Page 166 of Savage Reign

“Me?” I asked. I was taken aback. I had thought I would only be here to hear what she had to say.

He nodded. “Whatever you decide, baby. We’ll respect your decision.”

Mom made more noise from her gag, squirming on the chair like she thought if she moved a lot, she might be able to get out of her bind.

“Can you remove the tape from her mouth?” I asked quietly.

Maverick nodded and pulled the tape off. Mom started screaming as soon as her mouth was free.

“I was wrong. You’re not just with the youngest Tiernan bastard. You whore yourself out to all the brothers, don’t you?”

Her eyes were focused on Killian’s hand, still holding mine. And she must have picked it up when Maverick called me baby.

I didn’t answer her.

What I did and who I did it with wasn’t her concern. She lost the right to know about what went on in my life the day she abandoned me to my abusive asshole of a father.

I let go of Killian and took a step forward. He stopped me.

“She’s tied to the chair,” I said. “I don’t think she can hurt me.”

He hesitated before finally letting me go. But he and Silas followed close behind. I would have rolled my eyes at that had I not thought the action was pretty endearing.

“I just…” I wiped my palm on my jeans. “I just want to know why you left me. Did you ever love me?”

She laughed, the sound harsh. “Love you? You ruined my life. I would have aborted you had my father not threatened to cut me off. The old bastard always had a soft spot for children.”

She shook her head, and I blinked.

“And then what does he do once you’re here?” Mom asked, though it didn’t seem like she was looking for an answer. She shook her head in disgust. “He left you his entire fucking fortune.”

She scoffed. “That was supposed to be mine.”

“I didn’t ask for it.”

“And yet, it’s yours. For a while, things were bearable, especially when Daniel finally gained power in Chicago and took over the narcotics trade. But your useless bastard of a father had no idea how to stay on top. How to run things. The bastard nearly got us all killed from all his debts. You would think he’d learn his lesson the first time someone came for us. So I did the only thing I could do. I left.”

“You left me behind,” I said, trying not to sound hurt.

“I didn’t want to be a mom. And even if I did, do you really think Daniel would have let you go that easily? That he would let the heir of Stocken Isle go? The only reason why he let me go was that I still have standing with some of my father’s old friends, and he knew they would come for him if he did anything to me. Surprised the bastard lasted as long as he did.”

She smiled then, and I didn’t know why, but she just looked so… scary when she smiled.

Was that normal? To be so afraid of my own mother?

“He’s never going to give you up, you know.”

“You mean Sebastian?”

Her smile widened. “You’re his way out. The only way he can take back Chicago.”

I turned back to look at my men. They had been silent this whole time, letting me take the lead, but judging from the look intheir eyes, I knew they were moments away from taking over and maybe… even getting rid of her for good.

Would I be able to get over it if they killed my mom?

My dad was one thing, but my mom?

I didn’t know.

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