“I didn’t lay a hand on her. She had to use the bathroom. I thought . . .”

“You thought she was safe? Yeah,” I said. “Me too.”

Under the weight of his fury and sorrow, I sensed Ned drop his head. In that split second I acted. Every muscle in my body coiled and released. My knee connected with his groin. He sucked in a breath and let go of my arms.

I staggered away from him, deeper into the small room. Ned still had the gun. The safety was on, and I had no reason to believe he knew what to do about that. But I’d been wrong before.

Beyond the window lightning flashed, and I caught sight of Ned’s face. When he saw me it contorted with rage.

“Put it down,” I said as the room was enveloped in darkness once more. “Killing me won’t bring her back. Lay the gun on the floor and kick it over. Do it now, Ned. You can still turn this around.”

“You don’t understand. I loved her.”

“Enough to hurt Jasper?”

Far off, through the thunder, I heard more shouts. Tim calling my name. Not yet, I pleaded wordlessly, willing Tim to get the message. Wait.

“What happened after the fight,” I said, “when you and Jasper came back inside?”

Ned’s adrenaline was fading. He was coming to his senses. “I told you. I went to bed.”

“In the library.” I needed to know for sure.

“Yeah.”

“And then?”

“She saw us. Bebe,” Ned said weakly. “Me.”

I didn’t understand, and then, all at once, I did. He was talking about Abella. What she’d witnessed in the shed.

Tim’s calls were getting closer, more urgent. “So you wanted to talk to Abby. Explain why you did it.”

Ned nodded. “I thought it was Jasper by the window, but it wasn’t. Abby told me last night. I needed to make her understand it was just one time. That it was the only way to get away from Flynn.”

“One time,” I repeated, confused. “You mean you and Bebe—”

“It was supposed to be Flynn who saw. He was in the library. If he saw me with Bebe . . . that would end it. He’d kick my ass, probably try to kill me, but he’d let me go. I had to do it. Jas was going to propose this weekend—today, Jade said. I was out of time.” He paused to swallow and catch his breath. “I had to make Abby understand everything I did was so I could be free of Flynn. Be with her. She wasn’t sure about Jas, did you know that? I don’t think she would have said yes.” The momentary hope in Ned’s voice gave way to despair as he remembered how Abella felt didn’t matter, not anymore. “She was talking about going to Europe, traveling for a while instead of taking a new job. I’ve got money and an uncle in London. I told her we could stay with him. She was into it. She was.”