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I could still feel my baby kicking inside me, so I wasn’t overly worried, but as soon as I heard its heartbeat, my shoulders dropped in relief. The doctor waited and stared at her watch, counting the seconds, and then finally pulled the machine away and let my gown drop back down. “Your wrist needs x-raying to see if it’s broken, which I suspect it is.” She jotted something down on some papers. “I also want you to have your face and neck x-rayed just in case, but I’m almost certain it’s just bruising, which will heal over time.” She paused and glanced at my dad and then back to me. “You need to book an appointment with your OBGYN to get the baby checked properly with an ultrasound. You’ll be sore for a while, and all the bruises will take time to come out fully.” She turned to the nurse. “Give her the smallest dose of painkillers and get her to x-ray.” She handed the nurse her clipboard. “Take care, Miss Easton,” she said to me, but the look in her eyes said she doubted I would. She was coming to conclusions from the evidence right in front of her, but she should have known better than to judge a book by its cover.
I knew what I looked like to her, I just wondered if that was how my dad was viewing me too, but one look at him told me he didn’t. He was trying to put on a front, trying not to let anything out, but I could see the sadness in his chocolate brown eyes.
I just wasn’t sure whether he was sad for me or with me.
* * *
BELLE
The ride back home was long, but I’d fallen asleep shortly after we’d left the hospital. We were only there for an hour, and in that time, I’d had my arm x-rayed, a cast applied, and been given orders on what to do once I was home. Apparently, Uncle Jord had told the nurse I needed to get in and out as soon as possible for my safety. I wasn’t sure if that was the truth, but they still didn’t know the whole story, so maybe they were being cautious. Either way, I’d have to tell them at some stage. I just hoped I could at least get some proper rest first, and maybe some food too.
The bleeping of Dad’s cell roused me awake, and I slowly opened my one eye and looked over at him. I’d somehow made my way into the middle of the back of the car and was using his arm as a pillow. At my movement, he glanced down at me, smiled, and pushed some hair out of my fac
e.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” He’d always said that to me every single morning since before I could remember. And the memories caused a smile to come to my face.
“Morning.” I slowly sat up, pressing my hand against the side of my stomach at the twinge of pain. The morning sun was streaming through the windows of the car, and one look at the dash told me it was nearly 11 a.m. “Where are we?”
“Not far from the offices,” Dad murmured, typing something on his cell and then pushing it back into his pocket.
“The offices?” I asked, frowning and wincing from the pain in my eye. “Why are we going to the offices?”
Dad huffed out a breath, and I turned my body to face him. I’d only been to his offices a handful of times, and the last time had been when I was twelve. “We need to take your statement, Belle.” He placed his hand over mine on the seat between us. “I need to make sure that if anything was to come back on you, you’re covered. It’s for your own good. I promise.”
I nodded. I’d been naive to think he’d take me right home. I’d pulled the trigger and killed someone. They had no idea what had happened, and they wouldn’t until I told them. But now it made sense as to why Dad had told me not to tell him what had happened when he’d first come to the cabin.
Staring out of the window, I watched all of the cars go by on the highway, and finally, Uncle Jord took the exit. It hurt to see parts of the places I grew up in, but the closer to Dad’s offices we got, the more nerves shot through me. Would they believe what happened? What if they thought I was to blame? What if they thought it had happened differently?
I shook my head as Uncle Jord pulled through the security gate and parked. All I had to do was tell the truth, and everything would be okay.
The scrubs the nurse had given me scraped against my skin, and I pulled the top farther over my stomach as I got out of the SUV with Uncle Jord’s help. He squeezed my hand, and I glanced up at him. “Glad you’re back, Belle.”
I smiled. “Me too.” And I was glad I was back. I’d made the decision to come home before all of this, but I didn’t tell him that. I hadn’t realized how much safer I felt now that I was back around my dad and uncles. But I couldn’t deny the dark cloud hanging over me as I made my way inside the building with them.
Ford had worked here for years, longer than I’d been alive, but now he didn’t. I was about to enter the first place he’d been since I’d found out he was dead, and the thought had me stumbling as I got out of the elevator onto my dad’s floor. He gripped my arm, and I gasped, causing him to let go almost immediately.
“Sorry, baby girl.”
“It’s okay,” I croaked out. “I just…I…” I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t explain why it hurt so much to be here. I couldn’t explain how my body hurt in more places than he knew about.
He gave me a sad smile and halted in front of a set of doors. “In here.” He opened the second door and moved aside so I could walk in. The walls were gray, and a lone metal table was attached to the floor, along with four chairs around it and a bar attached to the top of it. I’d only ever seen rooms like this in the movies, and now I was in one, about to tell my dad how I’d killed a man. I’d killed someone. I’d taken their life, and I didn’t regret it even for a second.
“I’ll be back,” he said and closed the door.
I inched farther inside, not sure whether I should sit down or not, but before I could make a choice, the door opened again, and Uncle Jord and Uncle Ky came inside.
“Sit down, Belle,” Uncle Jord said, his voice soft. I did as he said, wondering where Dad was, but I didn’t have to wait long for an explanation. “Your dad can’t interview you,” Uncle Jord said, placing something on the table. “Conflict of interest.”
I swallowed, understanding what he was saying, but that didn’t mean this would be any easier. Or maybe it would. At least I wouldn’t have to look into my dad’s eyes as I told him I pulled the trigger and watched the life drain out of someone. “Okay,” I whispered, staring around the room. One wall had a large mirror on it, and I wondered if my dad was behind there.
Uncle Jord said something, but I wasn’t paying attention until Uncle Ky asked, “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”
I pulled in a breath and held it for several seconds, then looked at him. He pushed his hand through his light-brown hair, his green eyes holding mine intently.
“I…well…” I placed my casted arm on the metal table, causing it to clunk. “Where shall I start?”
“Start with what led up to the dead bodies,” he replied without thought.
