Crossover: Franchise Mtg. (8 page)

Sam’s mom was a mess. My lip curled up, but I fought from rolling my eyes. Give me a break. She was wasted. Half of her red dress hung off her shoulder, but she didn’t even notice. Her hair was sticking up. I didn’t care much for feminine etiquette or dress code, but I knew she wasn’t fitting the bill for what my dad liked.

Then she opened her mouth and more craziness came out. She wasn’t making sense; some of it was about a fight with our dad and the other was about Sam’s dad? Then the door opened and Nate nudged me with his elbow. He didn’t have to. We all knew who was coming in. I gave him a slight head shake in response, and shifted back on my feet. It was show-time. Whatever confrontation that needed to happen was going to happen tonight.

Analise swung her head around and narrowed her eyes.

I fought against laughing. She couldn’t even see straight anymore and slurred every other word. “Thanks. You’re bacb.”

Sam stiffened. She was standing behind me. I tried to shift so Anabitch couldn’t see her, but Sam wasn’t picking up on my intention. She moved over and her mouth fell open an inch.

“Housse your daddy?”

“He was fine.”

Logan looked at me. I knew what he was thinking; this was going to get ugly. Fuck that. I’d had enough of seeing Sam’s mom hand her a new one. I gave him a small nod and he nodded back. It was time we did something. Then we both glanced at Nate who was frowning at the mess. Logan snapped his fingers. It was a slight movement and quiet enough that the females didn’t pick it up; however, Nate heard it, and his head whipped around. His eyes got big. He knew something was going to happen and nodded in support.

Both turned to me and settled on their back heels. I knew they would wait for my signal.

Sam was saying, “Thanks, Mom. We all know that.”

Analise sucked in her breath and sneered at her daughter. “I swear, if you werend my daughter, I’d disown you.”

“Really?”

I wish Sam would be disowned. It would save her a lot of problems.

“If you wanna him, you can hab him. Move in with him. I’m outta here.” She swung her arm wide again. She would’ve fallen, but Nate righted her.

As Analise said something, Logan gave him an incredulous look. He mouthed at Nate, “Let her fall.”

Nate lifted his shoulders and moved back a step.

“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 started crying. Logan rolled his eyes and glanced at me. I gave him a nod. Soon. Analise said something else. I stopped caring what it was.

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

I could tell Sam wanted to comfort her. She let out a soft sigh and started to move. I blocked her. She tried going the other way, but I blocked that too. She couldn’t console her mom, not after the hatred she spewed. Analise didn’t deserve it. Sam didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. I waited for her to meet my gaze. I was going to shake my head, try to tell her what I was thinking, but she wasn’t paying attention.

“Mom, it’ll be okay. We can get our own place.”

Analise’s shoulder jerked and her hand clenched around the wine glass.

Here it was. This was the real Analise coming out.

She started, “It’s your fault. All of this is your fault.”

“How?”

“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. “Who’s going to 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?”

Sam tried to move to her again, but I blocked her.

“David hates your father. He loathes him. He thinks he walked out on his daughter.” She was crying. She was an angry mess. “Joke’s 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.”

Logan lifted his hand, motioning me to stop her. But I had to wait. Analise was being honest. She was never honest. We couldn’t stop it now.

She continued to taunt her daughter, “And you’ll never know. He’ll never know about you, and you’ll never know him. You can’t leave me, Sam. I’m all you’ve 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 were your closest friends and they all screwed you. Even I knew it. You’re the screw up.”

There it was. This was the real woman my father chose to love. She finally showed her cards. It was time we showed ours.

“Pack your stuff, Sam. We’re leaving.”

I laughed. That wasn’t going to happen.

“What are you laughing about—?”

Logan and Nate moved to stand beside me. They were ready.

Analise stopped. Her gaze jumped to each of us and she was quiet for a moment. Logan wanted her head on a plate. She saw the dark promise in his gaze and took a breath. It was small, but it was filled with fear. I saw it flash in her gaze.

I moved Sam away and shook my head. “Are you always this crazy?”

Logan laughed, waiting for my go-ahead.

“I mean, you’re fucking 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?” I shook my head. “This is your daughter, and if you think she’s going anywhere with you when you’re like this, you’re delusional. She’s not leaving.” I waited and made sure she was watching me. Then I grinned. “You are.”

Analise went pale. She jerked in response.

“Just get lost, woman,” Logan started, circling around her.

I didn’t want Sam to see this. I moved so she was completely behind me. She fought and tried to move around me, so I trapped her against a wall. When she touched me, I sucked in my breath. The touch from her sent shockwaves through me and I gritted my teeth. The need to protect her doubled. I hadn’t expected that.

Logan caught the movement and nodded again, so slightly.

My eyes darkened. No matter what happened, Analise was going to be handled. She would not hurt her daughter anymore. We would officially become her guardians tonight.

Logan moved again and then the three of us had Analise surrounded. The fear settled further in and she whirled around, looking for an escape.

“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 laughed, sounding like a hyena.

