The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(38)

That was interesting. She took a seat next to him, a carefully considered foot between them, angling her body slightly away from him. Some people revealed more information when they were crowded and against the wall. Her instincts said Lee would clam up if she pushed too hard.

She casually asked, “Martha was okay with that?” Even having heard the same story from her mother, she just didn’t see it. Martha took the term control freak to a neurotic degree, and Lee bringing back some local girl she didn’t know from Adam couldn’t have sat well.

His lips twitched. “She wasn’t too keen on it at first, but I insisted. She had a one-on-one talk with Elouise, and after that said she could come and go as she pleased, within reason.”

Reason being they didn’t want her wandering around and finding things outsiders weren’t supposed to know about. Eden reached down to pull up a couple of blades of the long grass that grew in the area, shredding each one slowly, still keeping her voice casual and low. “That was months ago. From what I understand, Elouise had no intention of joining Elysia.”

“She didn’t.” He shrugged, the move too controlled. “She might have come back, though—after college when she got out of Clear Springs for a few years and realized the world out there isn’t any better than what she left behind. Who she left behind.”

Who . . .

Just as I suspected. Except his tone when he said that word was too full of angst for someone who was merely sleeping with the victim. She flicked the shredded grass off her leg and turned to face him, studying his expression. Definitely more than sex. “You were in love with her.”

He looked away, his expression full of naked pain. “What I felt for her is irrelevant. I offered her a refuge when she needed it, so that’s why she spent some time coming and going here. But she left for college. Abram put her on that bus out of town and watched it leave. He told me so.” His breath caught, but he kept talking. “She texted me when she got there. She was safe, damn it.”

Eden didn’t tell him that no one in this world was safe. He’d learned that the hard way, and driving the point home now would just be cruel. She stretched her legs out and crossed her ankles, considering him. For all his obvious angst, there was one glaring truth she couldn’t quite let go of.

Elouise had willingly chosen to leave him behind. He obviously had strong feelings for her, and even if she’d returned them, she’d still put college before him. Before Elysia.

People had killed for less.

She uncrossed and recrossed her ankles, keeping her body language relaxed and her tone vaguely interested. “Were you mad she left?”

He frowned. “Mad? No. I mean, I was disappointed, and I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t try to convince her to stay. She promised she’d consider Elysia once she had her degree. That was good enough for me.”

So he said. No way to determine if he was telling the truth.

She’d pass the information on to Zach, but she wasn’t sure what to think of Lee. On the one hand, he’d obviously cared very deeply for the girl. On the other, there was the whole thought process of If you’re not with me, then you won’t be with anyone. He could both kill her and grieve her with that mind-set.

She’d seen it happen before.

But for now she had enough information to get rolling, and she’d get confirmation of what he’d told her independently to verify it was the truth. She couldn’t take his sorrow at face value—she couldn’t take anything here at face value.

Eden pushed to her feet. I won’t get anything else out of him right now. Better to circle back after I’ve talked to a few other people. “If I have more questions—”

“I’ll hear from you. Got it.” He raised his head, his eyes shining, just a little. “I don’t like you on principle. I don’t get you. You left this all behind, and for what—to rub elbows with the worst humanity has to offer? I don’t get how you stand it.” He took a deep breath. “But I’m glad Elouise has someone—someone who understands—looking out for her.”

Eden didn’t have to ask what he meant. Someone who understood Elysia. Someone who’d seen the worst the world had to offer and who could come back swinging. Lee was right about one thing—she had seen the worst humanity had to offer. He was just wrong about where she’d seen it.

She made her way back to her car, not having the energy to go another round with her mother. They weren’t anywhere near close to finishing this hunt, and if she had to deal with the passive-aggressive pokes and questions on a daily basis, she might lose her mind.

By the time she made it back to the courtyard, it was empty, everyone having gone off to their varying duties. Martha might be a monster of a particular variety, but she had a well-run establishment. But then, she would. Keep her people too busy to stop and wonder about some of the insane shit she preaches. That saying about idle hands didn’t originate with the Greeks, but her mother had never been shy about incorporating whatever dogma she found most useful. No one questioned it.

No one but Eden.

And she’d paid for every question she’d asked.

She stopped next to her car, slowing her movements, because if she didn’t exert total control, she was going to fling herself into the driver’s seat and tear out of here as fast as the car could go. She wouldn’t stop in Clear Springs. She’d just keep driving until she put a few states between her and Elysia.