Page 105 of Mimic

I’d hoped King would have calmed down by the time we returned to the clubhouse. That hope was lost when, as soon as Indie and I had cleaned up, he yanked me into church and shoved me into a chair.

We were alone, only the two of us, as he sat in his seat and glared at me. I kept my mouth shut and waited for him to speak. I lost track of how long we’d sat there when Cash poked his head through the door.

“They’re here.”

King looked up and nodded. Standing, he walked to the door, and I assumed he was going to talk to whoevertheywere. Looking back at me, he snarled, “Don’t fucking move.” Then he left me alone.

Okay, maybe he was more than a little mad. King didn’t have a sister. He didn’t know what it felt like to know she was in trouble. I wouldn’t apologize for going after her. And there was no way in hell I would apologize for Indie killing that psycho bitch.

The doors opened, and Rose and Indie walked in, followed by Sam. I stood up, every muscle in my body tightening with panic.

“Where are the babies? Charlie?”

“Relax, they’re all fine. They’re at the house. King asked me to be here. For you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” Sam sat down next to me, and Rose sat on the other side of her. She held out her hands to both of us. Indie took the chair on my other side and reached for my other hand. Fuck, now I was really panicking.

The doors opened, and King and the officers walked in, followed by Bane, and a woman I hadn’t seen in over ten years.

“MOM!” Rose jumped from her chair and launched herself at our mother. Tears ran down both their faces as they clung to each other.

I felt nothing. No, that wasn’t true. I was angry. My blood was fucking boiling at the woman who left us. She held onto my sister as she stared at me.

She looked the same, only older. Thinner than I ever remembered seeing her.

“Mimic,” Sam whispered beside me. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t voice what I was feeling right now. Indie squeezed my hand, scooting closer to me. She whispered in my ear, “She loves you, Mimic. She never stopped. He lied. Don’t let him win.”

I knew what she was doing. She wanted me to do what Rose had done. She wanted me to run to my mother and embrace her in my arms. That was what she would do if her mother were standing there.

“Thorne,” Rose called.

I shook my head, letting my eyes drop to the table. I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t let my mind accept that she was here. She wasn’t real. She was gone. I had a new mom now. I didn’t need her anymore.

Sam pushed her chair back and stood. The next thing I knew, someone took her place. The scent of her perfume assaulted me. It was the same as when I was a kid. Vanilla. It was my favorite. A reminder of the cookies she used to bake, and the candles she burned every day.

Her hand reached out and settled over mine. “Thorne.” The sound of her voice stirred something inside me. A memory from deep within. One I’d buried, along with a thousand others as I tried to forget her.

“Baby, please look at me.”

I clung to Indie’s hand. She was my lifeline. The one thing that tethered me to this reality. My head swam in a whirlwind of memories clashing together like the tide. Memories I cherished, of a loving mother, contradicted by years of conditioning about a woman who no longer wanted me.

“I’ve missed you so much. Hope of finding you and your sister was the only thing that got me through all the shit they did.”

My head snapped up. My mother didn’t swear. She hated it. She didn’t use those fucking words that she forbade us from saying.

“It’s too fucking late.” I yanked my hand back. Standing abruptly as my chair slid back against the wall, I stormed toward the doors, when Bane caught my arm.

“She is your mother.”

“Fuck you.”

“August, let him go.” I turned to look at her. Dakota screamed in my head.She didn’t want you. She gave you to me. She’d had enough of you.Every vile thing he said about her overrode everything she once meant to me.

I wrenched my arm free and stormed out to my bike. The faint sound of Indie calling my name penetrated my brain enough to slow me down. She climbed on behind me, her arms wrapping around my waist, holding me tight. A promise that she had my back. That she wouldn’t let go.