The Trouble with Trying to Date a Murderer (Murder Sprees and Mute Decrees #1)

by Jennifer Cody

I wave at her, inviting her out of her prison with a curl of my fingers. She flinches at the movement, but then a shadow of the woman who used to work the streets with confidence and sass comes into her eyes and she shakily crawls out from under the pulpit. I make a crackly noise in my mouth and move my hand across my throat and point at where the priest ran off. She basically crumbles to the floor in stark relief. Figuring I don’t need to stay in my seat now, I get on the floor with her, pull her head into my lap, and watch her breathe until Fox returns with the head of the priest skewered on his sword. He stabs the pointy end into the pulpit with a loud bang, causing Eva to whimper and curl in on herself at the noise. He looks down at the woman and then at me with a silent question, so I type out an answer and send it to his phone. Me: Do you know anyone who deals with the victims of trafficking crimes? Fox reads the message, nods once, and lifts his phone to his ear waiting a moment before speaking. “St. Stephen’s church. One in the sanctuary. There may be more stashed in other places.” He ends the call and puts his phone away, looking down at Eva. “Someone is coming to help you. It’s in your best interest to let them, but if you’re not here when they arrive they aren’t going to go looking for you. Your life is in your own hands.” Eva looks up at me, begging with her eyes for something, but as good as I am at reading people, I have no idea what she wants from me. Gently...