Page 65 of Outlaws of Tulsa

“I can take her from here.”

I shake my head. “Show me to her room. I’ll put her down there.”

The man grits his teeth, his face turning red, but gives me a clipped nod, motioning for the staircase on the left. I follow after him, looking at all the pictures of Hadley with her mother andfather hanging on the walls. They go from when she was about a year old to sixteen or seventeen. She’s smiling her pageant-worthy smile in every one of them. At the top of the stairs, he leads us down a long hallway. He pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the door.

“It was hard looking in this room when she ran away,” he admits, his voice choked up. “I refused to let the cleaners come in here. I wanted to preserve the space—preserve her.”

The pain in his voice stirs something in my gut.

It feels familiar.

“I understand,” I grit out.

He narrows his eyes but then nods. We go into her room and I’m speechless. It makes me realize how young she really is. Band posters line the walls. She has a ton of shelves stuffed full of glittery crowns and trophies. Clothes are strung all over the place messily. Her drawers are open as though she was in a hurry when she packed a bag and left. The bed is rumpled and cans of soda sit on the end table.

Messy girl.

Genworth grabs the blanket and shakes it out, laying it flat. Then, he peels back the covers. I walk over to the bed, inhaling her scent one last time before laying her down. Pulling away, I watch bitterly as he tucks in his little girl.

Not mine.

His.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s for the best.

Here, she’s safe from Putnam.

At my compound, she’d be in danger.

I’m just stepping away when her eyes flutter open. She slowly takes in her surroundings and her lips part. A tear of betrayal leaks from her eye.

I’ve seen enough.

“Goodbye, PG.”

Hadley

Ican’t pretend to be asleep for forever.

It’s been hours and hours since Koyn and Copper left me in my bedroom. I’d been so devastated, all I could do was close my eyes and pretend it was a dream.

I’m not here.

I’m not here.

I’m not her—

“Mr. Genworth wants to see you for dinner,” his second-in-command, Renaldo, grunts from my doorway. “It’s a black tie event.”

I sit up, rubbing at my eye with my fist. “What? Why?”

“A celebration.”

My stomach twists violently. “I don’t want to celebrate with all those people.”

Renaldo laughs. “Not all those people. Just you and Mr. Genworth.”

A shudder ripples through me. I mask my fear with a hiss. “Well, get the fuck out, loser. I’m not undressing in front of you.”

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