Page 74 of Montana Justice

“All those nights you held me while I cried,” she said, voice rising with hysteria. “I wasn’t crying about being tired or overwhelmed. I was crying because half of me was missing. Because somewhere, my baby girl was growing up without me, and I couldn’t even say her name out loud!”

She pressed her palms against her temples, squeezing like she could force the pain out. “Every time Caleb smiled, I wondered if she was smiling. Every time he reached a milestone, I knew I’d missed hers. And the worst part? The worst part is that I was grateful. Grateful that at least I got to keep one of them.”

Her legs gave out again. She slid down the wall, knees pulled to her chest, rocking back and forth. The keening sound coming from her throat was barely human.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. She’d been wrong, she’d made horrible decisions, but she’d done it because she’d felt she’d had no other choice.

This woman had been alone her whole life. Had been abused by the people who should have taken care of her. Had been threatened in the worst possible way by the man who should’ve been helping her the most.

I slid down beside her and stopped her as she reached to pull her hair again. “Piper. We’re going to get her back.”

There was so much more to this than just getting Sadie back, but that was the most important thing. To Piper and to me.

I had a daughter.

“I’ve lost everything.” She clutched the phone in her hand, staring at Sadie’s picture. “I’ve lost you, I’ll lose Caleb, and I’ll never get her back. He’ll disappear with her, and I’ll never?—”

She broke off, pressing her fist to her mouth as another sob tore through her. Her whole body shook with the force of it, like she was coming apart at the seams.

I wanted to comfort her. The instinct was still there, despite everything. Confusion and pain and heartbreak swirled inside me. But how could I hold the woman who’d betrayed me? How could I not hold the mother of my children—both of them—as she shattered in front of me?

I rubbed my hand down the back of her head, getting her to calm. I said the same thing over and over: “We’re going to get her back.”

“How?” Piper finally asked, voice small and broken.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I promise you, we’re going to get Sadie back.”

She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself, still rocking slightly. We sat there in the wreckage of our relationship, both crying for different reasons. For the daughter we’d lost. For the family that never had a chance. For the love that had been condemned from the start.

Sadie. Her name was Sadie and she was five months old and she was out there somewhere with a monster.

And I had no idea what to do about any of it.

Chapter 26

Lachlan

The conference roomat Warrior Security felt like a cage. It had been two hours since I’d confronted Piper. Two hours since she’d been sobbing on my living room floor. I could still hear that inhuman keening sound she’d made. Could still see her pulling at her hair hard enough to rip strands from her scalp.

Could still feel the moment my world had tilted sideways with two words:Our daughter.

My hands shook as I gripped the edge of the table. Beckett, Hunter, Coop, and Aiden were already seated. Travis’s face filled the main screen, his compound visible behind him. They’d reconvened, without any details, when I’d texted to let them know we needed to meet. They all watched me with careful eyes, like I might explode.

Maybe I would.

“Where’s Piper now?” Beckett asked.

“At my house with Jenny.” The words came out rough. I’d called my secretary, asked her to come sit with Piper while I figured out what the hell to do next.

“Jenny? Not one of your deputies?” Beckett crossed his arms over his chest.

“I wasn’t afraid Piper was going to run. I was afraid she might hurt herself. She’s… Christ, I don’t even know how to describe it.” I scrubbed a hand down my face.

“You said there was more,” Hunter prompted. “Something that changes everything.”

My phone felt like lead as I pulled it from my pocket. The photo Piper had shown me—the only one she had of our daughter. My hands trembled as I set it on the table.

“This is Sadie.” Her name caught in my throat. “My daughter. Caleb’s twin sister.”

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