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Caring for an infant would be an effort that had no reward, and one I doubted he would bother to take.
Caleb never did anything that didn’t have something in it for him.
Instead of uttering that bleak thought, I shrugged out of my jacket and wadded it up to press against her wound, trying to stem the bleeding.
Church bells rang at the top of the hill, a sharp, rhythmic clanging. Everyone paused, staring toward the sound through the branches of the weeping willow that surrounded us. It provided some cover, but it had lost its thick covering of leaves due to the cold, so we weren’t completely obstructed from the view of anyone who might come wandering over the hill.
Vaughn’s eyes met mine. “They ring the bells when a funeral is over. There’ll be people down here any minute now. We need to leave.”
The others nodded, picking up the pace, Bliss’s guys and mine working together to cover up a murder.
A clump landed on the dead man’s face, and I shuddered as it filled his eyes and gaping, bloodied mouth.
But I wasn’t sad.
Hugh had raped me. Beaten me. Tortured me, and I wasn’t the only one. He deserved to be put in the ground. Not a soul would miss him.
Soon enough, Caleb would join him. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but if I’d killed one man, I could certainly kill another.
2
KARA
The throbbing in my head was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. I didn’t know why I hadn’t come to the realization sooner, but it was suddenly crystal clear now.
Caleb had killed my baby.
His own daughter.
He’d probably thrown her little body in a dumpster minutes after he’d ripped her from my arms. The thought was barely conceivable. But then, I wasn’t born from Satan himself like he was.
“Kara,” the woman said quietly. “We need to get you to a hospital. You’re bleeding pretty badly, and it’s not stopping.”
I shook my head. “No. No hospital.”
What was the point? I didn’t want to be stitched up and sent on my way. I wanted to bleed. If I bled long enough, I’d get to join my daughter on the other side. That was the only thing I wanted now.
“Fine, no hospital. But you can’t stay here either. This place is about to be crawling with people. We need to move. Can you stand up?”
I pushed her hands away. “Leave me alone. I don’t care who sees me. I don’t care about anything anymore. None of it matters without her.”
But she was persistent. She held something to my scalp to stop the bleeding and then moved to squat in front of me.
Had Caleb really said she was my sister?
She ducked her head until our eyes met. “I’ve been where you are. Broken. Wanting to die. He sent me to the lowest low I’ve ever experienced.”
I stared into her eyes, knowing she was trying to help, but she knew nothing. All I felt was anger and a sorrow so deep I wanted to drown. “Unless he took your child and murdered her, then you don’t have any idea what this feels like.” The words came out bitter. Cold. Like I was already dead inside.
She nodded. “You’re right. It’s not the same. But we don’t know she’s dead. Not for sure. So until we do, then you don’t get to give up, okay? Because what if you gave up and she is alive?”
I didn’t think it possible, but if someone else did, maybe that was enough. Something glimmered inside me. Maybe not hope, but it might have been a sliver of doubt.
That was better than the absolute surety my daughter was gone forever.
Rebel must have seen it, because she put her hands beneath my arms and pulled me to my feet. “Come on. We need to do something about your head.”
I trembled all over, but I let her guide me to a car. What else was I going to do? I had nowhere to go.
