Page 74 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

Aaron groaned, grabbing a crumpled paper bag from one of Taylor’s Gregg’s stashes, blew into it to puff it open, and shoved it into Taylor’s hands. “Here. Breathe.”

Taylor did, reluctantly, his shaky exhales inflating and deflating the bag. Aaron sat beside him, rubbing slow circles on his back until the heaving calmed and Taylor’s trembling eased.

Taylor finally lowered the bag, his voice rasping. “Is that why you and your professor are so… close?”

Aaron deflected with a clipped, “Yeah.”

“You’re not… you’re not fucking him, are you?”

Aaron left the question hanging, his silence saying everything and nothing. Then, eventually, he had to give him something.

“What I’m telling you right now doesn’t leave this room. The only person who knows who I really am is Dr Lyons. Do you understand how dangerous it would be if this got out? For me and for anyone attached to me. I’m trusting you to keep this to yourself. Just like I’ll keep quiet about your housemate’s little pharmaceutical hobbies. Are we clear?”

Taylor gulped. “Yeah. Yeah, I get it. But…” His voice broke again. “I already told Carly.”

Aaron’s stomach dropped. “What?”

“I told her about Child A. She already knew some of it, but I gave her the rest. She was chasing the story for years, trying to piece it together. Then when I told her I knew, she got so excited.Said it was all classified and didn’t know how I found out. That’s why I did the video, okay? To impress her. You know I failed my first year. I needed this placement to go well. I didn’t know it wasyou!” Taylor buried his face in his hands again. “Then your professor barged in like a fucking mental case and I sorta figured it out. It made sense. You’ve been in care and you and he are all over each other. So I told her. Said it could be you.”

Aaron inhaled deeply, rage bubbling beneath his skin. “How did she even know about a Child A in the first place? Who gave her that info?”

Taylor shrugged. “Journalists don’t reveal their sources.”

Aaron stared at Taylor, grinding his teeth as his confession settled. Carly knowing aboutChild Awas bad enough, but the missing pieces made his stomach churn with unease. She’d been given his name.

“What did the police tell you?”

Taylor hesitated, twisting his hands in his lap, eyes darting away like he was trying to escape the question. “Just that… she was found in her office. Someone broke in.”

“How did she die?”

“They didn’t give me any details.”

Aaron dropped his voice lower, more insistent. “Whatdidthey tell you?”

Guilt flashed across Taylor’s face. “Just said it looked like someone went through her stuff. That they were looking for something specific. They asked me what I was working on with her. If I knew anyone who might want to get to her. I told her about your professor attacking me yesterday.”

Aaron’s stomach dropped. “Her files onChild A.Were they taken?”

Taylor’s head snapped up, his face pale. “I… I don’t know. Maybe? I think so. They didn’t tell me that, but why would someone—?” He stopped, voice catching. “Oh, my God. Do you think…?”

Aaron stood, pacing the room as his mind spun. His thoughts felt like jagged shards, too sharp to piece together. Carly’s files were gone. Files that included everything Taylor had told her. Perhaps evenhisname. And everything she’d dug up over the years. Now they were out there, in the hands of someone willing to kill to get them.

He turned to Taylor. “Who else knew she had those files?”

Taylor shook his head vehemently, tears spilling freely now. “No one! I swear! I didn’t tell anyone else. It was just her, and now…” His voice cracked. “You don’t think someone’s… someone’s after you, do you?”

Aaron let out a humourless laugh, cocking his head with a biting edge of sarcasm. “What? After thatsickvideo you posted? Where you point the spotlight on Child A as the mastermind behind the murders? Yeah, I’m sure no one’s connectingthosedots.” He raised an eyebrow, tone cutting. “The public’s known for their calm, reasonable nature, right? Definitely no pitchfork-wielding vigilantes out there with nothing better to do than hunt down someone they think is a killer in their neighbourhood.”

Taylor crumbled under Aaron’s words, but Aaron didn’t let up. His anger, his fear, needed somewhere to go, and right now, Taylor was an easy target.

“Fuck!” Aaron scrubbed a hand down his face as his heart pounded so loudly it drowned everything else out.

The icy dread gripping his chest told him those files weren’t just a loose thread—they were a noose tightening around his neck. If whoever took them had any idea what they were looking for, it wouldn’t take long for them to figure out the truth.Histruth.

Taylor sniffled. “Aaron, what do we do?”

Aaron looked at him, the fear in Taylor’s eyes a mirror of what he felt buried deep inside. But he couldn’t let it show. Not fully. “Youdo nothing,” he said. “Stay quiet. You didn’t know, and you don’t know now. Understand?”

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