Afton Locke: February 2021

Blurb

After 2020, Delia Sloane struggles to keep Rainbow Falls Resort afloat while grieving the loss of her father and husband. She refuses to let her Key Largo slice of paradise—a haven for non-mainstream couples—die. But when a serial killer begins attacking her guests—leaving a single dreadlock on each victim—everything spins out of control, including what’s left of her family.

Hides a killer…

After her brother’s experience with police brutality, the last place she wants to turn to for help is law enforcement. Scarred mentally by a deadly force incident, Detective Will Peterson has avoided homicide cases. But only he has the skills to drill into the elusive killer’s twisted mind.

And it just got personal…

When a hurricane strikes, exposing the horrible truth behind Delia’s losses and threatening everything she holds dear, trusting Will may be her only hope. Are they up to the challenge?

Excerpt

She stepped toward the door. “Yes?”

“Turndown service,” the worker replied.

Isn’t it a little early for that?

…

She opened the door.

“Uh, sure,” Mandy replied. “Does it include rose petals?”

The guy glanced at the tangle of white sheets across the room. “Of course. When I’m finished, your bed will be covered in crimson.”

A little chill snaked down her spine. Must be the sweat drying. Strange. They’d been here two days already, and this was the first time anyone had offered turndown service. The place couldn’t bring her a lousy drink but could make her bed twice a day?

Maybe there’d been a mix-up with another room. Why not take advantage of it? After she showered and enjoyed those drinks with Eric, they could do it again on a bed of rose petals.

“Sure. Knock yourself out,” she finally said. “I’ll be in the shower.”

With the peekaboo panel closed, obviously.

“Oh, before you do, please come choose your flavor of chocolate.” His voice sounded strange. Kind of flat. Maybe he was new.

Okay, now I’m annoyed. Tired of humoring this weirdo. Just wanted to get her shower in before Eric returned. Her skin itched and smelled like sex.

She padded toward the bed where the worker had opened a box of chocolates. It also contained a compartment of red rose petals and another with something else. Black and woolly looking. Coiled up like a snake.

A scouring pad, maybe? What else could it be?

As soon as she took another step, the jackass swooped in behind her. Then he whipped an arm around her waist and another across her neck. Alarm bells jangled in her head, sending a tsunami of shock waves through her.

What the hell?

“Get off me!” she yelled, but struggling did no good. The man had pinned her between the bed and his body.

And he’d replaced the arm circling her throat with something hard and sharp. A knife. Her legs melted to jelly while her heart hammered every rib.

H-he’s going to kill me, isn’t he? Why? Dear God, why?

“He’ll hurt you,” he grated in her ear with a raspy voice. “They all do.”

“Who?”

“Your husband.” He spat the word as if it tasted disgusting.

“What? What are you talking about? Eric loves me, and I love him.”

Stop talking. Scream! But her pulse pounded in her ears, and she couldn’t think straight.

Eric, where are you?

“What do you want?” she cried.

Whatever it was, she’d give it to him to save her life. Her wedding day flashed through her mind. Eric’s loving face as he said his vows… Would she ever see it again?

“To save you from a broken heart.”

They were the last words she heard before the blade sliced into her neck. The rumpled white covers where she’d made love filled with red petals as the worker had promised. They grayed into blackness until they finally disappeared.