Page 105 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

It’s risky, leaving him alone with Monty, but Cam doesn’t seem to be coming either. Mali loops her arm with mine and the two of us head off toward the abandoned house.

“Give me the flashlight,” she says, putting her hand out.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t trust you not to freak me out.”

My hand moves to my chest as I clutch my metaphorical pearls. “Mali Elizabeth. I am hurt.”

She gives me a look that basically saysI know you too well,and I chuckle. But I still don’t give her the flashlight, because she’s right. I do want to freak her out. The girl is such a badass all the time, but she scares so damn easily. How could I possibly pass up the opportunity?

The door squeaks as I push it open and the floor creaks as we step on it. Going in probably isn’t the greatest idea we’ve ever had, but we’ve already come this far. There’s no turning back now.

Cobwebs cover every corner of the inside. Though, how spiders even got here is not something that makes sense to me. We’re on a small island about ten miles off the coast. It’s not even big enough to show up on a map, and there’s nothing around it but miles of water.

The furniture that sits covered in each room makes it look like someone just randomly up and left this place. But the sand spread across the floor and the water damage makes me think that maybe a storm drove them out. I can’t wait to get home later and look this place up—find out what really happened here.

Mali sticks right by my side as we look around, until we stumble upon a bedroom. The iron rod bed has been stripped down to just a mattress that has definitely seen better days.

“Imagine having sex on that bed and seeing a ghost watching you,” Mali says.

I snort at the idea. “Your boyfriend is right outside. You have fun with that.”

It’s meant to be a joke, but her demeanor changes a little. “We actually haven’t…we’re just not very physical.”

Her words surprise me, but not as much as I thought they would. After everything that happened, it’s totally normal if she doesn’t want to go there with him yet. But Mali used to be such a sexual person.

“Because of you or him?”

She shrugs. “Both, I guess. He barely even kisses me, let alone tries to have sex with me.”

I hum. “Maybe he reallyisgay.”

But she’s thinking the reasoning is something else. “Or maybe Hayes is onto something, and he really does have a thing for you.”

My head falls back as I groan. “Not you, too.”

She snickers at my dramatics. “All I’m saying is he might have a point. I mean, what kind of boyfriend only wants to be with his girlfriend when her best friend is around?”

I look at her, seeing no sign of any lies. Not that she even has a reason to lie. “Seriously? That’s the only time you see him?”

She nods. “Even tonight. He told me yesterday that he had plans with a friend, but then magically he was free after you asked about taking the boat out. And the only time he kisses me on the lips is when you’re with me. Other than that, he kisses my cheek.”

The more she says, the angrier I get. It could just be a misunderstanding. Him just being nervous about being alone with Mali and doing the wrong thing. But if she’s right, if he’s actually lying and using my best friend, I will fight him. I don’t care how powerful and influential he is.

“Dude, look. There’s a crib over there.” She squints as she gets a little closer. “Wait, is that blood?”

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I’m not looking where I’m going, and I accidentally kick an old metal box. It screeches as it moves across the floor. Mali, of course, startles and screams at the top of her lungs, but it’s the loud bang that follows that has my whole body going cold. Our heads whip toward each other and we both move at once, running from the house and back to the boat.

When we get there, Hayes and Cam are looking at each other with wide eyes.

“What the hell was that?” I ask, wondering if they heard it, too.

But before they can answer, Mali lets out a blood curdling scream. It isn’t until I see what she’s looking at that I realize what happened.

Monty is lying on the ground, blood staining his shirt as it comes from his stomach. His breathing is harsh and unsteady. I throw myself onto the sand beside him as I panic, trying frantically to stop the bleeding.

“What the fuck happened?” I wail.

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