A Shot of Pretty Poison (Pretty Poison Trilogy #3)

by Kelsey Clayton

“I mean, my first thought would be Monty, but he’s dead.” She pauses for a second and looks between Hayes and Cam. “He is dead, right? Like dead, dead?” “Yes,” they answer in unison, but Hayes keeps going. “He was on that boat with us for a half hour before we dumped his body into the ocean. He’s dead, dead.”

As we try to think of anyone else who could be targeting us, a car alarm cuts through the silence as it goes off outside. We all share a look before rushing out the door. It’s a neighbor’s car, but as the lights flash with the alarm, they shine on where our cars are parked. “Cam, turn on the outside light,” Hayes tells him. He goes over and reaches inside the door, flicking the light on, and that’s when we’re able to see it. There’s a different word spray painted on each one of our cars. Mali’s says TRAITOR. Mine is SELLOUT. Hayes’s got LIAR. But Cam’s is the most concerning—KILLER. “How the fuck did we not know they were right outside?” Hayes panics. Cam sighs heavily. “I don’t know. We’re all pretty spent after today.”

“You haven’t fucking told her yet?”

“One of you better start talking right now,” I demand. Cam looks over at Hayes. “You have to tell her.” “Why? What’s the point? It’s done.” “Because she deserves to know!” he yells at him. It’s obvious that Hayes isn’t going to tell me, so Cam throws his hands in the air—dropping a bombshell I never saw coming. “Hayes didn’t shoot Monty that night,” he starts. “Cam, don’t!” Hayes tries to stop him, but Cam blurts out the confession before he even gets the chance. “I did.”

think I don’t fucking know that? That I haven’t already thought of that?” he yells. “That tortured me for the first three months you were gone! But even if I could go back, I still wouldn’t tell you! We’re married, which means they legally can’t force you to testify against me. The same isn’t true for Cam, though. That law doesn’t apply to siblings. Hate me for it all you want, but I was protecting Cam and I was protecting you!”

“Hey, H. Listen, I’d really rather not talk about this through your voicemail. It’s an in-person conversation. But I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I swear, I would never have left like that if I realized the connection beforehand. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do. You have to know that. You have to know that I wouldn’t intentionally rip you apart like that. I lo—”

Laiken rolls her eyes and tips her head at Cam. “Thanks, Mom, but I already got the lecture from Dad.” There’s something a little weird about her referring to Cam and Mali as Mom and Dad, but it might be something I can get on board with.

“I always fucking want to be called when it comes to her!”

“Are you okay?” She stares up at me. “I don’t know.” Fucking hell. She starts to get upset again, and no amount of fear could stop me from wrapping my arms around her right now. “Come here,” I say, pulling her against me while being careful not to hurt her. “We’ll figure it out. Okay? You’re safe. I promise.” She leans the side of her head against me and finds the comfort she’s looking for in me. Not Cam. Not Mali. Me. Which is exactly where she fucking belongs—in my arms.

BY THE TIME MALI starts yawning, Cam decides to go. He points out that they still have to go get her car, but we all know she’s just going to sleep at his place. The same way I won’t let Laiken out of my sight right now, he’s feeling just as protective over her.

As we get to the top of the stairs, she turns toward the guest room, but I stop her by tightening my grip on her hand just slightly. “What are you doing?” she asks. I nod toward the bedroom we shared. The one I haven’t slept in since the night she left. “You know that bed is more comfortable, and I won’t be able to sleep if you’re not next to me.” It doesn’t take much for her to give in. She honestly looks a little relieved at the idea. But as we walk in, I feel my chest tighten at the thought of sleeping in here with her again.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she says as if she has a direct line to my thoughts. I want to tell her that I know she isn’t, but I can’t. My mouth just won’t form the words. I’ve never had the greatest luck, and I’m afraid that if I say it, I’ll jinx it and she’ll end up leaving again. So, instead, I stay quiet—moving so I can get more comfortable and forcing myself to close my eyes. By the third time it happens, I decide to just stay up all night, but Laiken seems to have a better idea. She sits up and runs her fingers through her hair, then comes closer. I watch as she leans over me, accidentally putting her tis in my face. It instantly makes me want her, but she’s on a mission.

