Worth Dying For by Beverly Barton Page A

amaze her how powerful her father was, not only in Mississippi, but in the entire South.
    Whatever he’d done, he’d done it for her. And her mother. And Leslie Anne. To protect them. He had rewritten history so that no one, especially her mother, would ever know the truth. In doing so, he’d given his wife one final gift in the last days of her life.
    But now those once protective lies had become a threat to Leslie Anne. The safe, secure world she’d known had now become a dangerous, ugly place. A place where monsters preyed on teenage girls. Where innocent children were born as a result of rape. Where children couldn’t trust their parents.
    Dante cleared his throat. Tessa’s mind jumped from introspection to the moment at hand. “Sorry,” she said. “My mind wandered.”
    “What’s the request?”
    “Oh, yes, the request. I’d appreciate it if you’d stay until Leslie Anne wakes up and has a chance to say goodbye. She apparently formed some type of bond with you.”
    He hesitated, then spoke quickly, as if he really didn’t want to see Leslie Anne again, but would do it anyway. “Sure, I’ll stay long enough to say goodbye to her.”
    What was wrong with him? Tessa wondered. The change in him, in his attitude, was subtle, but it was quite apparent.
    “Would you mind if we finish our coffee in the library?” she asked, wanting to get him alone before she asked him, point-blank, why he was acting so strangely.
    “I’ve finished.” He rose to his feet.
    She nodded, then stood, left her cup on the table and walked to the door. Dante followed, leaving Hal and Eustacia bickering good-naturedly while preparing G.W.’s tray.
    Once in the hallway, out of earshot of the others, Tessa paused and confronted Dante. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”
    He gave her an I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about look.
    “Something has changed with you,” she said.
    “The only change is that my job here is finished.”
    “No, it’s something else. You’re acting different—”
    He grabbed her arm. Her mouth opened on a surprised gasp. “Let’s discuss this in private.” He glanced back at the closed kitchen door.
    “All right.”
    She allowed him to lead her down the hall and into the library. Once he closed the sliding pocket doors, he turned to her. Her stomach fluttered with nervous trepidation. Instinct told her that she wasn’t going to like whatever he told her.
    “Lucie came by earlier.” Dante pointed to the large mahogany desk that dominated the room. “She brought a package she’d gotten out of Hannah Wright’s car. It’s a package that was delivered to Leslie Anne via the U.S. mail before she ran away from home.”
    With her heartbeat thundering in her ears, Tessa glanced at the large padded envelope on the desk. “What’s inside that envelope?”
    “Take a look for yourself,” he told her. “But be preparedto come face-to-face with your past.” He watched her with a mixture of sympathy and sadness.
    Fear clutched Tessa’s chest, momentarily making it difficult for her to breathe. Garnering her courage, she walked across the library to the desk. For several moments, she simply stared at the padded paper bag. She could do this. She had to.
    After lifting the envelope, she turned it upside down and dumped the contents onto the desk. Her hand trembled when she reached for the newspaper clippings scattered on the green felt blotter.
    “Are these newspaper articles about him? ” Tessa asked.
    “Yes,” Dante replied. “They’re all about Eddie Jay Nealy.”
    Tessa clutched her throat. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—look at those newspaper clippings. Just the mention of the man’s name shot a dose of instant fear through her mind and body. She laid the clippings on the desk hurriedly, as if by merely touching them she could somehow become contaminated. “This doesn’t make sense. Are you telling me that someone sent these—” she eyed the clippings “—to Leslie