Page 120 of The House Beyond the Dunes

Something deep inside me stirs, scrapes at the underside of my skin. “I saw marks on the bedposts.”

Devon’s gaze cools for a moment. “Kyle liked ropes. I told him to keep that between us, otherwise it would get him in trouble. But Jeb had just died, and Kyle couldn’t stop himself. He was so stressed, so he drove into town to that bar he liked.”

“Why do you keep his secrets?”

Devon raises her chin a notch. “He was always good to me, and I would never turn on him. I’m loyal.” Her gaze flares with renewed anger. “And none of those women matter. They are all less than nothing.”

“I care about them.”

“Who areyou?” Devon sneers. “You’re Kyle’s girlfriend who came back to his house and have been living out some kind of creepy fantasy for the last few days.”

She hauls me to my feet, and I don’t fight her. Easier to throw a swing standing. I stagger. I hear the hot tub bubbling. She wants to drown me.

“Does Reece know that you covered for Kyle?” I ask. The more I talk, the more time I buy. Detective Becker said he was close, but he didn’t say how far away. And in this weather, a few miles could make the difference.

“He thought Kyle had stopped after Zeke died. Zeke’s death hit Kyle hard.”

“But Kyle didn’t stop.”

Her brow furrows. “I shouldn’t have asked Reece to fix the carpet in the closet. I told him the stains on the wall were paint, but he knew right away Kyle hadn’t kept his promise.”

“Reece has known all along?” The realization coils in my belly.

She smiles as if she’s enjoying my shock. “Since the very beginning.”

This woman has lied about so much, but for the first time, I sense she’s being honest. I intentionally challenge her to keep talking. “I don’t believe you.”

Devon removes a gun from her pocket and points it at me. “Why would I lie?”

A chill crawls up my back as I stare into the barrel of the gun. My head spins. I blink. “Why would you be honest? It only hurts Kyle’s memory.”

Her body tilts slightly toward me. “Feels good to tell someone. It’s hard keeping all this bottled up.”

I did a prison rotation last spring, and many of the women were ready to confess sins family or law enforcement weren’t aware of. “When did Reece realize what Kyle had done? Did he help with that first girl?”

“No, he didn’t help. I think Reece was the one who let her go. He’s a soft touch, and she was tougher than anyone thought. No one ever saw her again.”

It’s common with criminals who’ve been silent for so long to open up when they’ve been discovered. For them, it’s a relief. “The girl they kidnapped and raped didn’t file charges.”

“She was smart enough to keep her mouth shut.”

Thinking about young Stevie stumbling out of the old cottage, battered and bruised, stokes fury in me. I need to squeeze every last detail out of Devon. “Did he ever wonder what happened to her?”

“Kyle never fretted much about the past. He was all about building a better life.”

And that better life involved me—a woman who looks like Nikki. “Did you tell Reece that Kyle was bringing me here?”

“I did. Didn’t think much of it at the time. Pillow talk, you know.” She frowns. “That was a mistake.”

Reece had no reason to be up here when Kyle and I arrived. “He unhooked the water pipe to the washer and flooded the house across the street. He knew you would call him to fix it. The project gave him reason to be around. He was worried about what Kyle would do.”

“Yeah, he was worried. Thought he could protect Kyle from himself.”

But what about the other women Kyle hurt? Did Reece ever consider his silence gave Kyle a license to keep hunting? “I guess that makes me lucky.”

Devon smiles. “But Reece didn’t need to be here to save you. You found it in yourself to kill Kyle, didn’t you?”

“What’s Reece going to do when he finds me drowned in the hot tub? Won’t he suspect you?” Will he continue to stay silent? Will he help bury my body?

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