Holding the Truth

by Calle J. Brookes

  A major callout like that, and it was bound to be the sheriff that got pulled.

  And whether Lou liked it or not, Addy was keeping Bailey close.

  Lou was going to have to use that to his advantage.

  He waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, the two arrived back at the station.

  He must have sat there for a good four hours. It was just past one, and the entire damned town was deserted.

  He started the van and flicked on the wipers to erase the dew that was starting to form.

  It was a simple matter to pull into the old garage two blocks behind the sheriff’s house. He’d busted three crack dealers in that garage the year Bailey had turned one. She’d been at home with her momma, burning with a fever. He had barely asked how his only child was. Had been irritated when he’d made it home after his shift and Kimberly had demanded he drive her and the baby to the ER. It had been a good thing he had; Bailey’s fever had spiked, and she’d had some kind of fever seizure. Kimberly had held her in the hospital room all night.

  Lou hadn’t held the baby but once that night, when Kimberly had taken a quick trip to the bathroom.

  He should have spent half the night holding his baby girl. But he hadn’t.

  He hadn’t done what Bailey had needed him to do back then.

  Lou wasn’t going to make the same mistake now.

  Not now.

  It took him two minutes to pop the lock on the back door of the sheriff’s home and slip inside.

  Chapter 143

  Clay unlocked the front door of his house and turned toward the exhausted woman behind him. Her leg was still hurting her, and he had no doubt she had done too much today. When she almost tripped on the step, he simply lifted her off her feet. “Come on, honey. Inside.”

  “Shower first.”

  He nodded.

  They’d stayed at the hospital with Jake and Celia until Bert and Veri had arrived to get the boys. Celia had been in an almost catatonic state, both from grief and fear. She had been hurting, and the only one she had even seemed to respond to had been Jake.

  Even her parents and siblings when they had arrived. It had surprised him; they all despised Charlie for what he had done to their family. It had taken Clay a minute to realize they were there for Celia and the obvious hurt she felt.

  But she had just wanted Jake.

  Jake had stayed wrapped around her the whole time, even when it had to have been uncomfortable for Jake.

  When word came that Charlie was not going to make it, the only one who had grieved had been Celia. None had missed that.

  But Jake was there for her, and there had been a look in his friend’s eyes that told Clay just exactly how Jake felt.

  Clay finally understood that hurt and...the love. Because he felt it himself.

  He dropped a kiss on her head, then set her on her feet inside the entryway. “Come on. Shower, then I’ll feed you. Tuck you in. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out who in the hell had done this.”

  Because someone had shot Charlie Lake and had delivered Glen Washington to the TSP like a Christmas present.

  Whoever was out there was even more dangerous than the serial killer they had been chasing.

  It chilled Clay’s damned blood to even think about it.

  Bailey turned and wrapped her thin arms around his waist. Clay bent down and kissed her, as gently as he possibly could. When she pulled away, he wrapped her fingers in his.

  He just wasn’t ready to stop touching her yet.

  Bailey’s head jerked to the left, and she focused on a point past her shoulder.

  Clay turned just as something slammed into the back of his head and he hit his knees.

  The last thing he heard was Bailey’s scream.

  Chapter 144

  Murdoch hadn’t made it to the hospital before his uncle died. He didn’t know why he was in such a damned rush to get there, anyway. A chance to ask the questions he’d always had, maybe?

  To be there for his dad?

  His father hadn’t spoken to Murdoch about Charlie since the phone call Murdoch had gotten from him when his father had been at the hospital, waiting on word about Cam’s fiancée.

  He’d not let Murdoch tell him what had happened that night. Murdoch’s father hadn’t wanted to know. He’d just wanted to celebrate that they had Celia back.

  But from what he’d heard from Cam, his father still struggled to connect with his youngest sister. Or her son.

  The son who sometimes called Murdoch’s uncle grandpa.

  That had to be like a damned four-by-four upside his father’s head and heart to hear.

