

  I felt my resolve flee the room as I took the seat next to him. My heart hammered so fast in my chest I was sure he could see it, but he never looked up at me. He kept staring at his coffee as if it would give him the words to say.

  Did I have the strength to say the words I had to say?

  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to slow my breathing. When I opened them again, I leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I love you."

  I waited and counted my heartbeats. Only when I had lost count, did Brody slowly turn and look at me. I waited again as the corner of his gorgeous mouth turned up ever so slightly and the crinkles appeared around his eyes.

  Just as I thought my heart would give up from exhaustion, Brody leaned into me and whispered, "I love you more."

  EPILOGUE

  As the darkness enveloped us, I lay in Brody's arms and allowed my mind to filter over the last few days. I rolled over and curled into his side, my leg sliding around his as I did so. I placed my hand on his abdomen and felt his muscles tense as I ran my fingers over them. Wow, I still couldn't believe he was mine.

  Back in Isaac's kitchen, Brody had told me how he and Becky never were an item. Apparently he had dated her to make me jealous, and she wouldn't leave him alone after that. He was too nice to tell her to bugger off. That was okay. I'd happily tell her the next time I saw her.

  Looking at the clock, I could see it was already half past midnight, and Theo had been scratching at the door wondering why he wasn't allowed in. Well, of course he hadn't been allowed in. I'm sure you've figured out by now what actually happened in this room earlier tonight, and there was no way Theo could be in the room to watch. It wouldn't feel right.

  Moving my hand to Brody's chest, I could feel his breathing, deep and slow. I guess I could let Theo in now and allow Brody to actually get some sleep. I pulled the sheets back and stepped out of bed, the moonlight casting its glow through the cracks in the blinds. I stopped and looked down at Brody, his features soft. As he lay there, his chest bare to the night air, I watched the rhythmic rise and fall as he slept. He looked delicious.

  I turned, picked Bunny up from the floor, and threw it into the hall to Theo. He could come in later. Jumping back into bed, I snuggled into Brody, running my foot up his leg as I did so, feeling the soft hair tickle my toes. Brody stirred under my touch.

  "You're insatiable," he whispered, but I could feel his smile.

  "To think I nearly didn't tell you how I felt."

  "I thought you'd say yes," said Brody, his tone full of confidence.

  "What made you so sure?"

  "You already have my initials tattooed on your wrist." He turned my hand over and slowly rubbed his fingers over the ink.

  "Don't get too cocky," I said, leaning in for a kiss. "So does Isaac."

  * * * * *

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Beth was born in Manchester, England, but after moving backwards and forwards across the world thirteen times in fourteen years she decided at the age of eighteen that Australia was to be her home. She now lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia where every day is a good one. She is the lucky mother of two grown up children, and, along with her ever-patient husband, she is the proud but sometimes flustered owner of four dogs, a cat, and a canary. She has always had a love of reading, and even though her background is in accounting, she has now discovered her love of writing. Her main wish is to write books you can sit back, relax with, and escape from your everyday life…and ones that you walk away from with a smile! When she's not writing you will usually find her at the beach with a coffee in hand, pursuing her favorite pastime—people watching!

  To learn more about Beth Prentice, visit her online at: http://www.bethprentice.com/

  * * * * *

  BOOKS BY BETH PRENTIC

  Killer Unleashed

  * * * * *

  SNEAK PEEK

  If you enjoyed this mystery, check out this sneak peek of another funny, romantic mystery from Gemma Halliday Publishing:

  KILLER KUNG PAO

  by

  PATRICE LYLE

  CHAPTER ONE

  A Dung Beetle Hair Day

  You probably want to know how I solved Mystic Ming's murder, but first I should tell you why I almost killed him myself.

  I stepped into the Manatee Inn's elevator and glanced at my hair in the mirrored walls. The words Night of the Living Frizz Freak instantly came to mind. Florida's balmy weather may have been great for the skin, but it sure was murder on my hair. I tapped the close button and dug through my silver sequined purse until I found my only source of solace.

  A package of eighty-percent dark chocolate almond clusters.

  I eagerly ripped the foil and popped a chocolate into my mouth. Yum. I ignored my reflection and concentrated on the gold elevator doors as they slowly slid shut. Seconds before they finally closed, however, a tiny beringed hand shot inside. The door halted and creaked open.

  "Hold up!" A spry Asian man jumped in. Hot pink hair sprouted from his head, culminating in a giant poof that had been clamped into place with a pink chopstick. He jabbed the close button like it was a slot machine. "Hurry! Mystic Ming need to get to show."

  The elevator dinged wildly in response, but the doors didn't close.

  "Come on. Close, you dumb piece of metal," he said. "Mystic Ming berry late."

  To keep from laughing, I gazed at the bejeweled flower painted on my big toe. His accent was as fake as his hair color. Pure Jersey simmered in his voice.

  He slammed his palm against the button and let out a slur of cuss words amidst a blast of garlic breath so strong it could have flattened Dracula.

