Page 55 of Sawyer
“Can I read them, Half-Pint? There might be something we can use.”
“Of course. Most of them are in the attic. There’s a shoebox in my closet for the recent ones. But it’s… a lot.”
“Do any of them say flat-out you lied under oath?”
“Sure. I told him I’d do whatever he needed if it would help.”
Sawyer’s brain raced. Reid needed to know this, and Raleigh as well. He just might need backup, but first…Lele.
“Tell me something, babygirl. When you signed your plea, did the judge question you in court? Make you confess to the crimes out loud?”
Her brow pinched. “No. I just signed papers. I only talked to my lawyer. Well, Hector’s lawyer, but he represented me. Hector paid for everything. Did you know some lawyers charge three hundred dollars an hour? Isn’t that crazy? When Hector told methat, I promised to pay him back.” She grimaced. “I still have a long way to go.”
His pulse spiked. “So, you’re telling me you never stood before a judge. Never confessed in open court to what you’d done. You just signed the papers. Is that right?”
“Yes. Why? Is that wrong?” Panic shimmered in her eyes. Her breathing picked up. “They can’t send me back to prison. Please, Daddy, tell me they can’t!”
She hadn’t bothered to correct herself that time. She was so rattled she didn’t seem to notice she’d called him Daddy. That was a good sign. Even though she had doubts, he was still her Daddy in her heart.
Fuck. He hadn’t meant to scare her. He reached over, cupped the back of her neck. “No, babygirl. What I’m saying is you never should’ve gone to prison in the first place. Not without that confession. I’ll look into it, I promise. If there’s anything wrong, I’ll fix it. It’s gonna be fine. You’re safe with me. Got it?”
Her eyes looked into his, and she held his gaze. Finally, she nodded. “Got it.”
They pulled up to her house twenty minutes later. Everything looked the same as yesterday.
Except the door.
It hung open. Just a crack. Enough to raise every hair on the back of Sawyer’s neck.
Lele leaned forward hard against her seatbelt. “Is my door open? I shut that door. I know I did. You checked it, remember?”
“I remember, Half-Pint.” Sawyer slid his hand under the seat, his fingers closing on the gun safe he kept there. Her blinds were down. Everything was quiet. But something was wrong. He could feel it.
“You stay put while I check?—”
Yeah. Right.
Her belt snapped free. Her door banged open. She was out before he got the words out of his mouth.
“Lele!” His pulse spiked. “Stop right there!”
Did she mind him? Fuck no. His reckless little brat sprinted straight for the open door like she was bulletproof.
“Damn it!” He launched from the truck, gun in hand.
His heart hammered, rage and terror coursing through him in equal measure. If she didn’t get killed in the next thirty seconds, he was going to tan her ass raw.
Then the door flew open wide.
A man dressed all in black and wearing a balaclava came barreling out and straight into Lele. He held a large knife with a curved blade. It wasn’t huge, but it was no pocketknife. It reflected the morning sun when he flipped the knife so the blade faced Lele. Raising his arm, the man prepared to strike. And Sawyer’s world tunneled.
The blade arced up, gleaming, angling straight for her chest.
“Fuck!” His shout cracked the air. She was too close to the knife-wielding man. He couldn’t shoot. Couldn’t risk hitting her.
The man faltered and looked up. It only lasted a blink in time, but Sawyer only needed that blink to reach them. He hit the man at full speed, knocking him into the door frame. Grabbing Lele’s arm, he yanked her aside hard enough to make her stumble out of reach.
He turned back to Knife Man just in time to see him move, but not enough to stop him. White-hot pain sliced the side of his chest as the knife cut down to the bone, glancing off his rib. It stole his breath.
