And then the announcement was made. A buzzer went off and a security guard escorted the guests into a room with spotless, white tables and dark blue chairs. Several patients walked inside, all of them wearing the yellow scrub uniforms.
I took a seat at a table in the middle, my pulse swimming in my ears. I looked all around me, mostly at the guests who smiled as their loved ones sat across from them. Some of the patients smiled back, most didn’t. When I looked at the door they were coming through, I finally saw her.
She wore yellow scrubs like all the other patients, her brown hair pulled up in a loose, frizzy bun. Her face was makeup free, just like it was the day she stabbed me. The man who had signed me in pointed to where I was sitting, and she looked at where his finger led. When she saw me, her eyes narrowed, her head cocking slightly. The man walked away, but she just stood there, probably wondering why I was here. I bet I was the last person she thought would visit.
Finally, she walked to the table I was sitting at, grabbing the chair across from me and pulling it out. Not once did her eyes leave mine.
“Hey, Kelly,” I said, not smiling. Not wavering.
“You are really fucking bold,” she replied with laughter in her voice. She planted her elbows on the table, leaning in slightly. “Of all the people I thought would be my first visitor…it’s you.”
I shrugged. “You’re probably expecting me to be afraid of you or nervous about being here…but I’m not. I really only came to see if you were still alive.”
She frowned. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
I looked her over. “How does it sound?”
“Like a threat,” she hissed.
I pushed my lips together. “I’ve never been good at making threats.”
Kelly shook her head, eyes rolling. “Why are you here?” she snapped. “You got your money and your restraining order, which is clearly being broken right now. What else could you possibly want from me?”
“I don’t want anything from you. Like I said, I’m just checking to see if you’re alive…and to face the one thing that has given me nightmares for weeks.” I clenched my fist under the table. “Cane is really pissed about the slap on the wrist you got and how you’re playing the mental card. I am too.”
She chuckled. “Oh, so you’re with him again? Even after what was done to you because you were too close?”
I didn’t answer. Only looked her in the eyes.
“Are you proud to be his whore? Because that’s all you are. A whore who sucked a taken man’s cock.” She leaned forward a little more. “You know, just because I’m in here doesn’t mean that he isn’t still mine. I know so much about Quinton—so much that he has no choice but to keep me around so that I’ll be quiet.” She gave me a smug look. “Has he shown you the notes I’ve given him?”
“Only one, and it was all I needed to see. I’m sure he’s burned the rest. Just proves you’re batshit.”
She laughed and pointed at me. “You’re cute. Coming in here, trying to act like you’re better than me just because you have him for a moment. Let me explain something to you,” she seethed, her upper lip peeling back. “I had him once, and I can have him again. You are a young, stupid girl who doesn’t know shit about men, and when he realizes how fucking naive and worthless you really are, he will drop you right on your ass.”
I studied her, almost with pity. “You really are insane. It’s no wonder you’re in here. See, you’re so crazy that you can’t even see how much he actually wants to be with me. You’re so blinded by your own ignorance, that you can’t see what’s right in front of you. Cane and I got back together a little over a month ago, and it has been absolute bliss. I’m not saying this to brag, but just to let you know that even though you think he belongs to you, he has always been mine. Since the first day I met him, he was mine. Way before you even knew him.”
She stared back. “I can’t wait until the day I get out of this place. Then you’ll see who he truly belongs to.” She pushed out of her chair and pressed her palms to the table. “What I did to you was just the start. Trust me, I am capable of things that are a whole lot worse.”
I held her eyes and thought she was about to say something else, but I was so, so wrong. Instead, she spat on me. Right on my cheek. I gasped, and she laughed as a guard yelled “Hey!”
“Enjoy him while you can, you stupid bitch.”
I wiped her spit off my face and pushed out of my chair as the guard grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the doors. Throughout the entire walk, she looked back at me with that same stupid, smug grin.
That fucking bitch!
