Page 218 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

For several seconds, Ronan believed that could fix something. Not everything. Something. Then Elliot’s phone vibrated between them. Both froze. Unknown number. Ronan felt Elliot’s entire body stiffen beneath his hand.

“Don’t open it.”

Elliot looked at him.

“We have to.”

“No. Vance said screenshot.”

“We can’t screenshot without seeing it.”

“Fair.”

Elliot opened the message. One photograph. A wooded area. Dark. Flash illuminating wet leaves and the base of an enormous tree. Something black hung from a low branch. Fabric. Ronan leaned closer. A jacket. Dylan’s. He recognized the white stripe along the sleeve. Another message arrived beneath the image. You keep asking the wrong question. Elliot’s breathing stopped. Ronan read it again. Then another. Stop asking where your brother was. A third message. Ask where I was. Ronan stared. The room disappeared around the words. Not Elliot. Someone else. Someone watching. Someone who had been at Mason’s murder. Someone who knew where Dylan’s jacket was. Ronan looked at Elliot. For the first time in days, suspicion shifted completely away from him.

“This isn’t you.”

Elliot stared.

“What?”

Ronan grabbed the phone.

“This person is telling me they were there.”

Elliot’s face remained pale.

“They want you to think that.”

“Maybe.”

“They could be lying.”

“Maybe.”

Ronan looked at him.

“But they’re admitting knowledge nobody else has.”

Elliot said nothing. Ronan felt relief move through him. Sickeningly powerful. He hated himself for needing it.

“Elliot.”

“What?”

“I believe you.”

His expression changed. Not relief. Something stranger. Pain. Ronan frowned.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Fuck that word.”

Elliot looked away. Then his phone vibrated again. No photograph this time. Only coordinates. Ronan’s stomach dropped. A location pin loaded. Woods outside Bellweather. Northwest. Several miles beyond campus. Ronan looked at Elliot. Elliot looked at him. Dylan’s jacket was somewhere out there. And maybe Dylan was too.

Chapter Eighteen — Tell Me You Didn’t