Page 25 of The Temptation of Roan Island

“Our guest is here,” he says, and I know he’s referring to the inspector. “But there’s a surprise.”

“What do you mean a surprise?” I tuck myself back into my pants and do up the clasp.

Letty runs a hand up Jafeth’s chest and hooks her fingers around the top of his vest, pulling him toward us. Or attempting to.

Jafeth laughs. “Feisty tonight, are we, sweetheart?”

“I’ve always fantasized about having two men—two handsome men, like you—pleasuring me.” She stretches between us, one hand gripping Jafeth’s vest and the other fisting my shirt.

“I don’t share.” I remove Letty’s hand.

“I do,” Jafeth smiles and winks at her. “But I’m afraid I’ll need to take a raincheck. My brother and I are called to other things at the moment.”

Letty pouts. Full of venom, eyes glassy, she pinches her exposed nipples and lays down on the bench, knees bent and pussy exposed. Her hand slides between her legs, her scent strengthening. Jafeth’s eyes go black.

But I feel nothing. Not even a twitch in my groin.

“We could be detained a few⁠—”

I grab Jafeth by the shoulders and turn him away from temptation.

“Spoilsport,” he grumbles, but leads me from the gallery to a drawing room just down the hall.

We used to play here as children, and though all the games and toys are gone, the comfortable feel of the room is not. While there is a level of opulence to most of the manor, this room speaks to normalcy. From the worn burgundy carpet, the muted, two-toned wallpaper flourished in white and gray, and the worn leather couches that face each other in front of the fire, everything about it communicates that we’re ordinary, even if it’s a lie.

Noah sits at the end of one couch, ankle crossed casually over his knee, gaze fixed on a man I recognize as Inspector Ricin, who’s taken the position across from him. Anna and Kay sit primly to the side of Noah, while Ruby stands in front of the fire, whispering to a woman I don’t recognize. With only the inspector on the furthest couch from the door, the room feels unevenly weighted in a way that sets me on edge.

Jafeth juts his chin in the direction of the unknown woman. “That’s the surprise,” he whispers. “Her name is Lucy Thaddox, and apparently she’s Ruby’s best friend.”

“How?” I ask.

“How is she here or how are they best friends?”

I scowl, but his attention isn’t on me. His eyes are pitch black, gaze locked on Lucy Thaddox.

This might be a problem.

Ruby smiles and laughs at something her friend says.

That might be a problem, too.

Ruby is moral to a fault. I’m certain she was only willing to go along with lying to law enforcement because it serves the greater good. Hammish Roan deserved to die, and none of us deserve to be punished for making sure it happened.

But will she be able to lie to her best friend?

The two women stop talking, and Ruby’s friend glances at me, then at Jafeth before turning back to Ruby. She leans forward and whispers something in Ruby’s ear, and though I can’t quite make out her words over the din of side conversations happening inside the room, a hollow pit opens in my overly full stomach.

“Is this everyone in the household?” Ricin asks, noticing that Jafeth and I have entered.

“Apart from the women you already spoke with,” Noah replies.

Zarah is absent by design. She was locked up for long enough that she slipped from New Essik consciousness. No one remembers her from the new moon parties she attended decades ago. She was introduced to the inspector earlier as our cousin who’s visiting to console us in our grief and only arrived after Hammish’s death.

After quick introductions, Inspector Ricin pokes Miss Thaddox, and she grimaces.

Jafeth tenses beside me. He’s frowning—a completely unfamiliar expression for him—his jaw working under his skin.

“The book,” the inspector whispers to Thaddox. “Give it to me.”