Secrets We Keep (Thistle Cove 1)

“You know,” Ozzy says, “she got really upset when you said that about older men.”

Finn nods. “Maybe she knows more about what Rose was doing than she’s admitted. It’s not like it would be a surprise if she did know. Juliette would keep Rose’s secrets.”

“Those two did everything together,” Ozzy says. “Maybe Juliette had a SugarBabies account, too.” He grimaces. “I need to get into her account.”

“You can’t hack it?” Ezra asks.

“Maybe, but now that I told the police that I did it once, I’m afraid if they catch me poking around illegally, they’ll have no problem pressing charges.”

Finn frowns. “So we need one of her devices.”

“They never found her phone, and I think the police took her laptop.” I say.

“Rose’s parents were pretty lenient with rules, but the one thing her dad hated was electronics. He was a big believer in family time and undistracted homework,” Finn says. “He’d take the phone and laptop away from her before dinner and didn’t give it back until she finished her homework. If her grades slipped, she lost privileges completely.”

“What are you saying?” I ask Finn.

“Rose was addicted to texting and social media. Her dad may have thought he had this under control. but he didn’t.”

“She had hidden devices,” Ozzy says, eyes brightening. “Like what? A phone?”

“iPod. Phone. Tablet. Whenever they upgraded, she hid the old one until her parents forgot about it.”

Ezra’s been listening, arms crossed over his barrel-sized chest. “We just need to get into her bedroom and find them. Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” Finn says, “I’ve snuck in her bedroom window a few times.”

A pang of jealously flares in my chest. Even now, I hate the thought of him with her. I shake it off and say, “The Wallers have a fundraiser at the library tomorrow night. I saw the banner when we were in town today.”

Ozzy nods and asks Finn. “You up for it?”

“Yep, I think so.”

“Good,” he says. “Get that device, and I can get into her accounts. That way we can find out more about who she was meeting and what Juliette knows about it.”

I feel a thrill of excitement, knowing the four of us have a plan together, but something else has happened during this conversation. A plan of my own has started to formulate. Something that doesn’t require the guys, but someone else. I’m going to need Alice.

28

Kenley

The party winds down and Ozzy and Finn head downstairs to the game room to play pool. They ask me to come with them, but I wave them on, happy to see them reconnecting. That’s how I find myself in the kitchen, collecting cups and cleaning up.

“We have a housekeeper that does that,” Ezra says from the kitchen door. He leans against the counter, hands tucked into his pockets. It feels stupid to say he looks dangerous—but he does. I’m not sure if it’s the hooded eyes or the fact he’s so comfortable in his skin. Something I’m definitely not.

“Tell me you’re not really going to leave this mess for someone else to clean up.”

“I thought we agreed to be honest.”

He’s referring to the conversation in the cottage. “That was about Rose, not the fact you’re a dick to your employees.”

A smile tugs at his perpetually pouty lips and his dark eyes watch me closely. “You’re feistier than I expected, Keene, at least when you stop hiding long enough to show it.”

I turn on the sink and rinse out a stack of cups. They reek of alcohol and punch. “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Actually, yeah.”

I roll my eyes and focus on cleaning up. The hair on my neck stands on end as I feel Ezra still watching me. A strange sensation rolls over me. I glance at him and frown.