Page 68 of Killer Honeymoon

Royce grabbed them both and pulled them deeper into the shadowy recesses of Frank’s backyard. Sawyer couldn’t even see the whites of their eyes. “Keep your voices down,” Royce said. “If we screw this up, those three will die in there. I can’t live with that on my conscience.”

“Sorry,” Evan whispered. “I was just so glad to see you guys.”

“Really?” Sawyer whispered.

“Under the circumstances? Yeah.” Sawyer couldn’t see Evan, but he heard his ragged breaths and choked sobs.

“Pull it together,” Royce said softly. “We’re going to get your friends out of this mess. Tell us why you’re here.”

“I got a text from Chrissy. She was super lovey-dovey. Chrissy wasn’t like that when things were going good between us, so I knew something was wrong if she’s sending those messages after we broke up.”

“Did you respond to her?” Sawyer asked.

“No,” Evan said. “I just had a terrible feeling and decided to check things out first.” He took another ragged breath, and Sawyer thought he might be on the verge of losing it.

“Keep it together, Evan,” Sawyer said gently. “There will be a right time to give in to the emotions riding you hard, but this isn’t it, okay?”

Sawyer couldn’t see Evan but somehow knew he was nodding.

“We will need verbal cues and confirmations,” Royce told him.

“Yeah, sorry,” Evan said. “You’re right.”

“Have you reconned the property?” Royce asked.

“Reconned? What are you, military?”

“Not now,” Royce said firmly. “Focus.”

The younger guy took a deep breath before continuing. “The curtain on the sliding glass door is parted slightly, and I could see that big guy who manages Lester’s properties. The one who wears the bold Hawaiian shirts and sandals with socks. Why does anyone wear socks with sandals?”

“Not the time for fashion policing either,” Sawyer said, though he knew Royce agreed with Evan’s opinion. “What was he doing? Did you overhear anything?”

“He was pacing back and forth, waving a shotgun around. I couldn’t see Clint, Jen, or Chrissy, but I heard them. The girls were crying, and Clint was trying to reason with the man. The more Clint talked, the madder the man became. He swung the gun around, and I assume he aimed at one of the girls or both because they s-s-screamed.”

Sawyer reached out in the direction of Evan’s voice, and his hand landed on the younger guy’s shoulder. He gave him an encouraging squeeze before dropping his hand.

“Chrissy told the guy I wouldn’t respond to the text. She said I didn’t care about her. I do care. I just didn’t know how to save them. Then you guys showed up. Did you know they were in trouble?”

“We’ll talk about that after we take down Gary and rescue your friends,” Sawyer told him.

“I hope they’ll still be my friends,” Evan said.

“Help them out of this mess, and I bet they’ll be willing to give you another chance,” Royce said.

“What does this guy want with me?” Evan asked. “I don’t understand.”

“He thinks you might know his secret,” Royce replied.

“Secret?” Evan asked. “What secret?” Then he sighed. “Never mind. You’ll explain later.”

“That’s right, kid,” Royce said. “Help us figure out a way inside.”

“With the gunman?” Evan asked.

“Would you prefer ringing the doorbell?” Sawyer countered.

“Hell no. Um, there’s an access code on the door located on the side of the garage. I remember what it is.”