Page 376 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

“Before the murders.”

“Obviously.”

“No.”

Elliot forced himself to continue.

“Before Ronan.”

Ronan’s expression changed. Confusion. Then something else.

“What was he to you?”

Elliot looked away.

“A mistake.”

Ronan froze. Saint laughed softly. The flood lever moved another inch. Rebecca shouted.

“ELLIOT!”

Ronan gripped his arm.

“What kind of mistake?”

There. The answer Elliot had hidden longer than the bodies. Because murder was easier to explain than vulnerability.

“Tyler and I slept together.”

Ronan went completely still. Silence. Even Saint stopped. Elliot watched Ronan’s face. Shock first. Then jealousy. Immediate. Raw. Wrong time. Absolutely fucking wrong time. Still there.

“You fucked Tyler.”

“Once.”

“When?”

“January.”

“Before he died.”

“Yes.”

“Before us.”

“Yes.”

Ronan looked away. His jaw tightened. Elliot knew that expression. Possession. Jealousy. The same ugliness Elliot had always carried for Dylan. Saint laughed.

“There you are.”

Ronan’s head snapped toward the speaker.

“Fuck you.”

“Now you understand him.”

Elliot’s stomach turned. Saint had saved this. Not because Tyler’s murder mattered. Because the truth would hurt Ronan personally. Saint understood exactly where to cut. Ronan looked back at Elliot.