Page 40 of Killer Honeymoon

“What took you so damn long?” Clint asked once Sawyer opened it.

Sawyer stepped back and moved to shut the door, but Clint reached out before the door could latch.

“I’m sorry, man,” Clint said. “They’re freaking out.” He darted his eyes toward the ladies on his right, who glared up at him.

“Yeah,” Jen said, “we were the ones who screamed bloody murder when the tree crashed down in the backyard.”

“Fine,” Clint said. “We’re all out of our element here and really freaked out. Can we please come in?”

Royce and Sawyer stepped aside and let them pass.

“Thank you,” Jen said with a sigh.

“Where’s the other one?” Sawyer asked.

Chrissy and Jen exchanged uncertain glances while Clint gazed around the house.

“He left,” Chrissy finally said.

“The island?” Royce asked. If he’d left his friends stranded, he was an even bigger dick than they realized.

“No,” Chrissy replied. “We had a fight.”

“And broke up,” Jen added.

“Yeah,” Chrissy said. “But that wasn’t why Evan left. He received a phone call that made him furious. Evan took off in a drunken rage toward town and hasn’t returned.”

Alarm bells went off in Royce’s head. The kid had been a powder keg ready to explode. It wouldn’t have taken much to set him off. “Did he say where he was going? Or who he planned to confront?”

The ladies exchanged nervous glances again, then shook their heads.

“We tried to stop him,” Chrissy said.

“From doing what?” Sawyer asked.

“Why all the questions?” Clint countered, stopping his perusal to join the conversation. “And why do you care where Evan is?”

“We’d have to be monsters not to care about someone being stranded in this weather,” Sawyer said. A loud clap of thunder rumbled through the house to emphasize his point.

Clint nearly jumped out of his skin and moved closer to Jen, who wrapped an arm around him. “Christ, that’s loud.”

“Come on,” Sawyer said, gesturing to the kitchen table. “Why don’t we distract ourselves with a game.”

“The drinking kind?” Clint asked hopefully. “Cause I’m suddenly as sober as a judge, and I don’t particularly care for it.”

Multiple lightning bolts lit up the sky in quick succession, followed by rumbling thunder.

“No alcohol,” Royce replied. “We need level heads. Board games or card games? We’ll let the ladies choose.” Clint assumed an expression that said no one had ever told him he couldn’t go first. “You might want to adopt a ladies-first attitude, kid,” Royce said. “It’ll get you much further in life.”

Chrissy and Jen giggled until Clint scowled at them.

“What are our options?” Chrissy asked.

Sawyer walked over to the hutch and opened the doors. There was a shocking number of board games, ranging from Chutes and Ladders to Clue. Sawyer pulled out a basket off the top shelf and peered into it. “We have several card games to choose from too. There’s Uno, Old Maid, and regular playing cards.”

“How about poker?” Jen asked.

“Oh yeah,” Clint said, rubbing his hands together. “Now we’re talking.”