“Oh,” Carlton is surprised that I have the cash ready. I keep my eyes on him as he scurries back off. I take one last glance down the hallway to see Eve slip into the room she’s been banging on the door of. It’s a dressing room or one they’d been using as one today.

Knowing where she is, I track after Carlton, keeping a nice distance as I watch him. I grab a chair and sit. As big as I am when I’m standing up, I’m unmissable. At least now I can blend in to a degree as I try and put my finger on why Carlton makes me uneasy.

That’s the thing about psychopaths: They are the hardest to read. They try to blend in but still have quirks that make them stand out. But there are some people that are fucking odd all around and aren’t psychopaths.

My attention shifts to Eve as she reappears with her arm locked with Liza’s. When Eve first moved to town, I wasn’t sure Snow Hills would be a permanent home for her. Her job with the mayor was something to add to her resume to move up and into a bigger city. You can’t get very high in ranks around here. Unless one day she wanted to be mayor herself.

I push those thoughts away, not wanting to think about Eve moving. It sends my mind in a tailspin of having to pack my life up and settle in again somewhere new. I tell myself I wouldn’t follow after her, but I would.

The distance between my cabin and her in town is hard enough. The hold I have on my control is slipping. I grip it as hard as I can, but the rope is tethering away by the second. I’m falling. I should be finding another exit strategy, but I’m letting the rope unravel, and I’m not doing a damn thing to stop it.

Crane, Liza, and Eve all go to get a drink. I watch them and read Eve’s lips as she gives Crane a hard time. My girl is rather protective of her best friend, but I also know she is pushing the two of them together. I only think she’s making it clear she’ll cut off his balls if she has to.

That won’t be happening. I won’t let her near his balls, but I’d be more than willing to cut them off for her. I’m bigger than Crane, but I’d still need to get the jump on him to secure him. I’m almost positive it would be one hell of a fight between us.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that Eve keeps glancing over at me while she sips her champagne. Crane went to settle up his tab but kept getting caught up by people trying to talk to him. I had a few do the same to me, but I gave them a blank stare that did the trick. Now everyone is giving me a wide berth. Just the way I like it.