Leaving Perry at the hospital is almost impossible, but while he’s sedated, there’s nothing I can do for him. Right now, I need to make sure everything is okay with my brother and that we don’t need to worry anymore.

He texts me to meet him at Lethal Poison, and I’m apprehensive about stepping foot into the place where I thought my boyfriend was dying, but if this is what it takes to find answers, I’ll do it. All I want is for everything to go back to normal again.

I miss Saint Clare’s so much.

I miss the chaos and the fun, and I miss the way I got to enjoy myself there and not have to constantly look over my shoulder. Hell, maybe Perry will even come and work for us since I’m assuming his cafe job won’t be waiting.

I make my way over the demolition site and toward the back, where I can make out voices. I’m trying not to focus on how Perry felt here, on which emotions were running wild through him, and just remind myself that he’s going to be okay.

He will be.

“Hey,” Colin says as I walk into the office. He’s sitting on the floor with Onyx, books open around them, while Arlie is typing away at a computer on the desk, and Tommy and Everett lounge in the corner. Ever’s flipping through something while Tommy has his feet kicked up, whistling that same tune he whistled with his gun pointed at my head.

“That’s very unsettling,” I tell him, and he grins back but keeps whistling. I look away from him and take in the room instead. “I thought there’d be a whole lot more blood than this.”

And by more, I mean any.

“Our team is efficient,” Arlie says. “The police have already been by to see where Perry”—she makes bunny ears with her fingers—“shot himself.”

I don’t want to be reminded of that moment ever again. The whole run here, I’d been terrified I’d walk in and find him dead, and fighting Luther on the floor was only a step up from that.

I still can’t believe he took a bullet for me. He probably would have taken a lot more than one if Arlie wasn’t so fast and took out both Luther and the guy who shot Perry before they could react.

“What are you all doing?”

She pushes back from the desk and stands, stretching her arms out high. “Taking over. I’ve wanted Lethal Poison for the last year or two. Luther wasn’t running it right, too focused on his side hustle, and I’d learned enough to know that he’d moved into illegal substances.”

“Drugs?”