Page 96 of The Warrior
Khan played some of the conversation for her, and several times he looked up at me when blatant treason was discussed. “The evidence is there, Mom. Zobel is a fucking traitor and you need to accept it. He wanted Magni to kill me.”
She was miserable and confused, and it dawned on me that I remembered her standing up to my father in my childhood. Where had that feistiness gone?
“Why would you defend him? Do you love him that much?” I asked her.
“I don’t love him. But I don’t want him to die either.”
“Where is your indignation that he wanted to kill your son?” I asked. “How can you not be furious with him?”
She hid her face in her hands, sobbing. “I don’t understand what is happening. I trusted him. Why would he do something like that?”
I groaned. “The man has always been a greedy selfish bastard, that’s why.” Seeing my mom crying made me regret I hadn’t strangled Zobel with my own hands. She deserved so much better than him.
Khan leaned in and kissed Erika on the top of her hair. “Mom, it’s going to be all right. I’m going to have Pearl come up here and talk to you. She’s much better at things like this.”
We waited in the room for Pearl to arrive. She and Khan spoke softly by the door as he brought her up to speed.
“Oh no.” Pearl drew a hand in front of her mouth, and then she looked to Erika with deep sympathy on her face.
We left the women with Pearl holding her arm around Erika, and speaking low to her.
After closing the door, Khan looked at me and drew a deep sigh. “It’s early, but I could use a cold beer before I go deal with those fuckers.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you don’t have to ask for Pearl’s permission first?”
“Very funny. You want a beer or not?”
A smile tugged at my lips. “Hell yeah, I want a beer.”
CHAPTER 25
Broken
Magni
Khan and I had only emptied half of our beer when Archer called me.
He might as well have dunked my head in a bucket of ice water when he told me the bad news.
“Why the hell was she on the roof?” I exclaimed and stood up.
“What happened.” Khan stood up too. “Who was on a roof?”
“Mila.”
“Finn was here, and he took care of her. Mila is going to be all right,” Archer assured me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. She broke her leg and a wrist, but the worst part is her concussion. She’s been throwing up and seeing double.”
It was like my head was about to explode. “For fuck’s sake, Archer. How could you let this happen?”
“They were playing hide and seek. The boys go up there all the time. I guess it was just icy and slippery.”
“But this is Mila, she’s…” I stopped myself from saying “precious” since that would indicate I didn’t care about the boys, which wasn’t true.
“Laura is with her but Mila has been asking for you.”
