Page 100 of What They'll Say About Us

"I should have taken that suggestion," I admitted. "How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. I was coming to talk to Garrett."

"Can you really connect him to Cabot's murder?"

"Yes. Once his associate realized we had the financial trail to connect them, he started talking. I knew Garrett would request his lawyer as soon as I brought him in, so I thought I'd see what I could get out of him before I arrested him." Colton paused. "When I got to the door, I heard yelling, and I had a bad feeling, so I broke the door down."

"Thank God for that," I said, still feeling shocked that I'd somehow avoided falling to my death.

Colton's gaze turned to Sloane, who had gotten to her feet and was standing over Garrett. Her husband was writhing in pain. Sloane didn't try to comfort him. She stared at him like he was a stranger.

"Sloane killed Paige, didn't she?" Colton asked. "That's what happened, isn't it?"

"She didn't kill Paige; she just didn't try to save her," I replied. "She didn't know anything about what Garrett was doing. She was shocked when I told her that he'd killed Cabot." I met his questioning gaze. "I got to that point after she told me what happened with Paige and how she had been running from that night for nine years. But she didn't know who would have killed Cabot. And I realized it had to be someone who wanted to protect her. And that wasn't Hale. That was her husband."

"Are you sure she wasn't pretending not to know?"

"She tried to save me. She risked her life to do that. When Garrett ordered her to let go of me, she refused. So, yes, I believe that Garrett's actions were his own."

He stared at me and then looked back at Sloane, who was standing now with her arms wrapped around her body, as if she were desperate for comfort, even if the only person who could give it to her was herself. Garrett had slipped into unconsciousness. And in the silence, there was another cry, the sound of a baby.

Sloane suddenly started, her face turning toward the house. And in that moment, I saw the raw, agonizing pain in her eyes.

"Go get Grace," I told her. "Your baby needs you. Everything else can wait."

She gave me and Colton an uncertain look. "Can I? I promise I won't run away. But I need to hold her. She's an innocent in all this." At the next cry, Sloane jumped into action, not waiting for an answer as she rushed into the house.

Colton gave me a speculative look. "What the hell happened between her and Paige at the lake that night?"

"I'll tell you everything," I said, pausing as sirens rang out. "But maybe not right this second."

Colton helped me to my feet as police and medics swarmed into the yard. Garrett was stabilized and put in an ambulance. The shot had only pierced his shoulder. He would survive, and he would go to jail for everything he'd done. While Colton spoke to the police, and the crime scene investigators went to work, I made my way into the house.

Sloane was sitting in a rocking chair in her baby's room, holding Grace close as she murmured words of love to her. The baby looked up at her with adoring eyes. And my heart hurt for both of them.

After a moment, Sloane looked up at me. "Am I being arrested?"

"I don't know, Sloane. It's not up to me."

"I've relived those seconds on the lakefront path a million times, Tessa. I can't get them out of my mind. Everything was so dark: the sky, the water, the trees… And after she slid under the water, the shadows were screaming at me, telling me I should have saved her. I should have jumped into the water. I should have done something. I couldn't bear it. I ran for miles after that. It wasn't until I was completely exhausted that I went back to our apartment." She paused. "When I got inside and I saw Paige's clothes on her bed, her shoes on the ground, her makeup on the table—and all the little things that were so her, I fell apart. I sat on the floor of her room, and I cried until the sun came up. And then I walked out of her room, and I shut the door, and I didn't open it again until the police came."

I drew in a breath, filled with emotion at the horrific picture she'd painted and the raw agony in her voice. I suddenly realized why the art in her house was so dark. "Your paintings. You've been painting that night for years, haven't you?"

"I can never get it quite right," she admitted. "I can never change what happened. It feels like the memories kill me a little more each day. I thought I was getting on with my life, especially after I married Garrett. With him everything was clean and pretty, expensive and sophisticated. It was so unlike any other life I'd lived before that. When I became Sloane Delano, I thought I could finally be someone else. I could leave my past behind me." She took a breath. "But, God, Tessa, he's a monster. I married a monster. Maybe that's what I deserved, because I was a monster, too."

Another tear slid down her cheek, and Grace started to squirm and fuss, probably feeling her mother's tension.

"It's okay," Sloane told her daughter, offering Grace a watery smile. "You're safe, baby. I'm going to protect you as long as they'll let me." She bit down on her lip, trying not to cry as she glanced at me. "I don't want to upset her. Maybe you should go. I'm sure the police will come up to talk to me soon."

I nodded and started to leave, then paused. "You didn't freeze today, Sloane. You sprang into action when I started to fall. You hung on to me even when your husband told you to let me go. And I don't think you even like me."

She gave me a sad, faint smile. "I didn't like you much back then, Tessa. I thought you wound Paige up. You wanted her to fail. You didn't make her do anything. But you lit a spark that turned into a fire she couldn't control. Maybe it's wrong to blame you for that. We all have to own our decisions, including Paige. But now, you seem different. Kinder, more compassionate, less selfish. You changed for the better. At some point, I hope I can do that, too."

"You already did it when you grabbed my hand, Sloane. You made a better choice today than you did nine years ago. You've already changed."

"I want to be a mother this little girl can look up to. I don't know if I'll be allowed to be her mother, but I hope I will." She paused. "What do you think will happen to Garrett? I know he took things way too far. I feel a little responsible for bringing him into this."

"When did you tell him about Paige?"