Page 106 of Look at Her and Die

When we rode up to the barn, it was to see Malone’s Beemer parked in the middle of the drive with Searcy, Scottie, Calliope, and Anders all standing there listening.

“What’s going on?” I asked when I dismounted next to them.

Malone hastily stepped away. “I was just telling your ‘fiancée’ that her mother pulled out. There are no more lawsuits against her.”

“Oh,” I frowned. “Then why do they look like you just dealt them a devastating blow?”

“That was me.”

I turned to find a cop there.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Their old house burned down, and a teenage girl was seen leaving the scene.” He looked pointedly at Calliope.

“And I told him that Calliope has been here all day long, and he’s refusing to listen,” Searcy replied angrily.

“I’ve told him, too,” Scottie said. “He still doesn’t believe us.”

“And as her lawyer, I advised her not to say anything more. It was luck on my part that I arrived when I did to deliver the good news.” She looked at the officer. “Aren’t you the one that ‘arrested’ Searcy for nothing a few weeks ago?”

“I was doing my job,” the cop replied defensively.

“You were?” Scottie snorted. “I don’t believe that.”

The cop worked his jaw before saying, “I had to ask. It makes sense.”

“It makes no sense, because you just assumed it was her. We haven’t lived there in weeks. Why would we go back to that shithole?” Kent pointed out. “Calliope does have friends that are bitches, though. I’m sure Calliope can give you a list of names.”

Calliope wilted.

I threw my arm over Calliope’s shoulders and said, “Unless someone is under arrest, you should go.”

“I’m sure I’ll be back,” the cop muttered and left.

Malone watched him go before turning back around and saying, “Y’all should just put me on retainer with how much you’re using me. Oh, and penis dismemberment has been dismissed. The guy didn’t want to go to court and have to explain why he has to piss into a bag for the rest of his life.”

I chuckled. “Malone, would you like to stay for dinner?”

“I’d rather not.” She toed the dirt lightly, being sure not to get her heels dusty from the loose dirt under her feet. “You have too much dirt for me.”

With that she left, leaving us all chuckling.

Searcy came up to me and said, “Do you mind if I steal you away?”

I gave Calliope’s shoulders a light squeeze letting her go, capturing Searcy’s hand before I guided her to the horses and then escorted them to the barn.

When we were inside with no one around, she said, “I think Calliope burned down our house.”

My brows rose. “What makes you think that?”

“She came home smelling like smoke,” she explained. “And she…” My hands came to her hips and they squeezed lightly, making her momentarily lose her train of thought. “She immediately went and took a shower when she came in.”

“Do you know where she went?” I wondered.

She shook her head. “No. I’ve been letting her do what she wants. She’s eighteen. She’s working for a living. She’s been pretty normal now that I know she’s not just disappearing to God knows where for hours on end. She’s literally at work or here. So I didn’t think to follow her today.”

“Today?” I teased, my hands coming up to skim over her belly where her jean shorts rode low.

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