  But Charlie was still his father’s brother. And if Cam or Anthony had done something that evil to Murdoch, he didn’t know if he’d be able to hate them enough to not care whether they lived or died. He just didn’t know.

  When he got to the hospital, it was to find his parents, Ronnie and George, and Becky and Lamar in the waiting room. And he knew. The girls were crying slightly, but it was Celia who had been hurt the most.

  Jake Dillon had her on his lap, just holding her and rocking. Telling her that she was going to be ok. That she wasn’t alone any longer. That he wasn’t going anywhere.

  And she was clinging to him in a way that told its own story.

  Murdoch didn’t know what in the hell he was supposed to do now. So he did the one thing he could.

  Someone had shot his uncle with a .45. It would be up to the TSP to figure out just who that was.

  And the first place Murdoch was going to start was with the sheriff.

  And if he was lucky, maybe Addy would put him up for the night—because there was no way in hell Murdoch wanted to stay with his family after what had just happened.

  He wasn’t ready to talk about Charlie yet. Not yet.

  Unless it was to figure out how to find Charlie’s killer.

  Chapter 145

  Head like glass. He’d expected better of the boy; it was one reason Lou had hit him as hard as he had. Bailey screamed and scrambled for the duffel bag Addy had dropped near the front door.

  Lou stepped over the younger man’s prone body and grabbed his daughter by the arm. He suspected there was a weapon or two in that bag. Neither wore their holsters.

  Foolish.

  Hopefully, this would teach his daughter the right lesson. She needed to keep her gun close at all times. It kept a person safe.

  His fingers tightened around the old .45 with one hand. With the other, he tried to pull his daughter away from that damned wuss of a sheriff. “No. Stand still.”

  She erupted, fighting him with every ounce of spirit she possessed.

  When she got too close to his eyes with her nails and her knee almost rammed him in his groin, Lou jerked her around and did the last thing he ever would have wanted.

  He pointed the .45 at his baby’s head.

  Chapter 146

  She wanted to go to Clay, but didn’t take her eyes off the intruder. Or the gun pointed at her. Clay hadn’t had time to turn on the light when they’d stepped inside. “Who are you?”

  The hand holding the gun wavered. “You don’t recognize me, honey?”

  The endearment, one Clay had just used moments before, one that Bert and Jake favored too stabbed into her, as the voice finally registered.

  “Lou?”

  She would never call this man her father again. Never would he get that title from her.

  “Hi, baby.”

  “What are you doing here?” She didn’t think he would shoot her. Not unless he had to for some reason. But how was she actually supposed to know that for certain?

  But she risked defying him and dropped to her knees next to the man she knew she loved. No more questioning herself or how she felt.

  She loved Clay.

  There was a pulse beneath her fingertips. He was breathing, too. Just out cold.

  “Get away from him! Right now, young lady!”

  The shrill tone had her obeying instinctively. He gr
abbed her arm again and yanked her to her feet. Her injured knee twisted again, and she yelled, crashing to the floor next to Clay’s coffee table.

  Lou reached down for her. “Baby! I’m sorry. I forgot you were hurt in the storm. I’m sorry. Daddy didn’t mean it, baby. I promise.”

  Bailey’s breath hissed out as she tried to flex her leg again. She didn’t know if she’d be able to get back to her feet, but what concerned her the most was the way he’d spoken to her like she was a very young child. No more than four or five or so.

  And like he was actually her father. A father who gave a damn about his daughter.

  And that terrified her.

  “It was you! You killed Charlie Lake. And hurt Glen Washington and then dumped them.”

  Chapter 147

  Lou reached out and groped toward a light switch. He needed to see how badly he’d hurt his baby girl. She had cried out, and it had hurt him to his damned soul.

  He’d hurt her.

  He’d never meant to hurt his baby. Or her mother. The light flicked on and he got his first good up close look at her since the day he had lifted her out of a damned mine and told her to run for her own survival.

