Page 39

Chapter 39

Kabir

It was never a question of if, only when.

Though the how was still undecided. Now the scenario we’re preparing to deploy lends itself to the easiest of executions with the simplest of clean-ups required. Despite the vengeance still alight inside me, or maybe because of it, I was positively chuffed when the pieces fell into place with such precision.

Dark men’s scrubs, size medium.

A nondescript gray Toyota idling at the loading dock.

A perfectly timed distraction on her hospital floor.

It’s all set, ready for me to put the plan into motion.

We debated between insulin and acetaminophen for weeks. Now that intravenous access is an option, I’ve decided I don’t want to choose. I’ll use both.

If I can’t physically maim or leave any evidence on the outside of Magnolia St. Clair-Ferguson, I want her insides to twist in anguish as she races toward a swift and immediate end.

“Please don’t come inside with me.”

Sione is a good man. Sensitive in ways I can’t begin to fathom. I fear what I’m about to do will change how he views me. I’m certain he knows my intentions. That, I can live with. For him to bear witness to my actions? To have that visual burned in his mind’s eye for all the rest of our days? I can’t bear it.

“I won’t. But I will be waiting out here, ready to support you however I can when this is done.”

His words touch me. Though I do not anticipate needing any support, the relief coursing through me is one of the highest exhilarations I’ve ever experienced.

Almost time.

Almost done.

Almost handled, once and for all.

Kylian enters the hospital room, right on cue, an oversized laundry bin rolling behind him.

“Dr. Walsh,” I remark blandly, poking fun at the black scrubs Kylian has donned for the occasion.

“Sir Spencer,” he retorts as he approaches.

I don’t continue the tête-à-tête. Instead, I snap my mouth closed, allowing the sight before us to speak for itself.

“Well done, you,” he murmurs. “One down. Six to go.”

Right. As part of our pact, I have agreed to help Kylian dispose of the six wankers who dared to assault Josephine when she was in high school.

Although I suspect we’ve got quite a bit of time before Kylian will be ready to take definitive action. Despite being very black and white in regard to most things in life, he apparently wants to toy with his prey a while longer.

I’ve studied the Gannt chart he created. The six insufferable bastards have years of suffering ahead of them before they’ll pay the ultimate price.

No matter. Murder isn’t for the faint of heart. Thankfully, I’ve never felt faint a day in my life.

Calmness washed over me as it was happening.

Magnolia seized in quite a dramatic fashion. It was exquisite, really. I stayed close, overseeing the entire ordeal so that I can tell Hunter with full confidence that the threat has been eliminated for good.

It has.

I witnessed it.

I made it so.

“She’s been wiped from the system,” Kylian confirms. “Between the shift change and my perfectly timed data scramble, it’ll take hours for the staff to realize they’re short a patient. By the time the administrative level can be coaxed into caring, all physical traces will cease to exist. Anyone’s best guess will be that she walked out of her own volition without informing anyone.”

“Very good. Very good, indeed.”