“Stop lying, Mother.”
“I’m not lying, sweetheart.”
“Enough,” I seethed.
Duncan squeezed my hand, both calming me and giving me strength. Mom noticed the action. Her gaze sliding to the man next to me for the first time since we walked into the room.
“Who are you?” She wrinkled her nose.
“I’m none of your concern.”
“This is a family matter, Sloane. Why have you involved these people?”
“Family?” I took a step closer. “You wanna talk about family?These people, as you call them, are my family. Do you even care why I left Tennessee without saying goodbye? Do you even want to know why I’ve ignored your calls and texts?”
“Of course I do.” She leaned forward. “I’m your mother.”
“Not anymore, you’re not. A real mother doesn’t deliberately hurt her child, or plot against her grandchildren.”
“What are you talking about? You’re not making sense.”
“Cut the act. I saw the texts between you and Dad. Not only did you know about Shannon, you used me to find her. But the worst part was when you said you would have the kids tested.” I slapped my hand to my chest. “My babies.”
“Your father is sick. We should be doing everything we can to save him.”
“Do you even hear yourself?”
“They’re young and healthy. He could die without a new kidney. Is that what you want?”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re being selfish.”
Direct hit to my heart. Not because I believed the nonsense she was spewing, but because some part of me hoped the woman who raised me would make a reappearance. Sadly, this version of my mother was far too gone to be redeemable.
“We’re done. Don’t call me, don’t message, don’t even breathe my name.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
Suddenly, I was exhausted, both mentally and physically.
“Please take me home, Duncan.”
8SHOCK WAVES OF PLEASURE
Duncan
I had a rule against hitting women. Maeve Beckington was about to become an exception. This woman was seriously whacked in the head. The way she spoke, as if it was Sloane’s duty as a daughter to put her father’s welfare above her own or her children’s, was utter bullshit.
I draped my arm over her shoulder. “With pleasure, Sunshine.”
“Wait. Aren’t you going to tell them to let me go?”
“No,” I growled at the same time Sloane said, “Not a chance.”
Maeve dropped the loving mom facade when it was clear her efforts were wasted. Her face curled into a sneer right before she launched to her feet. Waverly and Shayne struggled to get her under control, no doubt being cautious because of who she was.