Page 119 of The House Beyond the Dunes

Devon moves toward me. I hobble from the kitchen toward the front door. I don’t have shoes, my hip is on fire, and I’m barely dressed. But I don’t care. I just need to get out of this house and away from her. I’ve reached the door when fingers tangle in my hair and pull me backward. My neck cranes, my scalp burns as the hair strains against the pressure. I stagger backward and fall to the floor. I cry out in pain.

She straddles me and shoves me back as I struggle to sit up. “Poor Lane. Too tired to fight.”

“Get the hell off me!” I scream.

Devon presses her hands against my shoulders. “I can’t wait to watch you drown in that water.”

I blink, struggling to keep my eyes open and praying the adrenaline dumping into my system is enough to keep me awake. “Why are you doing this?”

Devon laughs, but there’s no hint of humor. “Because you ruined everything.Everything.Kyle would still be alive now if it wasn’t for you.”

“It was an accident.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Her face is next to mine, and I can smell beer on her breath. “You pushed him.”

“I did not.”

“I’d let myself into the house because I was curious about you. I heard you two fighting, and I saw you both at the top of the stairs. I watched you push him.”

Devon had been in the house watching Kyle and me. Tension tightens in my belly. “Why were you here?”

“Kyle told me he’d found a special woman from the old days. That he was bringing you back here. I wanted to see you.”

“What does that mean,the old days?” I need to keep talking until I can get to my feet.

“I don’t know. But Kyle said you were special. When Kyle says a woman is special, all kinds of things happen.”

The ropes. The bed. “What things?”

She smiles. “You know. You saw the chair. And I know you went back to the house.” Her smile widens. “Nikki was special.”

“Nikki.” Stevie’s friend.

“Yep.” Her eyes narrow as she grabs the sides of my face with her hands. “I still can’t figure out how you knew about Nikki. Did she find you after she got away?”

“Nikki escaped?”

Devon ignores my question. She grips my hair tighter, pulls my head back, and exposes my neck. “How did you know about Nikki?”

I refuse to give her an answer. “What did you do to Nikki?”

“I didn’t do anything. But Kyle ... he’d have done more if he had his way.”

“The closet.” The faded rusty stains under the new patch of carpet.

“Boy, you have been busy,” she says.

My scalp burns as Devon twists her hands. “Did Kyle and Jeb rape Stevie?”

“Aren’t you a smart one.”

“What did they do to Stevie when she was just a kid?”

“Kyle and Jeb took her up to the woodland house, but she got away. Jeb was so mad he found another girl. He didn’t bring her up here where it’s safe, but he did rape that other girl in town. And he got caught. Kyle was so pissed. He was afraid Jeb’s foolishness would circle back to him, and he’d lose his scholarship.”

As I stare into her eyes, fear, rage, and fury collide inside me. “Jeb confessed to the second crime to protect Kyle.”

“Jeb idolized Kyle. None of us wanted to ruin Kyle’s future, including Jeb.”

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