"Thanks. You're bacb," she slurred, then took a big gulp of wine. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Housse your daddy?"

My eyes narrowed. "It was fine. Thanks."

She sniffled. "You always loved him more. Me, I'm the acdual parend. He neber wass."

"Thanks, mom. We all know that."

Her eyes got wide and her lips pursed into a sneer. "I swear, if you werend my daughter, I'd disown you."

"Really?" I arched an eyebrow.

"If you wanna him, you can hab him. Move in with him. I'm outta here." She swung her arm wide again. Her body kept going, but Nate was the one who caught her from the other side this time.

She tucked her head down. "Thanks."

He nodded.

Then she heaved a dramatic sigh and her arm dropped from her one hip. "You've god your wish, Samantha."

"What wish?"

"Me. And you. We're outta here. He kicked me out. I had a few doo many ad dinner and he kicked me out. Have to pack my stuff now. We're moving on, bucko!" Then she hung her head and a sniffle was heard. "David wond take me back now."

"Mom."

"Don't!" Her head snapped back up and her eyes were wild. "You always said it, we'd be gone. He wouldna marry me and you're righd. He won't. It's over. Finite. Finido. Finished…"

I stepped around Mason, but he moved with me. When I started to get closer to her, he moved another inch. He was blocking me. He didn't want me close to her so I stayed put. I folded my arms. "Mom, you're drunk. Everything will be better in the morning. I promise."

"You don promise. You can't promise me anything. I'm the mother. I should be promiser one, but I'm not. I cand even do that for you. I've ruined it all, Sammy."

Her head was down again and another sniffle sounded.

"Mom, it'll be okay. We can get our own place."

Analise's shoulder jerked and her hand clenched around the wine glass. When she looked back, vehemence was in her eyes. The self-pity was gone and in its place was anger. I gulped; my mother was looking at me with fury now.

"It's your fault. All of this is your fault."

"How?" I challenged.

"David never loved you. Hell, I never loved you. I should've been with your father. I loved him, but he couldn't stay. He had to go. He always had to go. I had no one. Me and a baby." She threw her head back and an ugly sounding laugh came out. "Who's going want the package deal? Well, I found David. He loved me. Not you. He tolerated you, but me he loved. I should've been with your father, your real father. But he didn't have the time for me so fine. Screw him."

"Wait, what?" I surged forward, but Mason blocked me again. He didn't put a hand up, but he stepped in front an inch. It was enough of a barrier that held me back.

"David hates your father. He loathes him. He thinks he walked out on his daughter." A hysterical laugh came out, followed by a hysterical sob. She choked up for a moment and then shook her head clear of the emotions. "Jokes on him, isn't it. Your real daddy never knew about you. Like I'd stomach that. That he'd come back for his daughter, but not me. Oh no. If he wouldn't take both of us, he didn't get either of us. Your father has no idea about you." Her eyes found me, crystal clear.

A chill went down my back and I wondered if that was evil lurking in her depths. No. It couldn't be. She was drunk, just drunk…and sad.

She sneered at me. "And you'll never know. He'll never know about you, you'll never know about him. You can't leave me, Sam. I've all you got. David won't take you back. Are you kidding me? He's probably already got another woman, maybe even a kid too. He always liked to play the doting father type. Maybe he'll pick a son this time. The daughter he had ended up being a screw-up. You always picked the worst types, Sam. Jeff. Lydia. Jessica. They're your closest and they all screwed you. Even I knew it. You're the screw up."

When she was done, no one said a word. A fly would've sent echoes through the room, but then Analise choked out a simper. "Pack your stuff, Sam. We're leaving."

Mason chuckled.

She whirled to him. "What are you laughing about—"

Logan and Nate jumped off the counter. Neither grinned now.

She stopped whatever she'd been about to say.

And Mason stepped away from her, but towards me. He ushered me further back, at a safer distance from my mother. When he stopped chuckling, he shook his head. His voice came out bored. "Are you this crazy?"

She gasped.

Logan smirked.

"I mean, you're effing crazy if you think you can talk to her like this. This is how you talk to the one person who's stayed by you?" He rolled his eyes. "Look, this is your daughter, but if you think she's going anywhere with you when you're like this, you're delusional too. She's not leaving. You are."

Analise went pale and her body stumbled back. It looked like a sudden violent wind had whipped against her. It came out of nowhere, but there was no wind.

"Just get lost, woman," Logan snickered. He circled around her while Nate stayed in place.

Mason stepped back again and this time was effectively in front of me. He completely blocked me, even from her vision. I tried to shift to the side, but he moved back again and had me trapped against the wall. So I snuck a hand on his side and peaked around him. He didn't stop me, but he tensed at my touch.

Logan moved again and all three had encircled her. She glanced around as panic started to set in her eyes.

Mason spoke, "We've been quiet, woman. We've taken your presence in this house like calm good little boys, but we're not good little boys."

"Not at all," Logan's hyena laugh came out. His eyes flashed hatred.

"What are you—what are you do..doing?" she stammered out.

