Magnate (Acquisition Series Book 2) (21 page)

“Sin? You feeling it this year?” Teddy asked.

Vinemont looked at me, then quickly back down at the piano. “No, not that one.”

Teddy grinned even bigger. “‘Last Christmas’ it is.”

“Shots!” Lucius leaned over to pluck one from the piano.

Vinemont and Teddy grabbed their respective glasses, clinked with each other, and then drained them.

Teddy’s face twisted up and he rubbed the back of his sleeve across his mouth. “Damn.” He walked back over to me. “Um, I’m going to need that pick back.”

I laughed and handed it to him. He shed the electric guitar and picked up an acoustic, slinging the strap over his shoulder.

He winked at Laura. “You’ll love it. It’s my fave.” He backed up. “All right, Lucius. Hit it.”

Lucius tapped the cymbal and then started a beat on the snare punctuated with the bass on the downbeats.

Vinemont smirked as he began playing lightly in the background. I knew the song. It was an eighties staple from some long-defunct boy band that played on the radio every year at the holidays.

Teddy’s voice rang out, smooth and clear. I was shocked at how exquisitely and freely he sang. He made the notes sound easy as he played along, rocking slightly as he kept Lucius’ beat. All three of them worked together beautifully.

This was how they were supposed to be. A team, a unit that functioned best when they were all in accord. Even Lucius was smiling, his happiness making him seem younger and far more carefree than I knew he was.

Teddy held Laura’s eye for quite some time as he belted out the lyrics—heartfelt and cheesy at the same time. But he pulled it off, and the smile never faltered from my face, though I watched Vinemont watching me more than anything else. He swayed to the music, not at all like a concert pianist; more like someone who felt the beat but wasn’t ruled by it.

My stomach fluttered as if I had joined in on the last round of shots. He wore a simple black t-shirt, the ever-present vines wrapping around his biceps and to his forearms. I studied each movement, each sway, each time he moved to the lower notes or the higher.

Teddy reached the end of the song, singing soulfully about giving his heart to someone special.

I leaned back and whispered to Laura. “Are you going to throw him your panties?”

She giggled and slapped at my shoulder.

The song wound down, and Teddy held the last note for longer than I could hold my breath. Everyone laughed, Farns gripping his stomach and looking positively gleeful. The only one missing was Renee, and I intended to make my inquiries as soon as possible. This little trip downstairs was proof I was ready to roam a little farther.

“What next?” Teddy asked.

“‘It’s Cold Outside’?” Laura suggested.

“Can we handle that, boys?” Teddy asked.

Lucius did a drum roll in response, and Vinemont matched it with a flourish.

Teddy grinned. “That’s a duet, Laura. Come on up.”

“Oh no. No.” She backed away. “I couldn’t carry a note in a bucket.”

“We have to have the woman’s part.” Teddy strummed, searching for the right key.

“Stella?” Vinemont asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I could sing. But I wasn’t sure if I could sing in front of him. I shook my head, color heating my cheeks.

“Aww, she can sing. Look at that face.” Teddy laughed and put his guitar on the floor. He hurried forward and scooped me up.

“Hey!” I cried. “Why does everyone manhandle me around here?”

He set me on the piano. “You okay?”

My legs hung over the edge and blood rushed to my feet, though the slight tingle of sensation didn’t hurt. Despite my irritation, I couldn’t help but smile at Teddy. “Yes.”

“Good.” He grabbed two glasses from his line of shots and handed me one.

Lucius and Vinemont seized theirs, and we toasted before throwing them back. The liquid stung my tongue, my nostrils, and burned all the way down. I sputtered and slapped the glass back on the gleaming dark wood of the piano.

“You’re harmony.” I pointed to Teddy and tried to clear the pure alcohol from my lungs with a cough.

“Not a problem.” Teddy leaned against the piano next to me. “These pipes are lined with gold.”

I peeked over my shoulder at Vinemont as he began the accompaniment. He nodded to me, urging me to start the song. I waited a few more bars and closed my eyes before singing, “I really can’t stay.” My voice wobbled, but hit the right notes. Teddy jumped right in, telling me it was cold outside and adding, “It really is.”

Laura linked her arm in Farns’ and they swayed back and forth as Teddy and I sang the tune about responsibility and desire, the two dancing around each other.

Teddy’s perfect harmony made my voice sound even better, though alone it was middling at best. My nerves seeped away as Teddy got into it, putting his arm around me though I knew he was singing right to Laura’s heart. It was working, her gaze glued to him.

