Page 103 of Finish Line

Nick lowers his gun. “Sorry, Patty, we thought you were Roger.”

Luke does the same. “Sorry, Mrs. Tate.”

“Why the hell would you think I’m Roger?” she shouts.

“We thought you were out, and the front door was left unlocked.” Nick holsters his gun.

“Plus, Roger waited for me after work,” I tell her.

“So, every time I come home, I’m going to have a gun in my face because you have issues?” she snarls.

The guys stiffen, and Luke’s mouth opens to say something.

I place my hands on their arms and shake my head. “No, Mom. But it wouldn’t hurt to make sure you yell that you’re home whenever you enter the house. At least for a while.”

I pull a seething Luke toward the door with me.

“Also, lock the door behind yourself,” Nick commands. “That’s just common sense after what happened to your daughter and Hannah.”

“Fine, you’re right,” she says.

I turn back to her, impressed that Nick’s words got through to my mom.

She picks up a picture of her and my step-sister. “After Hannah’s ordeal, we should be more cautious.”

Luke lunges toward her, and my grip tightens to stop him.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go take a shower.” She sets the picture down and turns, dismissing us.

“Sorry for scaring you,” Nick says again, less sincere than the first time.

We step out into the hall and stop to process what just happened.

From inside the bedroom, my mom mumbles, “I can’t even come into my own house anymore.”

Her purse rattles like she’s digging through it again.

Unable to help myself, I motion for the guys to stay in the hallway and stride back through the bedroom door.

The contents of my mom’s purse lay on the bed, and she roots through everything, tossing items on the floor.

“Where is it?” She pounds her fist on the bed.

I have a feeling I know what she’s searching for and cough to gain her attention.

She spins, her features smooth until her eyes land on me, and she scowls. “What?”

I decide to take the high road. “I’m sorry we scared you.”

She huffs, her shoulders relaxing when I don’t call her out on what she’s doing.

“You aren’t taking what happened to me seriously, but you need to be careful.” Since she’s predictable about what will trigger a reaction, I add, “Peter will be upset if something happens to you.”

She stops to think over my words. “Should I be worried about Roger coming after me now that you’re home?”

Wow, thanks for the concerns, Mom.

“I don’t know. He’s unhinged.”

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