Page 43 of A Shot of Pretty Poison

“She’s my wife,” I correct her. “And I thought so, too.”

But this place feels tainted now. All the memories are stained by the one of her leaving. Even if, by the grace of God, we manage to salvage what I’m pretty sure is dead, I don’t think I see our future being in this house anymore. And if we don’t, there’s no reason I need a four-bedroom house. Not when I’m never going to commit to anyone the same way I did with her.

Laiken was always my happily ever after.

It just didn’t end happy.

I’M FORCED AWAKE INthe middle of the night to the sound of banging, as if someone is trying to break in. I jump out of bed and fly down the stairs, calling Cam and telling him to get his ass here. I’m ready to rip a motherfucker’s head off their damn shoulders, but as I swing the door open, there’s no one there. What there is, however, is a dead raccoon pinned to the front doorwith my switchblade. My nose scrunches at the way blood drips down from the corpse.

I grab the note that’s between the raccoon and the handle of the blade and rip it off.

Peek-a-boo. I found you.

Oh, well, aren’t they fucking cute. There’s a smiley face with Xs for the eyes underneath the words, probably to signify my death or something just as depraved. But the note is the last thing I’m worried about.

Cam’s Jeep comes flying down the street then screeches to a halt in front of my house. He and Laiken jump out at the same time, and Cam runs across the yard to where I’m sitting on the front steps.

“What the fuck happened?” And then he sees the door. “Jesus Christ, is that a raccoon?”

I nod. “A present from our little friend.”

He walks up to it, inspecting it carefully. “Hayes?”

“Yeah?” I already know what’s coming.

“How’d they get a hold of your switchblade if it’s always in your pocket?”

Bingo. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Laiken has her arms wrapped around herself, and the T-shirt she’s wearing is one I recognize well. My favorite shirt since I was seventeen, that stopped fitting over the years, but I refused to throw it away. It’s the shirt Laiken loved to sleep in. I wondered where it went after she left, and now I guess I have my answer.

She took it with her.

“Nice shirt,” I deadpan. “Glad to see you got something of mine while leaving me nothing of yours.”

Her brows furrow until she looks down and realizes what I’m talking about. I don’t think she ever expected for me to find out she has it. I mean, how would I if I hadn’t forced her and Cam out of bed in the middle of the night?

“I left behind more of me than you think,” she mumbles.

But before I can even think of a response to that, Cam comes down the stairs and stands in front of me.

“What the fuck are we going to do about this shit? Because it feels like they’re escalating already.”

I shrug. “Personally, I still think they may be all talk.”

He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “H, there is a fucking dead animal stuck to your door. What part of that saysbluffingto you?”

“None of it, but what the fuck are we supposed to do?” I ask, exasperatedly. “Unless we can pull off a fucking miracle and figure out who this is, we can’t do shit. So that’s exactly what I plan on doing. Jack shit. I’m going to let the fire burn itself out.”

His lips purse as he considers my plan. “You really think that could work?”

“Either they’ll get bored that we won’t play their game, or they’ll get desperate and slip up,” I reply. “I don’t really see how we could lose.”

Laiken doesn’t look convinced, but I’m pretty sure she’s only half paying attention. She and Mali are firecrackers—unwilling to take orders from anyone—but something tells me they’ll listen to whatever Cam and I say when it comes to this.

“All right,” Cam agrees. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

“That’s how I see it.”

---