A cannibalistic serial killer targeting gay men is on the loose. Devin, who has become increasingly erratic in the last two months, just split up with Gary, his lover of three years. Vanni, a habitué of the gay clubs, makes extra spending money on his knees in the club johns. Is one of these men the killer? Or will one of them instead become the killer’s next target? Detective Hollis Robbins is in charge of the case. He intends to stop the killer, if he can. When the killer strikes again the four men’s lives intertwine as the search for the murderer intensifies. Will the attraction that two of them begin to feel for each other survive the hunt? Do they have the strength to continue on after tragedy strikes and teaches them that love can be bittersweet?

The Beast Within

“Not the kind of face that stands out in a crowd,” Hollis commented, “but that would work in his favor. Now we need to get copies of this, then I’ll send officers around with them to talk to every employee of the gay clubs in the area. Hopefully someone will recognize him. I’ll be right back.”


When Hollis and the artist left, Vanni leaned back and watched the other detectives as they went about their business. He wondered how many murders happened in the city and more importantly how many murderers were caught thanks to the work of the men in front of him. One could wish it was all of them but he knew realistically that was very unlikely


“So you’re the infamous Vanni,” a woman’s voice asked from beside him.


He turned quickly to look at her and nodded. “Infamous? Not sure I’m that,” he replied. “You’re Hollis’s partner?”


“One and the same. He just filled me in about the apartment. Thanks to you we could be one step closer to nailing the killer, I hope.”


Chapter 22