  He’d had nightmares about that moment. Nightmares that he hadn’t gotten her out of there in time.

  She always had been a pretty little thing, all blue-eyed and blond. With a pointed little chin and a sweet smile. Still dainty, like her momma had always said. “Don’t move. Daddy will help you up.”

  “You’re not my father. If I have one at all, it’s Bert.” Bailey’s blue eyes, so much like his own, stared right at him. The eyes were the only thing she’d gotten from him. The rest of her...it was like looking at her mother all over again. Except for her size. Kimberly had been a bigger boned woman than their daughter.

  What she’d said about Bert...it hurt. But he supposed he deserved her anger for what he’d done to her.

  And Bert had been there for her. Like Lou hadn’t been able to.

  “Bert’s not your father. I am.” He was still pointing the .45 at his daughter. She kept staring at it instead of his face. With fear in those eyes of hers. Like a kid about to get spanked. Lou didn’t want her feeling that way, but if he lowered the gun...somebody might do something stupid. “And you need to listen to me. I was the one who caught Glen. He was an old cell mate. A sicker sonofabitch I have never met. He was watching you and watching Charlie’s girl. I had to do it.”

  “You shot Charlie. Killed him.”

  Lou swore. He had hoped...he hadn’t meant to do it. “I thought he’d make it. I had hoped—and it was an accident. This old gun of an old uncle of mine, it’s got a hair trigger.”

  He moved it further away from the direction of his daughter.

  The sheriff moaned.

  Bailey jerked toward him, like a puppet on a string. What the hell had the sheriff done to his baby girl to make her look at him like that? Lou wasn’t going to waste any more time. She’d understand one day. She’d see.

  He was only doing this for her own good.

  Lou cursed and raised the gun again.

  This time, he aimed at that damned Clay Addy.

  Chapter 148

  Bailey’s phone was in her bag, along with her weapon. And they were at least ten feet away. She hadn’t seen where Clay had put his.

  Clay’s was most likely in his back pocket. She wouldn’t be able to get to it in time. Her best bet was to get to a gun. She had hers nearby, Clay’s had to be.

  And he had the one on his ankle.

  His eyes had blinked, he’d moaned. Shifted. One hand now touched his head.

  Lou stared at him with a fanatical look of hate on his face. And she knew...

  Clay was his next target. Had probably been for a good long while.

  “You ran him off the road, didn’t you?” The question slipped out before she could stop to think it through. But it made sense. But what else had he done that she didn’t know about?

  “Need him out of the way. He’s ruining things.”

  Bailey shifted, lessening the distance between her and Clay. She just needed to get to him.

  Lou paced in front of her, coming far too close to Clay’s boots. “Why?”

  It was a gamble challenging him, but what other choice did she have?

  “He can’t have you! I saw how he kissed you at the bridge. He can’t do that to you, baby. He can’t. He’s not the man for you. He just isn’t. I know I’ve not been around enough for you to listen to me. But I know guys like him. They...they are not good for women, especially women like you. He’ll end up hurting you. And any kids you have. You deserve better.”

  Chapter 149

  Charlie was dead. He’d killed the only friend he’d had in years by being stupid and careless. Charlie, who’d done everything he could to help Lou.

  Tears threatened to fall down his cheeks. He couldn’t lose control of himself. Not now.

  He had to make Bailey understand. Once he did, Lou was going to have to run for it. Not how he’d wanted it to go, but his luck hadn’t been with him tonight. If things had worked perfectly, Charlie would still be alive. And Bailey would have gone home with Bert. But the cards hadn’t stacked that way. So Lou was going to deal with the hand he’d been dealt. “The sheriff...he’s no good for you. He’ll ruin things. Make you broken, like I did your momma.”

  She shook her head, sending a look at that damned Clay Addy. “No. He will never hurt me.”

  “You just don’t see it. You’re too young. Too naive and sweet. But he’ll wear you down until there’s nothing left. I had to get rid of him. Sometimes you have to do things that don’t make sense, for your kid’s own good.”

