Page 118 of The House Beyond the Dunes

The machine hisses behind me. “What are you doing here?”

“Just checking in. The storm is bad.” She looks toward the oceanfront windows as lightning slices the dark sky. “I was afraid you might be scared to be alone. Are you scared?”

I feel not fear but anger. Who the hell does she think she is? “Get out of here,” I demand.

She smiles. “It’s not your house.”

“It’s not yours, either!” I shout.

“It’s more mine than it’ll ever be yours. Just like Reece belongs to me. You took Kyle, but you don’t get Reece.”

I remember how the shutter slammed so hard against the house when Reece and I were half-naked. “You slammed the shutter against the house.”

“That’s right. I saw you pawing him like a mare in heat.”

Color warms my face as I remember how much I wanted Reece in that moment. It was humiliating when he sent me away. And Devon saw it all. “Get the hell out of here, Devon.”

She shakes her head and smiles. “You’re upset. I saw how he pushed you away, and you don’t like it.”

“Leave.”

She cocks her head. “Why are we fighting, Lane? We are friends.”

I don’t respond as my fingers clench into tight fists.

“Maybe we should get in that hot tub now. I can open a bottle of wine for us.”

Is she even hearing herself? “No.”

“You should get into the hot tub. Best way to relax and ease some of the pressure on that hip. It’s got to be hurting with all the walking you’ve done today.” She motions toward the door leading to the porch. “I turned the hot tub on for you. It’s nice and warm and bubbly.”

Whatever grip she appeared to have on reality has completely slipped. “I don’t want to get into the hot tub.” When she reaches out toward me, I step back. “Get the fuck out of here, Devon!” I’m surprised by the fury that’s spilling out of me. I stagger another step and steady myself with a hand on the counter.

She puckers her lips into a pout. “It’s a miracle you haven’t had another bad fall, Lane. You’re so unsteady on your feet, sweetie.”

I shift, wince at her pathetic grin. “I’m fine.”

She shoots her arm out and tries to grab me, but misses. “It wouldn’t take much for you to slip and fall. And without your meds, I bet you’re really feeling off your game.”

I struggle to maintain my balance. “You took my pills.”

She nods. “I did.”

“And the photos on my phone?”

She looks offended. “That wasn’t me. That was Kyle when you were in the bathroom. He didn’t want any traces of you and him anywhere.”

“How do you know that?”

“Kyle is smart. He thinks about all the little details like that.”

Kyle teased that he could guess my phone password last week. He rightly assumed I’d used my birthday. “God, I fell for everything he threw at me.”

“Don’t let that trouble you one bit. Kyle was smart. There isn’t anyone who could outthink him. Now, let’s get you into the hot tub on the porch. It’ll warm you right up.”

“Why do you care about the damn hot tub?” I stumble back and bump into the counter behind me, knocking the coffee maker with my elbow. Hot coffee sloshes, burns my skin.

“It’s what you need.”

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