Page 74 of Bratty Badboys

“Did Cillian help you?” Kyle asked and went closer to him as Caleb sat down on the bed. “I went to the cafeteria to get us coffee, and he wasn’t there when I came back.”

“Yes, Dad heard me fighting off the nurse, and I was still full of morphine so he…” Caleb looked at me and blinked. “He, uh, took care of it.”

“Why is the nurse trying to poison you?” I asked, and why didn’t his dad tell us about it two days ago when it had happened.

He took my hand and squeezed. “Anna, does Kyle know?” Caleb asked, his voice soft.

“Know what?” Kyle and I asked at the same time.

“About the letters. Strange calls,” Caleb replied, his hand tightening on my hand. “You’ve been getting stalked for weeks and didn’t tell us.”

I swallowed as Kyle turned to me, his brown eyes looking black underneath the light. “Is this true, An?”

I parted my lips, not knowing where to start. The day I had woken up in the hospital bed, Cillian had questions for me. I was glad Emma was with us as she held my hand and told me to tell the truth. She had been stalked before and the stalker almost killed her, but my case was different.

Their faces were pale when I told them everything from the strange call to text messages, to the pictures. My case was different because my stalker was violent and didn’t care who got hurt, including me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my vision blurring. My throat was burning at the thought of someone hurting them because of me. “I-I thought someone was pranking me at first, and… I didn’t know how to?—”

“My angel,” Kyle hugged me, kissing the top of my head. “We would have helped you.”

“Help? I want to kill that motherfucker.” Caleb joined in the hug and squeezed us both. “I promise I won’t let him hurt you. Either of you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Even though my head throbbed, and heart ached with their worry, I was glad they were safe. I took in their scent, rain and musk, and breathed with relief.

The door opened and we pulled away to see Cillian and Emma entering the room.

“Sorry about the lie,” Cillian shrugged, not looking sorry at all. “I had to do it.”

“But is it necessary to fake his death?” Emma asked, questioning the same thing that had been brewing in my head.

“It’s not necessary, but it could help with the case.”

“If the stalker is violent, he’d definitely like to see me dead and confirm it with his own eyes,” Caleb said, taking the duffle bag from his dad. He pulled out his clothes, a pair of glasses, and a cap. “I can try to trace back the number he called you from and see who tried to mail it to you.”

“How do you know it’s a he and not a she?” Kyle asked, crossing his arms.

“Because of Anna,” Cillian replied, and I looked at him with brows raised. “You have two exes, and one of them just got out of jail for something you blamed him for. Even though it’s true and he needs to be in jail for two more years, he could be planning for revenge.”

“Timothy?” I shook my head. “He is a weirdo and a creep, but he’s not smart enough to pull off an explosion or poisoning by bribing someone.”

“Anyone can be paid off, pretty,” Caleb said. “He just needed to find a nurse in a student loan and pay it off for them to poison and kill me.”

I shuddered at the thought of Caleb dying because Timothy wanted revenge. Even though he wasn’t rich, he had a connection with people who got rich doing illegal things. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got their help to set up a homemade bomb that got triggered when I opened the door to the studio, or that he planned the poisoning.

“So, how do we find out if it’s him?” Kyle asked, his eyes narrowing. “And is it safe for Caleb to do it? I can help.”

“Aw, you’re cute,” Caleb gushed with a grin on his face, making Kyle roll his eyes.

“We’re going to announce his death now so you both can help by acting sad and depressed. News should reach him by then, and when we take him to the mortuary in the evening, he should be there.”

“How do you know he’ll be there?” I asked.

“Because stalkers like him like seeing the pain they’ve caused. I’m sure he’ll come,” Emma answered with a sad smile. I didn’t know the complete story about her past, but I trusted her.

“What about the evidence?” Kyle questioned. He was a numbers guy, so he wouldn’t sit still until he was sure the plan would work out in our favor.

“I’ll have a mic on me and there are cameras in the mortuary.” Caleb said, “If that doesn’t work, the nurse has been paid double to testify against him with evidence of payment for her debt.”

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