Page 101 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

The scene in the lab replayed in vivid, horrifying loops. Aaron crumpled on the floor, pale face streaked with tears and whatever chemical cocktail Peter had unleashed on him. The sound of his ragged breathing, barely there, faint and struggling, burned into Kenny’s brain. Turned him feral.Rabid. And he’d launched an attack on Peter, cracking him over the head with a stool, then kicking him while he was down for good measure. With Peter rendered unconscious, Kenny attended to Aaron. He’d done everything he could. Flushed Aaron’s face andairways, called for an ambulance, and dragged him out of that hellhole. But was it enough?

He felt sick thinking about all the what ifs. What if he’d been too late? What if he’d ignored Aaron’s call? The thought left him raw and bleeding. He’d considered not answering, too caught up in his work, too distracted. God help him, he’d nearly made the worst mistake of his life.

Why the fuck had Aaron gone there?

Kenny already knew the answer to that. Because Aaron had a goddamned saviour complex. He couldn’t help himself. Aaron was driven by a relentless, misguided need to right the wrongs of his parents. To undo the monstrous legacy they’d left behind. As if Aaron believed he could balance the scales of justice, even if it cost him his own life. It was almost noble, if it wasn’t so self-destructive. But Aaron wasn’t doing it for anyone else, not really. He was doing it because he thought he didn’t matter. He believed he was expendable.

He wasn’t.

Because Kenny couldn’t bear the thought of his life without Aaron in it. He squeezed his eyes shut, his mind spiralling, thoughts careening into the abyss. Aaron didn’t see how much he was worth, how much he mattered. Didn’t see the hole he’d leave behind if he was gone. And the truth slammed into Kenny with the force of a freight train:I can’t lose him. I won’t lose him.

If the worst happened—if Aaron didn’t make it—Kenny didn’t know what he’d do. He’d spent so long convincing himself he was in control, that he could keep his feelings compartmentalised, but Aaron had destroyed that illusion. As Kenny had always known he would, the moment he let him.

“Are you ready for me to destroy your life yet, doc?”

Aaronhaddestroyed his life. His carefully constructed life where he only had to think about himself. Where he was numb. Coasting. Now he was a mess of emotions. Floundering.Scared. The thought of losing Aaron was unbearable, a black void hecouldn’t imagine stepping into. He’d burn the world to ash if it meant keeping Aaron with him. Hedeservedto live. And he deserved toknowthat he did. To be told. Over and over. He mattered. Mattered tohim.

Thishadto be love.

Because it hurt too much not to be.

“Hey.”

That voice drew him out of his spiralling thoughts and Kenny looked up to see Jack, his expression measured but presence heavy with meaning. Kenny inhaled, trying to draw strength from him being there, but it didn’t work. Jack being called meant both good and bad.

Jack sank into the chair beside him. He didn’t speak. Instead, focusing on the posters plastered across the corridor. All cheerful reminders about handwashing and stopping the spread of infection.The irony.

“He’ll live.” Jack broke the silence with a weary exhale.

Kenny fell back in his seat, the tension in his shoulders easing by a fraction. “Peter?”

“Yeah.”

“Shame.”

Jack gave him a wry glance. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

A bitter laugh escaped Kenny’s lips, and he scrubbed a hand down his face.

Jack clasped his hands in his lap. “Unsure whether it was all the chemicals he’s been messing with or how hard you hit him over the head, but he confessed.”

Kenny arched an eyebrow.

“Everything.” Jack nodded as if endorsing the unbelievable. “Even murders we didn’t know about. He’s been experimenting for a while. There have been near misses, too. He’s given us names. Girls he drugged who didn’t die. Also admitted to a couple of dogs with his testing. Buried them in his back garden. We’ll be liaising with other forces to build the final body count.Murder. Attempted murder. GBH. He’ll be in prison for the rest of his life.”

“And he’ll rot there, unable to get the help he actually needs. He’s insane, Jack. He needs to be in Rampton.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Some people are beyond help, Kenny.”

“If we believe that, we might as well bring back capital punishment.” Kenny gave Jack a hard stare. “What we need to do is stop the cyclebeforeit begins. Catch them the first time around. Why didn’t those survivors come forward? Why wasn’t he caughtthen? Given the help he needed before it spiralled intothis.” He gestured to the hospital room where Aaron was fighting for his life, then shook his head with the sheer annoyance of it all. “Rarely does a personstartwith murder. It’s a progression. Stepping stones. We’ve seen it, studied it. Fuck, Jack, weteachit.Iteach it.”

Jack’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile. “Go appeal to the Home Office for a bigger budget, then. Let me know how that works out for you.”

A dry laugh escaped Kenny, but it was fleeting.

“One thing he was quite surprised about,” Jack said, voice casual. “Was why Aaron Jones believed himself to be Child A.” He flicked his gaze to him. “Don’t you think Aaron should know?”

Kenny said nothing.

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