Page 58 of Bone's Destiny

“Obviously. So my mother was a jealous drug addict who’d probably been whoring herself out so she could get her next fix. Lovely. I need a drink.” He left the room.

Destiny gaped at Micah’s choice of words. I’d heard how the poor thing was forced to turn tricks. I couldn’t imagine what she’d been through.

I turned toward Ben. “How are you?” Recalling that night made me nauseous, so I knew he felt even worse.

“Wishin’ I had a drink too.” He cuddled me close. “I hate this, Margaret.”

“Me too.”

“All right, let’s get this over with.” Micah returned to the room with a bottle of whiskey and a glass and sat next to Destiny. “If Ellie wasn’t pregnant with me when she left the first time, and you all weren’t having problems when she returned from her hiatus, how do I exist?”

“She forced relations with him,” I blurted the words before I chickened out.

“What the actual fuck?” Buff growled.

Reign whispered into his ear. Whatever she said seemed to defuse him.

Micah choked on his drink. “Excuse me?”

“You know. Assaulted him.” I swallowed thickly, praying that would be enough for him. Please Lord, let it be enough.

Micah burst into maniacal laughter. “Really? Have you seen his size? She did no such thing.”

“Believe what you want, but she raped your father.” Goose bumps covered my arms, and an icy chill bolted down my spine.

“How?” Micah sneered at me.

“While we were having sex, Ellie came to our home. She must have followed us.” My throat felt like it was collapsing. I didn’t want to go on, but there was no stopping with ten pairs of eyes on me.

“I’d forgotten to lock the goddamn door. The bitch just let herself in,” Ben told him. “She injected me with something that had the same effect as roofies. It was like I was paralyzed but knew what was happening.”

Micah stared at Ben for the longest minute of my life, then swooped his gaze to me. “Why didn’t you help him?”

“It all happened so fast.” A sob hung in my lungs. “Before I knew what was going on, I was handcuffed to the headboard, my ankles tied, and forced to watch her take what she wanted.” Bile shot into my throat, and I rushed to the bathroom and gagged into the sink. Ellie had made a spectacle of herself, moaning loudly and crying out Ben’s name while she fucked him. She’d woken Abe, and I couldn’t get to my baby. I couldn’t help my husband. I hated how helpless I’d been that night. Hated it with a passion.

All we could do was lie side by side while that vile psycho tried to destroy us. She almost had because the trauma left in her wake had been unbearable. An event like that changes a person in all kinds of ways. For me, it had made me more cautious and ruthless.

Ben handed me a towel. “I’m sorry you’re having to relive it in front of an audience.”

“I’m sorry you are too.” I wilted in his arms. My poor man. He remained strong for me, but I felt him shaking inside. “We can stop, baby.”

“No, we can’t. Let’s get it over with once and for all.”

Micah was wearing out the floor, pacing when we returned. He stopped hard and faced us. “My birth mother is a drug addict, a whore, and a rapist. And she’s your half-sister? Is that what you’re telling me?” He was close to losing it.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I am your mother. I love you more than anything, Micah.” I stepped toward him, and he backed away.

“How? Why? I must be a constant reminder of that horrific night.” He squeezed his head between his hands. “Jesus, Christ. This is all too much.”

I knew it would be, which was why we’d tried to keep it all a secret.

Destiny went to Micah, but he was in a bad way and wouldn’t let her touch him. She didn’t fight him, though she probably should have set him straight before he self-destructed.

“Where is she now? Don’t lie to me, or you’ll never see me again!” He pointed his shaking finger at me, gritting his teeth.

“She’s dead, son,” Ben replied.

“Dead? Oh, that’s just fucking rich. Perfect. Now I’ll never know the vile woman who gave me life.”

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