Blaze (Virtues & Lies 3)

“Turkey?”

He tries to grab the syringe from Fleur, but she stands, letting him drop into his own sick and blood.

He doesn’t move. I should probably check his breathing, but before I get my hands any dirtier, she says, “He’s alive.”

“Really?”

“For now.”

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

“It’s about time someone followed through on a threat. He’s not scared of the thought of dying, he’s scared of how it will feel. That’s what’s terrifying about dying. Isn’t it?”

“Have you poisoned him or not?” We’re both looking down at Charles’ limp form when Leo walks into the kitchen.

He stands assessing the situation for a while, stare flitting between me and Fleur. “What the fuck?”

Taking her apron off, she hands it to him. “He’s not dead.”

She’s rinsing the shit in the sink as Leo and I silently look on.

“For God’s sake, do something. Hose him down…or something. He’s puked up most of the sedatives.”

“Sedatives?” I drop the apron to the floor and tread on it to soak up most of the sick.

“Antihistamines to be precise. Cassie always has the really strong ones in her bag, and they’ve always made him a mess. I only gave him three—it’s not like I overdosed him or anything.” She shrugs, going back to the dishes. “Point is, we’ve got what we wanted, and now we can move forward. Freddie can get his shit together and find the girl. You can find your grandfather. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Fleur…” Serious to God, I want to fucking spank her raw and kiss the fucking ground she walks on simultaneously.

“What?” She turns from the sink, fury blazing in her eyes. “Your threats clearly weren’t working. You told me to be the storm and not the pussy birds. Here, I’m the fucking storm.”

Yeah, and if I wasn’t so fucking proud and blown away by her right now, I’d be bending her over the sink and making real good use of the wooden spoon she’s gone back to rinsing.

“We had a plan,” Leo bites at her with a grimace on his face as he starts to clear up the mess.

“My plan was better. It gave you information you didn’t have before.”

“Rat poison?”

She looks back at me, her cheeks flushed. “I watched a lot of animal documentaries. There was one about what rat poison actually does to rats…it stuck with me.”

“Clearly psycho seeks out psycho,” Leo mutters, throwing a wad of kitchen towels at me.

Even though cleaning up shit like this really fucking kills me, I can’t help but smile at his statement. Because it’s true. I’m a monster. She’s a monster. We’re made for each other.

Chapter 41

FLEUR

The sun is barely up when Grace decides to wake up. The room has a faint golden glow that gives it a dreamlike quality. I get her from her crib. She’s starting to fill out. In four weeks, she’s gone from a tiny little thing to a nicely rounded cherub. Her dark hair has lightened a fraction to a chestnut brown, and her big doll eyes are more of a steel blue than milk grey.

Lying her between Casper and me, I tuck a pillow under her back to angle her to my breasts. She pretty much does the rest herself. While she suckles, I watch Casper sleep. He’s exhausted having spent the best part of last night trying to get through to Freddie.

“Anyone ever tell you staring is rude?” he mumbles, still half-asleep.

He turns on his side to face me, one hand resting on my hip while the other tangles in my hair where he’s spread his arm across the pillows.

“When do I need to be out of here?”