Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

Dimples-in-his-cheeks Devon was a killer?

“That’s ridiculous. Devon loves his sister.” I couldn’t stop myself from getting defensive.

Alec narrowed his eyes. “You’re not supposed to let them get under your skin. Not Devon or the rest of the Chambers family or any of Madison’s friends. This is a job. Don’t get emotionally invested.”

I was so tired of hearing that. I looked away, my muscles heavy and aching. “You almost sound jealous of Devon.”

“Why would I be jealous?” Alec said coldly. “Don’t ever be alone with Devon or Yates. I mean it, Tess.”

“You haven’t even told me why Devon would kill those people. He doesn’t have a motive.”

“We’ll find out, but until then, keep your guard up.”

Didn’t I always? With a tired nod, I turned and dragged myself back home. Two minutes later I arrived, just as a car turned onto the street. Linda and Ronald.

Luckily, I was able to slip inside before they noticed me. But Devon cornered me in the hallway.

“What the hell was that?” he hissed. His eyes blazed with anger and I felt a twinge of nervousness. But just as suddenly, his fury disappeared, replaced by softness and worry. “Get into your room before Mom and Dad get inside. You look like you’ve been in a fight. If they see you like that, they’ll freak out.” He shook his head. “You really owe me an explanation for this, Madison.”

That was the one thing I couldn’t give him. Not after what Alec had told me.

I raced into my room just as the front door opened. I peeled my wet clothes off and hid them in the wardrobe. I’d find a way to dispose of them tomorrow, but for now I needed sleep.

I locked the door, my fingers frozen stiff from the cold rain. Better safe than sorry.

What if Devon hadn’t been at the crime scene to look for evidence? What if Alec was right? An image of Devon’s smile, eyes alight with laughter and dimples showing, popped into my head and suddenly I felt guilty for ever buying into Alec’s suspicions. Ryan or Yates or even Phil with his freaky eyes seemed so much more likely to have killed Madison. If I could only find out why.

The next day during lunch, I strode into Yates’s classroom without knocking. He turned around, about to chide whoever barged in, but his reprimanding-teacher expression slipped when he saw it was me.

“You shouldn’t be here. If someone sees us—” he didn’t finish the sentence. He came around his desk but made no move to remove me from the room.

“You never minded in the past.”

His face twisted like he wished I would forget about it, or maybe that he hadn’t reminded me in the first place. I closed the door behind my back and leaned against it. My nerves churned like winding snakes in my stomach but I forced myself not to let it show.

“What do you want?”

“Did you know about my pregnancy?”

The color drained from his face. The backs of his legs bumped against the edge of his desk and slowly he sank down onto it. I couldn’t tell if he was shocked because of the pregnancy itself or shocked because I knew. “You . . . you’re . . . pregnant?”

Maybe I was wrong but it sounded like he’d almost said “still.”

“I was.” I softened my voice, made it hitch. “I had a miscarriage following the attack.”

Relief flashed in his eyes and he made no attempt to hide it. He didn’t say he was sorry.

“Did you know? Was that the reason for our meeting at the lake? Did you want to talk about it with me?”

He stood. “I didn’t know.”

I stared at him, wishing I could wrangle the thoughts from his mind. “I don’t believe you.”

His shoulders went slack. “I’m not lying. I—the day before our planned meeting, you mentioned you were late with your period.” He went on faster than before. “But I wasn’t worried. I thought it was normal for a girl your age. You weren’t that late, and I didn’t even know you had taken a pregnancy test.” His eyes darted around the room, he twisted his hands, and the first signs of sweat patches showed in his armpits. But it wasn’t proof of him lying. Any guy who just learned he’d impregnated his secret girlfriend would likely break out in a sweat.

“But you knew it was a possibility. It would’ve made things really complicated for you. People would’ve started wondering who the father was.”

“I don’t even know if it was mine.”

Anger surged through me. “What are you trying to say? You think I was cheating on you?”

“You cheated on Ryan. What am I supposed to think? There’s no proof.” He was right. Madison had cheated on Ryan with him but the way he tried to put the blame on his student really rubbed me the wrong way.