My Beautiful Poison (Wicked Poison 1)

I shake my head, knowing I’m not going to leave him.

“Leave, Rylee.” I can’t even get caught on the fact that he’s used my name because the blood that’s flowing out of his wound has me moving toward him not away from him. Reaching out, I want to touch him to make sure he’s okay. I step over the bodies that lie on the floor and gently touch his shoulder.

His voice becomes softer when my hand caresses him. “Leave,” he almost whispers.

“No,” I tell him. I know it won’t be long before the police arrive. After all, a gunshot would have been heard by the neighbors.

Not knowing how long we’ve been standing there, time seems to be going in slow motion right now. My heart is hammering in my chest, and my mind seems to be struggling between wanting to run and wanting to stay. The battle is constant, but somehow, I manage to keep grounded. Somehow keeping myself as centered as I can.

Sirens, I hear them, and they are coming this way.

Shock.

Alarm.

Panicked.

All feelings, all genuine, but all dismissed as quickly as they arrive when two police officers appear through the broken door. The two unconscious men are immediately spotted, so they both pull their weapons from their holsters.

“On the floor, both of you. Very slowly.” I quickly glance at August, who simply nods, doing what they say. One of them speaks into the radio on his shoulder before another police car arrives. When I check outside through the floor-to-ceiling window, I see the neighbors coming out on their front yards, and they’re all looking this way.

“August.” Paige’s father is standing there, hand on his gun but not raised like the other two. “What’s going on here?”

“He’s hurt. They shot August,” I tell Glenn.

His eyes fall to August, who appears to be having trouble keeping his eyes open.

“An ambulance is on its way. Can you tell me what happened?” Glenn asks.

My eyes fall to the men lying beside me.

One of them starts to move, and I jump up, not wanting to be anywhere near them.

“They broke into the house through the door. See, it’s broken. August…” I look and find his eyes are opening and closing, but he’s trying to keep an eye on the man whose eyes are still shut. “They didn’t get far, but one had a gun.” I point at the gun one of the officers is standing in front of. “He shot August. August did nothing wrong. We were having dinner when they—”

“Thank you, Rylee. I’ll need you to come to the station to make a statement, but other than that, you’re free to go.” I step back and look at August, who’s still on the floor and bleeding badly.

“What about August?” I ask.

“He’ll have to come with us after he goes to the hospital.”

“But, he did nothing wrong,” I tell Glenn.

He doesn’t answer.

So I reach for my phone and call my sister, who picks up straight away.

“Is Noah with you?”

“Umm… yes,” she says, her voice confused.

“Can you put him on, please?”

She doesn’t ask any questions, which I’m thankful for.

“Rylee, everything okay?” Noah’s voice echoes through the phone.

“No. Two people just tried to break into August’s house, and he got shot. The police are taking him in for some reason after he’s been to the hospital. Can you help?”

“Where are you?”

“Still at his house.”

“Don’t move. Collect your things. I’ll be there soon.”

As I hang up, the ambulance arrives, and an officer puts cuffs on August, making him groan as they jostle around his wounded shoulder. He doesn’t say a word, just goes with it as they carry him off to the ambulance.

“I want to go with him,” I say to a different officer, who adamantly shakes his head.

“No can do, miss.” He blocks my path as the ambulance drives away. I watch as the ambulance turns the corner then Noah’s car pulls up. My sister rushes through the house to get to me. Her way is clear now that the other two men have been moved, cuffed, and taken away in another ambulance.

“Ry… oh my God, what’s happening?” She checks the blood on the floor then wraps her arms around me.

“Got your things?” Noah asks while scanning the house.

I nod, and Rhianna pulls me out and to the car.

Noah gets in and drives while I tell them everything that happened. Noah nods but doesn’t say a single word as he comes to a stop out the front of our apartment.

“I want to go with you.”

“No. I’ll bring him back here, though. You need to go inside and wash up.” I glance down at myself and see my white blouse has blood splatters all over it.

“I can change real quick.”

“It will be easier if you aren’t there. Let me handle it.”

Rhianna gets out of the car, then comes around and opens my door. “Come on, Noah will handle it.”