Simon Says Die

RIDE BACK to Pierce’s house was taut with silence. Madison kept waiting for him to demand that she tell him why she’d lied. But just like their earlier car ride from Mr. Newsome’s house, he was completely silent.
    As soon as he opened the front door of the cabin, she tried to rush past him, fully intending to spend the rest of the evening in the bedroom, hiding like the coward she’d just discovered she was.
    But his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, preventing her escape. She glanced up at him uncertainly, but he wasn’t looking at her. He disabled the alarm, locked the door, then reset the alarm, before turning and giving her his full attention.
    His jaw muscles were tight, and he looked more serious than she’d ever seen him. Calm, too calm, like a dormant volcano ready to explode. “We need to discuss a few things.” His words were short, clipped.
    Her stomach sank. He towed her the few steps to the couch. She plopped down, but instead of sitting next to her, he stepped to the small desk against the wall and powered up the laptop sitting there.
    He typed for a moment, then he swiveled the laptop around so she could see the screen. “This is your home security alarm company report for the past month, the report I requested after you realized some pictures were missing from your albums.”
    She frowned, puzzled. This was what he wanted to talk about? Not why she’d lied when she broke up with him? She got up and crossed to the desk to view the report. It had yesterday’s date. “Why didn’t you tell me you had this?”
    â€œI guess I forgot. Kind of like you forgot to tell me about the note and phone call Lieutenant Hamilton mentioned at Newsome’s house.”
    She winced, but she didn’t respond to his goading, which she thought was admirable. Instead, she scrolled through the report. “The alarm hasn’t been tripped. I already knew that.”
    â€œWhat about the dates and times the alarm was set or disabled? Do they look right?”
    She pressed the keys, paging through the report more slowly. “I couldn’t swear to every time, of course. I didn’t exactly keep a log. But overall, it looks right.”
    â€œNo one else knows the alarm code?”
    â€œI already told you and Hamilton that I changed it after I moved in. I haven’t shared it with anyone—not even you.”
    He swiveled the laptop back toward him. “Did you use your birthday for the alarm code? Or some other date your husband might be able to guess?”
    Her pulse sped up, and she moved back to the couch. “Ah, no, Damon wouldn’t know the code. It’s not significant.” To him . It was, however, significant to her .
    â€œYou’re sure?”
    The code was the month and day of her first date with Pierce. She swallowed, her throat tight. “I’m sure.”
    â€œWhat’s the code?”
    â€œWhy?” She tried to think of a reasonable excuse for not telling him the code, but just like when she was talking to Austin, her mind was coming up blank.
    â€œI want to judge for myself if the numbers are a pattern Damon might be able to guess.”
    â€œHow would you know if it was?”
    He waved toward the computer. “Casey e-mailed a file with some information on Damon. I read some of it on my phone earlier. Before I go through the rest, I’d like that code. There might be something in his past, your shared past, that would make him able to guess the code. I’ve got to figure out how he got in your house to take those photographs from your albums—or even if he did get inside your house. Sometimes moving companies store everything for a short period in a warehouse before making the final delivery. He might have searched through the boxes at the warehouse.”
    The thought of Damon going through her things had the hairs standing up on her arms. “I suppose that’s possible. After the movers packed my apartment, I stayed in New York a few days wrapping up loose ends before I flew down here. They delivered my furniture the day after I arrived. They would have had to store my belongings.”
    â€œThe code?”
    Guys didn’t remember things like when they had their first date, did they? Especially when the relationship ended so badly. She drew a deep breath and told him the code.
    His dark gaze flew to hers, and for a moment she thought maybe he’d realized the