Like Father, Like Son - 18

Declan smiled tightly. “I’d be the one who was crazy if I didn’t say you are wrong.”

“Oh, babe, you’ve already admitted it.”

Declan cocked an eyebrow, puzzled by how calm Nicky was now, so soon after his blowup of a few minutes ago. “If you thought you’d figured it out then why haven’t you..?”

“Called the police, said something to someone? Because I find the whole idea very exciting.”

The urge to laugh welled up in Declan, whether because he was amused or just in some way relieved. “Now who’s the crazy one?”

“Both of us?”

Declan shook his head. “As I told someone earlier tonight, I’m not crazy. Well, actually I told her I wasn’t insane. Semantics I suppose.”

“I guess.” Nicky leaned back, his eyes locked on Declan’s face again as he asked quietly. “So now what?”

“Interesting question. I suppose I should kill you before your conscience gets the best of you and you decide you do have to call the cops,” he replied, his expression very serious.

Nicky smiled. “But you won’t. You need me.”

Declan’s eyebrow rose. “In what way?”

“First off because I’m your way of releasing some of the tension you feel when you’ve had a call from your mother, one of the ones reminding you of something you have to do, or calling to find out why you haven’t called her.” Nicky smiled a bit. “I’m not totally unaware of how your mind works, babe. That’s not the only reason we make love, but it can be a motivating factor at times. I usually know when she’s the trigger because you’re rougher, more demanding.”

Declan nodded. “You are perceptive, but what would stop me from finding a replacement for you after I killed you?”

“You could, and probably would. There’s something else though which will keep you from burying me in the backyard, or whatever you do with the bodies.”

Resting one hand on Nicky’s thigh, his fingers beating a light tattoo there, Declan asked, “Which would be?”

“Two of us could be more effective when it comes to picking out, and then picking up, the right female. And that’s just for starters. I don’t know what you do with them but I do know you well enough I don’t think you just strangle them and dispose of the body somewhere safe.”

Declan tapped a thumb thoughtfully against his lip as he considered what Nicky seemed to be suggesting. It worked for father and his brother.

Nicky waited as the silence lengthened. Finally, unable to remain quiet any longer he said, “Think of Leopold and Loeb, Bianchi and Buono, Dr. Bolber and his cousins.”

“Been doing your homework?” Declan chuckled.

Nicky shrugged. “When I first began to wonder if it was possible you were responsible for those women vanishing I did a bit of research online. There have been pairs of killers, so why not us.”

“I’m not all that sure you’d have the stomach for it,” Declan replied honestly. “It’s one thing fantasize about it, it’s another to do it, especially when you don’t have the motivation. You, my dear boy, are not really serial-killer material.”

“In terms of profiling, no I suppose I’m not. I have a good family who never abused me physically or verbally. I’m not violent, I didn’t kill small animals as a kid, nor did I want to. I don’t get angry easily and have a need to act out when I am.”

“In other words you’re my polar opposite,” Declan said with a laugh. “You do have a point though; there have been pairs of killers, my father and his brother for one.”

Nicky’s eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously?”

Declan nodded. “Very seriously. I’m talking about my real father of course, not Reginald. So maybe in my case it’s genetic?”

“Not sure that’s actually a possibility.”

“Hell, who knows. I might be a good case study, especially since my grandfather was one too.”

“Now that’s just too weird.”

“Weird, yeah, but I’m not using it as an excuse for what I do. I like killing, as long as it’s a female of a specific type, ones who stand in for my mother.” He stroked Nicky’s thigh, smiling. “Yes, I’m well aware of my motivations, but who the hell knows, if it wasn’t that I might have fixated on something else. There are a million people out there who deserve to die. I just chose one type, the bitches who think they’re better than everyone else.”

“Blondes like your mother.”

“So I specialize within the species.” His hand moved up Nicky’s thigh and he smiled as he realized Nicky was getting hard. “This is turning you on, isn’t it?” he commented, palming his lover’s erection.

“Very much so. The whole idea is, well as I said, exciting. Not that just having you touching me doesn’t excite me, but add the idea of killing someone into the mix and hell yeah!” Nicky pressed against Declan’s hand while wrapping his arms around his neck, taking his mouth in a searing, hungry kiss.