My Wicked Heart (Wicked Poison 2)

“Mom?” Beckham asks, looking past us.

“She left,” Rhianna tells him.

“She gave me something.” He looks up. “It’s not a dream?” he asks, then lays back down, closing his eyes.

Rhianna’s eyes are squinted in concern. This is the type of heartbreak we wouldn’t wish on anyone.

“Leave him be. Time is the only thing that heals.”

We turn to Noah who’s looking down at the floor. Rhianna reaches for him and places her hand in his.

“It’s his first love. It will take time to get over losing her the way he did.”

I nod, knowing Noah would know precisely how Beckham feels. He lost his wife, and he was lucky enough to find love again with my sister.

We step out of the room and shut the door this time, giving Beckham privacy and time to grieve. Rhianna stays next to Noah, who looks down at me sympathetically.

“How is August?”

I look away. It’s all I can do. I have no words to adequately describe my feelings regarding him.

It hurts too much.

And there is enough hurt happening in this apartment right now.

Chapter 3

August

They say when your happiest moment happens, if you’re lucky, it can last hours, days even. Mine was simply a moment. My life is nothing but made up of moments.

When I was ten, I had to dig through the trash bin to find myself something to eat. When I was eleven, I had to steal for the first time, as my shoes no longer fitted me. Then when I was seventeen, I realized my strength.

But my most significant moment, the one I know I will always cherish?

It was her.

Will always be her.

Her dark, soulless eyes and those pink, plush lips pull me in.

Even now, as I stand over the last man who had a hand in giving my sister to Josh, I wonder if this is another moment.

But it’s not.

This was inevitable.

He was bound to die, and by my hands at that.

“August.”

I don’t turn.

I know who it is straight away.

And I’ve run out of fucks to give.

“Rylee is concerned,” he says.

I glance down at the guy below me. I don’t even know his name.

Do I care?

No.

I fucking do not.

His face is a bloody mess, his eyes are swollen shut from all the hits he’s taken. Sully doesn’t even seem to care that a man is lying dead at his feet and another is almost there.

“Rylee will always be concerned,” I tell him. “It’s just who she is.”

“You love her.”

“What is love? Because we’ve never been shown it to know it. So, what is it?” I turn away from the guy at my feet and look Sully dead in the eyes. He flinches and averts his eyes almost immediately.

“You’ll discover that it takes time. It took time with me, but I got there.”

“You’re lying. You still think you’re unlovable and wondering when he will realize it as well.”

Sully’s eyes go wide at my words. Concern flashes in them before he shakes it away. “I know what you’re doing, August. You’re hurt, so now you’re lashing out. Don’t fuck it up so you never get a chance again. I’m not sure Noah can save you from this.”

“I don’t need saving, Sully. I fucking don’t.” I turn, reaching for the gun I know Josh keeps hidden in the recliner and smile as my hand glides over the cool metal. I pull it out and squat down so I can pick up the dude’s head.

“You fucked with the wrong person, and now you will pay the price,” I seethe then put the gun to his skull before I pull the trigger. He’s dead instantly, his head falling like a bag of shit, brain matter and blood going everywhere. I reach out and wipe my hands on his shirt before standing.

“August.” Sully shakes his head, his eyes wide with horror. He’s seen death before, but he thought I would stop. He was dead wrong.

“No need to worry, Sully. I was never here.” I smile and light a cigarette. “You better leave before it all blows up in your face.”

Sully’s eyes dart around the room, and it’s then he sees the fuel before his gaze lands back on me. “They will know it’s you.”

“They’ll have trouble figuring that out considering all the evidence points to Josh.”

“You—”

“Go, Sully. This house will light up the sky in five minutes.” I smile, pulling the cigarette from my lips. “Sully, go. Now!”

He nods reluctantly, and I watch as he leaves. Then I sit in the recliner and look around at this shithole I once called home. Now I see it for what it truly is, a prison which I am now free from. I’m not sure which one I’m more relieved to be free of, this one or the penitentiary.

Standing, I start splashing the fuel everywhere and wiping anywhere I touched just to be safe. I leave the plastic covering my shoes on before I tear off my shirt and throw on a clean one as I walk to the back door.