Page 85 of Kill Me Sweetly

I surveyed the area, but it was a ghost town. “Where is everyone?”

“Oh, yeah. So apparently, Harper closed the building yesterday. The person I left the cupcakes with said it was a skeleton staff, and he might actually get to eat one. It was just him and a few others; like you said, he was camping out. Scared.” Noel scratched his head. “I hope no one else ate them.” He shrugged. “Nick is making sure the street cameras are malfunctioning.”

I peeked into the car, Harper was on his side, vomit sliding out of his mouth.

“Let’s get these guys into the trunk of my car. Just keep an eye out for anyone.”

It took us ten minutes but with no witnesses, that was fine. Good for us that he’d told everyone to go home. I didn’t want to think of the few people who were in the building who were possibly eating the cupcakes. Not my problem—they worked for him.

With the door open, I kneeled outside. I didn’t want to get too close.

“You’re not looking too good, Harper.”

He turned his gaze to me.

“You don’t know me. I’m Shepard Saint; that’s my brother Noel.” I pointed with my thumb behind me.

Harper’s eyes widened, and he continued coughing.

“Maybe you do know us. I know you tried to kill the man I love. Spoiler alert—he’s alive, but you won’t be.”

Noel patted my shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Thanks.” I tilted my head, watching Harper. “See, I just need you to lie there a little while longer. Ricin is a great way to kill someone, but it needs a wee bit of time. I mean I don’t think anyone could help you, but I’m the type of person who likes to be one hundred percent.”

Narrowing my eyes, all the hate in my heart bled out.

“I want to watch the light leave your eyes, see the organs seep out of every one of your orifices. Did you know it only takes one milligram of ricin in food or water to kill an adult? I gave you more than that.”

He was hacking up blood now, and I was loving every minute of it.

“The second you ate your cupcake for breakfast, the clock began to run down for you. So, you’ll die, and someone will find your body and wonder what in the world happened. Maybe you couldn’t take the scandal of the personal hell you created falling apart.”

It took longer than I would have liked. His chest movement slowed, he stared at me, and I just smiled.

“Your legacy dies with you, Harper Reese, and you’ll be remembered in history as a monster.”

A few minutes later, Harper was dead, and it finally felt like I could breathe again.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

JJ

I’d beenin a coma for two weeks. That was how long I was told it had taken for the doctors to feel it was safe for me to open my eyes.

Once I had, it was Shep’s face I’d seen and like a dam had broken, we’d burst out crying.

I’d thought I was going to die. I hadn’t wanted to; I wanted to live with Shep as old wrinkly men.

My recovery would take a very long time, and no one knew when I’d be one hundred percent. But with Shep by my side, I knew I’d get through all of it.

Getting updated about everything that had happened while I’d been asleep was crazy. And I hadn’t gotten the whole story until they’d moved me out of the ICU and into a regular room.

Mason had talked a mile a minute.“After Harper died and they found his body floating in the river, everything fell apart. The FBI got involved, all the boys and girls were removed from the houses, they started tearing into his records, and Aziza even stepped in to offer her help in finding treatments for them. Not all the boys were killed, and I know it’s been hard on Gabe and Shep, but so many more are alive because of you, JJ.”

“Not just me.”

“Fine, but a lot because of you.”

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