MYDRIVEHOMEPASSES by in a blur. As much as Brenner annoys the fuck out of me, I could kiss him for sabotaging what was about to go down. I doubt I’ll be so lucky in the future.
When I park Donovan’s car, Breckin emerges from the shadows. He must’ve been waiting for me to get home; pity he wasn’t at his own place. The only thing I want to do is shower Collins off my skin and go to bed.
If I had expected anyone to be waiting in the garage, it would’ve been my brother, waiting for his precious car to get home so he could check it over and make sure I didn’t fuck it up.
I shut off the car and stepped out, slamming the door behind me.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Breckin says.
He stops in his tracks when he takes in my costume. An amused smile pulls at the corner of his lips.
“What the hell are you wearing?”
“Nope,” I say, popping the p, while I walk by him. I’m in no mood to play twenty questions tonight.
Relief floods through me when he doesn’t beg for my attention, though he follows close behind as I enter the mansion. The garage is hidden under a hill behind the ballroom.
When my grandfather built this place, he wanted to be able to get away if shit went sideways. The place is a fucking fortress, but it’s never a bad idea to have a backup escape.
Voices grow louder as we get closer to the foyer. The shrill sound of an angry harpy ranting about god only knows. I turn to look at Breckin, and he just shrugs. Usually, the woman has barricaded herself into her room by midnight.
Reaching the end of the hall, we push through the door camouflaged as a coat closet and take in the scene in front of us. My father stands in the large open foyer with an amused expression on his face. To his left, Donovan watches our mother’s animated movements with apparent boredom. And, of course… there’s the witch herself.
Tawny stands in a white robe, hair pulled back and red in the face from anger. I’m not sure what they were arguing about, and I couldn’t care less. It doesn’t matter how pissy I am with my life and situation. That bitch will not raise her voice to my fucking father while I’m around.
“Do not try to be cute, Nathaniel,” Tawny spits.
Dad’s eyes find mine, and he smirks. Why I’ve let this woman live so long is a mystery to us all, and I know my father’s smile results from all the ways he imagines ending her pathetic life.
“Don’t you have some underboss to go fuck, Mother?” I interject.
Tawny goes rigid when I speak, her anger ratcheting even higher. She rounds on me, taking a few steps forward, and I raise my chin, accepting the challenge.
“You!” she growls, pointing a long, manicured talon at me.
Bold.
“She was on a mission tonight, Tawny,” my dad says, earning a scoff from my mother.
She detests my involvement in the business, so that comment probably fueled whatever fire is burning under her ass at the moment.
“I was waiting to hear from her to ensure our daughter was okay.”
My mother purses her lips as she mulls over what he just said.
“Right,” she sneers. “Wasn’t she supposed to be seducing the hacker? It looks like—”
“Careful,” I caution.
Whatever snide comments she has for me tonight, I’m not in the mood. Apparently, she’s becoming brave after all these years of me extending her life.
I watch in amusement as she battles with herself. I should just end it now, stop toying with her and give in to the inevitable. My hand glides inside the jacket I slipped on before driving home. When I grip the handle of my knife, my mother’s eyes zero in on my movements.
With her decision made, she scoffs and storms off in the direction of her room. Cocking my head to the side and tightening my hold on my knife, I imagine sending it through the air into the back of her head.
Tawny’s death will be sweet, and I will bathe in her blood, but now isn’t the time. Releasing the handle, I drop my hand back to my side. Breckin stands to my right, silently taking in the goings-on.
I meet my father’s gaze and raise an eyebrow. He grunts and runs a hand down his face.