The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(31)

Nothing in that description fit the one coming out of her mother’s mouth.

The slow-boiling anger that had been building in him since her body was found reached new heights. “That’s bullshit.”

Ruby flinched, her shoulders bowing as if expecting a blow. It made him feel like a monster, but he kept going. “There’s no excuse to beat your child the way Michael beat Elouise, and we both damn well know it. If I’d had any idea this was going on, I would have gotten that girl out of your house and somewhere safe years ago. I missed it, and that’s something I have to live with. Fuck, Ruby, you were there day in and day out, and you stood by and let him do this—that’s something you have to live with. But neither of those things are why you’re sitting in this room right now. Where were you on September twenty-fifth between two and four a.m.?”

That got her attention. “You can’t possibly think I had something to do with my baby’s death.”

“Answer the question, please.”

She straightened, actually looking him in the eye. “I was at home, sleeping on the couch, because when Michael has more than a few, he snores and I have trouble sleeping.”

Zach reckoned she spent more time on the couch than in her own bed, but he wasn’t dick enough to say so. He studied her, mentally mapping the trailer in his head. There was only the one door, and the windows might be small enough for a petite teenager to slip through, but he didn’t see Michael fitting his gut though one. If she was telling the truth. “All night?”

“Yes.” She looked at the table, seemed to catch herself, and raised her chin. “He passed out around midnight, and I went to bed shortly after.”

Technically, she could have walked right out that front door and he doubted Michael would know one way or another once he was asleep, but Zach just didn’t see it. Sometimes victims of domestic abuse fought back with violence, but it was usually against their abuser, not a fellow victim. Not to mention, there were the Elysian tattoos to consider. He ran his hand through his hair. “You ever go out to Elysia?”

Shock widened her eyes. “Why would I want to do something like that?”

The surprise seemed real enough, but he pressed anyway. “You grew up here, same as me. You know damn well that half the kids in high school went out there at one time or another.”

“Well, sure.” She shrugged. “I played at trespassing once with some girlfriends when I was sixteen or so, but Abram ran us off.” Ruby shuddered. “He scared me half to death, and after that I refused to go near the place.”

Seeing as how Abram was scary during the day in the middle of Clear Springs, Zach didn’t blame her. “Did Elouise go out there?”

“She must have if Martha wrote her that letter.” Some anger finally showed itself on her face. “My baby wasn’t no cultist, Zach. She was getting out. I know I’m not much of a mother, but I was proud of her all the same. She was getting out.”

And now she was dead.

It made him want to put his fist through a wall—or the one responsible. Zach studied Ruby Perkins, taking in the bags under her eyes and more lines on her face than most thirty-three-year-olds. Hell, she looked a decade older, tired and broken down. He took a deep breath. “I can get you out.”

Her eyes went wide. “What?”

“I know he does the same to you that he did to Elouise—probably worse.” He motioned to her long-sleeved shirt and scarf. “It doesn’t have to be that way, Ruby. I can get you out, get you a restraining order, help you get your feet under you in a new life.”

She looked at him for a long moment and gave a sad smile. “You always were a white knight, Zach Owens.”

“What he’s doing is illegal and just plain wrong. You don’t beat women, Ruby.” He could actually see that he was losing her, but he pressed on anyway, trying to make her see. “No man worth his salt would raise a hand to you. It’s not okay.”

She shook her head. “You’re a good man, Zach. But he’s my husband.” She hesitated. “Can I go? I want you to find who did this to my baby, but I don’t know anything else.”

Fury actually stole his breath. He wanted to shake her until she saw reason, until she agreed to let him help. That wasn’t his job, though. If he was really the white knight like everyone claimed, he could right wrongs like this. In reality, he was hamstrung by the law. For the first time in a very long time, he actually considered bending the rules, but the impulse passed as soon as it rose. The law didn’t work if it was bent to suit his needs. To do that was an abuse of power, no matter how well meaning.

So he sat there and let Ruby Perkins stand and limp out of the room. He didn’t ask why she was favoring her right leg, and she didn’t look back as the door shut behind her. Zach hissed out a breath. “Fuck.”

“Sometimes doing the right thing and the lawful thing aren’t the same. It’s really shitty when you come to a crossroads like that.”

He looked up, having half forgotten Eden was there. She looked as angry and frustrated as he felt. “I want to hurt him, Eden. He’s scum of the earth as far as I’m concerned, and he doesn’t deserve that woman—any woman.”

“The funny thing—not ha-ha funny, but sad funny—is that she probably blames herself.” She took the seat next to him, a careful six inches between them. “She no doubt blames herself for not protecting Elouise, though I’d bet she took extra beatings in an attempt to spare her daughter. She’s not a saint, but she’s not a monster, either. People rarely are just one or the other.”