“What are you...what are you do...doing?”

Nate spoke in a calm voice, “We’re not going to hurt you.”

“No.” I shook my head, but we were a little. We had to scare her. “But you are drunk. You’re wacked in the head, and you’re being semi-abusive to your daughter.”

Logan just laughed again; he was still holding back. “So, we can say anything to you, do anything to you, and if you told anyone, who’d believe you? Your own fiancé sent you packing and went back to his dinner tonight.”

“You guys wouldn’t…” She was white as a ghost. We weren’t buying her shit. Then she turned for one ally. She held a hand out. “Sam, he—”

I blocked her viewpoint again. She snarled when she realized what I was doing and she smacked her hand against the counter. Then she cried out, “Ouch!”

Sam jerked behind me. She would think we hit her, but then she burrowed her head into the back of my shirt. My eyes got big and I froze for a moment. Did that mean…? She wasn’t going to stop us. I knew it then and a part of me relaxed. I didn’t have to convince her that we hadn’t hit her mother.

I could do whatever we wanted. Sam wasn’t going to fight us. “How do you think this is going to end?”

“I...I...I...what?”

“Do you really think we’re going to be bitches and let you talk to Sam like that?” Logan was almost trembling in his anger. No one noticed it, but I did. His left hand shook with a small tremor when he was like me, barely holding it in. “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.

I grinned. I loved that sound from him. “Don’t like her? We’d like anyone compared to you.”

“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…”

I taunted her, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt, and you’re not going to tell.”

“What?”

Logan rolled back his shoulders. “Here’s the way it’s going to be. You’re going to leave—”

Nate added, “You’re going to a hotel.”

“And you’re going to sleep off this drunken stupor.”

That was option one. She could take it. I waited. All of us were quiet and I was surprised to realize that I wanted her to take that option. This was Samantha’s mother. No matter the hatred or anger, I knew hurting her would be hurting Sam in a way. Then Sam pressed closer to me and I closed my eyes.

Holy fuck.

I vowed then and there that no one would hurt Sam again. After this night, I wouldn’t let anyone harm her again.

“I’m not that drunk.”

“You are.”

She willingly hurt herself, and I knew she’d claim we did it to her. Glancing at Logan and Nate, I wondered what they were thinking. Logan would do whatever. Nate gestured to the alcohol. Was that a good idea...should we go that far? It would do. It would have to. She needed to know she wouldn’t win. There were three of us against her, four including Sam. Maybe that was what she really needed to learn. Her daughter wasn’t going to stop us. We needed to hurt Analise without actually hurting her. Analise would get the message, especially when Sam would back us up. That was the real battle. This was all about Samantha.

I gestured to Nate, and he handed me the alcohol.

Logan flashed me a grin and moved in step with me. He grabbed Analise and bent his head, whispering into her ear. I didn’t know what he was saying, and I didn’t care. She had stiffened in shock and then he ran his hands up to frame her face. He titled her head back for me. I gripped the bottle tighter. We were going to do this.

This was domination. It was wrong. We were assholes and this was going to backfire on us, some time in our lives. I heard Sam’s slight whimpering. She didn’t even know she was crying. I’d do whatever I needed if this would help her.

Analise cried out and shook her head as Logan pulled her jaw down. Nate poured the first mouthful of alcohol down her throat. She tried to fight it, but swallowed anyway. Then we did it again and again. We did it four times in a row.

I was sickened with myself, but I glanced at Sam. She had fallen back against the wall with a hand pressed to her mouth. It was there in eyes, a slight amount of relief. Then she caught my gaze and I watched a myriad of expressions flash over her face.

Logan carried Analise out. They would take her to a hotel. She’d already been drinking. When she told our dad what happened, we’d lie and say she’d been wasted. It was one move to counter another. I went over to Sam and pulled her into my arms. I think I needed her touch more than she needed mine.

This was the real test. It was about who she would protect. As her hands wound around me and she asked what would happen to her mom, I knew who would win. I’d declared war on Analise just now. I did it for her daughter. Unable to stop myself, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “She’ll go to a hotel and sleep it off.”

“But…” She took a deep breath and pressed her forehead into me.

Shit. I was falling in love. With that small sign of affection, I knew I would do it all over again. I kissed her on her forehead. She didn’t need to handle anything else, but before I realized what I was doing, my hand fell down and I grasped her leg, wrapping it around my waist. She clambered up, wrapping her other leg around me and asked, “What if she says something to your dad?”

I kissed the side of her mouth. “She won’t. She wouldn’t dare.”

She sighed and moved to meet my lips with hers. Then she asked, softly, “What do you mean?”

“Your mom’s a bitch and now she knows what we think of her…”

Her arms wound tighter around me. I swept a hand down her back, smoothing down her hair and back. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for her. I already knew that much. Pulling back, I watched her for a moment. That didn’t scare me. It should’ve, but it didn’t. The corner of my lip jerked up. I was falling in love. Fuck. “Because she’ll shut up now. And because she needed to know we could.”