“Yeah, but they still built their own little website and knew who to send the message to and when. Think about it. We got no reactions from the patio when the first text went out. Only a few of us on the front of the house received that.”
I took a swig of my beer. He had a point. We would’ve arrived to a flurry of speculation if anyone back there had gotten the same text.
“You’re close with KC, right?”
I inclined my head. “Sure.”
He nodded too. “I want you and him to take on Shay and Nora. Kingsley, River, and I will handle Tate, Macklin, and possibly Lane.”
“You suspect him?” Colt asked.
“I don’t know yet.” Reese ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe it’s more possible guilt by association. He’s tight with both Nora and Shay.” He paused. “Jack’s not a bad guess either. We have to consider the possibility of players switching sides for the fun of it. We’re opportunists and reaction whores, the whole lot of us.”
I’d drink to that. But Christ. Pointing out possible suspects on our side was a whole other can of worms.
I took another swig, thinking about it.
Who could?—
No.
Whowould…
The three of us sat there in silence, probably thinking the same thing.
Which one—or several—of us, in our friendly, sadistic group of buddies, would fuck over the rest for a laugh?
Colt made a face. “You reckon Kingsley could…? I’m just thinkin’—their whole dynamic. Kingsley, Tate, Jack, and Franklin, getting drunk during a couples’ dinner, Tate probably has an idea, a few more glasses of wine, and then Jack thinks it’s funny as hell, and once Franklin’s on board, Kingsley folds.”
Reese hesitated at first, but he couldn’t deny it either. It could happen. The problem was, that could be all of us. Pulling a prank on everyone like that? It wouldn’t be the craziest thing that’d happened out here. Hell, I could picture the Tenleys doing it any day of the week.
“Maybe we should start by ruling out people,” I suggested. “For instance, Lucian—never in a million years.”
“Agreed,” Reese said. “Lucian and Cam. And I sincerely doubt this is somethin’ KC and Noa would cook up on their own.”
“I reckon we can rule out Greer and his family too,” Colt added. “It just wouldn’t be their thing. Besides, when they’re home, they’re surrounded by two hundred young’uns.”
Kids did tend to get in the way of things. I could confirm.
I checked my watch. As fun as this was—and boy, fucking was it—Nate and I needed to step on it. Even though we didn’t have a specific time we had to be home, we had a lot to do before we left.
All the founding members flitted by in my head, their grins, their smirks, memories I had from events, barbecues…
“I gotta get going, my friends,” I said reluctantly. “Set up a chat for us, and I’ll interrogate whoever youse want. But I don’t think we can interrogate one of our own. We’d have to find out who it might be some other way.”
Reese hummed. “What about Ty? You know him best, Carter.”
Colt scratched his forehead. “Does it fit the devil he has on his shoulder? Absolutely. But he wouldn’t go after everyone like that. He’d target me or…you know, a select few. He and Lane stick to the background.”
I chugged half my beer before I set it on the counter.
I’d leave them with my final thoughts.
“On the off chance we have a Sadist teaming up with a few masos…” I stifled a belch in my fist. “Ask yourselves who we’ve thrown into the pool. Whose head we’ve patted. Who we’ve teased. Who we treat like a baby sister.”
Reese blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his mouth.
“She fuckin’ wouldn’t,” Colt stated.