  Not one to tell others what to do (except when people paid for my advice as a naturopathic doctor), I leaned against the wall and waited while the man attacked the buttons again. Finally, when the panel lit up like a starry night, I made what I thought was a polite suggestion.

  "Sir, if you'd stop pressing the buttons, I bet the doors will close, and we'll be on our way." I flashed him a friendly smile before popping another chocolate into my mouth.

  He shot me a look that could have melted my cocoa. "Why you tell Mystic Ming what to do?"

  "Who's Mystic Ming?" Then I noticed his tight teal T-shirt adorned with the words, Mystic Ming, Kick-Ass Psychic. "Cute shirt. Very catchy."

  He slapped the buttons again, but the doors still wouldn't close. "Shirt not meant to be cute. Meant to make sure clients not forget me."

  I doubted he needed a T-shirt for that. "You here for the Body, Mind & Spirit Expo?"

  "What's it to you?"

  "I was just wondering." I reached past him and tapped the close button. Surprisingly, it acquiesced, and we began our sluggish descent toward the lobby.

  "Mystic Ming not need your help." His words were accompanied with garlic-scented spittle.

  Eeww.
My poor chocolate. I stepped back and closed the package. "Sorry, sometimes you just need a woman's touch."

  "Woman touch never good."

  Oh, please. It worked, didn't it?

  He squinted and stared at my head. "Your hair look like dung beetle nest."

  My eyes widened while I waited for the obligatory, Sorry, just kidding.

  He didn't offer those words though. Instead he countered with, "What happen to you? You get caught in typhoon?"

  Holy chocolate babka, how can he say that?

  "It's the Florida humidity," I said, shocked at his rudeness.

  "You should have stayed home where hair not look so ratty."

  I gasped and bravely peeked at my hair in the mirrored walls, hoping for a miraculous change in the last couple of minutes. Nope. I was still a frizz ball, despite the shine serum, leave-in conditioner, and anti-frizz cream. How could I give my natural health presentation looking like a lightning-strike victim?

  Or, as Mystic Ming had so clearly articulated, looking like a haven for dung beetles?

  Whatever they even were.

  My cheeks burned as a memory from freshman year in high school tumbled forth in my mind. A rich kid had called me a pizza-faced, blonde Little Orphan Annie in front of the honors biology class. I could still hear the peals of laughter reverberating off the lab's linoleum floor.

  But before I descended into Code Red hair panic, I inhaled another chocolate and recalled my favorite quote by Charles Swindoll, the one I shared with each one of my patients.

  Life is ten percent what happens to you. Ninety percent how you react to it.

  In honor of Mr. Swindoll, I tossed my wayward ringlets over my shoulders and glared at the pink-haired psychic. If I let Mystic Ming's rude-itude get the best of me, I wasn't following my own advice.

  I lifted my chin as if I hadn't a care in the world. "I adore dung beetles."

  "Why? They live in crap house."

  He wasn't making this easy, but I would persevere. "One beetle's dung is another beetle's sequined purse."

  "Lady, crap is crap."

  How exasperating. "Have you ever tried being nice?"

  "I'm a psychic. Not a frigging Hallmark greeting card."

  Interesting how he lost his accent along with his temper.

  He glared at me for a long moment, and then shut his eyes and lifted his arms. His bony fingers wiggled around, sending zippy flashes of light from his rhinestone rings dancing across the mirrored walls.

  "I get message from spirit guide." His voice was somber.

  Oh, for the love of chocolate ganache. I believed in the possibility of otherworldly things, but this was over the top.

  He suddenly dropped his hands, and his eyes popped open. "Spirit guides say you need to take garlic daily. Good for heart."

  I knew about garlic's many healthful properties, but I didn't personally take it every day because it caused a serious social concern.

  Breath Reekage Factor. A condition that definitely afflicted Mystic Ming, but I'd keep that diagnosis to myself.

  "What's good for my heart is not being told my hair looks like a dung beetle nest. Seriously, that was out of line."

  He waved his hand as if he were batting away an annoying fly. "Spirit guides have another message for you."

  "Thanks, but after that hair comment, I'll pass."

  The universe must have had other plans for me, however, because the elevator lurched to a halt. I braced my hand against the wall while my pulse skyrocketed.

  Had I made the other side mad?

  Mystic Ming pursed his lips. "Not good when Spirit has to stop elevator to make you listen. Pretty important message. You want to hear now?"

  Obviously, I was supposed to. My arm hairs rose, and I nodded.

  "Spirit say you eat too much chocolate. Not good for naturopathic doctor image. You supposed to be healthy role model. You eat carob instead."

  Carob?

  My arms tingled as the familiar word settled over me like a spritz of my favorite perfume. How could Mystic Ming have possibly known? My mind flashed back to the last argument I'd had with my boyfriend, Floyd, when he'd told me the very same thing.

  You should switch to carob. You're a naturopathic doctor now, not some teenybopper scarfing chocolate with her BFFs at a slumber party.

