Page 121 of A Shot of Pretty Poison

Laiken rolls her eyes. “Okay, I get it. It was dumb.”

“That’s an understatement, baby,” I tell her, then press a kiss to her head. “But we’ll work on it.”

I keep an arm around her as I start to lead us back to my truck, but we only take a few steps before I hear the familiar sounds of Laiken’s moans behind us. At first, I wonder if she’s hurt or fucking with me, but when I glance down and find her looking at me with the same confused expression I have, my stomach churns.

We turn around to see a video being projected onto the side of the mausoleum.

More specifically,ourvideo.

Laiken and I watch in horror as I slip my cock into her, and the sounds of her moans fill the empty space.

“I thought you said you got rid of that,” she says, her voice shaking.

That’s the problem. “I did.”

WE RUSH HOME, WITHCam and Mali pulling up only seconds after us. The only place that video existed was on a thumb drive inside of my safe. I put it there after I got it and haven’t touched it since. I considered watching it once when missing her got a little too difficult, but I couldn’t. Not when I knew she didn’t consent to being recorded.

Laiken is right behind me as I run inside and up the stairs, going straight into our closet. My safe sits on the floor in the corner, and I pull my keys out of my pocket to unlock it. The moment the door swings open, I feel the effects of yet another loss against this motherfucker.

Right there, in the place where the thumb drive once sat, is an envelope that looks like all the rest of them.

Never would have taken you for the amateur porn type.

I’m saving this for my spank bank. ;)

I CAN’T DECIDE WHAT’Sworse, the fact that they were in the house, or that they were there tonight, alone with Laiken. She could have been taken so easily, and the fucking dipshits across the street wouldn’t have stood a chance at getting to her before she vanished.

It feels like everyone I love is in jeopardy, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sure it doesn’t help that my mom had one of her episodes today. It happens from time to time, where she forgets what’s going on due to the cancer in her brain. The doctors said it will become more frequent as we come closer to the end, and usually I can handle them, but today was hard.

When I walked in, the first thing she did was ask me where my dad is. She said she’s been looking for him and can’t find him anywhere. Having to remind her of what happened felt like breaking her heart all over again.

I think next time I might just tell her he’s at the store.

It’s bad enough that I have to worry about some psychotic asshole threatening those I care about while simultaneously worrying about the cancer that’s slowly killing my mom. And now knowing I have to add Laiken recklessly risking herself to that list, it only makes it worse.

“I can’t believe you left Finn in charge of the bar,” Cam says through a laugh. “I’d sooner leave Mali in charge.”

“Ay!” she says, offended.

I scoff, shaking my head. “You can shove it up your ass. I would’ve left that place in the hands of anyone when I got the text I did. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I was coerced,” he tries, but I’m not buying it. I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him.

“What? They ganged up on me, and you know how they are.”

Laiken jumps to her brother’s defense, knowing he’s only making it worse. “What Cammeansto say is that we’re all worried about you. You can’t go without sleep, especially not with the amount of stress you’re under. Your body will shut down. And what if it happens when you’re by yourself? What then? You’re just out there, vulnerable?” Tears fill her eyes as that fear sets in. “You can’t risk that. You can’t.”

I sigh and hold her close. “Shh. Okay. I get it.”

“Do you?” Mali presses.

“Yes,” I answer sternly. She’s on my shitlist, too. “I’ll promise to get some sleep if you idiots promise not to let Laiken risk her life again. What the hell were you going to do if shit went wrong?”

Cam rolls his eyes. “There was a drainpipe right outside the window. I was going to slide down that.”

For the love of fuck.“Have you evertriedsliding down a drainpipe?”

“No.”

---