Prey for Love Read online

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  More from Dirk Greyson

  Readers love Dirk Greyson

  About the Author

  By Dirk Greyson

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  Prey for Love

  By Dirk Greyson

  The last three guys Phillip dated are dead. Is he next?

  When successful businessman Phillip Barone attends a lover’s funeral and discovers he was just the latest of Phillip’s partners to die, Phillip knows he’s in trouble.

  He also knows just the man he needs.

  Former Marine Barry Malone would love a second chance with Phillip—he just wishes the romance could be rekindled under better circumstances. But Phillip’s stalker is escalating, and if Barry cannot solve the mystery of who wants Phillip dead and why, he might lose him for good. Barry’s determined, but the investigation struggles against the wit of a crafty killer—one who is closer to Phillip than they could have realized.

  Luckily Barry is even closer, and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect the man he’s falling in love with all over again.

  This book is dedicated to Karen Rose. It wouldn’t exist without her incredible inspiration. I love you, Karen—you’re amazing!

  Prologue

  PHILLIP LEANED back in his chair, feet on the desk, controller in his hand, throwing his mind and body into the latest test version of Harbinger of Doom. This was what he loved about his company. Sometimes he got to play video games at work. It was the best, and right now, things were going so well, he’d decided to reward himself. Phillip didn’t usually have time for things like this, which was a pity, because gaming was where his heart was, his passion, and he’d always been damned good at it. When he played, he was on top of the world. Phillip dodged his avatar and obliterated an enemy fighter, twisting to one side and then the other to chase the next.

  The game was still in development, and he made a mental note of any glitches as he continued. “Yes,” he crowed to the empty office as his score approached the current office record. Then a few minutes later, he whooped as he blew past the high score and continued on.

  A knock sounded, and he paused the game, sitting up. “Come in.”

  One of the lead game developers poked his head in. “I see you beat the record.” Word got around fast sometimes.

  “Come on in.” Phillip practically jumped out of his seat and motioned to his conference table. “I have a few ideas for improvement and a list of things to smooth out.” God, he loved his work. “Have a seat and we’ll go over the ideas I came up with.” Sometimes life was great.

  THE MAN stood in a strange hotel bathroom, delighted at just how easy breaking into someone’s room was. No muss, no fuss, and he was in. Getting a duplicate key had been surprisingly easy. And once he was out of here, no one would be the wiser. He wasn’t even supposed to be in town, and yet, a quick train ride had him at the hotel, where no one expected him… in a city where it was easy to hide in plain sight. Still, he needed to be careful. One slipup and the entire plan would be ruined. He had to be quiet and hope that one of the maids, who seemed to be everywhere, didn’t decide to come snooping. He stood in front of the mirror, but didn’t look into it. There was nothing to see.

  No one saw him any longer. He faded into the background now. Not that he gave a fuck in hell about it. He could use that invisibility to his advantage. He pulled the surgical gloves from his pocket. He had gone over this part of the plan in his mind many times. Still, his heart beat quickly. He needed to keep calm and his head level. Get in, get out, draw no attention.

  It was shockingly easy to find out shit about people. Anything they put online could be used to follow them, to figure out who they were and where they were going to be at any given time. He was an expert at social media and other sites. When you didn’t have a life of your own, you lived through others. But he was tired of that shit, and it was going to come to an end. “I will be noticed now,” he muttered to himself. A sound in the hallway made him pause, for just a second sending his heart to his throat. He hurriedly dumped the contents of the pill bottle into the toilet, his hands shaking slightly, and pulled the Ziploc bag from his pocket, refilled the container with the slightly larger pills, and replaced the lid and set it back into place.

  The only thing that saddened him about this plan was that he wouldn’t get to watch. That had been the most satisfying thing about the others. He’d been able to stay out of the way, hidden, and had seen his terminal handiwork put into play. It couldn’t be that way this time, unfortunately, but changing things up only made him harder to trace. Not that anyone was looking for him. That was the beauty of this entire plan. He got what he wanted, without anyone knowing that it was he who was pulling the strings that would force Phillip to see him. One by one, he’d make sure Phillip was all alone. As for Phillip’s “friends,” all he’d have of them would be the memory of their funerals.

  A knock sounded on the outside door, and he stilled. “Housekeeping.” The knock repeated. He needed to make a decision, fast. The best thing was to do as little as possible. Elaborate was death; simple was the key. The simple things were overlooked, just like him.

  He stilled and turned out the light, then stepped behind the door. There was no need to panic. If he had to, he’d simply take care of the woman. He had prepared for this. The lights in the room flashed on, and the maid moved through the room. He stood still, breathing slowly and evenly, reminding himself that he was a predator. If she discovered him, he’d take care of her. Predator… he liked the sound of that. It made him feel forceful, strong, and in control. And when he thought about it, he was in control. The light in the bathroom came on, and then a few seconds later, the room went dark. He stood there, waiting as the room door closed.

