Page 62 of Malicious Wedding

“I wouldn’t put that past him,” she says, mostly to herself. “But that’s good, dear, that’s good. Are you sure there wasn’t any overt coercion? Perhaps only some pressure you now regret?”

“Like you said, he’s good at bending things to his will. Including me, it seems.”

“You’d be surprised, actually. It took him a long time, but—” She stops herself. “How much has Carson told you about himself?”

Another question I didn’t expect. “Not a lot. I mean, I know most of it already. I know all about your, uh—”

“Our organized crime family?” she asks. “Yes, you should, considering your father and your brother are both members.”

“Exactly.” I shift, uncomfortable. “Otherwise, Carson hasn’t said a whole lot about the last ten years.”

“I guess he wouldn’t.” She purses her lips. “Are you sure you’re not here against your will? I’ll only ask you one more time. If you say yes, I swear, I’ll help you. I love my son, but I won’t let his inclinations hurt anyone.”

Inclinations? That’s a weird way to sayinsanity.

“It’s extremely unnerving that you keep asking, but no, I’m not here against my will.” I take a big sip of wine. “He wouldn’t actually do that, right? Kidnap me and force me to marry him?”

“Apparently not.” She sounds surprised as her expression softens again. She reaches out to take my hand. “I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to hear that Carson went and married you without at least speaking to me first, but I’m very happy you’re now a part of our family. Let me be the first, and I suspect only, Crowley to welcome you.”

I stare at her, not sure what to say. On the one hand, it’s extremely sweet: this woman is a member of a powerful family and, from what I’ve heard, she’s considered the brains behind the operation. But on the other, I absolutelydon’twant to be welcomed, not into her family, not into anything resembling her family.

Unfortunately, this is my situation.

“Thank you,” I finally manage to say.

There’s another noise down the hall. Molly stands, smoothing her pants, as Carson comes storming into the room.

Chapter28

Ash

Carson stares at his mother for a long moment before his eyes flit down to me. I get up, feeling awkward, like I walked in on something I shouldn’t have.

“Mother,” he says, his tone sharp. “I heard you showed up. Why didn’t you call first?”

“Because I didn’t want you to be here.” She sounds disappointed that he arrived so quickly. “I hoped you would be gone longer.”

“I ran back the moment my security system alerted me to your presence.”

She clucks her tongue. “I forgot about that silly thing.”

“Wait, your home security knew your mom was here?” I look around, searching for cameras. “How does that even work?”

“Facial recognition,” Carson says, waving me away as if it’s totally normal he’s got cameras scanning every face that comes into his home. “Mother, why did you show up without speaking to me first?”

“Because I wanted to make sure this girl wasn’t in trouble.” She comes around the couch and it’s like I can barely breathe. His own mother is straight up saying that to him? Right to his face? But if the implication bothers Carson beyond a minor annoyance, he doesn’t show it.

“We have a mutually beneficial arrangement,” he says, glaring at her hard. “You don’t have any right to get involved.”

“I have every right. I’m your mother. And you know I worry about your… little obsessions.”

Carson’s eyes glance at me for a moment. That word pierces deep into my stomach.Obsession. His littleobsessions. What does she mean by that, and why do I get the distinct feeling that I’m missing something important here?

“Ashlyn is safe,” he says, moving closer to his mother. “I understand I should have approached you sooner, but you must know why I didn’t.”

“You were worried. I can see that.”

“Despite what you may think, I didn’t force anything in this situation. Ash is here by her own choice.”

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