Page 47 of Thorns of Deceit

When she said nothing and continued fixing me with that hard look, I squirmed in my seat uncomfortably.

“I didn’t really have a choice.”

“I thought the same once too.” She flashed me a bitter smile, then started pacing. “It’s like watching the past repeat itself and worst of all… Now we’re exposed.”

“Exposed?” I repeated in a raspy voice. “What do you mean?”

“We were supposed to keep a low profile,” she mumbled, pushing her hand through her hair. “He thought we were dead and now…”

She walked around the living room, checking beneath the sofa and chairs, around the TV stand, in the lamps—everywhere.

Maybe I was wrong and she was drunk. Or even worse, she’d turned to drugs.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

She didn’t stop her scouting, and with each second that passed, my chest tightened further. It was like she’d lost her mind.

“Please stop,” I rasped. “You’re scaring me.”

She finally stopped in front of me and glared at me.

“Good. You need to be scared, because now that your father knows we’re alive, he’ll never stop.” She tightened her fists. “We need to disappear again. Or rather, you need to disappear. Today. Your father cannot get his hands on you.”

I struggled to process her words, the meaning of them hanging in the air, jagged and unreal. I stared at her, waiting for her to say she was joking or for signs that she was drunk. But she definitely wasn’t. Her eyes were too clear and her expression too somber.

My stomach sank as the meaning settled in: she was dead serious.

It would seem all my suspicions about my father were true and much worse, judging by the terror on my mom’s face.

“Why?” I whispered, her words slowly stirring panic inside me. “What do you mean disappear?”

“It’s about your father…”

“What about him?” I questioned, struggling to follow her.

“Fuck that motherfucker.” I flinched at the hate lacing her voice. “I sent him to jail a long time ago, and now… he’s found us thanks to the Callahans. He’s coming for us, Raven.”

I blinked, not following. It was as if she were speaking Greek. “What… what are you talking about?”

“He’s been after us for years. Baby, there was a reason for the constant moving. It was all because of him. He’s going tokillme, Raven, and do who knows what to you.”

I shook my head. “What? Why?”

“Your father is a lunatic,” she screamed.

“You must be joking.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

I whipped my head around, checking every surface for empty bottles—anythingthat might make sense of her behavior. There was nothing, but my mind still struggled to find a simple solution. Anything to indicate that we weren’t in a dire situation.

“That can’t be true because… because…” I trailed off, needing to believe it for both of our sakes. Mom had to be spiraling because she was worried about my marriage to someone likeAiden Callahan. Yes, that had to be it. “My father is dead,” I said, then added hesitantly, “Isn’t he?”

“You really believe that?” she screeched. “Why do you think we moved so much over the years? Why we never made friends or had family?” I froze. “Boarding school was my stipulation to the DEA when I snitched on your father.”

“What…” I stared at her like she was an alien. “Why would you have a deal with the DEA?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Because I knew you would need some stability. Constant moving was hard on an adult, never mind a child. They wanted to lock up your father for his drug dealings, and I demanded twelve years of paid boarding school and tuition in exchange.”