Page 108 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

I shake my head. “There’s a storm coming out of the southwest. The chances of them even finding the boat are slim, but if they do, the rain will have washed a lot of it away.”

Ripping off a few of the garbage bags, I lay them down inside Cam’s boat, then walk over to the body. “Help me lift him.”

Cam grabs his ankles while I lift from under his arms. We carry him over to Cam’s boat and lay him on top of the area I prepared, keeping any blood from getting anywhere we don’t want it. But the sand beneath where he was laying is covered in it. Hopefully, the storm will wash that away too, but just in case, I scoop what I can and throw it into the ocean.

Just before we leave, I spot the gun lying in the sand. The one that fired the bullet right into Monty’s stomach. I grab it and toss it into the boat beside the body, then we leave the island I never want to come back to again.

ALL YOU CAN SEEare the stars in the sky as we ride out into the ocean. The handheld depth finder Cam has shows what I’m hoping is big enough sea life to ensure his body is never found, and I stop the boat.

“Here’s good,” I say.

There’s no one around for miles, and the only thing we can hear is the sound of a buoy a little ways off. I move to the front of the boat where Monty’s body lies and start filling his pockets with all of the sinkers Cam had on board.

“All right, let’s dump him,” I tell Cam. “The sharks will take care of the rest.”

He does as I ask and the two of us lift the weighted body and heave it into the water.

We both stay completely still, watching as it sinks and knowing that this secret is graver than any one we’ve kept before it. Reaching down, I pick up the gun and take it apart. Each piece gets doused in bleach before I toss that too.

“Good,” I murmur once I’m done. “Let’s go.”

I have to get back to my wife—or at least whatever is left of her.

IT TAKES LONGER THANI would have liked to get back. We wanted to avoid any Coast Guard boats. Technically, Cam’s boat isn’t even nighttime legal. But my concern was that if they saw us out there, they would attest to us being anywhere but at my house all night.

I drop Cam off at the docks to get his Jeep and drive the boat back to where he stores it. He meets me there and I hop in with him, finally heading to my house.

“If anyone asks, we left the dock when Monty started getting too drunk and snapped at Mali,” I tell him as he pulls into my driveway. “We came back here and spent the night drinking and celebrating my birthday. Just the four of us.”

Just the four of us.I should’ve taken Laiken’s offer of that. It should have been the plan from the start. But no. I justhadto take advantage of the opportunity to get around Monty. Wanted to give myself a birthday present of making him go away.

Thisis not what I had in mind.

Cam nods silently and the two of us get out of the Jeep.

I walk inside to see Laiken sitting on the floor with a towel beneath her, still in shock. Mali is curled up in a ball on the couch, and Devin is in way over her head. If there was anyone else that I could’ve called, I would have. The last thing I wanted to do was get her involved. But the only people I trust were with me when it happened.

“I didn’t want her getting blood anywhere, but I didn’t know where to put her,” my sister explains.

My eyes stay focused on Laiken. “It’s okay. Thanks, Dev.”

Cam leans against the wall, looking exhausted, while I carefully lift Laiken into my arms. She rests her head against me as I carry her upstairs and into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I wait for it to heat up and bring us both into it—fully clothed and all.

As I put her down, she stands on her own two feet as I start to wash Monty’s blood off her. And when her brows furrow and she tries to look down, to see all the blood rushing down the drain, I stop her.

“Keep looking at me,” I say softly. “Just keep your eyes on mine.”

And she does, not taking her gaze off me for a second while I clean her up.

Like I said, I willalwaysdo whatever it takes to protect her.

THE NIGHT IS SLEEPLESS. I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours. My mind is spinning from the events of tonight. The only thing that keeps me calm is the sound of Laiken sleeping beside me. It took a while for her to get there, tossing and turning the same way I did, but she finally managed to doze off.

Once I knew she was safe and at least somewhat okay, I went downstairs and talked to Devin. She’s frustrated that I won’t give her the whole story, but all she needs to know is that she hasn’t seen me since Laiken and I left Mom’s. Implicating her any further just isn’t a good idea, and something I’m not willing to do.

I watch Laiken sleep, admiring the way she looks so peaceful. It has a way of comforting me. I don’t know how the next couple of days are going to go, or even what the future holds for me now, but I do know that I won’t let anyone else go down for this. If anyone gets blamed for Monty’s murder, it’s going to be me. That’s it.

THE TENSION IN THEroom is thick enough to suffocate you. Everyone is tense, but that’s not surprising. We all witnessed someone die yesterday, and definitely not from natural causes. It would be understandable if we were all at each other’s throats, but thankfully, we’re not.

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