Shane doesn’t get to finish that sentence because Bennett’s fist connects with his jaw, knocking his ass into the table.
I grab Bennett by the shoulders and yank him back. “Cole? A little help,” I snap, watching him leaning up against the wall.
He releases a huff and pushes off the wall, yanking Shane up off the floor by the collar of his shirt. Not exactly what I meant by helping, but it’ll do.
“It makes total sense.” Shane shoves Cole away with a growl. “His name is on there and marked off ’cause we believe he’s dead, but what if he’s still alive?”
“No.” Cole speaks. “He. Is. Dead. I made sure that fucker was cold before I handed his ass over to Bennett.”
Shane runs the back of his hand over his bloody chin as he glares at Cole. “You willing to bet Austin’s life on that?” he asks.
Silence fills the small area. Bennett pulls away from me, and I cross my arms over my chest. Cole squares his shoulders and fists his hands. “I don’t care if God himself wrote us this fucking riddle. I’ve already told you if something happens to her, you’re the first one I’ll kill.”
Shane ignores him and turns to face me. “Did Kellan know Demi?”
“We all went to school together. Of course, he knew her,” I answer.
“No, I mean really knew her.” He growls. “She’s the only one on the list who doesn’t make sense.” He licks his busted lips. “Did they fuck?”
“Who didn’t Kellan fuck?” Bennett growls.
The thought of Kellan and Demi together makes my jaw tighten. I always saw Demi Holt as a good girl. A bitch, yes, but someone with very little experience in the bedroom. She never flaunted herself like her sister did. I figured she’d take a little more time to spread her legs open for a guy. And Kellan didn’t have that kind of patience. But then again, I’d never have guessed she would allow me to finger-fuck her in a haunted house either. So, what the fuck do I know when it comes to her and what she will do?
I try to think back to anything that would give away the two of them even communicating in any way. “No,” I say when I realize we already know the answer. “But I know how we can figure it out.”
“How so?” Bennett asks.
“We have Kellan’s phone …”
Bennett shakes his head. “We gave it to the police. Plus, other than the recording I wanted them to have, I wiped it clean.”
“We still have his other one. Let’s go through it.” His phone never mattered before. Austin survived. Kellan was dead, and his body was never going to be found, so we never went through it, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t keep it.
Cole finally nods. “Grab the note and let’s go.”
We lock up the cabin and get back into my SUV. As I start my car, my phone dings. It’s a new text from Austin. I open it up.
Austin: Where are you guys? His phone is still off. I’m really worried, Deke.
Me: Headed home.
I throw my car in reverse.
“Who was that?” Cole asks, staring down at my phone sitting in my lap.
“Demi.” My stomach instantly knots at the lie. And, fuck, why did I have to say her? Becky would have been a better choice. More believable.
His eyes meet mine, and I know he knows I just lied. I wait for him to call me out on it or maybe punch me in the face. Nothing would surprise me at this point. At least I didn’t think so. But then he nods his head once and looks away from me, not saying one word.
DEMI
I sit in my bath, the only light from the flickering candles lining the bathtub. I have bubbles in my water, and Austin’s journal in my hand. I haven’t been able to put this down. It’s like a dark and mysterious maze. Even though I know they end up together, I’m still trying to figure out how Cole will win her over.
He treats her like shit. Blackmail and physical harm are just a couple of things he puts her through, but she dishes it back. In a way, she’s my hero. I wish she was my sister and not Becky. Yeah, Austin gave in and had sex with Cole, but it was more than that.
She reminds me so much of myself. She feels this pull to Cole’s darkness just as I do to Deke’s. I want to see what he can do. How dark he can go. Push his limits like Austin did with Cole. And push him, she does.
She has just completed her first dare in this part. She pulled the fire alarm at school and stole Cole’s car keys out of his locker. She needed a distraction to get Bennett out of the school so he could steal Jerrold’s laptop. Eli’s brother-in-law. The man who was married to his sister. The murderer who killed her just months after Eli died in the car wreck. Deke threw her a party to celebrate it on the beach. And it reminds me of when I went there with my sister and David. The night that changed everything.