“I dunno. It’s been a while.”
The days ran together for her aunt. Peyton tried a different tack. “Are we talking weeks or months? Summer? Winter?”
Sandra seemed to consider the question. “Winter.” She took another sip of her bourbon, but this time, her hand trembled. “It was cold, like today. Like I said, it’s been a while.”
So a year ago? It seemed like a logical assumption. “Okay. Can you remember what happened?”
Now it was her aunt’s turn to glower. “I’m not an idiot. Of course, I can remember. She popped in for a quick visit. Said she was going away for a while, but I shouldn’t worry.”
Dread churned Peyton’s insides. “Going away where?”
“Don’t know.”
Peyton let the silence stretch between them, hoping her aunt would say more. Sandra stayed stubbornly silent. She could be sly when necessary. “Lilia didn’t mention where she was going? Or for how long?”
“Nope.”
She had the nagging suspicion her aunt wasn’t being fully honest, but didn’t know how to pinpoint what she was lying about. She took a different tack. “Does Lilia have any connection to the Iron Serpents?”
Sandra considered the question through a haze of smoke. “She was hanging out with Cade Maddox.” She dissolved into a cough that sounded wet before choking out, “He’s a big shot with the Iron Serpents, so I hear.”
The name rang a distant bell. Peyton’s gaze snapped to Dawson, who gave a sharp nod of agreement. The fridge door hung open behind him. He’d moved on from the dishes to putting the food away. He looked so out of place there in the depressing and dirty kitchen.
She’d done that. Dragged him into this awful mess. Peyton should’ve known he wouldn’t let her face this alone, just as she knew he’d have everything put in order in the kitchen before this interview was done. That was who he was. So much like Nana Grace. No wonder her grandmother had loved him so.
She focused back on Sandra. “How long were Lilia and Cade dating?”
“Which time?”
“They dated more than once?”
“Yep. Lilia was crazy about Cade. Back then, he was just a little twerp selling pot to get by, but he convinced her to drop out of high school and run away with him to Vegas. Cade liked to play poker, and he won big when he had Lilia there to count the cards.”
Pride edged into her voice. Lilia was a mathematical genius. Sandra had always felt her daughter’s talents directly resulted from her mothering. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
“I thought for sure they’d get married, but she came back three months later, licking her wounds, crying about how you can’t trust a man.” Sandra sucked down what was in her coffeemug and then poured herself another drink. “I figured he’d lost big gambling, drained her bank account, and left her to fend for herself.”
Peyton remembered the incident. Nana Grace had been worried sick, and Peyton had nearly left college and gotten on a plane to go hunt down her cousin. Lilia’s reappearance in Knoxville had stopped her. She’d chalked it up to another one of her cousin’s stunts. They’d argued over it, mostly over how Lilia had treated Nana Grace and caused her untold amounts of stress.
“It was Cade she ran off with?” Peyton stared at the carpet and let the memories roll over her. She’d met this guy. Once during a Sunday dinner while visiting on spring break. She’d been in college. Nearly ten years ago. He’d been dressed all in black and had a motorcycle. What she remembered most was the fact that he’d been high. Peyton had gotten through dinner, but when he toppled over the dessert tray after two bottles of wine, she’d told him to leave. That hadn’t earned her any points with Lilia. Another thing they’d fought about.
It was hard to imagine that same man was now helping to run a sophisticated criminal organization.
Could Cade be Grace’s father? It was an upsetting thought.
Peyton shifted uncomfortably on the couch. She could feel the old springs digging into her backside. “When you saw Lilia last, did she say anything about being pregnant?”
“No. A’course Lilia knows my feelings about that. Kids do nothing but drag you down. Better to get rid of them and be done with it.” Sandra seemed oblivious to the fact that she’d treated her own daughter like a disposable tissue. Useful when she needed her, but otherwise, something she could throw away without any regard. “And Cade never struck me as someone who wanted to be a daddy.”
Laughter bubbled up in Sandra’s throat and she choked on it again, nearly doubling over with the effort to pull air into her lungs. “He’s a good-time guy.” She wheezed, her face red. “If Lilia got pregnant, he’d dump her quick.”
“You seem to know a lot about Cade.”
“I know a lot about men. Especially his kind.”
Peyton couldn’t argue with that. Her aunt had had her fair share of failed relationships. “Where was Lilia living?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Sandra struggled to ignite the lighter for her next cigarette. “I don’t ask her a whole lotta questions. I’ve got my own issues to worry about.”
