Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

He ran his finger over the crease in his pants. “So you really don’t remember anything?” I detected a hint of relief in his voice.

“No. Now stop avoiding my question.”

“We were supposed to meet that day,” he said slowly.

“Before or after the time of the attack?”

“I-I’m not sure. I was late because my wife and I had a fight and when I arrived at the lake, I didn’t see you anywhere. I thought you’d left. If I’d known you were there waiting for me . . .” He trailed off and inched toward me.

Wife? I leaned on the armrest to put more space between our bodies. “Did you see anyone?”

“It was a misty day. Not many people were around.”

“Was there a reason for our meeting? I mean, it was pretty cold for a date at the lake.”

Red crawled up his neck. “Why are you asking all these questions? I feel like you’re interrogating me. Do you think I’m the one who attacked you?” He let out a laugh but it sounded forced.

I shrugged. “It would be bad if people found out about us.”

Something flickered in his eyes—anger or fear. He put his hand on my knee. “Maddy, maybe we should just forget what happened.”

Next to the couch there was an end table, with various photos on it. Framed in sterling silver, Yates posed with a tall, curly-haired woman. They looked happy.

I jerked away from him and stood up, causing his hand to slide off my leg. “Is that your wife?”

He buried his face in his hands and let out a sigh before he spoke. “Yes.”

“Did I know about her?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t get it. How could Madison have had an affair with him? It was one thing to date your own teacher but a whole different thing to date a teacher who had a wife. Hypocritical much? I preferred to forget Kate, too, whenever Alec was close. That was different, though . . .right?

“My wife and I married too young. We care about each other, but we were never a good match. We have an estranged relationship. We barely talk anymore.”

I didn’t sit down again and Yates didn’t try to make me. From the corner of my eye, I kept track of his movements while I tried to catch a glimpse of Alec outside. “What happened between us?”

Yates pressed his head against the backrest, his eyes darting around the room. “I don’t think—”

“Just tell me.”

“It . . . it started four months ago.” Four months? Madison had broken up with Ryan only two months ago. Six weeks before the murderer had attacked her.

“You were one of the few students who showed genuine interest in my class and we often talked afterward about the books we’d covered.”

I couldn’t look away from the smiling photo showing him with his arm around his wife’s shoulder. When was that picture taken? Had his smile been fake?

A question rose up in my throat but wouldn’t make it past my lips. It seemed glued to my tongue. I knew I had to ask. I swallowed my reluctance. “Did we . . . did we sleep together?”

He hesitated. Was he thinking about lying? It was too late for that. His hesitance was all the answer I needed.

“We did,” I said, leaving no room for protest. Madison was eighteen—my age—and yet she was so much more experienced. I hadn’t even kissed anyone yet and she’d already slept with this man and probably with Ryan too.

He jumped up, alarm on his face. “No—I mean, we did, but it’s not like that. You were okay with it. You wanted to, I didn’t pressure you. I wasn’t your first either.”

So she had slept with Ryan at least. Finally I was getting the information that might help me solve this case. More questions crowded my mind, trying to burst my skull. “And is that why we were meeting on the day of my attack? To have sex at the lake?”

He pressed his hands flat against his body but they were still shaking. “No, we were meeting because you wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, avoiding my eyes.

He reached for my hands but I stepped back. I didn’t want him to touch me, didn’t even want him to stand that close.

“What do you want to do now?” Strain lined the edges of his eyes. They weren’t as soft as moments before. He gripped my hands. This time I wasn’t fast enough to pull away. “You can’t tell anyone, Madison. I could lose my job. It’s against the school code.”

His grip tightened, becoming uncomfortable. His face was on the verge of despair. “This isn’t a game. We were both invested, you know that.”

I shook him off, keeping my eyes glued to him as I edged backward out of the living room. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul.”