Nate spoke in a calm voice, "We're not going to hurt you."

"No." Mason shook his head.

"But you are drunk. You're wacko in the head and you're being semi-abusive to your daughter." Logan's laugh gentled, but the sound still sent shivers down my body. "So we could say anything to you, do anything to you, and who'd believe you? Your own fiancé sent you packing tonight and went back to his dinner."

"You guys wouldn't…" She was white as a ghost and her eyes jumped between the three of them. Then she found me and held a hand out. "Sam, he—"

Mason moved again so she couldn't see me. I heard a smacking sound and my mom cried out, "Ouch!"

I jerked behind him, but I didn't know what to do. Help her or help myself? I burrowed my head in the back of his shirt.

"How do you think this is going to end?" Mason was back in charge, so cold. It was like he'd asked about the weather.

"I..I—I—what?"

"Do you really think we're going to be bitches and let you talk to Sam like that?" Logan spoke now. "You're screwed up in the head if you think you've got the power to do that, especially in front of us."

"But—bu—you guys don't even like her!"

Nate laughed.

Mason sighed. It was a pitying sound. "Don't like her? We'd like anyone compared to you."

She gasped. "But—I didn't—your father—"

Logan snapped, "Stop choking like a little bitch. I thought you had bigger balls than that."

"Wha—huh? You guys can't talk to me like this…" But she didn't sound so certain.

Mason taunted her softly, "What he doesn't know, you're not going to tell."

"What?"

Logan came out strong, "Here's the way it's going to be. You're going to leave—"

Nate jumped in, "You're going to a hotel."

"And you're going to sleep off this drunk stupor," Mason ended.

My entire body shivered as I listened. All three of them spoke as one unit. They moved as one and they had their sights on my mother. I pressed even closer to Mason, not sure what to do, if I could at all. Did I even want to? It'd been so long since someone protected me…

"I'm not that drunk."

"You are." He said it so smooth, so soft, and so chilling. Now he left me. I fell forward a step, lost from his warmth, but contained myself. He moved as a stalker, silent as a ghost. Then he motioned to Nate.

A second later, my mom whimpered out in pain. I had my hands in front of my face, but when Logan started laughing again, the sound was so delightful and so dark, I couldn't hide anymore. I took a deep breath and looked up. He'd taken hold of the back of my mother's head and tilted her head back.

Mason watched. He didn't seem affected and then he motioned for Nate with his hand again.

"No-!" My mother screamed out.

"Come on," Logan chided her and then forcibly pulled her jaw down. Her mouth snapped opened and Nate poured something down her throat. She convulsed forward, choking as liquid spewed from between her lips. Her back spasmed backwards then, but Logan didn't let her go. He clamped her mouth shut again and ran a thumb down her throat. I watched as my mom fought, but in the end she swallowed.

They did it again.

And again.

After a fourth time, after Nate had almost emptied a bottle down her, he looked up. "I think that's enough."

Mason nodded and stepped back towards me again.

Logan swept my mother up in his arms. She'd grown weak during the ordeal and the fight had left her after the second time. Her eyes rolled back as she was cradled to his chest. When he turned for the door, Nate followed.

The door closed behind them and silence filled the room again. I couldn't stop from trembling. My teeth were chattering. My arms were jerking all over and then Mason swept me against him. He cradled my head to his chest and ran soothing hands down my arm.

My hands took hold of his shirt and hung on. I couldn't let go or I'd fall. I didn't want to fall. When I thought I could speak, I choked out, "What's going to happen to her?"

His lips skimmed my forehead, so soft. "She'll go to a hotel and sleep it off."

"But…" I took a deep breath.

His lips pressed another kiss to my cheek.

I held on tighter. When his hand swept down and caught my leg, I climbed up him, grateful for the hold. I was going down otherwise. "What if she says something to your dad?" What would she do to me? I hadn't stopped it.

Mason lifted me so my legs were entwined around his waist. I hung onto him. My arms were wound around his neck. He ran a hand down my back as his other held me in place, splayed out on my bottom.

Then he kissed the side of my mouth and whispered against it, "She won't. She doesn't dare."

I sighed as he kissed the other side of my mouth. My lips moved against his. "What do you mean?"

"Your mom's a bitch and now she knows what we think of her…"

She knew what they could do to her. My body couldn't stop shaking as I realized this and pressed my forehead into his shoulder. I held on tighter, but a thought nagged me. Why had he done that? Why had all three of them done that?

Mason chuckled against my hair. "Because she'll shut up now. That's why we did it. And because she needed to know we could."

I closed my eyes and felt him moving. I had no idea where he was taking me, but I wasn't going to ask. My body had stopped shaking and a different feeling had taken hold of me, one I didn't think I could fight off. I didn't want to.

Need.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Mason sat me on the couch in my room and started rummaging through my closet. The need throbbed in me, it was slowly taking over when he started to lift my arms and pull my dress off. I blinked up at him. He seemed cold, hurried. This wasn't how I thought it would be.