“But not because Jon told me. I was never given that information. We don’t live in Babylon. Owen was a face I’d never seen before he turned up at my house one day, wearingnormal clothes. There was no cut in sight. He didn’t even show up on a bike. He looked normal, but they always did, and when Jon asked me to leave the kitchen so he could talk to guests, I always did. Always. The less I knew, the better.”
“Owen was at yourhome?”
She nodded weakly, looking at Sutton for guidance but seeing nothing but confusion and concern shining back at her. I must have been the easier pair of eyes to stare into because her attention was soon back on me. “I heard them sometimes, and they sounded like good friends. Their conversations seemed light. One day, he stayed longer than any of Jon’s guests usually stayed. I thought he was long gone when I stumbled into the kitchen, not realizing he was still there. Jon didn’t shout at me in front of Owen, but I could see the irritation in his eyes as I walked through the room, dropped a coffee by the sink, and then turned to walk away. That’s when I saw it…”
“Saw what?” I asked, not following.
“The tattoo on Owen’s arm. It looked like yours. The one I’d seen across your chest when I’d cared for you in prison.”
I looked up to find Ayda. I needed to look at something good when all I could hear was news that made me feel like shit.
Ayda was staring at Helen as though she wanted to throttle her with her bare hands. The only thing stopping her was her loyalty to Sutton. She swallowed hard, pressed her lips together, and spoke through her teeth.
“How oftenwashe there?”
Helen’s gaze shot to Ayda, “I don’t know exactly, but I don’t think I’ve seen him since Drew was released.”
Ayda’s free hand balled at her side, her body leaningforward.
“You didn’t think that was important? You don’t think that should have been the first thing you told us?”
“I was protecting myself and my family.”
“And I’m protecting my family,” Ayda spat, her hand came up quickly, fist balled as she swung like she had every time we’d practiced together, but she hit nothing. Sutton already had her around the waist and was pulling her away before she got too close.
I didn’t move. Part of me wished Ayda had hit Helen, but another part knew that Ayda, once calm and rational, would hate herself for losing control that way. Plus, we had a bigger blow still yet to deliver. One that would show us where Helen stood once and for all.
“I never asked to be involved in all of this,” Helen said quietly, looking between us all. “I never wanted—”
“He’s dead, Helen,” I said coldly.
Her attention snapped back to me, her eyes wide as she stared into mine, waiting for me to go on.
“Jon’s gone.” I narrowed my eyes and curled my lip in disgust. “They killed him. Killed another innocent man, too. The people he’s been working with to get more power are the same ones who took it all away—stole his last breath.” Tilting my head to the side, I leaned forward. “They got to decide when the man who beat and abused you and made you a prisoner of your own life, died. Your family, the one you want to protect, has never been in more danger than it is right now.”
Her mouth hung slack, tears gathering in her eyes and her skin turning pale while the rest of her remained still.
“Your husband isdead.”
Eric’s hand came up to my shoulder, making me pull backbut not look at him. The squeeze of his fingers told me enough was enough, and I wanted to shrug him off and tell him to get the fuck away from me, but something inside me listened, and I stood tall again, doing nothing more than watching her as the news sank in.
Pushing away from Sutton and glaring up at him as though he’d betrayed her, Ayda crossed the room, stopping next to me and glancing over at Helen who seemed lost in her own mind now.
“You want to protect your kids, Helen? You need to tell us everything you know. What we don’t know could be what gets you all killed.”
But Helen’s head had dropped, and now she was just staring at the floor as the news of her husband’s death took over.
Sutton sighed, turning his attention to her and kneeling down beside her position on the bed. He placed a hand on her knee and waited until she looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes.
“Do you know anything else, besides what you’ve already told them about The Mayor, The Navarro Rifles, and now the news of Owen?”
“No,” she croaked, shaking her head. “I swear it.”
“Did you know why Jon was so hell-bent on destroying Drew while he was in prison?”
She swallowed loudly and sucked in a breath. “Jon had this vision. He saw himself above the law, like some kind gatekeeper to Hell. The ones who caused the most trouble on the outside were the ones he liked to hurt the most.” Helen glanced up at me, my name clearly on the tip of her tongue before she focused on Sutton again. “The Mayors aroundTexas liked the fact that he would hurt the criminals. If he hurt them, damaged them and made them weak, they wouldn’t be the same men they’d gone in as when they were finally released.”
“That’s it? That’s the only reason?”