Page 109 of Noctis

“You don’t need to be.”

“No?”

I shook my head.

He stared at me for a moment, then nodded. Pushing his chair back, he stood. “Just going to take a piss. Coffee goes straight through me.”

His footsteps stopped in the hallway, a telltale rustling of bags revealing that his announcement had either been a ruse or he’d taken a detour. Sliding my hand into my pocket, I felt for the ring. Then I took a deep breath, stood, and stepped out into the hallway.

Tyler was bent over, going through the contents of the bag I’d filled from the broken box. Interesting that he’d known precisely where to look.

I balanced the ring on my outstretched palm and held it out toward him. “Are you looking for this?”

Chapter Thirty-five

Rowan

Tyler was slow to rise and even slower to turn, as if he’d have preferred never to complete the movement. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t put off facing me forever.

“I don’t know what that is.”

“You don’t?” It was my voice, and yet, it wasn’t. It sounded distant and hollow, as though the words were coming from somewhere outside my body. “It’s my mother’s wedding ring. The one she was wearing when she died. The one that was no longer on her finger when they pulled her body out of the river. There were theories it came off in the water, but fingers swell rather than shrink, so that never really made sense.”

Tyler gave a slow nod. “I’m glad the police found it and returned it to you.”

The ice encasing my body began to melt beneath the heat of his blatant lies. “Don’t play that game,” I said.

“What game?”

“The game where you pretend you know nothing about it. You know full well I found this in a box containing your stuff. That’s what you were just looking for, right?”

Tyler gave a little laugh. “Of course not.”

I raised my chin an inch. “So, what were you looking for?”

“Something else.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Very convincing.”

Tyler shook his head. “How would your mother’s wedding ring have come into my possession? Have you listened to yourself, Rowan? I know stress has had you gradually losing it for a while, but there’s only so much people are prepared to tolerate. Maybe it’s time to reassess a few things. Another spell in rehab, perhaps.”

“I haven’t had a drink or taken any drugs for a while.”

“You would say that. That’s what all addicts say.”

I forced myself to breathe slowly. Tyler wanted to steer me into an argument about my dependencies, because while we did that, we weren’t talking about the ring.

“Where did you get the ring?” I repeated.

Tyler turned on his heel and headed back to the kitchen. “This conversation is ridiculous.”

I followed him. “Where did you get the ring, Tyler?”

He spun around to face me, hands braced against the kitchen counter. “You sound like a broken record.”

“I’m going to keep asking until you answer me. I need to know what happened.”

“What happened?” His voice rose. “You think I had something to do with her death? You think I’m capable of murdering someone?”