Page 56 of Deceit & Desire

He didn’t respond right away, his expression unreadable. Finally, he sat back, exhaling slowly. “And you’ve been sitting on this for ten years? Letting the official suicide by hanging story stand while knowing damn well there was more to it?”

“Yes,” I said simply. “Because it didn’t matter. Missy’s death was ruled a suicide, and telling anyone about that fight wouldn’t have brought her back. All it would’ve done is drag Roman and me through the mud.”

Landon tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Or maybe you kept quiet because you were afraid of what people might think. That they’d look at you, at your history with Missy, and decide you had a motive for killing her, after all.”

My jaw tightened, but I didn’t rise to the bait. “I didn’t kill her, Landon. You already have my price for telling you this. Now it’s your turn to hold up your end of the deal.”

For a long moment, he didn’t speak. The weight of his scrutiny bore down on me, every second stretching longer than the last. Finally, he nodded.

“Roman’s free,” he said quietly. “For now. But if I find out you’re holding back on me—about this or anything else—there won’t be any deals next time.”

I nodded, folded my hands on the cold metal table, and stared down at them, debating whether or not to tell him about Roman following me to the creek after my fight with Missy.

Landon hadn’t moved, his eyes still fixed on me, unrelenting. I hated that we’d gone to school together. He was watching me like a hawk, and he knew me too well. Despite all my time in Miami as a high-powered businesswoman with a hell of a poker face, I was afraid he’d see through me.

“You’re holding something back,” he said, his tone quiet but firm. “You’re trying to convince me you and Roman had nothing to do with Missy’s death, but there’s more to the story. Isn’t there?”

I hesitated, the weight of my past decisions pressing down on me like a lead blanket. I had already started peeling back the layers of this tangled mess; what was one more? I took a steadying breath and gripped the edge of the table, grounding myself.

“Roman told me he was using Missy,” I said, my voice quiet but deliberate. “To make me jealous.”

Landon’s brow furrowed, his focus sharpening like a hawk’s. “Convenient explanation. And she went along with that?”

I shook my head, bitterness rising like bile in my throat. “No, it wasn’t just that. She told him she was using him, too.”

Landon blinked, his expression shifting to one of cautious curiosity. “Using him for what?”

“She wouldn’t say,” I admitted. “She was cryptic about it. Roman thought it was some game, like she just didn’t want to let him go because she liked winning, liked having the upper hand for once. She was trying to make someone jealous, but she wouldn’t tell him who.”

“Someone?” Landon pressed. “Did Roman have any idea who she might’ve been trying to get a rise out of?”

I shook my head again, frustration boiling beneath the surface. “No. She didn’t tell him anything concrete, just that she had her reasons. When he tried to break it off with her days before she died, she shut him down. She said he wasn’t finished being useful to her yet.”

Landon’s lips thinned, his eyes narrowing. “And Roman didn’t think to press her harder on that?”

“He tried,” I shot back. “But she refused to give him anything. Roman assumed it was just another power play—her way of keeping control. He didn’t think it mattered because he didn’t want to be part of her games anymore.”

Landon studied me for a long moment, the tension in his silence suffocating. “And where does the kiss fit into all this? The one that started the fight in the first place?”

“It was about making me jealous,” I said bitterly. “But it was about making whoever she was after jealous, too. That’s why they did it in front of everyone.”

Landon tilted his head slightly, his gaze unrelenting. “And Roman went along with it?”

“He regrets it,” I said firmly. “He told me as much the day she died. After I stormed off, he followed me all the way down to the creek behind the barn and told me everything. He said he was in love with me, not Missy. That he was sorry for what he’d done. He said he was sorry for playing stupid games, trying to get me to show him if I cared about him or not, if I wanted him or not.”

“And how did you react to that?” Landon asked, his tone even but his eyes sharp.

I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in the sterile room. “I didn’t believe him. I thought he was just trying to play me like a fiddle, or maybe get back in my good graces just in case Missy decided she was done with him. I didn’t want to be a second choice, and I didn’t want to have to worry about my best friend waltzing in and snatching the guy I wanted out from under me for her own amusement. I told him I never wanted to see him again. That I was leaving for Miami and not coming back.”

“And after that?”

“I left,” I said simply. “Roman stayed by the creek for a while, and then he went back to the ranch. Missy was still alive when I left. I didn’t see her again after the barn.”

“And you’re certain Roman didn’t go back to her after you left?” Landon pressed.

I met his gaze, unflinching. “I’m certain. He couldn’t have killed her. He was too busy having his heart crushed by me.”

Landon leaned back, his arms crossing over his chest as he processed what I’d said. The silence between us stretched, heavy and oppressive.

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