Pulling open the nightstand drawer, she reaches in and I hear the unmistakable sound of handcuffs. I had bought them after our little run in with the police at the airfield, but they’re getting put to a different use tonight. As she starts to back away, I can’t help myself. I reach up, putting my hand on the back of her neck and pulling her down. Her lips press against mine and we both sigh into it. There are no intentions behind it. I’m not trying to get in her pants, even though Lord knows I want to. It’s just a soft, gentle kiss because I couldn’t resist it anymore.

It’s not enough, but it’s enough for her. She exhales contently and cuddles closer into me before she takes my wrist and fastens one of the cuffs around it. Then, she puts the other on herself. “There,” she says decisively. “Now I can’t go anywhere, and you can get some sleep.” A smirk spreads across my face as I take the opportunity to fuck with her. “I probably should’ve mentioned I don’t have the key to those.”

“If you don’t fuck him tonight, can I?” Mali jokes. Laiken chuckles. “Are you kidding? I love you and all, but I’m worse at sharing than he is.” I seriously doubt that.

“Babe, I knew you had good aim, but damn,” she tells me. “You really had to be spot on to hit that little thing.”

“Nothing. It was just hot, watching you take care of business like that.” I huff amusedly, but I can’t ignore the part of me that also feels a little cheated. “Imagine if you had told me when it first started. I could’ve ended this shit then.”

Believe me, I’ve tried. But every time, we end up arguing and then it quickly turns into getting lost in each other. Sometimes, it even seems like we argue for an excuse to fuck—like the day we got into a fight over me forgetting to use a coaster. Never in his life has he ever used a coaster, but that day, he was hell bent on the importance of them. And if I purposely didn’t use one later that night so we could go for round two, I won’t apologize for it.

now I’m enjoying watching him ride the struggle bus to failure town. Is it too soon to order a pizza?

But before I can order, Hayes drops everything he’s holding and comes over to scoop me up. “That’s it. I’m eating you for dinner.” I squeal, realizing that I dropped my phone and the poor worker probably heard that. “Hayes! Now we can’t order from there anymore!” “What a shame,” he says, obviously not giving a flying fuck as he carries me up the stairs. Who really needs dinner anyway?

He looks so happy, and I always love when he’s like this. It always makes me want to stay in his orbit. Playful Hayes is my second favorite Hayes. “Ah,” Mali says. “I get it now. You wanted an excuse to be near Hayes.”

“You know you can’t sit there,” he tells me, standing there with his hat on backward and his arms crossed over his chest as he leans back against the counter. I pretend to look around. “Me? I’m just trying to get a drink.”

He gives me a smile that has me practically ready to come on the spot and pushes off the counter to come closer. “Okay. What can I get for you?” “A jack and coke.” I can tell he’s enjoying this by the way snickers. “One Shirley Temple coming right up.” Glaring at him, I reach into my back pocket and pull out my fake ID. I put it on the bar in front of me and push it toward him. He lets out a breathy laugh as he picks it up and looks at it, then slips it into his own back pocket. “You can’t just keep my ID,” I tell him. He shrugs. “Sure I can. It’s a false document. That’s not your last name.” With a wink, he leaves me speechless as he walks away. My fucking fake has Blanchard on it.

“How can you talk to him like that?” a woman sitting beside me asks. “You don’t get nervous and forget how to speak when he looks at you?” It takes me a second to figure out what she’s talking about, and then it hits me. Oh, Jesus Christ. “I’ve known him for a while,” I answer. She keeps her eyes on Hayes as she sighs. “Lucky. I’ve been coming here almost every weekend, trying to get up the nerve to ask him for his number.” I choke on my own saliva, forcing me to cough before I clear my throat. “Oh. Well, I hate to break it to you, but he’s married.” Her jaw drops. “Is he really?” “Yep,” I tell her, looking over at Hayes. “His wife is a total bitch, but he won’t divorce her for some reason. I don’t know.”

But just as he grabs my hand and tries to pull me into him, Hayes comes out of nowhere and decks him straight across the face.

“Well, good to see his caveman tendencies are as strong as ever.”

will always protect what’s mine.”

At first, it looks like they’re arguing. But then he leans in and whispers something into her ear and any anger she was feeling goes right out the damn window as she smiles at him, shaking her head slowly.

