Page 24 of Outlawed

Hannah stops smiling, her eyes turning serious. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“No, Cookie. She’s not. I’m sorry.”

“My daddy hurt her again?” Her lip wobbles, and despite my best efforts, I can’t stop the tears from falling.

“I don’t know, but Shepard is looking for him.”

“Do I have to live with Daddy now?” Her eyes turn glassy.

I look up at Jen, who shakes her head. “Your mother wanted you to stay with Calliope.”

Before I can say anything, Hannah throws her arms around my neck and starts sobbing. “I want my mommy.”

“I knew you do, sweet girl. I know.” I wrap my arm around her and lift her, carrying her to the swing. I sit with her in my lap and rock her.

She sobs so hard I worry she’s going to make herself sick. I look at Riggs, whose jaw is tense, his hands fisted at his sides. I eye Jen, who stares at Hannah like she wants to fix everything but knows she can’t.

Eventually, Hannah cries herself out. I’m reluctant to let her go, but when Riggs bends down and gently eases her from my arms, I don’t fight him. He’ll keep her safe. I watch until he disappears inside with her before Jen takes a seat beside me. I rest my head on her shoulder as she wraps her arm around me, neither of us saying anything for the longest time.

“I’m so sorry about your friend, Calliope.”

“Thank you.”

I tip my head up as she looks at me. She wipes a stray tear from my face. “She told me about Porter. I know who he is, Calliope. The question is, why didn’t you tell me?”

My shoulders slump. “At first, I didn’t know. It took me years to figure out that something wasn’t right. Thinking about that night made me think of what happened to me, so I pushed all thoughts of it away. I knew deep down he was alive, but I wasn’t one hundred percent certain until I saw him here that first day we arrived. It didn’t matter how much work he had done. His eyes were still the same. Just like mine. Just like Hannah’s.”

“You knew who Hannah was to you from the start?”

I nod. “First time I saw her that day at the bar parking lot.”

She blows out a shaky breath. “You went to prison for his murder. How are you not more angry?”

“Oh, I’m angry. So fucking angry. But I had a plan. God, I was so fucking arrogant. I shouldn’t have waited.”

Her eyes widen a fraction. “You were going to kill him.”

“I’d already been convicted of the crime, why not get the pleasure of doing it?”

“You didn’t, though.”

“And Dawn is dead because of it.”

“No.”

I don’t argue. We won’t agree on this.

“Dale knew, of course. That’s why he came that night,” she hisses.

“Dale helped put his master plan in place. He was the one who fired the gun before I passed out.”

“Did he really have a heart attack?”

My heart skips a beat in my chest as I look at her.

“I’ve heard the tales, Calliope. I dismissed them, of course. But some things, I just can’t explain.”

“Like what?”