Livid, I shoved my chair in and marched out of the visitation room. I was so pissed that I ran right into someone’s chest on my way out.
“Shit! Sorry!” I gasped. The person caught me by the upper arms, and when I looked up, I met a familiar shade of golden-brown. “Holy shit,” I breathed.
Clark looked down at me, wearing a sports cap and a black jacket. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper-hissed.
A slow smile spread across his lips. “Got business to take care of. Jefe’s orders. Finally some action. I suggest you leave now.” He pushed me toward the door, and I stumbled a bit as he marched down the hallway, taking a look around before cutting a corner and disappearing.
I didn’t bother sticking around. I rushed out of the building and to my car, breathing rapidly.
I sat in my car, expecting him to come right back out. I believe an hour passed before I heard the sounds of police car sirens and ambulances. They got louder and louder, and I pulled my eyes from my Instagram feed to look around, spotting them rolling through the entrance and to the building. The EMTs rushed out of the ambulance, taking a stretcher with them and running inside.
I held my breath as the cops cleared patients from the yard and moved them to their rooms.
And then I saw Clark.
He wasn’t walking out of the front door like I’d expected, but slipping out a side exit marked for staff. He hopped a fence and then took off, disappearing into a line of trees.
“Holy shit. No,” I breathed. “No, no, no, no.”
I gripped the steering wheel, waiting for the EMTs to come back outside. When they came rushing out, I saw a patient in yellow scrubs lying on the stretcher. She was still, eyes closed. Her face looked pale, and her lips blue.
“Oh my God!” I screamed, because it was Kelly on that stretcher.
And if I weren’t mistaken, she already looked dead.
Chapter Twenty-Five
KANDY
I drove home in a frenzy and was lucky I’d made it back alive, given my mental state. I still couldn’t believe what I’d seen, and I prayed Cane had nothing to do with it.
I was in such a rush that I didn’t even stop by my parents’ house, like I’d planned on doing. Mom had texted me that morning, but I was nervous and driving, so I didn’t respond.
I made a mental note to call her once I was settled, though I was curious why she didn’t just call me herself.
It was dark when I got back, and as soon as I reached the front door of the house, I burst through it, slamming it behind me like someone was chasing after me.
“Yo! What the fuck!” Lora yelled, rushing around the corner. When she spotted me, her brows furrowed even more. “Kandy, what the hell is going on?”
“Did you know?” I demanded, rushing toward her and gripping her shoulders.
“Know what?” she yelled, pushing my hands away.
“About Kelly! Did you know, Lora?”
She blinked rapidly. “Kelly? What are you talking about?”
“I went to see her.” I sniffled. “And when I was leaving, I—I saw that—that guy! The one who came with Jefe! I saw him going into the clinic, and when he came back out, an ambulance showed up. They had a stretcher, Lora, and Kelly was on it! She looked…she looked dead!”
“What?”
> My eyes were thick with tears. I was panicking now, breathing unevenly, shoving my fingers through my hair.
“Okay…Kandy. Just calm down, all right? Come here.” She grabbed my hand, leading the way around the corner, where a recliner and loveseat was set up. She sat me in the recliner and then dropped to her knees in front of me, grabbing my hands. She studied my eyes and was quiet for so long I wondered if she even had anything to say.
“Is everything okay?” I looked around Lora, and Miss Cane was there. Confusion warped her face, her eyes stretched wide.
“Yes, Mama. It’s fine,” Lora insisted. “I got it. Go finish cooking. We’ll be in there in a minute.”
Miss Cane gave us a wary glance, but she walked away. When we heard dishes moving again, Lora faced me.
“Okay, I need you to listen to me,” she said, so low I could barely hear her. “What just happened to Kelly? Yes, I knew it was going to happen, but she fucking deserved whatever they did to her. She never would have left Cane alone otherwise.”
“D-did Cane make this happen?”
