Page 300 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

Ronan swallowed.

“About people getting what they deserve.”

Elliot turned away. The words were out now. Not five murders. Not the mask. But something. A thread. Vance would pull it. Ronan knew that. Maybe Elliot did too.

“When?” she asked.

“Months ago.”

“Username?”

Ronan looked at Elliot. Elliot stared toward the window. Then he answered for himself.

“Saint.”

Ronan’s chest tightened. Vance went silent. Long enough that both brothers looked toward the phone. Then she said:

“We recovered that word from Nathan’s notebook.”

Everything stopped. Elliot turned.

“What?”

“Repeatedly.”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Ronan looked at Elliot. Saint. Nathan. The mentor. The watcher. Finally connecting. Vance continued.

“And there’s one more thing.”

Of course.

“What?” Elliot asked.

“Nathan isn’t the account holder.”

Silence. Ronan felt cold spread slowly through his body. Elliot’s voice dropped.

“How do you know?”

“Because he gave us access to his devices.”

“And?”

“The Saint account was messaging Nathan too.”

Ronan stared. Elliot stopped breathing. Vance said the words quietly.

“Whoever Saint is, he was talking to both of you.”

The room went completely still. Nathan had watched Elliot. But someone else had watched Nathan. Someone else had shaped the game. Someone else knew all five murders. And for the first time, Ronan understood that Nathan Reed might not be the monster standing at the center of this. He might only be another good boy who learned how to bite.

Chapter Twenty-Five — You Still Want Me

RONAN