Page 162 of Savage Reign

I opened my eyes and took in my mom. She was in dark blue jean shorts that no woman her age should be wearing, a white T-shirt that showed her flat belly, and paired with a black leather jacket.

Her brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, and her face had barely any wrinkles or blemishes. My mom had me young. She was still pretty young, only in her mid-forties, but she was still as stunning as I remembered her to be.

It had only been a couple of months since I’d last seen her, yet there was something different about her, and I didn’t know why that was.

I was a mix of both my parents, though I knew I looked more like my dad. But it was easy to see I got my eyes from her. A unique blend of blue and green that my men seemed to love about me. How was I going to be able to look at myself in the mirror after this meeting?

“Hmm, just thinking now that you’re with the Tiernan Syndicate, you’d forgotten all about where you’ve come from.”

“Trust me,” I said, and even I couldn’t disguise the bitterness in my voice. “I could never forget.”

“I don’t understand where this animosity toward your father came from,” she said dismissively.

“You don’t? Then why did you leave him?”

“Our marriage wasn’t working. It hadn’t been for a while. You know I only married him because your grandfather forced my hand. We tried to make it work, but your father was, well, you know how he was. He was still your father, and you owed him loyalty.”

“Loyalty?”

Did she really not know all the shit I had to endure at the club? I pulled the collar of my shirt down to my shoulder and apart of my back. The scars caused by the lash of the whip were old, but they were still pretty noticeable.

“Is this the kind of loyalty you’re talking about?”

If I had expected her to be surprised or even disgusted on my behalf, I’d have been wrong. She barely glanced at them, and I tried not to show her how much that hurt me.

“I’m sure whatever the reason for those, you earned them.”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Mila. You know how your father was.”

I shook my head and looked out at the water. “Why did you want to see me?”

“I told you, I missed you.”

I scoffed. “We both know that’s not true, Mother. You left me with Dad when I was eleven. Not once have you said those words to me.”

She let out a tired sigh as if I was exhausting to her. “It’s time you leave the Tiernan house and come with me. This tantrum you’re throwing is getting old, Mila.”

“Tantrum? I’m not throwing a tantrum, and I’m not coming with you.”

Mom’s eyes hardened, and any hope I might have had that she could love me the way a mother would love their daughter was dashed away, and in its place was an empty chasm. I pressed my hand down on my stomach, and Mom followed the movement. It took her a moment to figure it out, but I could see the disappointment and disgust in her eyes once she did.

“Oh, you stupid girl. What have you gotten yourself into?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t get myself into anything I can’t accept. We’re done here. Coming out here to see you was obviously a mistake.”

She grabbed my forearm, stopping me. I tried to pull away, but she only tightened her grip.

“We’re not done here. You’re coming with me.”

I laughed. Did she not realize I was no longer that eager-to-please girl who just wanted her mother to love her?

“I supposed you’re going to try to make me?”

She looked up at me, a strange look coming over her eyes. Then they brightened just as a shadow fell over us.

“No, but I am.”

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