Page 60 of The Engagement Party

“Wasn’t that clear?” Dylan laughed this time. A deep, grating sound without one ounce of amusement. “No, I’m not.”

Chapter Forty-Five

Sierra

Not a policeman. The three words ran through Sierra’s head nonstop. He looked like one, dressed like one, carried a gun like one, but he wasn’t. On this island, if you weren’t a killer you were prey, and nothing about this guy saidprey.

Her mind whirred back to life after that bombshell. Every nerve inside her screamed in terror. Anxiety rushed over, through, and around her, dragging her down into a sucking void.

She forced her voice to stay steady as she battled the panic that threatened to drown her. “You killed Tyler and Jake.”

“Now, now.” Dylan made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Let’s not jump ahead.”

The maniacal taunting tone of his voice promised more pain. He sounded as if he was enjoying the game he’d trapped them in. She’d always expected murderers to seethe with anger. This one was too busy toying with them to wallow in rage, setting them up to gleefully knock them down.

“What do you want?” Cassie asked.

“Don’t pretend to be clueless. It doesn’t suit you.” Dylan frowned at her. “I’m here for answers.”

Sierra used the few minutes of diverted attention to move herleg. A few inches. Nothing that would put the spotlight on her. Just enough to hide her pocket from direct view. She couldn’t move her arms much, so she leaned down and let the inside of her forearm do the work.

Push. Push.

The blade jabbed into the fleshy part of her thigh. She flinched but didn’t make a sound. One more push and the knife fell out of her pocket and onto the cushion.

Dylan’s gaze shifted and landed on her.

“Not everything is about Emily.” Alex almost shouted the comment.

His loud voice had everyone turning to him, including Dylan. “Damn right.”

Well done, counselor.That was exactly the distraction Sierra needed to grab the knife, tucking it behind her as she shifted to her original position.

“He’s here about Brendan,” Mitch said.

Dylan smiled. “Ah, I see it on your face. You finally remember.”

What the hell is this?She assumed Mitch was stalling but now she saw his expression—focused, concerned. Mitch knew this Dylan guy.

“Dylan Richter.” Mitch said the other man’s name nice and slow, almost as if he’d rolled it around in his head and found a memory. “I remember the name. Now. It didn’t register before, if I even heard you or Sierra say it back at the garage.”

Ruthie had been inching her skirt up on one side. Cassie’s arms had been tensing and relaxing, as if she’d been pulling on the binding behind her. All that movement stopped. Every gaze locked on Mitch and Dylan, waiting for them to divulge whatever recognition they had of each other that remained a mystery to the rest of them.

“That was a test. I wanted to use the real name to see if you were all still self-important assholes, too busy saving your own pathetic lives to take a minute and think about someone else’s.” Dylan shook his head in a sort ofaw shuckskind of way that came off far too light for the circumstances. “The answer? Yes.”

“It’s been a long time.” Mitch’s voice stayed calm and devoid of emotion.

Dylan clapped. He seemed to be relishing the conversation and being totally in control of it. “It’s coming back to you, isn’t it? It was nice of you to come to the funeral.”

“What funeral?” Alex asked.

“Brendan’s,” Mitch answered without breaking eye contact with Dylan. “But you weren’t there. I looked for you, trying to figure out what you looked like and expecting you to speak.”

“The police suggested I keep a low profile due to the death threats. See, telling the truth about Brendan pissed people off. And that’s what I did. Unlike all of you, I told the truth about where Brendan was when Emily died, so I had to hide. No photos or personal information about me in the news. I was referred to only as ‘the friend’ or ‘the cousin’ for my protection.”

“You challenged the findings about Brendan’s guilt and about his death,” Mitch continued, filling in the rest.

Dylan’s smile faded. “His murder.”

---