We reached the end, our voices melding and joining in unison as Lucius tapped the cymbal and the piano softened and quieted.

Applause from Farns and Laura rang out. I peeked over my shoulder at Vinemont and the look was there—the one from my drawing. Kindness, and something else that was undefinable. Something even warmer, even deeper. The same feeling had a stranglehold on my heart, my soul. Even in the barren ground of the Acquisition, love still grew.

“Beautiful voice. Like a bell.” Farns beamed. “I think—”

His words were cut off when a tall woman with flowing white hair barreled past him, ripped the front door open, and ran out into the freezing night.

Chapter Seventeen

Sinclair

I’d barely seen
her ghostly form flit past when the front door slammed.
Fuck.

“Teddy, take Stella to your room and lock the door.” I didn’t think my mother would be violent, but I couldn’t tell anymore.

Stella opened her mouth, no doubt in protest, as Teddy scooped her up and headed for the stairs.

“Laura, you and Farns stay in the kitchen,” I said. “Run out the door to the garage if anything happens.”

Laura helped Farns from the floor as Lucius and I rushed past, no time to don shoes or coats, and took off after her. A blast of arctic air rushed into the foyer and stung my exposed skin as we darted into the night.

She fled across the moonlit lawn, her hair glowing silver in the luminous rays, and her white nightgown floating around her ankles. Ethereal and determined, she was making decent time. All the same, Lucius and I gained on her. My feet burned from the frost on the freezing ground, but we pounded after her, ignoring the pain.

She was slowing, fatigue already making her lag. We caught up, both darting around to corral her. She stopped and shrieked, her eyes wild and glancing from Lucius and back to me. I barely recognized her. The woman who’d raised me, tormented me, was now a screaming banshee on the same front lawn she used to rule.

“Mom!” Lucius tried to shout her down, holding his hands out in front of him as he crept nearer.

“Don’t you touch her! Don’t you touch her, you bastards!” She snarled, spit flying from her pale lips.

“Mom, it’s me.” I stepped closer and stared into her eyes, the ones I knew were the same shade as mine.

“Stop hurting her.” She put a hand to her mouth, gasping as if someone had knocked the wind from her lungs. “Please stop.”

“Mom! It’s me, Sin.” But she wasn’t seeing me. She was seeing Renee’s trials. They played over and over again in her mind as if she were sitting alone in a movie theater, strapped to a chair with her eyes pinned open.

“Stop!” she screamed and raked her nails down her face. “Take me instead. Please, take me.”

I moved slowly, the individual blades of icy grass crunching under the soles of my feet with each step. She grimaced and tore at her hair, ripping at the silver strands as her wild gaze turned skyward. Lucius and I both darted in, grabbing her around the waist. Then the screams began in earnest as she clawed and fought.

“Mom, calm down.” Her nails were on my neck, gouging deep lines as she bit at Lucius. She was feral, the mother I’d known long since gone.

A brutal wind whipped past, carrying her screams out into the night. She was barefoot. If my feet were any indication, we were all in danger of frostbite the longer we stayed out here.

“Get her legs,” I yelled.

I gripped her upper body, pinning her arms to her sides, as Lucius grabbed her around the knees. Together, we lifted her and hurried back toward the house. Once we reached the steps, she stopped struggling and her screams ceased. Defeated and limp, she fell silent. I took her full weight, cradling her in my arms.

“Lucius, go on up and see about Renee.”

“Oh, shit. I didn’t even think about her. Mom, what did you do?”

She was unresponsive as Lucius took the steps two at a time.

“Can I help?” Farns came down the hall, wringing his hands as Laura gripped his arm.

“Everything’s fine.” A lie. “Just one of her episodes.” I hurried up the stairs to the third floor.

The door to her room was open, and I carried her in before laying her on the bed. Renee sat on the floor by the fireplace, hand pressed to the side of her head. Blood trickled down her face.

Lucius knelt down beside her, pulling her hand away to check the wound.

“You okay?” I asked over my shoulder.

“I-I think so,” Renee said.

Mom lay on the bed and stared at the light green ceiling. Her mouth moved, half-formed words passing through her lips that held meaning only to her.

She’d made this large suite her sanctuary, the place she’d retreated to when Lucius and I were old enough to take care of the estate and the sugar business. I’d thought it was a blessing to be rid of her at the time, but I didn’t know how much darker her thoughts would grow while she stayed alone up here.

“What happened?” Lucius pulled Renee’s hand away to inspect the damage. The wound seemed to be somewhere in her dark hair, and was bleeding profusely.

