Page 24 of Deadly Sins: Lust

I followed her line of sight. It was Shawn, walking out of a florist’s shop holding a sack of arranged flowers in his hands. He saw us and ducked his head behind the sack, hoping we wouldn’t see him.

I cupped a hand over my mouth and yelled, “Shawn.”

He buried his chin into his chest and stuck his hand inside his pocket, fumbling around a moment before pulling out a set of keys. Then he took off in the opposite direction. He was fast, but not fast enough.

“Shawn, wait,” I said. “Hang on a minute.”

He turned. “Stop following me, or I’ll have you arrested too.”

“Why didn’t you already?”

“James said you wouldn’t be a problem, and yet, here you both are ... again.”

I raised my tea container and thumbed at Maddie’s coffee. “We’renotfollowing you.”

“You just did. But, hey, there are a lot of people around today, so whatever you’re thinking of doing this time, you can’t.”

“I don’t think you had anything to do with Marissa’s death.”

He laughed. “I don’t care what you think.”

“Can I show you something?”

“No.”

“Do you think what happened was an accident?”

“It doesn’t matter. The police are dealing with it now.”

“Why did you run when we came to your hotel room?” I asked.

“Because every time I see that guy, he goes off half—cocked.”

“Nick?”

“Asshole came over to my house one night after he started dating Marissa and dislocated my jaw with his fist.”

“I ... I had no idea.”

I’d known Nick for a long time, and Shawn was right—at times, Nick’s temper flared, but the man I knew wasn’t physically violent.

“He was sure I’d been harassing her and wouldn’t believe any different,” he said,

“Weren’t you, harassing her, though?”

He laughed. “The things you do for your friends.”

“What doesthatmean?”

“Nothin’, okay? Forget I said it.”

“The night of Marissa’s death, Layla made a comment about a secret Marissa was keeping from Nick. Any idea what she was talking about?”

“Well, now, I just might. But even if I did, it isn’t my secret to tell.”

“She’s dead,” I said. “It no longer matters.”

“You’d think. It’s a bit more complicated than you realize.”