Lora dropped her head, sighing. “No, he didn’t. He told Jefe not to do anything too hasty. He said he couldn’t live with the guilt of knowing someone died because of him, no matter how much he disliked the person.” She picked her head back up, her eyes boring into mine. “But I am nothing like Cane, you hear me? I have done a lot of shit I hated doing in order to survive, and I have lived with it all. I have no problem living with this, too.”
“Lora, you—”
“I did what I had to do to protect my family, Kandy. That bitch was never going to leave him alone. Ever. And for once in my life, I wanted to be the one to help him, not the other way around. Q has always been there for me—done everything in his power to protect me. Even when I straight up abandoned him, he came to check on me, but I blew him off, and even now, he’s still here.” Her eyes were getting watery and red, but the tears didn’t fall. “It was my turn to protect him this time.”
“By killing her?” I wheezed.
“I didn’t kill her. I didn’t even tell them what to do to her. All I did was tell Jefe that I wanted her out of the picture and for her to never bother him again, and I reminded him that he owed me, so he said it was done. That’s it. I don’t know what they did and didn’t know she’d die so quickly, but he knows how to cover his tracks. It won’t come back to us.”
I couldn’t believe this. Cane was right about Lora. She was stubborn. She just couldn’t let it go.
She released my hands, dropping her face into her palms. “You weren’t supposed to be there,” she said, looking back up. “What the fuck were you thinking, going to visit her?”
“I heard you and Cane talking to El Jefe when I was asked to leave. I just wanted to see if she was still alive, and I wanted to confront her about what she’d done to me. I had this hunch—I don’t know!”
“Yeah, well you saw her, and now she’s dead.” She exhaled. “God, I need a joint.”
“Does Cane know you asked El Jefe to do that?”
“No, but I’m sure the news will travel to him, and he’ll figure out that it wasn’t a coincidence.”
“God, Lora. This is all so fucking crazy.”
“This is who we are, Kandy. We’re fucked up, okay? I’ve told you that we aren’t good people. We do whatever we need to do to stay safe. If you can’t handle that truth, then maybe you should reconsider what you want and where you need to be. Not being a bitch, just being real.”
I swiped some of my tears away, looking away. Rubbing my elbow, I asked, “Why did El Jefe owe you?”
She frowned at me, dropping her head. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
I swallowed to clear the dryness in my throat. “Is it bad?”
“Q doesn’t even know, so yes, it’s bad.”
I touched her arm. “I would never tell him your secrets, Lora. I swear.”
“I know you wouldn’t…but what I did is fucked up. I feel guilty as fuck about it, and it’s hard to make me feel guilty about anything.” She stood up, planting her hands on her hips.
“It can’t be that bad…”
She looked at me sideways, then raked her fingers through her hair. She then stepped back and dropped down on the love seat that was behind her. We sat quietly, and I didn’t want to make any sudden movements because she looked like she was on the verge of telling it all. If she’d held it from Cane, she’d held it from everyone.
“I’m sure Cane told you I was engaged to a guy named Aaron.”
“Yeah.” I sat forward a bit. “I remember.”
She rubbed her temple with the tips of her fingers, closing her eyes. “Aaron is going to be in prison for the next fifteen years, and it’s my fault.”
“How?”
Her eyes peeled open, locking on mine. “I’m the reason he got caught by the cops the night he was arrested.”
“What?” I gasped. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I had to, Kandy! Okay? Aaron was getting out of control, with the way he was selling, and he was starting to use the drugs too. One of Jefe’s people found out he was using the supply, and they came to me, told me that he was a liability, and then he gave me a choice. I could get him caught and arrested so he’d be out of the picture, or they would kill Aaron and make Cane sell the rest of it since Cane was the one who introduced Aaron to Jefe’s product. So I set up my fiancé.” She made a noise of defeat, tears lining the rims of her eyes. “I planted some coke in his trunk and anonymously called the cops to give them a tip that he was riding with it. Gave them his license plate number, name, and all.” She stared hard at me. “I love my family, and I know the last thing Cane ever wants to do is sell that shit again, plus I also didn’t want Aaron to die, so I did what I had to do. I told Jefe he owed me for it. He never promised me a favor, but he knows how hard that was for me to do. I literally hate myself for it, every single damn day since it’s happened.”
