Chapter 20 #2
“Not in the beginning. Cade had money, and he showered her with gifts and made her promises. She thought they were gonna get married and live a white-picket-fence life.” Sandra snorted, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
“Stupid girl didn’t realize just how dangerous Cade was until it was too late.
I tried to warn her, but she didn’t want to listen to her momma. She was in love.”
Peyton's throat tightened. Lilia had always led with her heart. It was the best and worst thing about her. That desperate need to be loved, to belong to someone, no matter the cost. Her self-destructive behavior came from the same place Peyton’s had. From a sense of unworthiness.
And Peyton feared those bad decisions may have cost Lilia her life.
“What do you mean she didn’t realize how dangerous Cade was until it was too late?”
Sandra’s gaze dropped to the table as if she’d suddenly realized she’d said too much. Peyton pounded the table with her fist, making the sodas and the water bottle jump. “Do you want me to help Bobby or not?” She glared. “What did Lilia discover about Cade?”
Sandra swallowed hard. “He’s a killer, okay?
Lilia told me that Cade suspected his accountant was stealing from him, so he asked her to look at the books because she understands numbers.
Well, Lilia figured out the guy was skimming money from every transaction.
She told Cade, thinking he was just gonna fire the guy, but then she was watching the news and saw the accountant was murdered. ”
“Walter Jennings.” Peyton’s mind raced. She remembered coming across the accountant’s murder while looking into cases connected to the Iron Serpents.
The man had been shot execution-style, his body dumped on the side of the road.
Cold-blooded murder. “What happened when Lilia found out he’d been killed? ”
“She freaked. Cade denied it, but Lilia didn’t believe him.
That’s when she decided to leave for good.
She made some kind of escape plan and fled.
I didn’t hear from her for a long time.” She took a drag on her cigarette.
“Then, out of the blue, she showed up with the baby. She told me that before leaving Cade, she’d stolen evidence of his crimes along with some of his money.
She was gonna turn him in to the police.
I tried to talk her out of it. I knew Cade would kill her if he found out, but she insisted it was gonna be okay. ”
Sandra sneered. “She was passing through Knoxville on her way to see you, Princess Peyton. She was counting on you to help her out of the mess she’d made.”
Oh, Lilia. She’d left Austin for the long drive to Dallas to meet with Peyton, but stopped in Knoxville to see her mother on the way.
Her cousin had always wanted a close relationship with her mom.
It didn’t matter that Sandra had shown a lack of maternal instinct over and over again. Or even basic decency.
Peyton's jaw tightened as an unexpected punch of grief and anger hit her. She was practically vibrating with it. Drawing a breath in through her nose, she took a moment to pray for strength, wisdom, and patience. “What went wrong, Aunt Sandra?”
Sandra poured more alcohol from her water bottle into the plastic cup and then dumped in some soda. “What do you mean?”
“Lilia called me in a panic. She was terrified.”
Sandra's hand stilled on her cup. For the first time since they'd sat down, something cracked behind her eyes. Not guilt exactly. Sandra wasn't built for guilt. But something close. Fear, maybe. Or the dim awareness that her choices had consequences beyond herself.
“Bobby came home, didn’t he?” Peyton’s voice was hollow. She could see it clearly, as if she'd been there. “Was he alone?”
Sandra drained her glass, her hands shaking so badly she had to hold the cup with both hands. Peyton reached over and ripped it from her grasp. The plastic cup flew across the room and slammed into the wall. “Was he alone?” she demanded.
“No.” Unexpected tears welled in her eyes. “Marvis was with him. Lilia took one look at them and went white as a sheet. She threw me out of the car and took off. They followed her.”
Peyton had no doubt they did. Lilia had been terrified. For herself. For Grace.
And for Peyton.
She’d told Sandra her plan. To go to Peyton for help. But once the Iron Serpents were on her tail, she hadn’t wanted to lead them straight to Peyton, so she called instead and set up the meeting at the train depot.
All this time... Her aunt knew everything, and she’d hidden it. Peyton gritted her teeth, her hands balling into fists. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this days ago?”
“Because Bobby would’ve killed me if I had! He warned me not to say a word.” Tears spilled over Sandra’s cheeks. “I told you what I could! And I paid for it!” She waved her injured wrist before sagging against the chair, broken and deflated. “This isn’t my fault.”
“Where did she go?” Peyton didn’t recognize her own voice. It was cold and hard. “If she needed to hide, where would she go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where, Aunt Sandra?” Her voice rose again as she towered over her aunt. “For the love of God, if you have ever had one ounce of motherly instinct, now is the time to find it. Where would Lilia go if she was scared and needed to hide?”
Sandra shook her head, dissolving into sobs. “I don’t know.” She placed her hands over her face and started rocking. “This isn’t my fault. This isn’t my fault.”
The words rang hollow. Sandra could’ve done right by her daughter, but she’d chosen her boyfriend and her addiction over Lilia. Again. It was a vicious cycle.
And suddenly Peyton was weary. She wanted to lie down and weep. Because she believed her aunt was telling the truth. When Lilia ran away from Cade the first time, she went to a women’s shelter in Austin. The second time…she’d called Peyton.
Within half a heartbeat, her aunt shifted from sadness to rage. She ripped her hands away from her face and practically fell out of the chair to fetch the plastic cup. “You should’ve protected her, Princess Peyton! This is all your fault.”
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Dawson entered.
As Sandra poured herself another drink and continued to fling accusations and insults, he wrapped an arm around Peyton’s waist and led her from the room.
The noise of the bullpen was barely audible.
It was as if she’d stuffed cotton in her ears.
Dawson steered her into a conference room and shut the door.
Then his arms came around her. Strong, solid, dependable.
Peyton clung to him. “Marvis saw her.” The realization sank in like sharp claws. “Cade doesn’t have her. We suspected it. He told us so. But now we know for sure. It’s Marvis. He has her.”
“Every law enforcement officer in the state is looking for Marvis. We’ll find him.”
But would it be in time to save her cousin’s life?
Or were they already too late?