“Of course she did!” Alex snaps. “Haven’t you listened to a single word I’ve said? I warned you all along that she was trouble! She’s driving us apart, Chase. Can’t you see that? She’d do or say anything to steal my happiness.”

My heart is pounding again. Chase looks contrite. I need him on my side. I won’t let her win this fight. She’s won too many of the others.

“I think I’ll tell Sully everything,” I say. “Seems to me this is getting serious, if Eli is coming to the house and threatening my sister. And if my sister isn’t saying he was here. And where did those drugs go, exactly? It’s a mystery I just can’t solve alone. I think I need to get the police involved.”

“Do you really think Sully will believe you over me? Did you ever consider that he might arrest you for harboring illegal drugs in the first place?” she says.

Her eyes start to tear up. I know it’s rage, but she’s so good that it doesn’t look that way. This is her last-ditch effort to gain Chase’s sympathy.

“Do either of you know what I do all day?” she says. “At home, at work, with you, with Buster, with Sully? I’m constantly trying to save everyone! And this is how you repay me? By calling me a liar? I’m protecting you, Ruth! That’s what sisters do.”

“You’re protecting me how, exactly? By confronting Eli? That’s really dangerous, sis. And why won’t you tell us about it? Why?”

I try to move in front of her, but she’s too fast. She’s leaving. By the time I’m standing, she’s already walked out and slammed the door.

For a minute there’s silence. Then Chase turns to me, his face more determined than I’ve ever seen it.

“I believe you,” he says. “Tell me everything you know about her. And don’t leave anything out.”

ALEX

The streets of Moses River are mostly deserted because of the rain. It’s coming down hard, making the sidewalks smell sour. I move quickly, my body fueled with an anger that’s white-hot, my head burned clear. How dare she? How dare she threaten me with Sully? She doesn’t even know him. And now she’s drawn Chase into the fight! I thought I could trust him—thought I’d handled that—but clearly he’s weak. Ruth has always been devious, and she never did play by the rules, but now she’s messing everything up.