Page 35 of Behind the Shadows

“She’s come back to destroy you, Kip. That girl is not safe. Not for you. She’s playing with you. You’re nothing more than her puppet on a string. By now you’re probably so obsessed with her that all you’re thinking with is your dick.” She stared at me, then leaned over and spat on my shoes. “Worthless.”

I shoved my fingers through my hair, trying not to smother her with a fucking pillow. Would I ever be truly free from the one monster who haunted me? Even when she died, her voice was so deeply rooted in my mind, I wasn’t sure.

I resisted the urge to scratch the scars on my arm. I wouldn’t give the bitch the satisfaction. “She doesn’t even remember me.”

“That’s what she wants you to believe.” Mother reached for her glass of water and took a sip. “And when she twists the knife—when she finally brings it all crashing down—don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I narrowed my gaze at her, hate radiating off me. “You’re lying again,” I snarled, each word laced with venom.

“You’re unstable.”

The words hit harder than a slap, and my chest squeezed tight.

“You’ve always needed structure,” she continued, trying to sit up and smoothing the silk robe across her arm. “Rules. Boundaries. Medication. You’ve never handled chaos well. That girl was chaos, Kip. She pulled the worst out of you and made you into a … monster.”

“She didn’t?—”

“She seduced you. Twisted you. She knew what she was doing. She led you to the edge and then looked surprised when you jumped.”

“I never touched her like that. I?—”

“You wanted her. Obsessively.” Her pitch dropped lower, quieter. “Don’t deny it. I read your journals. I saw the things you drew. The words you carved into your arms. You were consumed by her.”

My skin turned cold. I hadn't remembered the drawings. The words. But something in her tone told me maybe she was being honest.

Or maybe she was just so convincing that I couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

Was she right about Samantha? Did she remember who I was, and she was playing me? Using me to keep her safe from Draco and Cooper?

Mother reached over, grabbed her oxygen mask, and held it. “Samantha isn’t up for discussion anymore. Besides, I need to talk to you about something else that’s more important. I want you to meet an old friend of mine. He was close with your uncle as well.”

Suspicion flowed through my veins. She rarely mentioned my uncle, Vinny, since he’d died a few years ago. He’d been my sanity in some twisted ways, taught me how to clean up after acrime scene and decimate a body. When Mother was sick of me, she would send me to help him take care of the messy aftermath.

“Why?” I bit out and crossed my arms in a futile attempt to defend myself from the damage Mother was once again causing.

“When he reached out to me, he asked if I could do him a favor. I’m on my deathbed, of course I’ll grant my old friend a last wish.”

“Get to the point. What’s the favor he needs done?”

“You’ll have to discuss it with him. He didn’t give me any details. He just asked to meet you. There’s no harm in that, is there?” Her eyebrow arched slightly.

Everything Mother did had an underlying reason. Out of curiosity, I asked, “What’s his name and how do I get in touch with him?”

She pointed to the top of her dresser. “There’s a white card with a phone number on it. Text him.”

I spotted the information and picked it up. There wasn’t a name, only a number. “What’s his name, Mother? You need to tell me who I’m meeting, or I won’t go.”

She offered me a twisted smile. “You’ll go, or I’ll deal with Samantha myself, and you’ll never get what you want.”

Her words stunned me for a moment, then I marched over to her, and got in her face. “You’re a fucking bitch,” I growled. “You can’t manipulate me with her anymore. That’s over. She means nothing to me. Do with her what you want.”Now who’s not telling the truth?

She threw her head back and laughed, her petite body shaking. “Don’t bother lying to me. You’re obsessed with her, or you wouldn’t have stomped over here demanding answers. It’s starting all over again, isn’t it? Are you watching her? Waiting outside her workplace? Following her?” Her smile dropped off her lips as she pinned me with a hateful glare. “You’re a fucked-up mess. Nothing has changed.”

“I’ve had enough.” I tossed the card back onto her dresser. “I don’t need you to find answers. See you in hell, bitch.” I turned on my heel and headed to the door, then she whispered a name that made me freeze in my fucking tracks.

15

HOLLAND