  Wasn't that rude? Dark chocolate was loaded with anti-oxidants, and I loved it. Carob was hideous. I should have dumped Floyd, but the one time I'd tried he developed a huge stye in his left eye that impeded his final exams and took weeks to go away. Plus I couldn't bear to deal with the reality of joint custody of our three-year-old, twenty-pound, miniature potbellied pig, Brownie. He was the light of my universe.

  Especially with his new rhinestone collar.

  I didn't want Floyd to have him every other weekend and half the major holidays. I couldn't buy enough dark chocolate almond clusters to survive an incident like that.

  Despite another attempt at taking Swindoll's advice, Mystic Ming's jab drilled into me like a worm into an apple. Would I be a better role model for my patients if I stopped eating chocolate? I peered at my frizzy reflection and contemplated LWDC.

  Life Without Dark Chocolate.

  What would I snack on? Dried fruit? Kale chips? Then I realized something.

  Mystic Ming was a sham. And I wasted no time in telling him.

  "You're a fake psychic." I pointed to my nametag that read, Dr. Piper Meadows, Naturopathic Doctor. "This is how you knew my profession." Then I lifted my dark chocolate clusters. "And this is where you got the chocolate part."

  "Me a fake? You the fake. Eating so much candy and pretending to be healthy." He raked a rude gaze down my dress. "You lucky because too much chocolate can turn lady fat."

  I froze. Not the F word. That was something else my boyfriend had said.

  You better lay off the chocolate before your body fat increases.

  Barbs of anger shot up from my silver shoes, past my pink-sequined outfit, all the way to my iridescent taupe eye shadow. How dare this rude man insult my hair and my joie de vivre? And what did a man with pink hair staked together by a chopstick know anyway?

  "I've loved dark chocolate ever since freshman year." I didn't tell Mystic Ming about the high school drama that had cemented my love of dark chocolate and my future in natural health. That was none of his business.

  But from age fourteen to now, dark chocolate had given me the one thing I needed most.

  A major boost in self-esteem.

  "It's not about what you love." He pressed a narrow, teal platform boot with purple waves across the toe—okay, those were adorable—against the wall. "Learn from spirit guide. No one take naturopathic doctor with bad hair who pork out on chocolate seriously."

  Again his words were eerily reminiscent of my boyfriend (except for the hair part). "I have a growing practice where I'm helping lots of people get healthier."

  "You'd be smart to listen to Mystic Ming."

  Who did he think he was? "Not every naturopathic doctor has to eat kale twenty-four-seven."

  "Argue all you want, but you know Mystic Ming right. Other NDs not douse themselves in glue and roll around in a bed of chocolate chips."

  Actually, minus the glue part, that sounded kind of fun.

  "Whatever. I don't want to waste my energy on this negative discussion." I reached over to tap a few buttons, but before I did the elevator car resumed our descent. I leaned against the wall and tried to regroup, despite a tiny voice inside warning that this expo was jinxed.

  Even the elevators were off. The Manatee Inn left a lot to be desired, starting with the stench of marijuana that had greeted me in the lobby during check-in. Not to mention the broken bathroom fan. Or the hideous lighting that made me look like a hepatitis patient. Finally, we stopped. The bad news was it was the seventh floor. The good news was we were getting closer.

  The doors inched open, and a tall woman with enviably sleek burgundy hair pulled into a ponytail stepped in. Blue, green
, and red gemstone stud earrings lined the edges of her ears. Mystic Ming turned and inspected the corner. She tapped her blue Birkenstocked foot against the grubby tile floor and hit the lobby button.

  We began our descent at the speed of frozen chocolate syrup trying to drip out of a bottle.

  "These elevators still suck, but the rooms are way better this year." The woman leaned toward the mirrored wall to check her hair. She was straightening her ponytail (as if her sleek hair needed fixing) when her gaze landed on Mystic Ming.

  She dropped her hands to her side and stiffened. "Charles said you weren't coming."

  "Charles a moron who should no eat so much bang bang pork," Mystic Ming said, his garlic breath steaming the mirrored corner.

  Her jaw tightened, and her eyes flashed with annoyance. "You've got some nerve being here after everything you put me through."

  The poor woman's face reddened, and her hands trembled. Whatever Mystic Ming had done upset this woman terribly. Bet it wasn't just criticizing her hair and diet.

  I retrieved a chocolate cluster and held it up. "You want one? Chocolate always makes me feel better."

  "Candy not help whack jobs." Ming turned and let out a sarcastic laugh. "Garnett too crazy for that. She need drugs and lots of them."

  "Thank you for your kind offer," Garnett said to me. "But what I need is to get away from here. This space is filled with bad juju."

  "I sense evil when you got in elevator. You the bad juju."

  Garnett's face twitched, and she slapped all the buttons. The elevator dinged like a jackpot as we lurched to a stop at the next floor. I considered taking the stairs, but the doors wouldn't budge.

  "You have no right to be here. I only got a booth because Charles said you were off on some psychic tour." Even her voice was shaky. "I'd rather be home alone than anywhere near your sorry, pathetic, woman-hating self."