Chapter Fourteen
“Mary?”
When Chase walked into the house, he didn’t see any sign of Mary, which was unusual. She was an early riser and always kept busy. Mary never lingered in bed.
“Mary, where are you?”
Chase didn’t get a response. He’d just returned from spending two more hours driving in the desert, trying to clear his head. It hadn’t worked. If anything, he was more anxious then before he left.
“Mary?” There was a frantic urgency in his tone. “Princess, where are you?”
No response.
Had Thorne taken her? Chase took the stairs two at a time, desperately searching for her. I never should’ve left her alone. “Where are you? Mary, answer me.”
“Sorry, I’m here.” Chase found Mary sitting on the floor of his bedroom, with her arms looped around her legs and she rocked back and forth on her heels.
“What’s wrong? Did Harry try to hurt you again?” Chase dropped to his knees beside her.
“No, it wasn’t him.” She shook her head. “I got a visit from an FBI agent today.”
Oh, fuck. “Let me guess, Thorne?”
“Yeah.” She wiped the tears away with the edge of her shirt.
“What happened?”
“Thorne told me somethin’ I really didn’t want to know.”
“It seems to be his day for droppin’ bombshells on people.” Chase sat next to her. “How’d he even get in here?”
Mary shrugged. “Some kind of universal code from the manufacturer.”
“What did he say?” Chase wanted to share what he’d learned, too but needed to hear her news first.
“He said my mom and dad were going to testify against Tucker and the rest of the Lone Star Mafia.”
And then she told him everything.
Dumbstruck, all he could do was listen in horror as she laid it all out for him.
“Is he lyin’?”
Chase didn’t think so, but he didn’t know how to tell her. She’d already been through so much, and he couldn’t bear to hurt her even more.
“Because I don’t know what to think anymore, Chase.”
He chose his words carefully. “I heard rumors over the years, but I didn’t know what to make of them. I knew Tucker Cobb was merciless, but I never pictured him murdering his own kin.”
It was evil on an epic scale. Then again, his father might’ve killed his own daughter, too. And he’d most certainly raped her.
He and Mary were literally raised by wolves.
“It’s the truth.” She leaned against him, snuffling into his shirt and he held her tight.
“Yes, I’m so sorry, Mary.” Chase kissed the top of her head.
“My grandfather’s a monster.”
“I know.” He’d felt the same way about Noah. “Findin’ out someone you love is capable of despicable things is jarring.” And he’d thought he’d seen Noah’s worst side, but he hadn’t even scratched the surface.
“And yet, I can’t hate him, not yet.” Her tear-stained face nearly broke his heart in two. “After everything, he’s done, I can’t…”
“You don’t have to explain it, not to me.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I know, believe me, and it ain’t your fault.”
“But why?”
“Because it’s hard to stop. He might’ve done despicable things, but he’s still your granddad.”
Even Chase was conflicted, but he was shoving all those tender feelings down because the old man didn’t deserve it. Clearly, he was beyond all hope.
“I can’t imagine it, wrap my head around it. Tucker’s the man who came to my spelling bees and helped me with my math homework. Granddad tucked me in at night and read me bedtime stories. How could he murder my parents?”
“I don’t know.” Some people were depraved, and it wasn’t much of an explanation, but it was the only one Chase could wrap his head around.
Mary wiped the tears away with the palms of her hands and smoothed her hair, to pull herself together.
“Thorne offered me an out. He said he’d keep me safe, hide me from granddad.”
“You should go.”
“How can I? I owe it to my parents to—”
“Join them in death? Mary, they’d want you alive and far away from Tucker Cobb.” He’d never met them, but Chase knew they’d want to keep their daughter safe. Any parent would, except for his, of course. “You can’t take him on.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’ll lose.”
“I thought you said I was a sheepdog, too. Maybe I could get through to him.”
Chase blew out a breath. “I think you can do anything you set your mind to, Mary, but I’m biased. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” And then he noticed she was shivering.
“Come on, let’s get you off this cold floor.” Chase swung her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed, before setting her down gently.
“I need you to stay with me.” She tugged on his arm and Chase went willingly. When it came to Mary, he felt powerless. Mary had a hold on him in a way no other woman ever had, or ever could.
So, he wrapped his body around hers, enjoying the feel of her soft curves against his own hard angles. They curled up together, and he was the big spoon. Chase needed her comfort, every bit as much as she craved his. She was quivering, and exhausted, and so damn small, she made him want to protect her, shelter her from the big bad world.
Together, they lay on the bed, wrapped in one another’s arms, silently coming to terms with their own horrors. Gradually, they both calmed down.
It was the best he’d felt all damn day.
Hours passed before he could find the words to tell her what happened.
Eventually, Chase turned Mary to face him. “I need to tell you something, too. I had a visit from Thorne this morning, and he gave me a revelation as well.”
And then Chase told her everything, all the gritty, disgusting details. If he didn’t share this with someone, he’d explode, and he knew Mary would understand how he felt, especially the mixed reactions.
When he finished, Mary held him tighter. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“You do?”
“Yes, and none of this is your fault. Your sister loved you, hold on to that.”
