Harkham's Choice (Harkham's Series Book 2) (35 page)

Mari still wasn’t sure she was buying this entire story.

A moment later, his mother’s shoulder’s drooped and she slid into the opposing couch.

“Did you hear about how her boyfriend Daniel messed up our wedding day by trying to hurt my wife? He had a gun, and I had to stab his wrist with an ice pick to stop him. It was bloody and messy, and now he’s in jail.”

“I knew about that—she told me,” Sarah admitted. “So deranged. I couldn’t believe she’d arranged that. I don’t think Sammie’s bad—just misguided.”

Mari’s breath trapped in her throat. Misguided? This was more than getting a little off track and making a minor poor choice. Samara was deliberately planning to kill her family. She was beyond psychotic.

“She did? You talk to her?” Adam’s voice broke.

“Yeah, I just returned from seeing her,” his mom answered. “She’s in a mental institution here. She came after me—tried to kill me and herself, too, but Peter managed to stop her before she could do either one. She had a knife in my ribs—barely missed my heart.” His mom rubbed the spot where it must’ve happened. “She slit her wrists, but it was more of a skin wound—not deep enough to do anything but make a mess.”

“Are they . . . Is she okay there?” Adam asked. His hands were on Mari’s waist, shaking her with his trembling.

“She has some rough days. When she heard about Daniel being locked away, she went nuts that day. It was pretty bad.” His mom’s eyes teared up.

“Can we see her?” Adam asked, moving Mari off his lap. He took her hand.

Mari stopped breathing. He wanted to see his sister after all of that? After hearing she didn’t stop with their bloody wedding, but tried to take out his mom, too? Obviously there were a lot of lies they were being fed, since Daniel had told them their wedding day that Samara was in jail for attacking Sarah.

But wow. Adam didn’t seem to care about any of that and still cared about Samara, even after saying in the past he wanted to kill her. None of that mattered now, as evidenced by the glowing look in his eyes.

Her heart flooded with warmth for this gentle, sweet, caring man next to her. The fact he could even talk about her right now said volumes about how loving he was.

“Let me make some phone calls. I think I can get you in, but prepare yourself—she looks different, and she sounds . . . Well, I guess you’ll see for yourself.” His mom’s eyes softened.

Sarah got up and made some phone calls. A half hour later, she had it all settled. They were going to see his little sister.

“Mom?” Adam asked before they were about to leave.

“Yes?” His mom’s eyes were soft and a little wary.

“How come you didn’t come to my graduation or wedding? Didn’t you like me then?” His eyes searched hers.

Her face lifted into a gentle smile. She cupped his cheek and kissed it. “Oh, honey, I never stopped loving you. I couldn’t leave Samara. She was struggling. They actually had to put her in a straightjacket on those two days. She was screaming non-stop about how she needed to see you and save you from your demon whore.”

Mari flinched.

“Sorry, but you should know . . . that’s what she calls you. She’ll probably scream it in your face,” Sarah warned.

“I can handle it. I’ve been called much worse than that.” And with her final statement, they left to see Samara with his mom, putting their trust in her and getting in her car.

* * *

Getting in to see Samara was a never-ending series of more phone calls and waiting. They signed papers and had to visit with her therapist first.

They were told how to behave, which subjects to avoid, and most of all what to do if Sam became unhinged.

Adam was going to ignore all of that. He was here to find out what the hell Sam had been thinking, and if she really had been the one to sic Daniel after them.

At the last minute, before being admitted into the visiting area with Sam, they were told only two people could be with her at a time. Mari opted to stay behind, saying he should be with his mom as much as possible while they were here in town.

He took his mom’s hand and gave her a weak smile.

She smiled back in such a way that it filled him with hope.

They were brought out into a nice, big yard area with shade trees, a few scattered benches and other various seating areas surrounding tables.

Sam sat turned away from them, under a really large tree, wearing a baseball cap.

A cold tremor ran down his spine as he thought about how she looked the last time he’d seen her and how she’d left his Mari lying in a pool of blood.

“Can you ask her questions? I don’t know if I can. She hurt Mari really bad—cut her like she did to you,” Adam said.

His mom nodded and cupped her hand on top of their conjoined ones.

“Samara,” Mom called out.

Sam turned around, ripped off the hat and Adam gasped.

Her hair had been hacked all over the place and had pink streaks in some random spots. She always spent a lot of time on her appearance, and this looked scary.

Her clothes had rips all over. Did she put those in herself or if did she fight with somebody and they did it?

Sam waved, but her face was frowning and looked set that way. Her nails were short and painted black.

“Adam,” Sam squeaked, staring at him with misted eyes.

“Hi.” He wanted to turn away. This was 
not
 his sister. He squinted, hoping the view would change, but it remained the same. “What happened to you?”

“
You
happened to me,” she responded.

“I want you to know, Adam asked me to talk to you for him,” his mom informed her.

“No. I changed my mind. I want to say it all myself,” Adam said.

“I’ll give you some space then,” his mom said and wandered a few feet away.

“What do you mean
I
happened to you?” His brow wrinkled. “That doesn’t make sense. You’ve known me all your life. I didn’t just 
happen
 to you.”

“Adam—listen to me, and try to understand from my point of view.” Sam sighed and looked away like she wanted out of here. “Who always dealt with you and the fallout when you’d have an episode?
Me
.”

“I know that,” he said.

“And who do you think is going to take care of you after you leave Dad’s place or he can’t take it anymore?” Her eyes narrowed, and she gripped her fingers into the tree bark behind her as she leaned her back into it.

