Page 29

Tacy

I’m sitting beside my mother on the sofa. And I have a syringe of Duselizab in my pocket. Nurses often go home with medications in their scrubs that they meant to leave at work. In this case, I’m glad I have it.

My children have been returned to me without a single scratch. Without a single hair missing from their heads. But that’s because they were with their grandmother the entire time they were supposedly kidnapped. And, while she seems innocent and like any other typical old white lady, now I know she’s not. She’s been hiding her identity from me my whole life. My mother’s family called themselves “benefactors”. And while I was growing up, I heard people say I came from “old money” at least a hundred times. But I never paid much attention to it. I’ve never been a person focused on money. Maybe that’s because we had it growing up, I’m not sure, but now that I’m an adult I know the true meaning of hard work. And I never once asked my parents for money. Now I know where they got it. There were always rumors of my grandfather being an oil tycoon, but I never saw any evidence of that. My mother is a crime lord. And, despite the grin she’s forcing at me, I don’t put anything past her.

“Mom? I think the kids are tired, and so am I,” I say and try to act nonchalant. “I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for us. And I’m so glad you’re okay, too. We’ve all been through an ordeal.”

“Are you kicking me out, Tacy?” Her smile slants to the right. And she tilts her head in the same direction. One hand reaches up and fiddles with a diamond pendant my father gave her decades ago. Right before he mysteriously fell from his hotel balcony in Egypt.

“No, of course not. I just think I need a little rest. I mean, until tomorrow when I see a specialist about my fractured face,” I say and force a laugh. “In case you didn’t notice, it’s busted.”

She reaches out and touches my knee. “It could have been so much worse though, don’t you think?”

It’s not the question but the creepy smile accompanying it that incites a nagging uneasiness within me. “I mean…yeah…I guess it could have been.”

“I mean…you could have died, Tacy,” she says. And grins even wider.

I exhale slowly. My fists roll into balls. I’m prepared for anything. I don’t want to hurt my own mother. But I’ll do what I must to protect myself and my children. “Yes, I know. But I didn’t, Mother.”

“I think you’re putting your trust in the wrong people, Tacy,” she says. “You’re vilifying the wrong crowd.”

“I’m…I’m sorry? What do you mean?” I know exactly what she means, but I want her to say it. Admit that she’s the bad guy. And, if she is a part of The Org, does that mean she orchestrated my children’s exchange? Does this mean Declan is one of her guys? Does this also mean she knew or potentially put the hit out on my husband? And knew about my abduction? Oh my God.

My mother rises from the couch and walks to the bay window, then stares out quietly. “Your father and I tried to raise you properly. But you always were so rebellious.”

I hear a bedroom door close. The kids are headed to bed. Good. They don’t need to know their grandmother is a monster. I hope they stay in their rooms.

“Technically, my father left us when I was a baby.”

“Well, your stepfather. You know what I mean, Tacy,” she says and cracks her knuckles. “You never wanted to listen to me. Never wanted to listen to your grandparents. You just wanted to run wild in the woods. Hang out with your insufferable friends.”

“As teenage girls do.” I shift in my seat uneasily and make a mental note that my phone is on the coffee table, inches away. Maybe I should message Aris, but he’s dealing with his own shit. Still…the exchange is complete, and we are safe. Or…are we? I’m not worried about this old woman trying to take me on. I’m a little worried about who she has at her disposal, though. Is someone waiting just outside the house to aid her in some sort of sick plan?

Mom twirls her necklace around her finger, then turns to me. A forlorn look on her aging face. “Then you got mixed up with that church group.”

“Mom, it was a cult. And I really don’t want to talk about that right now. It’s been a long day. A long year, in fact, and we could all use some rest.” I stand to usher her out the door. Feeling more and more like there’s a snake in my den. One that may need its head cut off.

“I think it warrants a discussion, Tacy,” she says and pulls something metallic from her purse. “Don’t you?”

It’s a knife. She has a fucking knife. My own mother is threatening to stab me?

“Jesus Christ, Mom! What are you doing?”

She points the knife at me and motions for me to sit. “I said, we’re going to have a little talk. So, sit the fuck down.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid, Mom, please.” I put my hands up in the air as if to say I surrender. I sit at the edge of the couch cushion and stare at her. I refuse to take my eyes off her. My mind goes to the syringe in my pocket.

