Page 34 of Killing Me Softly

“Right. Cheers.” Aaron scanned the aisle for the bleach, mulling that over.

“Or you could cook him dinner.” Taylor drifted closer. “I’d’ve liked that. Doesn’t have to be a fancy meal. Fish fingers would do. Just something to say you give a fuck whether I ate or not.”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah. Thanks. Maybe I’ll do that.”

Taylor sidled up, gaze landing on the note Aaron held. “Fancy handwriting. That yours?”

“No.” Aaron folded the note almost instinctively, panic surging as he realised the problem wasn’t the list of cleaning products. It was the words on the front:Dr Lyons’s Shopping List.

Fuck.

Aaron crumpled the paper in his hand, but Taylor’s knowing snort cut through the air. “Never had a chance against him, did I? Were you fucking him the whole time you were with me?”

Aaron said nothing, but his silence would be loud enough. Even if it wasn’t true. Aaron hadn’t cheated on Taylor. Certainly not with Kenny. Not physically, anyway. Kenny had stolen his heart way before Taylor had even been in his orbit. He couldn’t apologise for that. It wasn’thisfault. He was merely a victim of a crime.

“You know what?” Taylor edged back. “Changed my mind. Best thing you can do is leave him the fuck alone. You sort of have a habit of making things worse.”

Aaron clenched his fist, heart pounding.

“See you around,AaronfuckingJones.”

Taylor walked away before Aaron could even think of a response, or throw a much needed, cathartic punch, leaving him standing in the aisle, eyes closed as he cursed under his breath.Sloppy.He was getting sloppy. Or maybe his subconscious was screaming to be heard, desperate to let the world know. But Kenny wouldn’t be pleased to find out that a man Aaron had dismissed like a pesky fly, who then subsequently uploaded a sensationalised video drawing attention to the potential of aHowell kid committing new murders, now knew their secret. But, in a way, Taylor had done him a favour. Not only did it push him into the arms of Kenny, it also alerted him to the fact he had a sister out there somewhere.

One he was desperately trying to find yet was getting nowhere.

Shaking off the unease, Aaron grabbed the cleaning supplies from the shelf and threw them into the basket, adding a few ingredients for dinner. Then he paid and walked back to Kenny’s. As he let himself in, Kenny’s voice coming from the kitchen, loud, clipped, and unmistakably angry, startled him.

“I don’t fuckingcareif I’m not authorised! I need to know where she went. Who has that information? And I need to knowyesterday!”

Aaron edged into the kitchen cautiously. Kenny was leaning beside the counter, phone pressed to his ear, hair dishevelled, eyes dark with something far more volatile than grief. When Kenny noticed him, he tensed.

“I have to go.” He cut the call. “Hey.”

“You all right?” Aaron dumped the plastic carrier bag on the counter.

“Yeah,” Kenny said reflexively, before correcting himself. “Well… no. But…” He inhaled sharply, trying to steady himself. “Did you get everything?”

“Yeah.” Aaron unpacked the bag, his tone light and casual as he tried to cut through the tension. “And I’m cooking for you tonight. The top-rated meal from Rainbow House, twenty-twenty-four.” He tossed a packet of spaghetti around in his hand and caught it with a grin. “Spag bol.”

Kenny’s body seemed to shrink into the floor tiles. “Sounds good. Thank you.”

“Who was on the phone?”

Kenny glanced at the mobile in his hand like he hadn’t realised he was still holding it. “Oh… nothing. Work stuff.” He dumped his mobile on the counter.

It was a lie. Aaron knew it.

“I’m going to have to shut myself in my office for a bit.”

“Okay.”

“Anything I need to know before I do?”

Aaron bit his lip. “They stopped selling Crème Eggs.” He could lie just as well as Kenny could. Not about the Crème Eggs. That was true. He’d be feeding Kenny one now if they had any. But about keeping the Taylor stuff under wraps. It was just another little thing he kept to himself. Like his visits to his mum in prison. Like his Subject Access Request to find his sister.

Kenny tutted. “Bastards.”

Aaron snorted. “And I’ll have to go back to my room at some point today. Mel’s moved in next door and with the first-years moving in later today, she’ll need some help dealing with that.”

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