Page 37 of Ranger Devotion

Annie gasped, as if he’d shocked her. She placed a hand on Caleb’s arm in solidarity. His face turned red, and it was likely Annie’s show of support was the only thing keeping him in place.

Now Tate bore down on Caleb. “How did she do it, Caleb? You had a full-ride scholarship to college. You knew the risks. How on earth did Kayla convince you to let Preston cheat?”

“That’s ancient history and has nothing to do with this.”

“Oh, I think it might have everything to do with this. I think you cared about Kayla, and she suckered you into cheating. She was good at that. Manipulating people. And when you got caught, she and Preston let you take the fall. You lost your scholarship and the opportunity to go to college. Then, adding insult to injury, Kayla starts dating your friend, Seth. Your good friend.” Tate took a stab in the dark. “That’s why you weren’t at the bonfire, isn’t it? You couldn’t stand to see the two of them together. Is that when you started to see Kayla for who she really was? Was that when you started to understand what she’d done to you?”

Caleb didn’t answer. A muscle in his jaw worked.

“Then Seth died. And once again, Preston and Kayla walked away scot-free. They built careers, became rich and successful. Meanwhile, you were left here, in this one-horse town. Left to scrape out a life for yourself.” Tate let the silence stretch. “It must’ve burned to see them together again at the s’mores event. Laughing and joking, as if nothing had changed.”

Tate locked eyes with Caleb and stepped closer, nearly nudging Annie out of the way. “Maybe you wanted revenge for what they did to you. To Seth. No one could blame you for that.”

“Get out of my face.” He bit out the words. From the glint in his eyes, Caleb was one second from punching Tate. He had a temper, but he knew how to keep a handle on it when he wanted to.

“Enough, Tate.”

Annie wedged herself between them, pushing Tate back. He made a show of letting her, and then leaned against the pool table, crossing his arms.

She faced Caleb. “If you want to share your side of things, then tell me. I’ll make sure you don’t get railroaded for something you didn’t do.” She glared over her shoulder at Tate for good measure before focusing back on her old friend. “Kayla was my friend too, and I loved her, but she could be manipulative. Convincing you to cheat on the exam was horrible. I wouldn’t blame you for being mad at her.”

Caleb glared at the floor, and for a moment, Tate thought he wouldn’t answer. But then he sucked in a breath and shook his head. “I never blamed her for what happened. Preston played her, just like he plays everyone.” He stepped back and shoved a hand through his shaggy hair. It stuck up in spikes. “He had photos of her. Embarrassing ones. He threatened to put them online if she didn’t convince me to help him. Kayla did what she had to. So did I.”

Annie’s expression softened. “You protected her.”

Caleb nodded. “I made Preston delete the pictures in front of her before the exam. After we got caught cheating, Kayla apologized. She felt terrible.”

Not terrible enough to go to the principal or the scholarship committee and explain what happened. But Tate kept that to himself. Instead, he said, “And yet, after all that, she went back to him. Again and again. Used Seth to make him jealous.”

“Kayla loved him. She deserved better, but she never believed it.” He lifted his gaze to meet Tate’s. “I wouldn’t have hurt Kayla. I cared about her. Preston on the other hand…yeah, if he was on fire I wouldn’t walk one step to grab a hose to put him out. I’m glad he’s scared.”

Tate believed him. He decided it was time to show his cards. “Preston and Kayla had a toxic relationship, but I don’t believe he killed her. This is about Seth, Caleb. Whoever is behind this wants revenge. It’s either someone in our group, or it’s someone in Seth’s family.”

Caleb’s eyes widened. Something had clicked.

“Who loved Seth enough to kill for him?” Tate demanded.

“I’m not helping you pin this on someone else.” Caleb turned and started for the door.

Annie beat him to the door, blocking his path. “Are you really going to let Kayla’s killer walk free? If you know something, Caleb, now is the time to share it. Before someone else dies.”

He wrestled with it, and then sighed. “Seth’s brother, Marcus, was special ops. Serious stuff. That’s why he didn’t visit often, but he and Seth would talk as much as possible. Seth adored his older brother. Looked up to him, and from the stories Seth shared, Marcus was fiercely protective.”

Now they were getting somewhere. A special ops-trained soldier would explain the skill Tate’s attacker used in the cabin. Additionally, Marcus could be hiding on the property. In an unused cabin—so far they only had Dwayne’s word that he’d cleared them, and right now, Tate didn’t know if the property manager was trustworthy. There was even the old barn. The structure didn’t have heat, but a soldier like Marcus had the conditioning and the know-how to survive in extreme weather.

“Do you know where Marcus lives?” Annie pressed. “Or how to contact him?”

“No. The last time I saw him was about five years ago. He popped up out of nowhere and asked me a bunch of questions about Kayla, Preston, and Seth. About the bonfire and what happened. I explained that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, and he seemed to accept that. I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Do you know if he spoke to anyone else in the group?”

Caleb hesitated. “Talk to Evan.”

Tate stiffened.

Annie stood stunned. Caleb darted for the exit.

The click of the door closing behind him was shockingly loud in the silence.