“I might be able to help him out, but I need you to answer a few questions for me first.” Peyton cracked open one of the drinks and pushed it toward Sandra.
Her aunt immediately dumped some in the plastic cup and followed it up with a hearty splash of whatever was in her water bottle. “What kinda questions?”
“About Lilia.”
“I already told you everything I know.” Sandra threw back the drink, draining it in one go. Then she sucked on her cigarette. The stench of alcohol and synthetic vanilla from the e-cigarette mingled into something cloyingly sweet. It coated the small room like an invisible fog.
“You’re lying.” Peyton’s tone was matter of fact. “If you want me to help Bobby, then you need to tell me the truth?—”
“Who do you think you are, Princess Peyton?” A string of curse words so nasty they’d make a seasoned soldier blush flew out of Sandra’s mouth. Rage, or the alcohol, put color in her cheeks. Her sweatshirt was stained and hung off her malnourished form. She was a bully fueled by addiction and sheer hatred. “How dare you accuse me of lying about my daughter. You don’t know?—”
“Enough!” Peyton slammed her hands down on the table. Her sudden burst of anger had the desired effect, and Sandra fell silent. She shrank back as Peyton rose, towering over her. “I found where Lilia was living when she gave birth to Grace. She left there Thursday morning to see family, but Lilia didn’t call me until late Thursday afternoon.” She glowered down at her aunt. Pity filled her, but she didn’t give in to it. Sandra was the kind of person who only responded to strength and threats.
She was also someone who had chosen a man over her daughter. Many times. Peyton was counting on her to do it again.
“I know she came to see you, Aunt Sandra, so cut the theatrics and start talking. Otherwise, your boyfriend is going to prison for the next ten years.”
Sandra’s chin trembled, and she nervously licked her lips. “Okay. Okay. Yes, I saw Lilia.”
Peyton reclaimed her seat. Now they were getting somewhere. “What happened?”
“She came by the house.” With a shaking hand, Sandra took a shot from her water bottle and then grimaced. “Lilia had the baby with her, and she didn’t want to come inside, so we talked in her car where it was warm. She said that Cade was looking for her. She’d run off before the kid was born, and he was mad about it.”
“Was he abusing her?” Peyton already knew the answer to this question, but she wanted to figure out how much Sandra had lied about during their first interview.
Her aunt shrugged. “He smacked her around a few times. Who cares? All guys get irritated. Lilia made things worse by taking off with his kid.”
“But you said Cade isn’t the kind to care about a baby.”
“That’s what I figured, but I learned later he didn’t like that Lilia took something that belonged to him.”
Peyton could believe that. It was almost exactly the same thing Cade said to her. “Why did Lilia get involved with Cade in the first place? Didn’t she realize he was a criminal?”
“Not in the beginning. Cade had money, and he showered her with gifts and made her promises. She thought they were gonna get married and live a white-picket-fence life.” Sandra snorted, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Stupid girl didn’t realize just how dangerous Cade was until it was too late. I tried to warn her, but she didn’t want to listen to her momma. She was in love.”
Peyton's throat tightened. Lilia had always led with her heart. It was the best and worst thing about her. That desperate need to be loved, to belong to someone, no matter the cost. Her self-destructive behavior came from the same place Peyton’s had. From a sense of unworthiness.
And Peyton feared those bad decisions may have cost Lilia her life.
“What do you mean she didn’t realize how dangerous Cade was until it was too late?”
Sandra’s gaze dropped to the table as if she’d suddenly realized she’d said too much. Peyton pounded the table with her fist, making the sodas and the water bottle jump. “Do you want me to help Bobby or not?” She glared. “What did Lilia discover about Cade?”
Sandra swallowed hard. “He’s a killer, okay? Lilia told me that Cade suspected his accountant was stealing from him, so he asked her to look at the books because she understands numbers. Well, Lilia figured out the guy was skimming money from every transaction. She told Cade, thinking he was just gonna fire the guy, but then she was watching the news and saw the accountant was murdered.”
“Walter Jennings.” Peyton’s mind raced. She remembered coming across the accountant’s murder while looking into cases connected to the Iron Serpents. The man had been shot execution-style, his body dumped on the side of the road. Cold-blooded murder. “What happened when Lilia found out he’d been killed?”
“She freaked. Cade denied it, but Lilia didn’t believe him. That’s when she decided to leave for good. She made some kind of escape plan and fled. I didn’t hear from her for a long time.” She took a drag on her cigarette. “Then, out of the blue, she showed up with the baby. She told me that before leaving Cade, she’d stolen evidence of his crimes along with some of his money. She was gonna turn him in to the police. I tried to talk her out of it. I knew Cade would kill her if he found out, but she insisted it was gonna be okay.”
Sandra sneered. “She was passing through Knoxville on her way to see you, Princess Peyton. She was counting on you to help her out of the mess she’d made.”
Oh, Lilia.She’d left Austin for the long drive to Dallas to meet with Peyton, but stopped in Knoxville to see her mother on the way. Her cousin had always wanted a close relationship with her mom. It didn’t matter that Sandra had shown a lack of maternal instinct over and over again. Or even basic decency.
Peyton's jaw tightened as an unexpected punch of grief and anger hit her. She was practically vibrating with it. Drawing a breath in through her nose, she took a moment to pray for strength, wisdom, and patience. “What went wrong, Aunt Sandra?”
Sandra poured more alcohol from her water bottle into the plastic cup and then dumped in some soda. “What do you mean?”
“Lilia called me in a panic. She was terrified.”
