He shook his head, and looked down at my plane ticket. “I can’t. I have to make sure this doesn’t blow back on Camille. No one has pieced together who she is, but I have to make sure she’s safe.”
My heart swelled at this man who I had once tried to kill, looking after me and my daughter.
He rested his head against mine, and I reached up to kiss him. A slow, simmering kiss that proved just how much we were willing to do for each other.
I held my hand over his heart as I accepted this would probably be the last time I saw him. For real this time. The ultimate sacrifice.
Now, I was free.
Because of him.
“One more time,” I said, my voice breaking with emotion. “Please.”
His mouth claimed mine in a fiery kiss, forcing me to drop my new identity and escape onto the floor as he pushed me against the doorframe. His kisses overwhelmed my senses as I drank in the memory of Kane Garrick.
Kane
My back was aching from laying on the floor all night. The spot next to me was empty, and as I gazed over at the dead body of Tommy, I couldn’t help but feel a fresh set of anger lace through me at not knowing who he really was. How many others were in the system, allowing this shit to happen?
I got up and looked around for Maurelle but I knew she was gone. It would be stupid if she didn’t leave yet. The plane was taking off today, so I knew she would be gone before they found me.
I pulled my clothes on and staged the scene so it looked like I came in and found Tommy like this. Moving into the kitchen, I found the vial and note she left.
One day, we’ll meet again.
Until then.
Dilute this before you drink it.
Doris x
I chuckled at the note, using the same name she’d used on the note that had started our relationship. I grabbed the lighter from the stovetop and burned the letter before I grabbed the vial, looking at the sickly green colour of it, I knew this was going to fucking hurt.
Moving back to the living area, I looked around for a needle or something that would look like she injected me with the poison to make it more believable. I found a pin and I stuck myself in the neck, the sting nothing compared to what I knew was coming. Dropping the pin on the couch, I sipped at the concoction, immediately smelling the scent that I remembered from the first crime scene, before I chucked the poison vial in the fireplace. I called the Captain and told him to get here and quick, that she got me and Tommy.
My stomach started to hurt first, then my body began to sweat and tense. My muscles contracted painfully as the poison took over. Everything started to get dizzy as I succumbed to the poison, hoping that they’d get here before it was too late.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Maurelle
I relaxed onto the stool at the bar, something I did every week on Friday. It had become a habit since moving to Cuba two years ago. My life as Margaux was great. Cocktails, sand, a palatial mansion by the sea and the nightlife was something to be grateful for.
It was missing something though, a person to be with. I never imagined wanting or needing someone by my side because frankly I didn’t think I would ever get here. I was sure I’d be dead by now, but because of Kane, I was free and living the dream. I’d secretly been hoping he would find his way down to me, but after two years of coming to this bar to wait for him, I knew that dream was exactly that – a dream.
Two years was a long time to be alone, especially since I couldn’t be with Camille. She was living her life, and she was happy from the last time I’d heard from Kane, just after I’d moved here.
That was all I could ever want.
Now, it was time to move toward spending it with someone, so I came here, looking for someone to fall in love with.
Wow, that sounded corny, but it is who I am. I wanted the dream life with someone to love and spend my days on the beach, watching the waves crash onto each other. The life every woman was worthy of if only they had loving parents who didn’t sell them to the highest bidder.
“Whiskey. Neat.”
I looked up at the newcomer at the bar, my eyes catching his, as I smiled at him. He looked different. The years hadn’t been kind, or maybe it was because of me. He looked older, and yet, he looked relaxed for the first time ever.
