Page 32 of Mine to Save

“Do I need one?” She found a bill in the bottom of her purse and handed it to Dalton. It seemed silly, but she’d do whatever was necessary to clear her father.

“This isn’t about need. It’s about us taking on the federal government.”

Trinity rubbed her hands up and down her thighs. “All I want is for my father to have the opportunity to prove he didn’t do the things he was accused of. As if he were still alive.”

Emmett took her hand. “If you want to do that, you’ve got to challenge Robash. My mom and I are going after her regardless.”

“What do you mean?” Trinity asked.

“We don’t tell the public a lot of things about murder cases,” Rebecca said. “We have to keep things out of the media to preserve evidence and to protect our citizens. Or to trip up the killer. But we generally don’t keep those things from other law enforcement agencies. When Robash sent me the evidence that sheclaimswas in the envelope, Emmett and I decided that she’s making sure this case is wrapped up nice and neat and that your father goes down.”

“She can’t do that. It’s wrong.” Trinity tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. “And what if my father didn’t do it? There will be more killings. How would she explain that?” She hated doubting, for even a second, that her dad was innocent.

“I’m sorry. But, unfortunately, most of the evidence is pretty damning,” Rebecca said.

“Robash destroyed the sketch, the personal note to you, and the dates and times sheet, replacing it with a more detailed version of a kill list. It made it easy for her superior to allow her to declare the Adultery Killercase officially closed,” Emmett said. “After reviewing some of what she sent over to our office, it’s become painfully obvious that Robash believed they had the right guy and wanted a clean finish.”

“What do you believe?” Trinity stared deeply into Emmett’s eyes. She had no idea why his opinion mattered so much. Maybe it was because she felt as though no one was on her side—not even her mother since she’d tried to talk her out of coming to Lighthouse Cove to begin with. Not to mention, her parents had more doubt about her dad’s innocence than she did. “Now that you’ve seen the evidence, done more research, do you think my dad killed all those men?” She took a short breath. “Would you have closed the case?”

“I would have honestly leaned toward your dad as being guilty, but I would have looked into the sketch. I would have continued investigating, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have shot him. I would have wanted him to defend himself,” Emmett said clearly and with an even tone. “Robash is ambitious, and she was getting a lot of pressure from her superiors because she’d begged for that case and wasn’t making too much headway. She did have solid eyewitnesses who saw your dad with the victims. And there was physical evidence at each crime scene that belonged to your dad. But what she did to button up the case was wrong.”

“I’ve started to look at some of the evidence, and I have questions,” Dalton said. “While hair fibers and DNA were found at the crime scenes, they look staged. And when I do a deep-dive into your father, I just don’t see him as an organized killer in that way.”

Trinity bit back the sob that filled her throat. She stood, turned her back on the group, and hugged her middle. She hadn’t known her father at all. She’d had one meeting with him when she’d been sixteen. That was it. And from that encounter, all she remembered was the rage and hatred that had darkened her soul. Not only for her father—a murderer—but at her mom and Ben for lying to her about it all.

The pain that’d filled her heart had lived inside her for years. It’d nearly destroyed her humanity.

“My dad is a two-dimensional being to me,” she managed to choke out. “I didn’t know he existed until he finished serving his sentence—probation and all. He’d given me up, allowing Ben to adopt me. It’s odd. For most of my life, I called Ben ‘Dad.’ I stopped that in my late teens.”

“What do you call him now?” Emmett appeared at her side, wrapping a warm, protective arm around her waist.

“Around my twenty-fifth birthday, I started calling him Dad again. He did adopt me and raise me. But we can sayBenso as not to confuse the issue for now.” She leaned into Emmett’s strength. After she’d found out about her biological father, she’d sworn that she’d never rely on another person again. Having the two people who were supposed to love and take care of her betray her, had destroyed her innocence.

But then Alex had come into her life. He’d washed away all her defenses. Made her want to be a better person. She used to think she’d been able to mend her relationships with her mom and Ben because of Alex, but she knew now that wasn’t entirely true. She and her parents had worked hard in therapy to make that happen.

And she’d spent time in anger management classes.

That had nothing to do with Alex.

She’d completely given him her heart without reservation, and he’d taken it and run. The worst part was that when he was done, he’d neglected to tell her untilafterhe’d already moved on.

That hurt.

A lot.

She’d not only trusted him with her soul, but she’d also trusted him with her loyalty.

Taking in a deep breath, she broke the skin-to-skin contact with Emmett. A coolness trickled across her body as if a cold front had come down from the north.

Emmett narrowed his stare but respectfully followed her lead and made his way back to the table, taking a seat next to his mother.

Emmett and his family and friends could help her find answers.

But she wouldn’t rely on him for anything else. All that had to come from within. The only person she could completely count on was herself. That was a lesson she’d learned the hard way one too many times.

“This isn’t my place, but I’ve got a little experience in this department.” Dalton pushed to a standing position. “Both Ben and Jeff are your father in different ways. One is biological, and the other is in every way that counts.”

“That’s not entirely fair,” Rebecca said with some animosity.

---