Page 112 of Corrupt Me

I am the first to enter with a single-minded focus. As expected, Alice looks terrible. She’s on the couch, looking unfocused and pale. A sheen of sweat covers her face as she lies there. Every movement is sluggish as she reaches for and drains a glass of water before placing it down on the edge of the table. It tips over, landing on the carpet with a silent thump.

The hardwood creaks with our steps, and she jerks up, startled.

“You… I saw you…” Her brows furrow, trying to place me in her memories.

“Bailey?” Abi asks, and the girls blink at me incredulous.

For the first time, my friends look at me with apprehension. It’s a good feeling. I know they think I’m only dangerous with my tech skills, but for the people I love, I have no problem being lethal in real life as well. My innocence was stripped from me long ago. I am just like them, heirs to a corrupt legacy. While we strive to do good, if someone attacks us, I don’t mind turning into a killer.

I am at peace with that, and my strong voice confirms it as I say, “I did what I had to do.”

I didn’t tell them about this part of the plan, but it felt like my responsibility as the one he confided in. As the woman by his side.

“What have you done, kitten?”

I lift a shoulder. “Poisoned her. I wanted her to suffer for what she did to you before she dies.”

“You did that for me?” Hunter chokes out, voice thick with emotion. I nod, standing my ground. I have no limits when it comes to Hunter.

Alice interrupts our moment with a desperate cry. “No, please. It wasn’t like that. Hunter, help me.”

He doesn’t move from my side. He cocks his head, watching her with zero empathy.

Mia steps over to her, pure malice in her eyes, and pulls a syringe from her bag. “You touched my brother. You should have thought about wanting to stay alive before you did that.”

“I…” she stammers before she says, “What would your mother think?”

In a rush of movement, Mia yanks Alice’s elbow and drags her to her knees. “Don’t talk about my mother, you piece of shit.”

“Say something like that again, and I will end you sooner,” Celine says, playing with her knife. “Or please do. If you’re still breathing, I can torture you.”

“I’ve worked my ass off. I won’t lose everything because of a spoiled boy I only tried to help.” Adrenaline is surely pumping her up, but what she doesn’t know or want to accept is the poison will only kick in faster.

“Don’t,” I tell them. “No evidence.”

It’s also to remind myself not to kill her with my bare hands when she looks at Hunter with doe eyes. “Please help me. What we had was real. I am the only woman for you.”

Don’t kill her,I repeat to myself while Abi strides to her side and presses a point in her clavicle that has her panting.

“Say another word, and I will inflict so much pain on you that you’ll beg for death.”

I want her to suffer until she curses the day she ever thought of touching him.

Darting to her, I bend at the waist to meet her at eye level, forcing her to feel the power imbalance when I look her straight in the eyes. “You’ll die knowing I’m the only woman he has ever loved.” Without thinking, I grab the syringe from Mia, ready to end her already.

Nothing I do will erase what she did to him. Breathing heavily, my chest heaves with every painful rise and fall, just thinking of everything Hunter went through.

It’s Hunter who comes to my side, stopping me. Turning me to him, he has such a soft look on his face before cupping my cheeks. “Easy there, my panther.”

I can’t help but smile. “An upgrade?”

“You’ll always be my kitten, first and foremost.”

Then he cocks his head at Alice, coldness seeping through his grays; they appear icy. A hard expression sets on his face, and there is no trace of the softness he reserves only for me. “Bailey is the only woman I have ever loved—the only one for me. I despised your touch, your breath, and your presence while I crave hers. You wanted me to be your good boy, but she takes me like the bad guy I am. I’m good only for her though.” His voice lowers to a deadly tone that makes her tremble. “And now she’s dirtied her hands for me.”

I’d dirty them up to be unrecognizable for him.

Alice’s eyes flash with disdain. “You’re a disappointment. A sad little boy who would be nothing without me.” She clutches her chest. It won’t take long now. None of us wastes another word on her. Let her marinate in the knowledge of her impending death.

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