She goes radio silent for a moment but keeps the blade pointed at me. Then she says, “tell me about the man you murdered in Forest Grove.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Tacy. The man you murdered out in the woods that night. In the middle of Winter. Remember? You must remember one of them…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply and place my hand next to the pocket with the tranquilizer. Sure, it’s a medicine, but we know it has the power to knock people out. And kill them, if given too much. So…I’ll just give her a little bit, if she gets too close.

“I don’t,” I reply indignantly. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

She uses the knife to clean her fingernails like some sort of villain out of an action film. “You and your psychotic boyfriend took out two of my top men that night.”

“Your top men? What are you talking about? This is insane, Mother. Put down the knife!” I’m yelling in a hushed tone.

“Stop acting like you’re so innocent, Tacy. You’re a killer. And now, you’re on the wrong side of the court. You’re playing for the wrong team.” She hisses and walks closer, the knife at her side. “Our family is powerful. Your great grandfather started a club back in the early nineteen-hundreds. The club grew and grew, and our family profited. But it wasn’t without sacrifice.”

I gulp. “We can talk, Mom. Please just put down the knife. I’m your daughter, remember?”

Her eyes are wild but glued to me, like a predator homing in on its dinner. “I remember the look on my partner’s face when we found them, splattered all over the rocks below Hartman’s Cliff.” Her white eyebrows drop, and her look softens. She lays down the knife.

“Thank you.”

“It would be so much easier if you just listened to your mother for once,” she says, her voice quivering.

“Okay, what are you asking me to do?” I shift slightly, preparing to grab the syringe. My heart speeds up. My palms are slick with sweat. I hope the damn thing doesn’t slip out of my hand.

“Get out of the nursing field and join the company,” she says. “We could really use you.”

“I was just fired. So, perfect timing,” I reply and fake another smile. Is she buying this? Doesn’t really matter, because she and I both know even with that knife in her possession, I’m faster and stronger.

“Great,” she says, then picks up her purse and slides the knife inside. “Your medical knowledge coupled with your killer instinct will come in handy, my dear.”

My senses are heightened, and I’m prepared to lunge. But…I don’t have to, because she walks out the front door and closes it behind her. I lock the door and collapse on the floor.

As if by some kind of telepathic connection, my phone rings and I grab it.

“Tacy! Oh, thank God, are you okay, Babydoll?”

I’m panting and trying to gather my senses. “Yes. I’m fine. Now that her conniving ass is gone.”

Aris lets out a boisterous laugh. “Let me guess…”

“The crazy old bitch. She tried to recruit me.”

“I expected as much,” he says. “Declan’s back in The Org’s fold. And he knows I’m alive.”

“We’ve got to get out of here. I’ll start packing. We can’t let these people take our children. I just can’t believe my mother’s in on all of this.”

“She’s not just in on it, she’s the ringleader, according to Reggie. And they’re not going to take our children away. I won’t let them.”

“Still, Aris! If Declan knows you’re alive, and my mother is on the inside of this insane mafia bullshit, they’re going to kill us. Every last one of us! My mother wants me to follow in her footsteps. In my grandfather’s footsteps. And she knows more about my past than I even knew.”

A pause, then, “What do you mean, she knows more about your past than you?”

“She knows about them. The men I pushed from the cliff,” I say and gulp. “I could’ve kept running that night. I could’ve refused to do anything that night. Instead…I murdered two men. And apparently, they were my mother’s men.”

“Your mother’s men?”

“Yeah, she said I killed two of her men that night.”

“Well, that doesn’t make sense since Starkey helped you. Why would someone who’s a part of The Org kill two other members?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Maybe it was a test. To see if I had it in me. To take a life. Maybe he wasn’t part of The Org back then?”

I can hear him breathing. He mumbles something to Reggie. Wait. Reggie?

“Is that Reggie’s voice?” I ask. “Did you say Reggie told you about my mother?”

“Yes, long story. We’ll get into that later,” Aris says. “Listen to me, Tace. You did what you had to do. I’ll never judge you for that. You have a good heart. You’re a good person, whether you believe it or not. And those two men who fell off the cliff that night? If they were truly part of The Org, they were bad men, and you saved innocent lives by erasing them. Forgive yourself.”

“Thank you,” I say. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”