“Mari.”

“
Ehhhhh.
Wrong!” Her voice was shrill. “
Me
. Mari’s not committed to this. She’s known you less than a year. She doesn’t know what to do when you get ahold of sugar and are bouncing off the walls. She has no idea what to do about a full-grown, exceptionally strong man with uncontrollable ADHD.”

“She knows how to do all those things, and she does it better than you!” He leaned forward, and his fists clenched.

“Who cares? I’m telling you—she’ll walk out like Mom did,” she said. “And I was not about to let her ruin my life by giving you donuts and soda and other crap that turns you into a psycho. I gave you stability. You’ll have a decent life with me—able to enjoy being an uncle when Daniel and I get married and take care of you in our home.”

“Sam . . .” He shook his head. “This is not reality. I’m never gonna live with you.”

“Then
who
? Zach?” She snorted. “Get real. He’s almost as indulgent and stupid as Mari in regard to helping you function at the best level possible.”

His teeth ground together, and his insides shook with rage. “Samara! Mom left because you threatened her. You hurt her! You belong in this place if you think that’s okay and the way to handle things. People don’t play with knives and pull them on other people. I used to think you collected them because it made you seem tough—like a tomboy or something, since you lived in a house with all males. But that’s not it—you really
are
sick.”

“Says the man with a seriously debilitating disability.” She smirked and started holding up her fingers one at a time as if she was mimicking him and his numbers he’d count when really agitated.

He frowned, and his heart plummeted. Every nerve in his body was urging him to slap her, but he refused. That was her way, only with sharp blades. “Daniel’s not right for you, and if you think he is, then you’re the one that’s deluded.”

“Big words, huh? Yeah—go ahead. I’ve seen you pull them out when you’re debating intellectual issues with Dad. This isn’t something you can think through, though. It’s real life. It’s feelings, it’s raw and it’s brutal. Life. Is. Brutal.
Adam
. And I protected you from it.” Her fingernails were back to digging into the tree trunk. Veins stuck out in her neck as her nostrils flared.

“I know,” he said, his voice soft. “It’s all about feelings, and Mari and I are married now. We love each other more than life itself. And your idea of protection is what surrounded me with violence. I mean—my wedding day, my bride had blood on her dress, because of you.” He shoved his fists into his pockets so he wouldn’t punch her.

“Daniel wasn’t supposed to use a gun,” she said, like that explained it all and made it okay.

“Fuck you, Samara. You can rot here. You’re lucky Mom forgives you and wants anything to do with you, because I sure don’t. As far as I’m concerned—I no longer have a little nugget of a sister. She’s gone.” He turned and left her there, clinging to the tree.

It was the only roots she had now, because he was convinced his mom would have to leave her behind eventually, too.

Sam was deranged, violent and beyond help.

He grabbed his mother’s hand on the way out and refused to look back at his sister.

No longer his little nugget at all. Just a stranger—with a heart blacker than her nails and crazy hair.

Chapter 19

Adam woke Mari several times that night. He’d whimper, and his arms would lash out wildly. He’d clutch her to him and then almost lay on top of her before he could get back to sleep. And that smothering he did to her, for some stupid reason, turned him on.

She let him seduce her three times during the night. Each time he was more frantic than the last—speaking to her in a low, possessive way like he was willing her to never leave him.

Her touch reassured him more than her words did.

It was morning now, and she lay there combing her fingers through the back of his hair. There was some dampness from his night-terrors and sweating.

“Mari? I think I wanna go home to our new place. I’m done with Europe,” he said softly.

“You sure? What about your mom? I figured we could spend the rest of the week here, then we’d move on to Spai—”

“No. I can’t be here anymore. There’s too much sadness. I feel guilty, like I should be with Samara since she says this is all my fault—that she did it all for me,” he explained. His fingers twitched on the pillow, and he stared at her with the saddest eyes imaginable. He couldn’t help it. There were parts of him inside that felt broken because of his sister.

“She has no idea what she’s talking about. She chose to handle things this way—not you. Ignore her. She shouldn’t be able to spoil you reconnecting with your mom,” Mari said. “Screw her!”

“I wish I could think that way, but Mom’s not sure what to do about me. She didn’t invite me. She didn’t even have time to prepare, and I think she wants me to see my biological father, Thomas.”

“You don’t want to see him?”

“No. He’s not my dad—Dustin is.” He reached out and stroked along her cheekbone, and it drifted back into her hair at the temple.

“Okay. We can head back. Our apartment’s a mess anyway. It needs a lot of work.” She snorted a little.

“What? It’s not that bad.”

“After dealing with my dad’s place, you’re right—it’s not a big deal, but for some reason it feels daunting.”

“If we have a bed we can use for sex, then I don’t care how messy our house ever is,” he said, smiling, his eyes tired.

“Never say that to the daughter of a hoarder,” she teased. Her hand yanked at the roots of his hair. It was silly how their arms were both crossing and in each other’s hair, but this was them.

“I’m not worried about it—you don’t have any more clutter than anybody else,” he said.

He kissed her, and before they got up and started packing and making arrangements to get back to the states, he pulled her under him.

It would be a long flight, and he needed her more than ever.

His fingers were careless, gripping into her so hard he would probably leave marks, but he needed more—deeper, harder, faster.

He breathed harsher than he ever did at the gym. In fact, he sounded like a motor was pushing him further, making him power into her.

My God, she was so wet, he could feel a damp spot under her already when his legs moved. “You’re the only good home—the only one that matters. That’s why my dick always seeks you out.”