Page 36 of Secrets Within Us

“Who is she?”

“It’s a long story, Mike, one I don’t have the time to indulge you in right now. I’m going to take her into town and then I’ll be back.”

“Like hell I’m letting her get in a vehicle with you right now, I already told you I’d take her down. Now tell me, did you leave those bruises on her face and neck, boy?”

“Do you really think I’d do that, Mike?” Kip sounded wounded by the older man’s words.

“Do you realize what I just saw when I pulled up?” Mike asked loudly, “I could hear you screaming at her from way out here, then you blew through the door and shoved her down the steps onto her hands and knees. That poor girl is as small as a sack of flour and you put your hands on her and threw her down like a rag doll. The look of fear in her eyes nearly stopped my heart, I can’t even imagine how she feels. I don’t care what she did to rile you up so badly, but no woman deserves that. And the Kip I’ve known since he was a boy would never touch a woman like that for a second, let alone yell at her in that tone or say such vile things. So right now I can’t tell you what I think you’re capable of. I do know I haven’t seen you this pissed off since you got home five years ago, so you want to try that line again and actually tell me what the hell is going on?”

Kip sighed once again and started pacing on the porch. “She’s just someone I’ve been- well, we’ve been fooling around. And today I found her snooping around in the kids’ bedroom, looking through pictures of Molly and the kids and I just- I lost my damn mind.” He paused as he kept pacing. “Fuck, Mike, I put my hands on her. Fuck!” He yelled and kicked the chair on the deck. “I hadn’t told her anything about them and then I found her in there and she was upset about finding out that way and I just—I lost it.”

“Well, you fucked up, that’s for sure. How’d she get all the bruises and the busted hand if not from you?”

I got up and walked over to the kitchen window, so I could see them and watch what was going on.

“No fucking clue, man,” Kip said as he shook his head and threw his hands up in surrender. “Seriously. Two weeks ago, I found her with her hand caught in one of my snare traps, about two miles out from here, beaten, bloody, unconscious, and frozen half to death. When she woke up, she didn’t even know what state she was in and wouldn’t tell me who beat her up. Can’t get a damn thing out of her other than her name is Hadley, and she grew up in foster care in New York City.”

“Hadley?” Mike looked towards the front door with a shocked look on his face before looking back at Kip. My heart sank as I saw the array of emotions cross the older man’s face. “No fucking way.” He muttered and then he took off barreling towards the front door, with Kip hot on his heels.

“What? What’s wrong?” Kip asked as Mike stormed through the front door and turned to face me with disbelief written all over his face.

I stood still as stone, at the kitchen sink, watching the unraveling of my life happen right before my eyes.

“Hadley? Hadley Shaw? From New York?” Mike asked, rapid-firing questions at me. But I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t nod, I couldn’t do anything but grip the edge of the sink in horror as I tried to keep from passing out.

He knew.

And I was going to pay for what I’d done.

“What’s going on Mike?” Kip asked, but we paid no attention to him as our focus was on each other, so he attempted once more. “I’m not kidding Mike. Tell me what’s going on, you’re worrying me.”

Mike ignored him again, questioning in disbelief. “There’s no way. You’re hardly bigger than a kid. There’s no way you could have done that kind of damage to a man that size.” Mike said as he looked me up and down at the way I was cradling my hand and my sides.

Kip looked over at me, his eyes wide with confusion and speculation, but I still couldn’t say anything. I just felt more tears pool in my eyes before dropping over my eyelashes to my cheeks where they ran down them silently. Kip grabbed Mike from the shoulders and forcefully turned him to face him head-on. “What are you talking about!” He yelled.

With a skeptical expression, Mike turned to me again, then glanced at Kip. “She murdered Pastor Daniels,” he stated firmly, his voice laced with disbelief.

Chapter 12 - Kip

The Law

In an instant, the noise in the room vanished, and all that remained was the deafening sound of my blood rushing through my veins. I dropped my hands from Mike’s shoulders and stumbled backward slightly, as though he had hit me.

She murdered Pastor Daniels.

Murder.

I looked over at Hadley and saw the guilt written all over her face, confirming that what he had said was true.

“No,” I said, shook my head, and stepped back further. “No way. There’s no way I’ve been fucking a murderer!” It couldn’t be true.

Murderers took my family away, there’s no way I could have given aid to one.

She recoiled at my words, eyes closing as more tears fell down her face. She cried so much.

Mike cleared his throat from next to me, speaking to her with more calmness than I had. “Police are looking for you, Hadley. They found your blood at the crime scene, and hounds followed your trail for a way. There’s a manhunt going on as we speak. How did you make it this far? We’re almost fifteen miles from the Pastor’s property.”

I yelled out before she had a chance to answer, “Tell me what happened.” I demanded. There was a level of anger in my voice that alarmed even me. “Pastor Daniels was a good man! He was kind and helped everyone he came across and you killed him? How? I want answers and I want them right the fuck now, Hadley!”

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