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 when you’re doing it to keep this place as some sort of…of mausoleum in honor of him. Vanni,” Devin took his hand and refused to let go when he tried to pull it away, “Hollis is not coming back. He’s dead. But you’re alive and, damn it to hell, it’s about time you realized both those facts. I swear to God if Gary acts the way you are after I die I’ll come back and haunt him until he gets his shit together and rejoins the human race again.”


“That’s not fair,” Vanni said miserably. “And he won’t do it because he’s had time to prepare. I…I didn’t.”


“The hell you didn’t! You knew what risks Hollis took. You told me yourself. Yeah, it was sudden but you always knew it was a possibility. So damn it, Vanni, get your damned act together and stop sitting here feeling so damned sorry for yourself!”


Chapter 44