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Did he—oh God, could he—was Kyle…

Her hands shook so badly, she barely managed to lift the cold, heavy metal.

Put it back. Don’t let him know you snooped.

But she had no choice. She couldn’t keep quiet.

Her brother had cherished this watch. He’d never part with it. The guy loved his material possessions, and this one was one of a kind. With only one thousand watches made each year, the Swiss manufacturer outfitted the wrists of world leaders, Hollywood icons, and old money. If Oliver had Kyle’s watch—

Was her little brother dead? Was this whole thing—the house, Kyle’s supposed new wife—some sort of pathetic joke to torture her?

She hurled open the door to Oliver’s room, a howl tearing from her throat. The door cracked against the wall.

Oliver jerked upright in a nest of tangled sheets. Sleep thickened his voice. “What the hell, Yarrow?”

Marching toward him, she shook her brother’s watch in the air. “Is this some sort of disgusting trophy? You live in this dark house and stare at the watch of the man you killed?”

Snapping aside his blankets, he leaped from the bed and snatched the cold metal from her in a move so fast, she only had enough time to let go. Furious and completely naked, Oliver now towered over her. “Where the hell did you get this?”

Maybe confronting him was a bad idea. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Your office.”

That scarred brow lifted. “You trying to steal from me?”

“I didn’t steal it. It’s Kyle’s. It’s my brother’s, and you have it, and he’s gone and his watch is in your nightstand. Did you kill him?”

He gripped the watch hard enough to make his knuckles stand out white in the darkness.

“Let me get this straight…” His low, lethal voice made the fine hairs on the back of her neck lift. “You think I killed your brother? You found what you think is your brother’s watch in my desk and are now confronting me with the evidence that he’s dead? Me, the man you think killed him? And you’re doing so alone? In this house, where no one can hear you scream?” His nostrils flared. “Do you have any idea how stupid that is?”

Okay, when he phrased it that way, it did sound stupid.

He could kill her. But she hadn’t been thinking. Finally, after months of searching, she’d found the first tangible link to her brother.

“It’s his watch. You have it.”

Oliver rolled his eyes upward, as though he couldn’t believe the situation. “It’s not Yarrow’s watch. It’s my watch.”

Now he was gaslighting her? “It’s Kyle’s. A gift from his girlfriend. Do you know how unique these watches are?”

“Yes. I do. Because it’s my watch. After the accident, it disappeared. I had it on my wrist. Then it was gone. Yarrow took it. My brothers and I have been looking for it ever since. When some guy tried to pawn it, the pawnshop owner called the cops. The guy attempting to sell it swore it wasn’t his. That he won it at a poker game. From Kyle Yarrow.”

“You’re lying. You wouldn’t have gone jogging with something this expensive.”

“Halfway into my run, I realized I forgot to take it off. That’s why I remember having it on that night. Here.” He extended the watch to her.

Careful, as though it were some sort of trick, she accepted the offering. The metal still held the heat of him.

“Flip it. It’s engraved.”

Turning over the watch, she read the engraving. “Proud of you, Oliver. Love, Mom and Dad.”

Realization settled over her like cold water. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t draw in enough air.

Oliver continued as if her world hadn’t just shattered. “My parents gave it to me when I got my PhD.”

She ran her thumb over the neat letters. “My brother stole this from you.”

“Yes.”