Page 35 of Sins of Autumn

“No,” Daniella whispered harshly, grabbing his arm. “We need to stay calm and figure out what the hell to do next.”

Ryan studied her for a moment, his lips pressing into a grim line. “Fine,” he said, his voice tight.

We continued what we were doing and I had to stop and take a minute to pull myself together.

Ryan approached from the side and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “It will be okay,” he reassured me, pressing a quick kiss to my temple.

Caught off guard, I gave him a tight smile and stepped away just as music began to play from downstairs. We shared a look between us.

“What the fuck is this?” Jason’s voice rang out.

We made our way downstairs and into the living room. I could see Jason standing near the TV, his arms crossed and his expression rife with unease.

“What’s going on?”

He pointed at the TV. “Look at this shit.”

I looked, trying to see what he wanted me to do. There was a music app pulled up. My eyes flicked down to the bottom of the playlist. The Bluetooth device connected was labeled asGabes.

He and the others trickled into the room.

“What happened now?”

“Your phone’s connected to the TV,” Ryan replied.

Gabe stepped closer. “But I don’t have my phone. I left it in the box.”

Naija stood in the doorway, damn near chewing her lip off. “Do you know how close someone has to be to connect Bluetooth like that?”

Gabe rushed forward and reached behind the flatscreen, yanking at the cord until it came free from the wall. The abrupt silence that followed was louder than any sound.

Jason was the first to speak. “Carson. He’s still close with those other guys?”

I nodded. “Practically brothers. They live together.”

Gabe frowned. “So they could be helping him?”

Naija glanced around, her eyes darting toward the covered windows. “Would they really go this far, though?”

Daniella let out a humorless laugh. “They’re all crazy in one way or another. They just hide it behind wealth, charm, and a perfect smile.”

I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. “That’s…accurate.”

Cherish looked at me, her brow furrowed. “But they all loved you, didn’t—”

Liza interrupted her. “Then this is happening because of you?”

“No, it’s not her fault.” Daniella spun toward her. “Why the hell would you say that?”

Liza raised her chin. “I can’t be the only one thinking it. There’s a severed head in the kitchen. Ahead—of a girlyouhated.”

“You hated her too. And how thefuckis that my fault? I don’t recall decapitating anyone recently.”

She kept going as if I hadn’t spoken. “Add that weird ass note to the mix, and it’s not hard to figure out. You’re here with three guys, and if the rumors about Wilder are true, everyone knows he’s obsessed with you. You could’ve warned us that he was an actual psyc—”

Cherish moved before I could intervene, shoving her backward. “Do not blame my sister for the actions of a man who can’t handle rejection.”

Liza stared at her; eyes wide. “I wasn’t blaming her—”

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