Free Denying the Wrong by Evelyne Stone Page B

I'm sorry I said anything bad about Scott and I promise to just butt out. I want my best friend back.”
    Alissa looked taken aback. Her purse dropped to the floor and she pulled me in for a hug. She clung to me like her life depended on it. “I'm so sorry, my Kitty Kat. You know I love you, and I've been such a bitch.”
    The muscles holding all of my stress finally let go. From now on, I was going to keep my opinions about Scott to myself.
    ~*~
    “… you listening?”
    Dillon was sitting on my couch watching basketball. I should’ve known better than to try to talk to him while he was engrossed in a game, but I really couldn't wait any longer. These games could last hours.
    “Yeah, of course. The quarter is almost done—I'll mute it then and we can talk.” He didn't take his eyes off the screen so I took the opportunity to stick my tongue out at him.
    Ten minutes later he hit mute and turned his body to face mine. Even though I was irritated with him, I stole a kiss. As I leaned back against my side of the couch, I caught a glimpse of him adjusting himself. I knew guys were gross but when he did that, I had to force myself not to laugh.
    “Okay, now you’ve got my attention.”
    I rolled my eyes. Boys. “I promised Alissa that I would back off the Scott thing, but I can’t shake the feeling he’s bad news.” I chewed on the inside of my lip. “I think he had something to do with Kelly’s death.”
    “Let me play Devil’s advocate, Kat—don't you think if Scott was involved the police would have already picked up on it?”
    “Haven’t you seen the recent budget cuts? They’re practically running a skeleton crew, which means they’re bound to miss things in favor of getting files cleared off their desks. Besides, if he’s never done anything wrong, he wouldn't even be on their radar. But if I say anything like that to Alissa, after last time, I think I’m going to lose my best friend for good.” I tried to hide that my hands were shaking but Dillon caught me trying to hide them in my lap and enfolded them between his large palms.
    “The last thing you should be worried about is if she hates you. What if Scott gets her involved and she ends up getting hurt?” I could see a tick starting in his jaw. Finally he was realizing the gravity of the situation. “She’s my baby sister, Kat.”
    I jumped on that statement like a lifeline. “Then, maybe you should talk to her. If she blows up, she’ll get over it eventually because you’re just doing the overprotective brother thing,” I said.
    “And maybe we should just go talk to this Scott guy and tell him to—”
    “Threatening him won’t help anything. We have to prove what he’s doing.” I moved forward to try and hug him but he released my hands and threw himself back down onto the opposite end of the couch.
    “Looks like we’re right back where we started. A lot of worry and no proof. Sounds to me like we should just sit back and let them screw up their lives. They don’t need any help from us.” He grabbed the remote and turned the sound back up.
    Dillon had always had a short temper, but I couldn’t remember him ever being so callous before. “Yeah, okay.” I moved to sit on the floor, leaning up against the couch. For now, looks like I’d have to drop the issue and continue on my own.
    One very long hour later, I heard my mom’s car pull up, so I pushed off the floor. I liked unlocking the door and letting her in the moment she put her key in the door. It was a silly game, but fun watching her get frustrated. I ran up to the door and looked through the peephole to time it just right.
    Another car pulled into the spot next to hers. My mom, still wearing her work uniform, got out of her car at the same time as a man I’d never seen, wearing an expensive-looking dark suit, got out of the other. When they met at the front door, the man reached around her back and pulled her roughly into him. I unlocked the door and threw it