Private detective Chris Mason thought he only had to worry about his brother Dylan discovering he was dating Homicide detective James Harris. Dylan and their best friend, Ron Abrams, don’t like James, and Chris has to handle their animosity towards his lover. But then Chris is targeted by a serial killer who leaves snapdragons with his victims.<br><br>James leads the Snapdragon investigation as head detective. As each murder links Dylan and Ron to the killings, James questions Ron’s motives and his connections to Chris. Ron’s pet name for Chris has always been Snapdragon. Could there be more behind Ron’s playful teases than Chris knows?<br><br>When Ron’s attraction to Chris is exposed, their friendship totters. Is a darker side to Ron revealed? Could he be involved with the Snapdragon murders? And will Chris be able to solve the case before he becomes the killer's next victim?

Snapdragon

“Are you okay?” James asked, winded and rubbing his jaw.


“Yeah,” Chris said. He let out a slow breath as he looked at the man lying on the floor. Was it really over?


James rolled the man over and then slowly removed the mask, revealing a tattoo on his neck of a crying Jesus, thin lips, a silver hoop through his nose and a yellowing black eye.


Sirens filled the neighborhood while Chris sat with the woman, applying pressure to her wound with one hand and holding her hand with his other. She gave his a gentle squeeze as she smiled up at him. Even though their attacker had been arrested and removed from the house, Chris still felt that he could turn and see the man standing behind him instead of the steady flow of policemen searching the house.


Chapter 23