He sighed. “I feel guilty anyway. I sat by all these years and let it happen?”
“You didn’t know, and you were a kid.” Mary kissed his temple, and then his cheek.
“And so was she.”
Chase couldn’t get the awful, ugly images out of his head. They were in a loop, playing again and again like some slasher movie. Part of him wished he’d never read the report, learned about his sister’s abuse, in her own words. He felt guilty for even thinking it, but Chase was overwhelmed.
He’d found out far too late to help Faith, so what was the goddamn point? His father wouldn’t even see any jail time for what he’d done, and it wasn’t fair. And Chase didn’t know what to do. If he confronted his father, with the old man admit to it? Call him insane? Or would he kill Chase, too?
“Why didn’t I see it sooner?”
“You said it yourself. Maybe men like your dad and my grandfather get away with things because they hide in plain sight. They pretend to be like the rest of us, but inside their monsters, wolves.”
“Know what I hate?”
“They don’t face the consequences of their actions?”
He nodded. “Both of them walked away from what they’d done, scot-free and I can’t stand it. They should pay for their crimes.”
She swallowed. “And it would be easier if they were all bad.”
“I know.”
He opened his mouth to speak and then thought better of it.
“What? Go on, say it. You can tell me anything.”
“I can’t help but think I’ve wasted my life. I chose wrong, and I’m so damn ashamed of myself.” Chase hung his head. “I’m a piece of shit.”
“No, you’re not.”
Chase didn’t listen. He didn’t deserve her understanding and Faith needed a better brother, one who protected her, no matter what. He’d failed them both, and Chase intended to rectify the situation.
Mary ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve gotta get away from him, but how? I’m stuck.”
“Me too. Nobody walks away from the mafia.” So what if Chase didn’t intend to ride off into the sunset? What if he took them down with him?
Mary frowned. “You seem off. What’s going on? What are you gonna do?”
“What I have to.”
“Chase?” Her voice held a note of warning. “Tell me.”
He didn’t respond.
“Chase, you aren’t gonna take them on, are you?”
He shrugged. “You know me.”
“Yeah, I do, and you can’t do this because they’ll kill you.”
“So?” None of it mattered anymore. He had to make this right for Faith, if only to bring her some peace and maybe, just maybe, save his own soul.
“Please don’t do this.”
“Like I said, I’m a sheepdog, and I have a duty, although I should’ve done it a long time ago.”
“And yet, you don’t want me to take on Tucker.”
“I know it’s a double standard.” Chase squeezed her tight. “But when it comes to your survival, I’m unreasonable.” He pulled back to look her in the eye. “I’m sorry, Mary, and consider it a blanket apology. I never should’ve brought you into this. As far as I’m concerned, the old man can go fuck himself. You’re no longer my prisoner, and you’re free to go, anytime you want.”
“I haven’t felt like a prisoner in a long time.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t change the facts. You were being held against your will.”
“And what if I don’t want to go?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” His voice grew hoarse. “There’s nothin’ for you here.”
Mary lifted her chin. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Too bad, I get to decide who’s worthy, not you. So, I’ll play along for the moment. And when I walk out of here, what happens to you?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna worry anyway.”
He closed his eyes. Dammit, why did she have to make this so much harder? For once in his life, Chase was trying to do the honorable thing, but she wouldn’t let him. Couldn’t she see there was no other way?
“Mary, don’t…”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t have feelings for me and for God’s sake, don’t absolve me.”
“Why not?”
“You know why and please don’t look at me like that.” Chase couldn’t stand the softness in her eyes.
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t blame me.” His voice cracked. “Like you have feelings for me.”
“Well, I do.” Her smile was watery. “I tried to stop myself from caring about you, but I can’t, and I’m tired of fighting it, aren’t you?”
“Maybe, but you deserve a man who’d never break the law. Find yourself a college boy and then get as far away from your granddad and me as you can.”
“Your plan seems to be the consensus. Everyone tells me I should run away.”
“You can’t fight him, Mary. Trust me, the mafia wins every damn time.”
“Aren’t you plannin’ on taking a stand?”
“Yes, and I should’ve done it a long time ago, instead of regrettin’ my decisions and feeling sorry for myself.”
“Then don’t you dare try to talk me out of this. You and I are caught in the same kind of situation, and I can’t sit by and do nothing. ”
“Why would your fate be any different than your parents?”
“They went behind his back, and I intend to confront him.”
“You want to convince him to turn himself in?”
“Yep.” When Chase opened his mouth to talk her out of this insane plan, Mary pressed two fingertips to his lips. “Shh, I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight, and I’ve already made up my mind.”
Chase kissed her fingers and the tension curled between them once more. And then he kissed her lips, which was meant as a comfort, but, as always, he was hungry for her.
Soon, it got out of hand, growing into something needful, wild.
“I can’t,” Chase gasped in between searing kisses.
“Yes, you can. I want you.”
“You’re sad and upset, and I won’t take advantage of you.”
“No.”
“No what?”
Mary pulled her mouth from his. “No more excuses or chivalry, Chase, and for the record, I’m taking advantage of you.”
And when she kissed him once more, Chase was lost.