Page 72 of Twisted Liars

“Anyway…” Piper stepped forward. “I just found out that you haven’t told Amerie everything.”

“What do you mean?” Zara asked, brows knitting.

“When you inseminated her, whose sperm did you use? She said you never told her.”

“Yes, because it doesn’t matter,” Zara replied. She gave me a withering look. “We’ve already discussed this, Amerie.”

“I know. But I deserve to know whose baby I’m being forced to carry,” I said hotly.

She tilted her head. “Why?”

“Because it’s mine too!”

Zara let out a short, irritated sigh and rubbed her temples. “We’ve been over this already, Amerie. It isn’t your baby. It’s Congressman Roser’s baby.” She paused for a beat and looked back at her daughter. “You should really know better.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “I do. I told her the exact same thing, but she refused to listen to me. So I told her I’d ask you just to shut her up.” She turned to me with a scowl. “See? Told you so.”

“Whatever,” I muttered.

Piper turned back to face her mother. “Oh, there’s something else I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Hillary and I were thinking of putting together some gift baskets for our teachers. For Christmas. Would it be okay if I took some jams and sauces from the warehouse?”

Zara smiled. “Of course! That’s a lovely idea,” she said. She reached for her phone. “I’ll call John and tell him to send one of the workers up to help you.”

Piper waved a hand. “No, don’t bother. I only need a couple of boxes. I’ll just reverse into the warehouse and put the stuff in the trunk myself.”

“Are you sure?” Zara asked, brows rising. “Those boxes can be quite heavy.”

“Only if you’re weak,” Piper replied, rolling her eyes. “I’ll be fine. And don’t worry, I won’t ask Amerie to do any lifting.”

“All right.” Zara put the phone down. “If you change your mind and need help, let me know.”

“Uh-huh.” Piper turned to me again. “Come hang out with me while I load up the car. I’ll finish telling you that stuff about Hillary’s cousin. Then we’ll go get some food. Okay?”

“Sure. Whatever,” I said with a noncommittal shrug.

She led me out of the office and down the hall again. My heart was beating so loudly I could barely hear myself think.

“That went well,” Piper said, nudging me. “Just a few more minutes and we’ll be out of here.”

She led me outside and gestured toward a gray shed down a gravel road. “Meet me in there,” she said. “I’ll get the car.”

“Wait.” I grabbed her arm. “When they realize what we’ve done, won’t they track the car?”

“Yup. I’m only going to drive us five miles away. Then we’ll ditch it. Jensen will pick us up from there in a different car.”

“Okay.” I swallowed hard, still wondering if it was all a little too good to be true. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

I headed over to the warehouse and tentatively stepped inside. A farm worker was stacking boxes on shelves down at the far end. Thankfully, he left after a couple of minutes, leaving the place safe and empty for the next part of the escape operation.

Piper slowly reversed her father’s car through the open door a moment later, waving at me from the driver’s seat. “All good in here?”

“Yes,” I called out. “It’s just us.”

“Good.” She got out and popped the trunk. “There’s a duffel bag in the back. It has a blanket in it. Grab that while I get the boxes.”

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