“Once upon a time you would have been right. Too bad for you though, I’m past the point of caring.” I take the cap off and smile down at him. “I’m pretty sure you’re a dead man either way. This way, I get the satisfaction knowing I’m the last person you’ll ever see.”
Putting the needle into the IV, I press down on the plunger. Donnie fights to get away but he’s cuffed to the bed by his ankles and arms. I recap the syringe and put it into my pockets. Then, I plug the machines back in and look back.
“I hope you enjoy hell, motherfucker.”
I walk out and make it to the elevators.
“Code blue!” is announced over the loudspeaker as I step into the elevator. Fuck, I can’t believe I just did that.
* * *
It takesme almost an hour to go back to Maddie’s room. I fucking killed someone. It went against every fiber of my being but I had to do it. If Maddie can’t kill Donnie, she can’t kill herself. That was my one goal, to keep Maddie alive and with me. Sighing, I enter the room, almost afraid to see if she’s where I left her. My deathly angel is in bed. Her back is to me, and she’s curled into a ball. I desperately want to hold her but I need the space. I have to wrap my mind around all of this before I face her.
Sitting down on the couch, I turn toward the window and watch as rain falls steadily down. Everyone I know around Maddie except Knave is dead. She’s a murderer, and legally, I have to turn her in. Fuck me sideways though, because now I’m one too. I’ve killed for her. I can’t turn her in and not myself. I’d be a hypocrite.
“Drew?” I don’t know how long Maddie has been calling my name, but I get up and walk toward her.
“Yeah, angel?”
Her lower lip trembles as she reaches for my hand. I don’t deny her my touch. God, I couldn’t even if I tried. And believe me, I want to. I want to be a hardened professional but this is my girl. My sweet angel.
“I’ll turn myself in.” Her whisper barely reaches me but I hear it.
I shake my head. “No.” I sit down in the chair and keep her hand in mine.
“But …”
“I said no, Maddie. Donnie’s dead.”
She gasps and sits up. Her legs swing over the side of the bed and she looks at me. “What do you mean, he’s dead?”
I can’t tell if she is relieved or excited. That should make me question if she is mentally sane, but I stare deep into her eyes before I pull her onto my lap.
“He will no longer bother you Maddie. It’s over. All of it.” She brings her hands to my face and pulls me gently upward.
“What did you do, Drew?” The worry in her eyes make me happy to know she still has some humane parts about her.
I look at the girl I just killed for, and I know without a shadow of a doubt, that it was the right call.
“Angel, I couldn’t let you kill again. I had to take care of you, and the only way I could do that was to kill him. I know how the system works and he would have gotten a lighter sentence because of his service record.”
She bends her head down and kisses me. It feels like sorrow and love wrapped together in a twisted, maddening spiral of emotions.
I pull back and she whines. “Now’s not the time for this, Maddie. I’ve got to find some way to clear this case up before anyone finds out it was you.”
“I want to turn myself in so I can tell them all the full story. The reasoning behind it. And maybe … maybe I can get a reduced sentence if I agree to do therapy.”
My poor girl doesn’t understand. If it was one murder, she would probably get off free and clear with counseling. But with how many she killed? Fuck, she will get the electric chair.
“I won’t have you ruining your chances at a good future. You did what you did. I don’t agree with it. Hell, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it, but I get it. Knave is on the run. He won’t be in trouble because he’s not that big of a person of interest. We can simply say he moved away with his boyfriend.”
The wheels in her brain are turning, assessing. “What …”
“We can pin all of this on Donnie, the Chief, and Crystal. Hell, there’s enough evidence in Donnie’s storage unit to pin it all on him already. You won’t have to testify because you know nothing. Do you understand me?”
“Drew, thank you for all of this, but I really think I should—”
I kiss her. Enough of this. She will not turn her life upside down any more than it’s already been.