  Just like that, he smiled and pulled off his gloves, then put them and the bag back into his pocket. As easy as that, he was done. He slipped his hand into the sleeve of his shirt, using that to open the door, and checked the hallway before leaving the room and heading down the hall to the elevator. He rode down alone, keeping his head down, his gaze plastered on his cell phone. Any cameras wouldn’t catch his face. Not that he had to worry… not really. There was nothing amiss, as far as anyone would be able to tell. He hadn’t actually changed anything, just upped the dosage of the tranquilizers… to lethal. The plan was brilliant, simple, and flawless.

  The elevator doors opened, and he stepped out into the lobby, striding to the front doors and then out into the night, tossing the bag and the gloves into a random trash bin a few blocks away. Nothing to it. No one ever saw him, and they weren’t going to start tonight. But eventually, Phillip would have to see him. And when Phillip did, he would get what he wanted. It was that simple. All it took was patience, some planning, and, lately, some lethal force.

  He was surprised at just how easy it was to end a life—how simply he could do it and not leave a trace. Damn, he had just discovered another talent, one that would make him the master of what went on around him. It was as gratifying as sex. No, even more. Because now, he had the power—the ultimate, godlike power—over life and death.

  Chapter 1

  GOD, PHILL
IP Barone hated these things. He tried to think of an excuse that would get him out of it. His fingers were poised on his keyboard. He intended to send a message to Mary, his best friend in the whole world, and tell her that he wasn’t going to go. As he typed the first word in the open chat window, he knew what her response would be, but he sent the message anyway. “I’m going to stay at work.”

  “Pussy, chicken.” Then clucking noises erupted from his computer. He’d forgotten she’d added sound effects, dammit. “You were a good friend of his. You have to go to his funeral.” He could almost see her perfect eyebrows narrowing and her lips forming a scowl… which came through that exact moment in emoji form.

  “But I hate things like this,” he countered. “They make me feel ill.” The chat window made those little bars to show that Mary was typing.

  “Everyone knows you hate most forms of social interaction and would rather spend your time in the worlds you create in those games of yours. But this is important. You’re twenty-eight. It’s time to man up. I’d go with you, but I can’t get out of Chicago right now. But I’ll be there in spirit. Now pull yourself together and go.”

  Phillip rolled his eyes, but he knew she was right. He should be there. The business wasn’t going to fall apart if he left for a few hours. Phillip spent a few minutes going over the things he needed for the rest of the day and sent the list to his assistant so that he could be ready to jump right back into things when he got back. Then he stood up from his expensive desk chair, which cradled him whenever he sat down, and went to his small, private bathroom to change his clothes.

  He hated getting dressed up and wondered if he could get away with not wearing a tie. Doing up the top button always made him feel as though he were being strangled. But, sucking it up, he fastened it and put on the somber tie before slipping on black dress shoes. He missed his comfortable tennis shoes almost immediately, but told himself that this was what people did and it would only be for a few hours.

  When he came out of the bathroom, ready to go, his assistant, Leonard, was outside to meet him. “You look very nice.”

  “Thanks.” Phillip produced a ghost of a smile. “I think it’ll do.” He turned back toward his desk.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Leonard asked as he looked at his iPad. “I cleared your schedule for the rest of the day. When you get back, you’ll be free to catch up on everything you think you need to.” He lowered the tablet. “I know you hate these things. I want to make this as easy as I can for you.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that. But this is something I need to do. Still, there are a few things I need for you to get together while I’m gone. It will help me a lot, and let me hit the ground running when I get back.” Maybe once this was over, he’d reward himself with some Call of Duty time.

  Phillip paused as he looked at Leonard, a guy he’d known since high school. They had started out as friends of a sort, but over the years, their relationship had gone beyond friendship, with a level of trust between them that was more like family. In one of those rare occurrences, they discovered they could be friends and they worked together beautifully. Phillip knew how rare that combination was. “I shouldn’t be gone too long. Though if they have one of those grief buffets after the service, who knows?” He sighed as he thought of the social niceties he was about to endure.

  Leonard nodded, but Phillip was already on his way out. “I’ll see you later.” He flashed Leonard a quick smile and then strode toward the elevator. He knew some of the people in the office were doing a double take. Phillip never wore a suit, not even to meetings with his lawyers or the bankers. Phillip always figured that if he had to meet with those kinds of people, he should at least be comfortable. But he didn’t have any say about this funeral… at least not according to Mary.

  The ride down to the garage didn’t take long, and soon Phillip was opening the door to his dark blue BMW sedan. He slid down the leather seat, closed the door, and started the engine, then proceeded to make his way to the Lutheran church in the northern Milwaukee suburb of Glendale. Pulling into the already filling parking lot, he patted his pocket to ensure he had the check for the memorial. Comfortable that he hadn’t forgotten anything, he opened the door and got out, closing it with a soft thunk, then turned toward the modern brick building.

