Part of me wanted to sag in relief, while the other part of me wanted to shake her. How could she care so little about the precious soul she brought into this world?
“That’s it,” Copper confirmed. “If you agree to this, you’ll be signing legal documents. And if you try to go back on your word after the fact, you’ll be begging me to kill you before I’m anywhere near finished with you. And since dead parents don’t have rights, I’ll still get what I want.”
Dani didn’t seem fazed by Copper’s threat. “What happens after I sign the papers?”
“Game will take you back to your grandmother’s house,” Copper said simply. “You keep our agreement to yourself, and we’ll do the same. You run your mouth, and we’ll run ours.”
Dani nodded once. “Okay, I’ll sign.” Just like that. She didn’t even pretend like she needed time to think it over. I was as relieved as I was disgusted.
“I’ll have the papers drawn up tomorrow,” Copper said. “It’ll be late afternoon, and then you can go home. Oh, and I’ll send somebody down to move you to another room soon.” We left the room without another word.
“I’m not sure how to feel about what just happened,” I admitted once we were back upstairs.
“I know what you mean,” Copper said and clapped me on the shoulder. “Go talk with Blakely and let me know what she says.”
I walked down the hall to my room and found Layla sitting on the floor playing with Kalen, but Blakely was nowhere in sight. “She’s in the shower,” Layla said before I could ask.
“By herself?”
“No, Landon’s in there in case she needs help,” she said.
I turned on my heel intending to barge in there and demand to know what the fuck was going on but stopped myself. Landon was her best friend, and I knew he wasn’t interested in her like that. Hell, Landon wasn’t interested in girls at all. And Blakely was likely more comfortable with him helping her than someone she hardly knew, like Layla or one of the other Old Ladies.
I calmly knocked on the door before cracking it open. “Everything okay in here?”
“She’s almost finished,” Landon said and hopped off the counter. “You want to take over?”
“Sure,” I answered quickly, causing him to laugh as he left the room.
“You doing okay?” I asked through the shower curtain.
“Not really,” she admitted. “I think this was a bad idea. I could only use one hand to wash my hair, and even that was painful. Maybe I’ll try a bath next time.”
I helped her step out of the shower and dry off. The bruises covering her body had darkened to a deep purple, but the swelling around her eye and cheek appeared to have gone down some. Still, I couldn’t believe she was out of bed, let alone up and showering.
“How was your day?” she asked once she was dressed.
“Eventful,” I admitted. “I need to talk to you about a few things once you’re settled.”
“Do you mind if I take Kalen out to the common room for a bit?” Landon asked while I helped Blakely into bed. I don’t know how he could have known, but it seemed like he knew we needed some time to have a private conversation.
“Of course not, but he’s probably going to be hungry soon,” Blakely said.
“Don’t worry, B. I’ll take the diaper bag and feed him if he starts fussing,” Landon promised.
“So, what do you need to talk to me about?” Blakely asked as soon as the door closed behind Landon.
I blew out a slow breath and sat down on the bed beside her. “A lot, actually,” I said and shared the events of the day with her.
“You found your niece?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “She’s been hiding out at my mother’s house.”
“I thought your mother reported her missing.”
“She did,” I nodded. “It was part of their plan to throw people off. I can’t say it was a good idea, but it seemed to work. Well, until today.”
“Yeah, I guess it did,” she said and paused for a few moments. “So, what about Kalen? Does she want him back?”
