She nods her head quickly. “You gave me your keys and told me to leave Death Valley, but instead, I went downstairs and got Law. He left me with Matthew because Scout was in the middle of his fight.” She wipes away the tears from her cheeks. “Once Scout finished, I told him what happened, and he ran upstairs. I got tired of waiting for you to return, so when Matthew was distracted, I went back up there.” Her shoulders shake.

“What is it?” I ask her, worried about her. What did this poor girl see? Did they touch her when she went back?

She takes a deep breath. “They were dead.”

“Who?” I pull back from her wide-eyed.

“Steve and Nicholas.”

I blink. “What … How?”

“Scout told me to keep it between us, then Law had me watch the door while they hid the bodies back in the office.” She lifts her head, her watery eyes meeting mine. “You were lying on one of the pews. You were wet.”

I frown. “My clothes?”

She nods. “Hair, face, and your clothes. Steve had brought a drink with them, and they were talking about making you drink it while they were messaging you from my phone. And …” She trails off.

“And what?” I grind out, hating I don’t have any memory of this. How could an entire night just go missing? What kind of drug has that effect on people?

“Nicholas asked Steve ‘does he know you’re here’, and Steve said ‘yeah, he was the one who set it up.’”

I sit back and run a hand through my wet hair. “It still doesn’t make sense. How did they know we would be there?”

“Maybe because Scout was fighting, and you always go. They just got lucky that I ended up showing up,” she offers.

“Maybe.” I hug her.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asks, pulling away.

I nod. “I’m good.”

She gets up off the bed. “I have to go. Mrs. Miller is taking me shopping for a dress to wear to the Monroe’s annual fundraiser. I held her off as long as I could to come see you.”

“I appreciate it. Thank you.”

She walks over to the door and places her hand on the handle and turns to look back at me. “I know the Reapers haven’t been the best to you, but if it’s worth anything, Law earned my respect last night.”

I almost laugh. A woman who respects Law? That’s comical. Maybe they drugged her too. “How’s that?”

“Because you were all over him last night.” She drops her eyes to the floor. “And begged him to … you know.” Her cheeks start to redden. “I called your cell later after he dropped me off at home to check on you, and he said he was lying in bed with you. That you had finally passed out, but he was going to stay up to make sure you didn’t get sick.”

GRAYSON LAW

I’m sitting on my bed when my door opens. I look up to see Henley enter and softly close it behind her. “You lied to me.” She crosses her arms over her chest, arching a brow.

I sigh, putting my cell down beside me. “No, doll. I didn’t touch you last night.”

She comes over and plops down on the edge, facing me. “You told me that you carried my unconscious body out of Death Valley, brought me home, dressed me in your shirt, and that I slept in my bed. Alone.”

“Yep,” I agree. “That’s what happened.”

“That’s not what Lacey just told me.”

Fucking Lacey! “Well, I don’t know what she said, but it’s not true.” I stand from my bed, but she grabs my hand, pulling me to a stop before I can get to the bathroom.

She’s showered all of the dirt and makeup off her face. Her eyes are still a little dilated, but she looks better—more alert. Her blue eyes look up at me softly through long dark lashes while still sitting on my bed. “Thanks, Law.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I say, hating the softness in her voice. The appreciation. I don’t deserve it. We’re all doing our part in stripping what was left of the lying doll that is Henley Nicolette Greene. But things have come to light—like they always do. I just wish it would have happened sooner. She didn’t run. And she didn’t try to set Monroe up. In her mind, she really saw what she reported to the police. Her memory of what happened between me and her last night just further proves it.

“You saved my life.” She frowns. “That’s something no one else did.”

I reach out with my free hand and cup her cheek. The single touch throws me back to last night.

I exit the office after dragging Nicholas’s lifeless body back there and walk back into the main chapel just in time to see Scout exit. Lacey stands from where she was sitting next to Henley who is lying in the pew. “Come on, doll.” I lean over and pick her up.

Tags: Shantel Tessier Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net