  As Phillip slowly walked toward the door, a weight settled on his shoulders. It was hard for him to know just what Roger had actually been to him. They had first met in college, ten or so years ago. Phillip couldn’t recall exactly when. He smiled as he remembered Roger in the dorm, usually laughing, often with his shirt off, showing the world a build that made every guy jealous and every girl want him. Phillip had been in the same category as the girls, though he’d tried not to be too obvious about it, at first.

  A soft honk pulled Phillip out of his memories, and he hurried toward the church. Once inside, he glanced around and unhunched his shoulders. Phillip wasn’t going to be maudlin, thinking about what might have been. He’d done that too many times already.

  “Phillip?” a voice asked tentatively, and he turned in its direction.

  “Oh my God,” he breathed. “Bethany.” He couldn’t help smiling as she sort of waddled forward, her arms already out. Phillip went right in for the hug. “You look amazing.” Just like she had in college, maybe prettier. She was one of Roger’s closest friends, and he’d met her through him.

  “I’m as big as a house,” she whispered and just held him. Phillip slowly closed his arms around her, hugging gently because he didn’t want to hurt her. She seemed so small and yet so huge at the same time. He was careful to angle his body. “And this….” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Roger was going to be godfather to the baby.” She straightened, and Phillip pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. His grandfather had insisted he have one, and he always kept one close at hand. Not that he used them that often, but it was comforting to have something that reminded him of Grandpa Barone.

  “I’m so sorry,” Phillip said.

  “Oh, don’t mind me. My emotions are up and down like a roller coaster. In ten minutes, I’ll want to laugh at the most inappropriate time.” She dabbed her eyes. “I haven’t seen you in years. You look really good, Phillip. A lot of people from school are going to be here.” She glanced around. “I heard that you’ve been working with Roger lately.”

  Phillip nodded. “Yeah. He looked me up a few weeks ago, and asked me to sponsor the youth athletic program he’d put together. We had gone out to dinner a few times and….” Phillip felt his cheeks heating. Once again, he’d been instantly attracted to Roger… only this time, the attraction had been returned. “I liked him a lot. Roger was funny, and he had a way about him that….” His words faltered.

  “I know,” Bethany said. “He made you want to help. Roger had a way of talking to people and letting them see just what they were capable of, how they could make a difference.”

  Phillip tried to clear his throat. “He and I were….” Phillip swallowed over the lump in his throat. “Well, we were just starting to figure things out, and….” He couldn’t finish the sentence, couldn’t say that Roger was his boyfriend because things hadn’t yet progressed that far. But they had been becoming closer, and the two of them had been talking a lot—and not just about the athletic program.

  “That’s so wonderful… and sad.” She dabbed at her eyes again. “He was a wonderful man, and if he batted for my team, I’d probably have been the first one in line to make a move.” She sighed. “The man was gorgeous, there was no denying that…. And he was nice too.” She looked around again.

  “Is your husband here with you?” Phillip asked.

  “Vick wasn’t able to get time off.” She half smiled, and Phillip took her arm, entwining it with his, and Bethany patted it. At least they could get through this together.

  Phillip had had no shortage of boyfriends over the years. They seemed to come and go, usually. Every time he started going out with someone new, Phillip alway
s told himself to take it slow, because he’d had his hopes dashed far too many times. But the guys he met often seemed to be so wonderful that he ended up falling for them, each and every damned time. And then he’d get his heart broken—again and again. The common denominator in all of his failed relationships was… him. He figured he had to be one of the most boring people on earth, given his track record. Still, he kept trying. However, this was a first.

  “Weren’t you supposed to see him when he got back from New York?”

  “Yeah. He emailed me, asking if we could get together for dinner. Not to discuss the project, but as ‘something more’ was how he put it. When I didn’t hear back from him, I just figured he’d changed his mind. I never guessed….” He shrugged. There was no use going into the situation that surrounded Roger’s passing. Not that he knew that much about it really, other than he’d had a health crisis in his hotel room and that was that.

  “Do you want to go sit down?” Bethany asked. Phillip agreed, thinking she probably needed to get off her feet. Besides, the service was about to start.

  THE FUNERAL had been nice enough. Phillip had been to enough of them to know that this one was rather special. The church choir sang beautifully, giving Roger a pretty way to find his path to the ever after. Phillip wasn’t sure what his beliefs were on that score, but these people seemed to care about his friend, and in a way, that made Phillip feel better.

  “So, you and Roger,” Bethany said as they walked out of the sanctuary after the service was over. “I’m so sorry. He was really excited about something before he left, and….” She reached for the handkerchief. “I think that was you.”

  “It’s nice of you to think so. But I’m not known for my stellar record with relationships….” He was about to stick his foot in his mouth and swallow the damn thing, he could feel it, so he snapped his lips shut and said no more. Leonard was usually there to ensure he said the right thing in situations like this one.