Her eyes narrowed and I could tell she was having some kind of silent conversation with him, but in the end, she sighed, then nodded. He gave her a squeeze and kissed her forehead before walking out the door.
“Mom, what’s going on?” I asked (again).
She bit her lip, glanced at Teagan then back at me before letting out a long, exaggerated breath. “Teagan, honey, can you give me and Cash a minute, please?”
Teagan hesitated, worry written in the tight lines of her face, but I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging smile and she walked out the door.
Mom dragged the chairs next to Dad’s desk, so they were facing each other and waved to one. “Have a seat, baby.”
I lowered myself into one of the chairs and Mom did the same. She fidgeted with the hem of her T-shirt, so much so, I reached out and took her hands. “Mama, what’s going on?”
“I have something to tell you, and it’s not good.”
“Jesus, what?”
“I honestly thought I was going to take this to my grave but I think you should know everything.”
“Okay,” I said, quietly. Carefully.
“You know how you have a tendency to take the world on your shoulders?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She met my eyes. “I know you worried you didn’t do enough to protect Chelsea.”
“It’s not just that, I hate that you know about what we did to Eric. I hate that you know that I’m capable of hurting somebody like that, you know? To that level?”
She swallowed. “That’s why I think it’s important that you know what I’m about to tell you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and I are more alike than you think. I tend to feel responsible for people as well and I take a lot of that on because I was victimized as a young woman and your dad got me out of a very bad situation when we first met. I swore I’d never let that happen to me again, or anyone I loved.”
I squeezed her hands as tears slid down her cheeks.
“When Chelsea was raped, I was shattered. She was my heart, along with yours. She was in my kindergarten class for god’s sake. I felt like she was one of my own, you know?”
“Yeah, Mama, I know.”
“So, when this asshole followed her and took her from us, I was beyond pissed. Life in prison wasn’t enough. He needed to hurt.” She looked at me again. “So I made sure he hurt.”
“What?”
“I have a few connections of my own, baby. Kids who’ve been caught in the system. Kids who I’ve helped over the years. Some who are on the right side of the law and some who aren’t. The right word here, a small exchange of money there, or a favor perhaps, meant a guard looked the other way while Lucian was beaten and shanked to death. A man died because of my actions.”
“Holy fuckin’ shit, Mama, you did that?”
“I did that.”
“And Dad sanctioned it?”
“Dad didn’t know.” She sighed. “Until after the fact. To say he was beyond pissed was an understatement, but I had to tell him, because he’s my ride or die. My absolute everything, but it was also the right thing to do in case of blowback.”
“Was there blowback?”
“No. My people are my people. They’re loyal. And I’m generous.”
“Jesus, Mom, you sound like the Godfather.”
