Page 19 of Savage Truth

“No.” Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, and she stifled a sob. “Lucas called. It was brief. Something had happened, but he didn’t go into details. He told me the boys needed him, and it wasn’t the time to introduce me into their lives.”

Another name change, another new city. “What made you give him a chance, move back, and try for the third time?”

Panic flashed through her eyes. “Your father was closer than ever. It was time to get help.”

I jerked back, not liking where this was going. “Uncle Ronan helps us.”

“Yes, he does. But things are changing, and you’ll be going off to college soon. It was time to do something different. I want you to have a life without Nick breathing down your back.”

My eighteenth birthday was a month away. The handwritten note Dad left for Mom swam into my mind. His threat for that day. “What could Lucas possibly do that Uncle Ronan hasn’t already?”

She leaned forward. “Lucas has connections.”

“So does Uncle Ronan.”

“Yes. But this time, I want a different outcome. Not a war between syndicates.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to a shootout where he dies, but there is another way to handle things.”

“So why Lucas?” I wasn’t clear about how she thought he would protect us better than Uncle Ronan could.

“I contacted him when we were in Vermont. I’d gotten word from Ronan that Nick was making arrangements for your birthday. There’s a contract.”

Fuck.Bile climbed my throat.

Mom jerked forward and grabbed my hand. Dark promise flashed in her eyes. “It will not happen. I won’t let him get to you. I promise, Riley.”

I wanted to believe her, but the bruises last time he’d found her flooded my mind, and I shuddered.

“Nick was close. Enough time passed after the boys’ mom died. And I took a chance. Lucas was receptive to us moving back here. The house we stayed in—”

“I stayed in.” Because Mom was never there.

“Right.” Red infused her cheeks. “Sorry about that. Lucas and I were ironing things out. It was his house. We weren’t paying rent.”

Yeah, I’d found that out from Cole. It would have been great to have known that ahead of time so he hadn’t blindsided me with that little tidbit.

“Lucas knows powerful people. If your dad—”

“When. Let’s be real here.” I was tired of half-truths and Mom’s recent rose-colored glasses casting a hue that belied the truth. “Youtoldhim.” The rules.Herrules. She’d broken them.

“I had to.” She pressed her mouth into a tight line. “It’ll be okay, Riles. I know it will be.”

“It won’t. We’re destroying his family. The fight they just had.” I flung my arm out to show the drops of blood that marred the patio. “Cole and Damon left. They went to their cousins’. Do you think they’ll be back? I don’t. Not while we’re living here.”

Mom stood and paced, her movements jerky and off-kilter somehow. “I never meant for the boys to find out about me this way. We never meant for them to find out at all.”

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip, rolling it back and forth before releasing it. “We should go.”Cole will never look at me the same way again. Things weren’t great between us anyway. Only recently, he’d shown me what could be between us if he let go of his hatred for his dad. I didn’t know if he would see me as anything but a pawn, and I couldn’t blame him. I would have been equally as hurt if our roles had been reversed. Maybe more.

“Lucas won’t forgive us for this.” What I meant was that he wouldn’t forgive Mom. “He’ll become resentful if we’re what keeps his sons away. We don’t have a choice, Mom. We need to leave.”

She tangled her hands in her hair before dropping them back to her sides then sliding onto the couch again. “I need to talk to Lucas, and I’ll think about what you’ve said.”

The way her voice softened when she said his name tugged at my heart. We’d both broken the rule of never getting involved. I worried that would cause our downfall. But I wanted to give this to her. Since day one of my life, she’d existed to protect me. Lucas was her dream. I could hear it clearly in how she spoke and acted around him.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It’ll get sorted.”

Will it? I don’t see how. This is a mess.

“How did diving practice go? Do you like the coach and the team?”

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