Bennett (Bourbon & Blood #1) (16 page)

The other woman crossed her arms.
“
I will go for the time being. I need to run home and let my monstrous dogs out for a while and put some supper on the table for Mac. I
’
ll be back here by seven when it
’
s time to change and turn your mother again. And he
’
d better be gone.
”

“
He will be,
”
Mia promised.
“
Without a doubt.
”

Evelyn shook her head, still muttering under her breath as she grabbed her keys and purse to head out the back door. She offered Samuel Darcy an icy glare for good measure.
“
You hurt that baby and I swear to God, I will make you regret it.
”

The screen door closed with a bang as Evelyn walked out to her beat up car.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Samuel Darcy glared at the still trembling door and the back of the woman who
’
d stormed through it.
“
That woman needs to be fired,
”
he said.

“
That woman takes care of Mama like she
’
s the most precious thing in this world. She can call you every name in the book, as far as I
’
m concerned and dance a damn jig while she does it,
”
Mia shot back with enough heat in her voice that he actually looked at her.

Samuel, she
’
d realized, never really looked at anyone. He sized them up at first glance, then whenever he spoke to them after, he
’
d keep his eyes on his phone, his watch, his latest acquisition. People were just things to him, and once you saw through his charm, it didn
’
t take long to figure that out.

“
You
’
re in a mood,
”
he snapped.
“
And you look like a goddamn indigent. What the hell is wrong with you?
”

“
I had a little run in with an old friend of yours,
”
Mia said softly.
“
Actually, it was her psycho bitch of a daughter, but let’s not put too fine a point on it. Elizabeth was here at Barbara
’
s request. Evil is nothing without quality minions.
”

“
You
’
re babbling. I didn
’
t come here for nonsense.
”

“
Did you come to tell me another lie? To tell me that my adolescent selfishness destroyed my mother?
”
She laughed, but the hard, brittle sound would never be mistaken for humor.
“
Oh, you can
’
t
…
that particular line is already used up.
”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if she were a constant trial to be borne.
“
Mia, I did not come here to fight with you or to tolerate this overly emotional drama you
’
ve wrought
—
.
”

“
That I
’
ve wrought?
”
Mia gaped at him, astounded at his arrogance.
“
You did this to her!
”

His jaw firmed and his mouth twisted into a thin, cruel line.
“
She drove that car, Mia. She
’
s the one who slammed it into a tree because she was being reckless!
”

“
Because you broke her!
”
she screamed at him.
“
With your lies and your cheating and your manipulation, you pushed her to leave! You let her walk out of this house devastated and clearly not capable of driving. You weren
’
t driving the car, but you sure as hell didn
’
t try to stop her from doing it! And now, all of this, my whole life has been devoted to taking care of her. All the guilt, all the responsibility that I shouldered for years
…
and all along,
you did it!
”

“
We will discuss this when you can behave rationally,
”
he shouted, oblivious to the fact that he was just as irrational at the moment as she was. A vein throbbed in his forehead and his face had flushed with anger.
“
I
’
m not going to stand here and let my daughter yell at me! We are Darcys, Mia. Whether you like it or not, you are my blood, and we are above this!
”

“
You
’
re not above anything,
”
she replied flatly.
“
You
’
ve lied, cheated, stolen, and broken every promise you
’
ve ever made. Listening to you talk about family honor is enough to turn my stomach! I
’
m done, Samuel. I
’
m just done.
”

Every part of her felt heavy, as if weighted with lead. She didn
’
t know what to do. Even knowing that it had been a lie, reading that damned letter, saying it to him, confronting the thing that had held her prisoner for a decade left her more deflated than jubilant.

He grabbed her arm and hauled her back.
“
You don
’
t walk away from me! You don
’
t ever turn your back on me!
”

She spun around and pushed back at him, until he stumbled.
“
Or what?
”
she demanded.

He shoved her then, hard enough that she hit the wall and her head bounced off the plaster. Her vision flashed and dimmed before finally returning to normal. Somehow, she managed to stay upright

“
If you want to leave, then leave,
”
he sneered.
“
But this house, and everything in it belongs to me. If you walk out, you do it with nothing but the clothes on your back.
”

Mia considered her options. She had no car, no money. All that she
’
d managed to save from her salary had been eaten up paying for caregivers for her mother. Everything else was tied up in the distillery. Yes, she owned twenty percent of it, but what she and her brothers had been paying themselves was barely enough to get by. But the other option, remaining under his roof, was one she couldn
’
t abide.
“
Then I
’
ll go,
”
she said simply.
“
Evelyn will be back at seven. I assume you can spare two hours of your life to care for the woman you destroyed.
”

“
What I said all those years ago still stands,
”
he threatened.
“
You
’
ll never see your mother again. I
’
ll put her in a home and you won
’
t be permitted to even cross the threshold.
”

“
I
’
m not eighteen anymore. I
’
m older and a hell of a lot smarter,
”
she replied.
“
You are her husband and by law, her guardian, but any judge can overturn that and appoint someone else.
”

He said nothing, just stood there with his chest heaving like a bellows. The fury that rolled off him left her unmoved. It wasn
’
t what she was doing, it wasn
’
t guilt or defensiveness at being caught in the lies. It was just wounded, angry pride because she dared to defy him.
“
I will fight you tooth and nail,
”
he finally said.
“
Just to prove you wrong.
”

