Page 54 of The Engagement Party

“It does.”

“My only request is that you don’t tell the others. Just for now.” Ruthie gestured with her free hand. Adopted a friendlyback-and-forth tone that ignored reality. “I don’t want to get into a battle with Cassie over which one of us should hold my gun. The answer is me. It doesn’t leave my side.”

“One question. Did you kill those men?”

“I already answered that. No.”

Not a violent protest. No long-winded explanation about how she couldn’t or wouldn’t. The brevity almost convinced Sierra. Except for one thing. “Was this weekend ever really about celebrating your engagement?”

Ruthie didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “That’s two questions.”

“Answer anyway. Did you bring us here for a party?”

Ruthie didn’t hesitate this time. “No.”

Chapter Forty

Alex

Fifteen minutes later they reconvened downstairs. A pile of knives and heavy house furnishings, like a decorative statue and lamps, sat on the coffee table, guarded by Alex. He didn’t trust anyone else to do it. Not even Cassie. He needed to be able to reach and throw without warning.

Everyone else stood guard at a window or door. They kept watch, blinking but not moving, waiting for the danger lurking on the other side of those walls to strike.

No one said much. Now and then one of them would throw out a question or a one-liner to stop their attention from drifting. Alex had lost his watch outside and the electricity going out meant every clock within viewing distance, most of those on kitchen appliances, blinked with the wrong time. He could check his cell phone, but he didn’t want to move for fear the shifting would set off a bomb in his head.

They hadn’t eaten or slept. He guessed it was around two or three in the morning, which meant they had hours before the sun came up and even that might not help because the storm raged on. Less intense but still hovering over the island, trapping them in their worst nightmare.

Cassie nodded to Will, leaving him as the lookout for two windows while she stepped away. She walked up to Alex and put her hand on his head. “How are you feeling?”

“Useless.” He could stand but not for a long time. The room shimmered in front of him if he lifted his head for too long. So, he sat on the couch with a knife in one hand and a load of makeshift weapons within reach.

“Maybe we should take turns sleeping.” Will made the suggestion as he glanced at the sectional.

He missed Mitch’s eye roll. “Who could sleep through this?”

“A psychopath,” Sierra said.

“Any chance you want to run through what we know again?” Alex expected Sierra to reel off the facts and get them all talking.

“No.” That was it. That was all she said.

A sense of edginess blanketed the room. For a few seconds there the idea of a policeman wandering around the island had both scared him and given him hope. Now the guy was out of commission. The only possible positive outcome was that the one officer radioed others. If the storm ever died down they might still have that chance... but they had to survive that long. And after that? Alex didn’t even want to think about what came next.

“Who did you rent the house from?” Cassie stared at Ruthie as she asked the question. “We need a name.”

“As we wait to die,” Mitch mumbled.

“Becky.” Ruthie sighed. “She’s a friend.”

Will frowned. “Wait, who?”

“A woman I know.” Ruthie stared out the window, acting as if she could hide from the questions. “She comes into the gallery.”

Alex and Cassie shared a look. Cassie’s saidI told you soandAlex thought she deserved to gloat. He tried to gather more intel this time. “Does this Becky have a last name?”

“Have you met her?” Cassie asked Will.

But Will’s focus stayed on his fiancée. “I don’t remember you talking about anyone named Becky. I thought this place belonged to a friend of your parents or something.”

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