Mosquitoes buzzed near his head. Somewhere in the distance someone was playing a saxophone, the melancholy notes of a bluesy song rising upward from the street. He relaxed a bit. Cleared his thoughts. Until, in his mind’s eye, he saw Brianna’s face. Damn she looked like her twin.

Arianna Hayward.

Oh, hell.

Leaning over the railing, holding his bottle in both hands, he silently cursed the gods who had gotten him tangled up with Arianna.

His jaw clenched so hard it ached. Though Jase hadn’t known Brianna in high school, he’d met Arianna. More than once. A lot more. Dark thoughts came to mind, disturbing images he’d rather forget.

Rolling his bottle in his hands, he told himself not to go there.

But that might prove impossible since Brianna had been on his mind since the moment he’d heard from his brother that she lived nearby. She was trouble, he knew that, and she was the one woman in the world he should avoid at all costs, a woman who was dangerous to him, one who could ruin him if she ever guessed the truth.

And his connection to 21.

A story he couldn’t let go.

The 21 Killer was intriguing, if appalling at the same time. “21” would hold the public’s interest. Would sell papers. Above that, finding more about him, linking him to the current case of the missing girls, proving that the police in LA were wrong, might give Jase more cred not only as a crime reporter but as an investigative journalist. Someone who could dig deep, uncover the truth.

But if Brianna were right, the LAPD would end up with a black eye. And if Jase was involved in unraveling the story, how would that play here with the New Orleans department? It was a quick way to slam doors in his own face. Bentz wouldn’t care; he’d left LA on bad terms, but the brass at NOPD might see him as a rogue.

Well, hell, who really cared?

The story was the story, the truth was the truth, and the public had a right to know. Jase was more than willing to offer it up. Even if there was a personal price to pay.

The prospect that 21 may have resurfaced or that a copycat killer may have stepped into the murderer’s bloody shoes made a helluva story, one he wanted to pursue. If it was true. His conscience nagged a bit. Deep down, he hoped to hell Brianna Hayward’s theory proved wrong. For the Denning sisters’ sake. And for any other set of twins about to become adults and catch the killer’s attention.

But if the maniac existed, he needed to be exposed and taken down.

Jase was the man for the job.

Even if it means dealing with Brianna Hayward? Think of the consequences of getting close to her.