Gripping his hand tightly, I stood, and he led me to the common room. My mother was standing instead of sitting in any of the available seats. Chin raised, her cool gaze tracked me and followed each step as we grew closer.
“Korrie,” she said cordially, but I didn’t miss the slight disdainful curl of her lip and then the narrowing of her eyes when she looked at Angel. Blonde hair tightly coifed, hard glint in her pale eyes, expensive pale pink cashmere suit, and red-bottomed beige heels, she exuded money and power.
“Mother,” I replied as we stopped in front of her.
“I need you to come with me.” Her demand was almost laughable. As if she thought I’d actually give her two seconds of my time.
“Fuck, no,” Angel growled out. I gave him a glance that said I could take care of myself.
“In this case, I heartily agree with him,” I said with a fake as hell smile. Anger simmered in her eyes, but she held her cool—always the perfectly poised politician.
“Is there somewhere we can talk?” she asked me as she obviously snubbed Angel. The squeeze of his hand gave me courage.
“We can talk here. Would you like to have a seat?” Motioning toward one of the tables, I waited for her answer. It was the only time I’d offer. If she wanted to stand, then maybe her visit would be brief.
“No.” Her lip curled again. “However, I think you might want some privacy for this.”
“No, I don’t think I do,” I replied with a raise of my brow.
“Fine. You want all of your new friends to know our family’s dirty secrets, so be it. Oh wait, I forgot you’re well acquainted with your littlefriendJude,” she said with a sneer. “You’ve whored yourself out to him before.”
“Mother, that’s unnecessary,” I said through clenched teeth.
“If you have something to say, ma’am, I suggest you say it and get the fuck out of here,” Angel said. Repressed rage practically shimmered off him like heat on the summer asphalt.
My mother tipped her head as she turned to him. “Tell me, Mr. Bearheart. Did you know your mother was a two-timing whore?”
“Mother!” I shouted as I slapped a hand on Angel’s chest when he made a move toward her. His chest was heaving as his jaw clenched, the muscle on my side ticking wildly.
“Yes, be a good lapdog,” she crooned sarcastically.
His brothers edged closer—a united front, dressed in leather. Venom and Raptor flanked us. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Voodoo’s grandmother quietly staring at the drama unfolding.
My mother lifted her chin defiantly yet appeared to think twice about her position. “I didn’t come here to discuss old news, anyway.”
“Then please tell me why you’re here. This isn’t a good time,” I said as I fought a shudder of anger. No way was I telling my mother that Trace was missing, because she didn’t deserve to know anything. She’d never been a grandmother and had in fact been a vile human being regarding her own flesh and blood. We’d been nothing but a commodity to use, abuse, and exploit.
She glanced around. “Maybe I should preface this by telling you that I know what all of you do. I’ve compiled quite the little dossier on your club, its members, and your businesses. Anything happens to me, and those files end up in places you don’t want them.”
Fear choked me at the thought that Angel and his brothers could be compromised because of my mother. I didn’t know everything they did, but I did know they had killed and disposed of Lester Damon. They also had mad hacking skills that allowed them to create a realistic, iron-clad smokescreen for what they’d done. That alone told me they boldly skated the lines of legality.
“You have five minutes to spit out what you crawled in here to say,” Venom growled. No one else said a word, but tensions were high as hell. My mother sent a silent glare in his direction.
“Lester’s father knows what happened to him, and he’s coming after each and every one of you. You made a very dangerous enemy.” Then she turned to me. “All you had to do was your fucking job, Korrie. Keep shit quiet, and you continued to live your cushy life. Instead, you ruined everything and jumped back intohisbed the first chance you had. I warned you what would happen if you didn’t follow through. Debts needed to be paid,” she said cryptically.
“I didn’t owe anyone anything. You threatened me with my son. That’s not a debt, that’s blackmail.” She was insane.
“Sometimes you do what you have to do to get where you want to be in life. You make decisions about who and what are expendable. I regret none of my decisions. It’s all about the greater good. Perhaps you should have stopped to consider your allegiances at length before you chose your sides.” Her jaw ticked, and her nostrils flared slightly.
“What does that mean?” I asked, though I was afraid of the answer.
She stepped into my personal space, but I refused to back away. “It means, dear daughter, an eye for an eye.” The last she said in an ominous whisper as she cast a glance at Angel.
Straightening haughtily, she turned her back to me and walked toward the door with her heels clicking on the concrete floor. Before she exited, she paused and looked over her shoulder. “Oh, and Jude? Just so you know?” She opened the door, and a gust of icy air swept through the room. “You’re never going to see your son again, and you can blame yourself and Korrie for that. You made a colossal mistake.”
The door slammed as she stepped out into the cold morning, and everyone sat in a momentary stunned silence. Then Angel roared as he raced for the door. Several brothers grabbed him before he made it out. He was thrashing and fighting to free himself.
Venom shouted for Ghost. “Follow that bitch!”