  “You are crazy!”

  His daughter moved closer to the sheriff when he shifted again.

  Lou shot the younger man a glare.

  She had her hands on that boy’s chest. Then the back of his head. Saying his name all tender and loving. Touching him like they’d been together a thousand times. Like she loved him.

  Damn Clay Addy for doing this to her. To him. “You need to be with Jake. He’s the better man for you.”

  “I don’t want to be with Jake. I don’t love him like that. Not like...”

  “You don’t love Clay Addy! You don’t!” For the first time since she’d been a four-year-old child, Lou raised his voice at his daughter.

  He swung the gun toward the problem. Just as the younger man’s eyes opened.

  Chapter 150

  Clay was still seeing stars. The pain in his head had him almost sick to his stomach. But he forced himself not to move, to look at the man standing far too close to Bailey for comfort.

  He recognized him, of course. But the how and why Lou Moore was there hadn’t registered.

  That didn’t matter. What mattered was that Bailey was still between them.

  Clay wrapped one hand around her arm. His gun had to be around somewhere.

  Lou turned, came more into the light.

  The light reflected off of the .45. Clay bit back his curse.

  He hoped to hell that Lou wouldn’t point it at his own daughter.

  What did the man want? “Lou, what in the hell are you doing here?”

  “Clay!”

  Bailey shifted in front of him, blocking him bodily. He pulled himself up to a seated position.

  Clay grabbed for her, then pushed, putting a few feet between them.

  Clay had to get to the .38 on his ankle. Somehow.

  “Don’t move!” Lou waved the gun around in a way no experienced cop ever would. That told Clay exactly what mind-set the man was in. Lou had spent more than ten years on the TSP. If he was in control of himself, he wouldn’t be moving like he was.

  A man out of a control was far more dangerous than one who wasn’t.

  And Bailey was stuck in between them.

  ***

  Bailey didn’t know what to do. “Just go, Lou. Leave me alone.”

  “I can’t do that. He’s ruining e
verything.”

  “He’s not done a thing to you. Or to me. I don’t want Jake like that.” She never would. Jake would always be her big brother. And anyone seeing how he had comforted Celia tonight would understand exactly how he felt about Bailey. About Celia.

  “You will. Once Addy’s gone.” Wild eyes turned to her. Anger, confusion, determination—madness—all were on his face.

  Bailey fought the fear. She had to keep him talking. The longer she kept him talking, the better chance they had to find a way to subdue him. Instead of just sitting on Clay’s hardwood floor five feet into his living room. “Why?”

  “Because you don’t need to be with a damned cop. They ruin everything.” His yell echoed off the walls. Bailey fought the urge to flinch.

  Lou was losing control. Rapidly.

  “Like you did when you stole from people? When you took bribes? I’ve read your file.” Every paragraph, every report, everything to find out why he had made the choices he had. Until she’d just given up, knowing she would never have the answers.

  “Bailey—I didn’t mean to leave you and your momma alone like that.” Lou paced in front of her, covering six feet, then turning around and going back. But the gun never wavered again, constantly pointed at Clay’s heart.

  “You didn’t mean to leave her. I know you didn’t want me. Mom told me when I was twelve how you felt about me.” He had never wanted her. They’d taken precautions, but her mother had gotten pregnant anyway. And her mother had loved her.

  Of that, Bailey was one hundred percent certain. Even if Lou hadn’t.

  “I was wrong, kiddo. I had a lot of time to think. To realize what I was missing with you. I can’t be with you now. We both know I got to go away for a little while. But I can do what I can to make sure you have a man who will treat you right, make you happy. Not wear you down like I did with your momma. I ruined things in so many ways back then. And he...he’s just like I was. I can’t let you repeat your momma’s mistakes.” His tone had changed again, like he was going back in the past. Was that the way his mind was working? Was he regressing so much he couldn’t see her as the woman she was now?