“I don’t know,” Renee said. “She was lucid. We were talking about you boys when you were little. She was telling me a story about how Teddy used to ride his tricycle into the house and how it drove her batty. We were laughing, actually laughing. Then she swung something at me. I don’t know what. I don’t remember anything until you two came in.”

I knelt beside her and pulled her hair away. It was a small gash that wouldn’t need stitches, but the lump around it was troubling. I looked back at Mom, but she was still in her daze. Would she regret this when she came back to life? I doubted it.

“Give me the key to the medicine cabinet.” I held my hand out. Renee dug in her black skirt and produced a key ring, but couldn’t seem to focus on which key it was.

“It’s fine. I got it.” I went to the armoire, unlocked it, and swung it open. Two syringes were loaded and ready to go, but Mom was calm now, so I didn’t bother. I grabbed up some alcohol and bandages. I handed some to Lucius and then took the rest over to Mom.

I worked on her feet, dabbing the alcohol on each small cut. It had to sting, but she didn’t react at all, remaining perfectly still. I’d done this only days before on a different woman, one I hoped wouldn’t end up as damaged as the woman who lay before me. Once I’d bandaged her, I checked Lucius’ work on Renee. He’d done well, the wound clean and Renee comfortable.  I sat next to him and we wiped the blood from our feet.

“This is fucked up.” Lucius glanced to Mom. “Keeping her up here like this.”

“If there was a better way, I’d do it.”

“I just wish we could get her some sort of care.”

“There’s no care for what’s wrong with her.” Renee had looked like hell even before Mom clocked her. But she wouldn’t leave Mom’s side, no matter how many times I asked her to get some rest, to go downstairs, to visit Stella. Tired eyes, gaunt cheeks, and sallow skin were her reward.

When Mom was like this, the only person she could tolerate was Renee. And now she’d attacked her.

“She’s fine now,” Renee said. “I’ll stay with her. She wore herself out with that little episode.” She tried to gain her feet, but wobbled before Lucius caught her and helped her stand.

“No. You need to go and get some rest.”

“But Mr. Sincl—”

“Go!” I pointed to the door. “I’ll stay with her for a while. Lucius, take Renee to her room and have Laura sit with her tonight.”

He paused like he was going to challenge me, but seemed to think better of it. Taking Renee’s arm, he said, “Come on. Sin’s right. You’re beat. In every way.” He gave her a smile that she didn’t return before walking her out.

At the door she turned. “Rebecca, I’ll be back to see you tomorrow. I’m okay. Don’t worry about what happened. You didn’t hurt me.” Her pleading voice broke on the last few words, as if she were injured more by having to lie to her lover than by the bloody wound along her scalp.

Mom made no move, just kept staring at the ceiling, her mouth slightly open. Lucius closed the door and I scrubbed my hand down my jaw. This was her worst episode yet. It was as if her memories grew stronger every day, the fear gripping her more tightly and turning each of her thoughts dark.

I moved her slender body up the bed so her head rested on a pillow. After pulling the sheet and blanket over her, I sat on the edge of her bed. I took her cold hand, the back pale, each vein a blue ridge leading to her bony wrist. The small crisscross of raised scars was still there, a matching set on my right hand.

I sandwiched her hand between both of mine, trying to instill some warmth in her. I knew I couldn’t. She’d never given me enough to start with, so I had none to give back.

“Mom. Come back.” How many times had I made the same request? Countless. More so when I’d been a child. But the words were empty. The Mom I’d known before her Acquisition had long been gone. Only Renee still encountered her from time to time. Never me, or Lucius, or Teddy. To us, she remained the strict matriarch, ensuring we maintained our dominance over the other families by coercion, deceit, or force.

Her breathing was even, but her eyes remained open and unseeing. A knock sounded at the door, and Farns shuffled in.

“How is she?” He’d known my mother longer than anyone. His eyes swam with sadness as he contemplated her expressionless face.

“She’s coming down. I’m going to give her something to help her sleep.” I stood and returned to the armoire, pulling out a syringe before locking it up and pocketing the key.

Farns walked over and took my spot on the bed, patting her hand. “Everything’s going to be all right. The boys are fine. Everyone’s fine. We just have to get you well again.”

She would never be well again. There was no cure for the regret that had blackened her heart and eaten away at her mind. There was only management. Farns held her wrist as I pushed the needle into a vein on the back of her hand and depressed the plunger. After a few moments, her eyes finally closed.

She was peaceful. I should have felt relief. Instead, I felt what I always did. Despair.