Page 78 of Give Me Perfect Love

A skeleton tattooed hand holds on to a gun with a silencer, and eyes as black as his hair show no emotion at what just happened.

“I owed you that,” Bones says. “Sweep will clean this mess up.”

The guy I remember as Johnny walks in behind Bones. “You all go on and get out of here,” he says, his voice sounding even like this is nothing new for him.

Austin moves Claire out of the restaurant first. She looks back at K who tells her something with her eyes. Something the two only know.

“K,” I say. “Come on.” I hold out my hand for her to come to me. She moves around Jace, and as soon as her small hand touches mine, I feel my heart calm. We turn to walk out.

“Sorry about the loose ends,” Danny says. “That’s not my style.” He looks from me to K, and I feel her hand tighten in mine. She’s scared of him.

This guy just shot and killed a man.

He shows no remorse.

No regret.

To him it seemed like the thing he had to do, so he did it. There’s no anger in his eyes or rage rippling from his body. It’s obvious that this is as natural for him as brushing his fucking teeth.

I nod, but there’s only one thing I really want to know. “How the hell did you get here so fast?”

He laughs, like we’re just two boys talking about a football game. “I was already headed this way when Ben called. Got some business in Miami.”

I nod, remembering Ben said about two hours. He must have been guessing they were coming from Mud City.

“You two go on and get home.” He looks down at our linked hands, and a shadow of something passes over his face, something I recognize.

Loneliness.

He wants what K and I have.

But he has no idea what we have is complicated as shit.

I’ll be seeing you, Bryce,” he says.

I nod, but don’t say anything. I turn back to look at Cain’s dead body one last time, making sure he’s not getting up. He can’t fuck with anyone anymore.

There’s one less evil in the world now, and I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t exactly where he needed to be. Someone like that doesn’t belong in prison with the chance to be set free again. Someone like that belongs in hell.

I pull my girl from the restaurant, thinking we all need to get out of here. The rain has calmed, but the gray clouds moving above us say it won’t be long before it starts back up.

Claire and Austin are standing outside his car, and as soon as K sees her, she runs over and grabs her best friend in a tight embrace. I have no idea what went on here. I only see Claire’s swollen face and a line of blood running down her thigh. I know K’s wrists are bloody, but I haven’t had a moment to look her over well.

My stomach turns. I have no idea what was done to those two.

“We need to go, Bryce,” Ben says. I look to see Jace, already in the car, before turning around to the restaurant.

Bones and Sweep are inside cleaning up a dead body.

What about the cameras in the place?

What about the broken door?

How will they clean all of this up?

“They know what they’re doing,” Ben says. “No one will know we were ever here, but we need to go.”

I turn back to him before looking over at K and Claire, still hugging. Claire is crying and so is K.

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