“Oh my God, Lora. So that’s why you really came back?”
“Shit, Kandy, I couldn’t stay there anymore. Aaron’s people were starting to ask me too many questions, and I got tired of lying. Not only that, but Buck was sending me threats. I started to feel like I was being watched. My own apartment didn’t even feel safe. I was paranoid as fuck over there.”
“I can only imagine.”
Her face went from soft to serious. “You cannot tell Cane about this, okay? I mean it. I don’t want him to know, because if he does, he’ll be pissed at Jefe, and he’ll blame him for fucking up my life and Aaron’s. Even though he despises Aaron now, he knows how much he meant to me.”
“I won’t say a thing, Lora,” I promised. “You have my word.”
“Good.” She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. “Mom’s making tacos tonight. I’ll go to the store, buy some margarita mix or something for us to drink with it. It’s been a really fucked-up day.” She left the room without another word to me. I heard her tell Miss Cane where she was going, and then she was out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
KANDY
To get rid of the heaviness on my chest, I took a long, hot bath, soaking in the bath oils Cane had bought me when I first moved in. He’d bathed me several times, hoping to soothe me after what had happened. I loved it when he washed me. He was always careful and diligent with his actions.
While I soaked the day away, I glanced at my phone. I was still shaken by what happened. I’d never seen a dead body before. Even though I hated that woman, it didn’t make what I saw any less terrifying.
Cane would be back in town the next morning, but I couldn’t wait a whole day to talk to him. However, I didn’t want to mention what I saw at the psych facility to him over the phone, and considering how he always got me to tell him what was wrong, I decided not to call at all. I washed well, then took a hot shower to wash the oils away.
I wrapped myself up in a towel when I was done and heard a knock on the bathroom door. “Kandy
?” Miss Cane called.
“Yes?”
“The tacos are ready! Oh, also Lora told me to tell you to get your a-s-s downstairs and share a margarita with her.”
I laughed. “Great! Thank you, Miss Cane! I’ll be down in a minute.”
The tacos were incredible. Miss Cane had a real gift. While we ate, I noticed that Lora was putting on her nonchalant act again. For someone with so much guilt, it was surprising how well she hid it. I’m sure the two margaritas she had helped. After dinner, I assisted Miss Cane with cleaning up while Lora scrolled through Pinterest, looking for a new hair color.
“I’m torn,” Lora huffed. “I don’t know if I should go with this neon orange for the rest of spring or a pastel pink? I feel like the orange will make me look spunky as hell, but the pastel pink will make me look all soft and fluffy.”
“Let me see,” I said, stepping up beside her. She went to her Pinterest board, showing me the images. “Hmm…I think the orange would look good for the summer. I’d save pastel pink for a special occasion.” I clicked on a picture of a girl with silver hair. “What about this one?”
“I’m not sure about that one. I feel like I’ll get bored with it after a week or two.” She grabbed a piece of her blonde hair, twirling it around her fingers as she studied the hairstyle. “But I do need something new.” She smiled up at me. “I’ll try it, but if I hate it, I’m going to the orange.”
I laughed, going back to drying dishes.
A door clicked shut in the distance, and Lora and I froze up, while Miss Cane looked back. We heard the footsteps coming up the hallway, and I don’t know why I was so fucking terrified. The hairs on my arms stood up and my throat went bone dry as I turned toward the kitchen opening. I really, really hoped it wasn’t El Jefe again.
But then I saw him.
He wore a white button-down shirt with a simple black tie. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up to his forearms, revealing the delicate ink on his skin. He’d trimmed his beard down several days ago, just enough for it to not look scraggly and wild. Lora’s hiked up shoulders relaxed a notch, and Miss Cane smiled at her son.
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