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His hate for this despicable woman doubled in that moment as her words visibly cut through Evelyn. Pearl was too entrenched in her own selfish need to notice what she was doing to her daughter. She was no mother.
He watched as Evelyn again stiffened her posture, refusing to be worn down. She was so incredibly strong. He’d never seem someone appear so beaten and so resilient at the same time. She was astonishing.
“Oh, Momma, no. You can’t do that here.”
“Then I got to go.”
“Momma,” Evelyn said taking her mother’s hand. “You’re sick—”
Pearl snatched her hand back. “Why you always bossing me? You’re not the boss of me, Evelyn Scottlynn Keats! I am your mother—”
“Then act like it!” Evelyn suddenly snapped. Her voice cracked and in a much softer voice she said, “For once in your life act like it. You almost died. I know you don’t care, but what am I supposed to do without you?” She stood shakily. “Not this time, Momma. I’m not letting you go back to that. You’re going to get through this because you owe it to me.”
With pathetic sluggishness and pitiful strength, Pearl’s hand came up to slap her daughter.
Evelyn caught her wrist with surprising preparedness. “Stop it!”
She released Pearl’s arm as the other woman tugged. Pearl, now feeble, nearly fell back with her own ungainliness. She sneered at her daughter, “You little bitch! You’re doing this on purpose, you hateful thing. Always jealous of how much they all like me. You’re stupid! Do you hear me? Do you, stupid girl? Where’s my daughter? I want my daughter! Scout!”
Lucian was speechless. The woman shouted cruel words in Evelyn’s face and she barely flinched. She did cry, but silently and without visible emotion. As the tirade continued, he’d heard enough. He stepped in and took Evelyn gently by the shoulders and steered her out of the room, slamming the door hard behind them, stifling the insane diatribe.
Evelyn was nonresponsive as he laid her back in bed. He didn’t know what to do, so he curled in behind her and held her as she wept, kissing her hair and offering any comfort he could provide. She silently sobbed for several minutes and eventually Pearl’s screeches quieted.
Soft sniffles broke the silence every few minutes. “She didn’t mean it,” she finally muttered. “She doesn’t know.”
Her skin was cool to the touch as he ran is fingers over her arm. “I know, baby. I know.” But he didn’t. He couldn’t understand because he’d never seen the like.
Chapter 34
Quiet Move
A move, which does not attack or capture
Vivian’s final warning had been an understatement. The four days that followed Evelyn and Pearl’s arrival at the condo had been one trial after another. Evelyn barely spoke. She tended to Pearl, bathed her, fed her, cleaned up after her, took unending abuse from her and slept. While she slept, Lucian tended to her mother.
As they dropped Pearl off at the clinic Vivian had suggested, she was sedated and easily dealt with. Lucian understood that she could not be held there against her will, but the clinic was out in the middle of nowhere and Pearl would be stranded. His only hope was that, as Evelyn’s mother’s appetite returned, she would find the steady supply of food, heat, and shelter worth more than her need to inject herself full of dope.
Evelyn cried silently as she stared out the window the entire way home. He called and had chicken and dumpling soup sent up ahead of their arrival. He also asked for melon wrapped in prosciutto and a hot fudge sundae, but knew it would probably go to waste.
They dined in silence. Evelyn finished her soup but touched nothing else. He moved the tray to the hall and ran a bath for her. Her tears had subsided through supper, which relieved him, but her continued silence increased his concern.
His fingers combed through her soft hair, pouring water over the thick strands and rinsing away the shampoo. She passively allowed him to bathe her. While cleaning her fingers and removing the dirt under her nails, she suddenly burst into tears again. Unsure what to do, Lucian reached for a towel, lifted her out of the tub and held her as she cried.
Her warm tears burned through his shirt and the dampness from her hair soaked into his sleeve. He stilled when the light caress of her lips danced over the flesh on his throat. It was no accidental touch. Lucian turned and stared into her tired eyes.
She cupped his unshaven cheek and whispered, “Make love to me, Lucian. Take me away. Make me forget the last few weeks.”
Tucking a strand of damp hair behind her ear, he met her gaze. “You’re tired.”
“Please.”
His lips swept softly across hers and she leaned into the caress. His hands moved to her bottom and he stood, holding her slight body in his arms as he walked back to the master bedroom. Laying her back on the blankets, he stared at her as he slowly removed his clothing. The curtains hadn’t been drawn and moonlight pooled onto the bed from the balcony doors, snowflakes dancing in the shadowy night’s reflections.
