Page 102 of Behind the Shadows

“Actually, yes. She had been dabbling in sex trafficking and knew she could make a lot of money if she had the right cover.She approached me with her idea. It was solid, but we had to deal with some loose ends first.”

“Samantha and Ally?” I knew the answer before I even asked.

“Ally was just caught in the hurricane, if you will. But Samantha, my daughter, had a purpose. She was tested, and well, she passed.” His smile lit up his face as if he was having a proud father moment.

I gritted my teeth, planning how I could kill the motherfucker here and now for selling his own kid. “You’re a sick fuck.”

“Think what you want, but look at who she is today. Smart, a survivor, and she even took after me … a killer.”

“It’s not the same. Hers was self-defense,” I gritted out, my hands fisting in my lap.

“And Lily? It was her idea to leave her alone to die—just like she’d done to both of you.”

I could feel the color drain from my cheeks. If he knew how it went down, it also meant that he had something to blackmail us with.Fuck!My heart skipped a beat.But how would he know that?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I lifted my chin in defiance.

He chuckled. “Kip, I know exactly how it played out, but we’ll get to that later. First, I’m sure you have so many questions about that night and what really happened afterward.”

I did.

But I didn’t ask them.

Because whatever came next—it wasn’t a conversation.

It was a reckoning.

And somehow, I knew … the answer to who I killed was going to destroy me more than the body ever did.

44

HOLLAND

Ella’s shoulders sagged with relief. “That’s great news. I didn’t know her, only of her, but from what Dope and Kip have told me, she was straight up evil.”

“I suspect even more evil than we know.” I hopped out of my chair, antsy that Ella was staring at me as if I single-handedly killed Kip’s mother. Or maybe I’d allowed someone to see a glimpse of guilt that left as quickly as it appeared.

“Would you like something to drink?” I made my way to the kitchen and opened the cabinet. “I have some wine!” I called to her.

“That sounds great, thank you,” Ella said from behind me.

Startled, I jumped, nearly dropping the wineglasses as I pulled them off the top shelf.

“You seem stressed. What can I do to help?” Ella held out her hand for a glass.

I gave it to her, retrieved the bottle of wine, and poured us both a healthy glass.

“Five ounces is underrated.” I attempted a laugh, but I suspected Ella saw right through me. I recorked the wine and put it back in the cabinet.

It was then that a little white box with a pink bow caught my attention.What the hell?

It sat there delicate, out of place. Too perfect. Too intentional.

I hadn’t ever seen it before. IknewI hadn’t.

A cold chill skated down my spine. Not the shiver kind. The kind that roots you. That makes the air too thick to breathe.

I took a step closer, pulse thudding in my ears. That box hadn’t been here this morning, which meant he’d been here. Again.In my fucking house. Touching my things. Watching me, maybe. The picture in my pocket burned a hole through my jeans.