“Mom said she is out of town for the day when I asked her to meet with me tomorrow to go shopping. My mother has never turned down a day of shopping my entire life, Dad. Not once. Not ever.”
“Fuck,” I hiss. “I don’t want you alone. Pack a bag, you’re going to stay with your brother.”
“Laurent, please, he’s scarier than Lawrence,” she says with a grin. “Plus, he has better streaming on his TV. Lawrence is so cheap, he doesn’t even pay for Netflix.”
Chuckling, I tell her to go and pack, then I call Lawrence and Laurent. They’re all staying together because to be frank, I’m scared fucking shitless of what this woman will do. She is downright unhinged. She’s pissed off, and she is hypocritical in her misguided anger toward Tennessee.
But I’m not resting until I get some goddamn answers, and I’m not going to stop until Tennessee and Holden are back where they belong—at my side.
Chapter Forty-Six
TENNESSEE
My knees give out as soon as I’m taken into the small house. I see her. She’s chained to a wall with a dirty mattress pushed up against it. I hear the chains rattle as I fall to the carpeted floor. Tears immediately fill my eyes and fall before I can even attempt to compose myself. Holden’s arms wrap around my neck as he grips me.
Shaking my head, I can’t believe my mom is alive, and she’s right in front of me. “Get the fuck in there, and if you even make a goddamn peep, I’m chaining you up too, bitch,” he snarls before he slams the door behind me.
It doesn’t matter what he says or how he says it. All that matters right now is that my mom is alive. “Come here,” she whimpers.
I inhale a deep, shaky breath, and slowly stand to my trembling legs before I force my body forward. Normally, I would wrinkle my nose at the dirty mattress, but right now, I don’t care. Extending one arm, I reach for my mom. Wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She holds on to me, wrapping both me and Holden in one of her perfect hugs.
“How did he find you?” she whispers.
Clearing my throat, I sink down on the dirty mattress, keeping Holden in my arms. I can’t control the way my body is shaking and trembling. I don’t know what to say, what to think. I don’t want to know the answers to all of the questions I want to ask.
“I was here, looking for you. He broke into my hotel room,” I whisper.
“Where is Landry?” she asks, gritting her teeth as she says his name.
Blinking, I give her a watery smile. “Lucinda was attacked by her boss, he left before I went to bed and rented a car. He drove back to Dallas.”
There is a moment of silence. One where my mom watches me, lifting a brow and my lips part in awe. “Who took you, I don’t mean Danny, I mean who is really behind this?” I ask on a whisper.
She doesn’t say anything immediately, instead her eyes shift to the side, then come back to meet my own. She inhales a deep breath, then lets it out with a heavy sigh.
“You know who did all of this, Tenny. A woman scorned…”
“No,” I grind out as I jump to my feet. I keep Holden close against me as I start to pace the room. “It is not a woman scorned, Mom,” I snap. “That woman has secretly been a prostitute for years. She’s cheated on her husband, she’s neglected her children. She is not scorned. She’s throwin’ a hissy fit because she isn’t going to have access to Landry’s social circle or what she sees as his endless supply of cash.”
“But you will. She hates you because of that. Forty years younger than her, slipping into her spot.”
Dipping my chin, I level my mother with a gaze. “They haven’t had sex for years, Mom. Years. Let that sink in. She doesn’t give a shit about him, she just wants to make him miserable because she had it nice and easy for far too long.”
“You know she cheated in every pageant,” my mom mutters. I snort, believing her. Then my mom’s lips curve up into a grin. “She still didn’t win half of them, even when she laid on her back for the judges.”