IT’S LATE BY THE time we get back home. After dinner, we all sat around and exchanged funny stories, reminiscing about all the crazy things we’ve done over the years. Though, the most shocking was when Mrs. Blanchard admitted to knowing I was climbing up the roof and sneaking through Laiken’s skylight. But judging by the shock that was on Mr. Blanchard’s face, she never shared the wealth of information.

“I love you.”

His words, or lack thereof, make me feel like my heart is breaking right there on the spot. I know he doesn’t trust me, and he has good reason, but until now, I’ve never truly questioned if he loves me.

“Do you not love me anymore?” He exhales, running his fingers through his hair. “You know I do.” “Then why can’t you say it?”

What matters is that I hurt him to the point where our relationship, our marriage, may not be salvageable after all. “I can’t—“ I try to speak but a sob rips right through me.

He can’t even tell me that he waited up for me to come home. We’re so irrevocably broken that he’s lying to me just so that I don’t figure out how much he cares.

No power. Are you fucking kidding me right now?

Try it again. I fucking dare you.

But as I press it harder against me, all of a sudden, it shuts off. My eyes fly open just in time to see Hayes glare at me as he cuts the wire in half with his switchblade.

“Every fucking ounce of your pleasure belongs to me,” he growls. “Get that through your head because it’s not fucking changing.”

He carries me into the bedroom we used to share and throws me down onto the bed. “You sleep there!”

“Man, really? I specifically ordered the ones with the loyalty feature on them! Those lying bitches.”

He flips me off and goes back to hanging the letters that spell out each of their names. “What the fuck is going on with you two anyway?” Okay, one thing Cam doesn’t do is ask about things between Laiken and me. It’s like an unspoken rule between the two of us. The Cam that’s my best friend and the Cam that’s my brother-in-law are separate like church and state. So, him asking can only mean one thing. “Mali put you up to this, didn’t she?” I ask, watching him intently. He folds like a house of cards. “Ugh, yes. That girl holds sex over my head like it’s the fucking key to everything.”

“You can’t withhold sex from Cam so that he will ask me for information on my relationship.” She huffs, rolling her eyes. “Jesus Christ. I knew he would tell you. What a baby!”

couldn’t.” Yeah, this conversation is already making me uncomfortable. Concern fills Mali’s eyes as she looks at me. “H, do you not love her anymore?” I run my fingers through my hair as I sigh. “Of course I do.” “Then why couldn’t you say it?” “Because it feels a lot like letting her back in,” I admit. “I’m just not sure I can do that. I mean, what if she leaves again?” She shakes her head. “You don’t have to worry about that.” “The fuck I don’t. She already left once. Hell, she has a whole life somewhere else. How can she walk away from the job of a lifetime?” “She’s staying.” “But what if she doesn’t?” I press. Mali rolls her eyes. “She’s staying!” “You don’t know that!” “Yes, I do!” She raises her voice a little higher than mine.

“Last time I checked, you weren’t a psychic! There’s no fucking guarantee she won’t eventually leave again. She could realize that her new perfect life is so much better than this one, and that scares the fucking shit out of me!” “Oh my God, you’re not listening,” she grumbles. “She. Isn’t. Going. Anywhere.” “And how do you know that?” She throws her hands in the air. “Because she quit the studio two weeks ago, you blockhead!”

My heart is racing as I stare at her in complete awe. “But that job is your dream.” “No, H,” she says softly, looking right into my eyes, “You are my dream.”

“I want you to know that I’m yours,” I tell her. “There’s still a lot that I’m working through, but I don’t want to lose you. It’s not going to be easy, but I want to be with you. I want the future we talked about.” Relief washes over her as she smiles back at me. “That’s all I want.”

hair. “Thank you.” “For what?” she asks. “Not giving up on us.” Just before we get back to all our friends, she stops and turns to face me. “It’s always been you for me, H. That won’t ever change.”

I put my hand on Laiken’s leg and tap three times, just like we used to do. I. Love. You. Because I do love her. I’ve never loved anyone but her. I might still be working on being able to say it again, but she needs to know that I do. She notices it immediately and turns to smile at me. I wrap my arms around her and she leans back, putting her lips next to my ear. “I love you, too.”

“Happy birthday, baby,” I say, smiling as she lights up at the term of endearment. “I’m glad you’re celebrating it where you belong.”

Still, I pick it up and admire the way my last name still follows her first. And I’m going to make sure it stays that way.