“He had a weak heart. He was overworked. My friend was relieved. No one suspected a thing. But then I did it again. My friend introduced me to another girl in my school who said her father was hurting her. That he sometimes came into her room at night. She told a teacher, but her father was powerful and had just been elected mayor. So we planned another sleepover. I used a slower-acting method that time. I made it last a few weeks. I was learning.
“See, my father, he doesn’t kill people. He prefers more subtle methods. A stroke that leaves you paralyzed. A sickness that lingers. A long, slow decline until your heart stops. Something that looks natural.”
“But you killed them.”
“I did what needed to be done. A weak man can still hurt his daughter.”
Kaiser blows out a breath. “The judge, the mayor elect.” He counts on his fingers. “Who else?”
“One more. The principal of my elementary school was touching students. He told them not to tell anyone, that they’d be punished if they did. So I punished him. I used bloodroot to rot his skin and a compound from narcissus to torture him. And finally, I used belladonna to kill him. It was slow and painful. Everything that he deserved.” I clench my hands into fists. I’m not sorry. I’ll never be. No one can make me regret what I’ve done.
If I could do it all over, I wouldn’t change a thing.
“He was the third. Then you stopped.”
“Papa found out and pulled me out of school. Hired tutors and bodyguards. He locked me down as long as he could. But when I turned eighteen, he knew he couldn’t control me anymore.”
“That’s why he made the alliance with us.”
“Yes. You were meant to be my bodyguard. A man who could finally control me. But you can’t, can you? You won’t do anything to me.” Because the poison I gave him didn’t kill him. It bonded him to me.
Kaiser shifts closer. My heart skips a beat. He’s still dangerous. “This is why you weren’t afraid of me. You’ve been poisoning people since you were a child. You’re lethal and no one knows.”
“The best offense is a good disguise.”
“I knew you were dangerous.”
“Mmm, you did, didn’t you? Your instincts were right. You came so close to beating me, Kaiser. I had to come up with new ways to poison people because of you.” I want to tell him about the lotions I developed. The way I coated my skin to absorb the contents into my body. How I went into the bathroom, took off my gloves, and coated my palm with poisonous balm before I shook the senator’s hand.
I want him to know everything about me. I still feel that pull between us. He’ll hear about all the people I’ve killed, and he won’t judge. How can he? His body count is so much higher than mine.
For now.
“Tell me about Livia.”
I suck in a breath. “She found me in the diner. It was my first time there, and I was so excited. I’d heard so many things about it. A waitress with red hair told me there was someone to see me. Then Livia sat down. I asked her if I should know her, and she said no. Then she told me she was the wife of the man who killed my mother.”
“No one knows who was behind that hit.”
“She did. Alfredo bragged to her about it. He and his brothers would laugh about what they did to my mother while she begged them to stop.”
“So you helped her poison her husband.”
“She wanted a way out. I gave her one. I didn’t know they would kill her. I should’ve guessed, though. She was so sad.”
“She knew.”
My heart aches, remembering Livia’s face. I looked up a picture of her after; she looked so different. A poised, very pretty woman with perfect hair and designer clothes. When she came to the diner to meet me, she wore no makeup, no jewels. Her hair was down, half covering her face. Her true self, but she wore it like a disguise. “She probably did know they would find her out. I told her to do it slowly, but… she wanted to get it over with. It’s my fault. She died, and it’s my fault.” Will I ever be able to forgive myself for Livia’s death? For my mother’s?
“That’s why you killed the senator.”
“No. He was just a warning. First shot fired.”
“It worked. Spooked the Vesuvios. They refuse to deal now.”
“Good. I don’t want to deal with them. You know that after I spoke to Livia, I went to my father? I told him I found out who killed Mama. He said he knew. He’d known all along. And he didn’t do anything. For years.”
“He was being smart. Going to war with the Vesuvios was a suicide mission. He wanted to keep you safe.”