She had never considered that he wouldn
’
t.
“
Given your well-publicized affairs and recent scandals, not to mention the crazy ass Stepford daughter of your former mistress tried to murder me
…
. I don
’
t think I
’
ll have a problem getting a judge to agree that you can
’
t possibly have her best interests at heart. So you do what you feel like you have to, but be prepared, you son of a bitch, because I
’
ll do the same.
”

He grabbed her hair and hauled her forward. Until that day, Samuel had never touched her in anger. He
’
d shouted, he
’
d ridiculed and manipulated, he
’
d guilted her into conforming to his will, but he
’
d never physically harmed her. As he dragged her toward the door, Mia fought. She kicked, clawed, elbowed and did everything in her power to make his life hell.

By the time they
’
d reached the door, they were both shaking and out of breath. His face had turned a shade of purple that, at any other time, would have caused her concern. In that moment, she hated him enough to wish that he would have a stroke or a heart attack. She
’
d put him in the same kind of nursing home he
’
d always threatened to put her mother in.

“
Get out,
”
he gasped.
“
Get out and don
’
t come back. If you want to run with that white trash, do it, but you
’
ll never step foot in this house again.
”

Mia grasped the door knob and twisted it.
“
I
’
m not leaving because you made me. I
’
m leaving because I can
’
t bear the sight and stench of you any longer. This,
”
she said,
“
is
my
choice.
”

With that parting shot, she stepped outside into the cold, frigid air. Panic hit her, twisting her stomach into knots as she worried about who would take care of her mother. Clayton. She needed to call him, but her phone, her purse, her clothes, everything was inside the house. She was standing on the front porch in her bare feet with nowhere to go.

Go to him.
That little voice whispering inside her mind was more temptation than she could resist. Go to him. The phrase came again to her mind—louder, stronger and with a clarity that left no room for indecision. Broken down by everything that had transpired, she needed him, if he’d have her.

That thought brought a fresh wave of panic for an altogether different reason. As Mia stepped off the porch, the first raindrop fell, splashing on the bare skin of her arm. She didn
’
t fight it or bemoan the fact that one more thing had gone wrong in her miserable life. Instead she embraced it. She
’
d let the rain wash her clean and rid of her all the poison in Samuel
’
s lies and machinations. He
’
d made her his puppet and for years, she
’
d done exactly what he wanted. It was time, she thought, to do what she wanted and to do it out in the open. No more secrets. No more hiding.

Her steps quickened and she ignored the cold as she walked down the driveway toward the road that would lead her to Bennett Hayes.

*~*~*

Bennett sat on his couch, feet propped on the coffee table and a beer in hand. The UK game was on and he was doing his damnedest to be interested in it. The truth was, he was having a hard time being interested in anything. Things with Mia had ended on a note that he didn
’
t much like.

It wasn
’
t just that it was over. He
’
d been an ass. He knew it and he didn
’
t like it. But there would be no chance to apologize, no chance to make things right. He
’
d laid down an ultimatum knowing full well that she wasn
’
t ready to make those kinds of decisions. He
’
d pushed and she
’
d pushed back and now it was done.

He lifted the bottle to his lips again only to discover it was empty.
“
Fuck,
”
he said as he rose to his feet to retrieve another beer.

“
Bennett!
”

At the sound of Carter calling to him from the porch, Bennett cursed again.
“
What the hell do you want?
”

Carter had come over to watch the game, but he
’
d been acting weird as hell and had gone outside more than ten minutes ago with his cell phone. The whole thing was bizarre.

“
Bennett, get your ass out here! Now!
”

Bennett rubbed the back of his neck and tried to erase the tension that had gathered there, but it wasn
’
t going anywhere. Reluctantly, he crossed the living room and stepped out onto the porch where Carter stood staring out into the rain.
“
What the fuck is it?
”

“
You
’
ve got company,
”
Carter said simply and pointed.

Bennett looked in the direction Carter indicated. She was walking along the road, wearing the same shirt and jeans she
’
d had on the night before. They were soaked through. Her hair was plastered to her skin and even from a distance he could tell that her skin was all but blue with the cold. What the hell was Mia doing?

She turned at the end of his driveway and walked slowly toward them. At first he thought she was shaking from the cold, but he realized as she got closer that she was crying.

Bennett stepped out into the rain and approached her.
“
Are you crazy? It
’
s freezing out here! Where is your coat?
”

“
It
’
s at the house. Samuel wouldn
’
t let me take it,
”
she said between hiccupping sobs.

His jaw clenched.
“
What do you mean he wouldn
’
t let you?
”
Over Mia
’
s shoulder, he saw his aunt
’
s door open. His mother, Carter
’
s mother and father and a few cousins had all come outside to see what the hell was going on.
Of course. Of fucking course.

She looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears and rain. If the swelling around her eyes was any indication, she
’
d been crying for a while. .

“
You wanted to know why I didn
’
t come to meet you that night
…
Why I didn
’
t run away and marry you when I was eighteen,
”
she said.

He looked up at the audience across the way, they were clearly not going anywhere.
“
We don
’
t have to do this now. Not out here in the cold.
”