Inferno (27 page)

“You are going to pay for that,” he warned. “Dearly.”

Seizing the back of her head, he crushed his mouth against hers in a bruising kiss. The forceful claim assured he meant every word he said. The heat licking her insides climbed even higher. She could feel the flush crawl over her breasts and settle into her cheeks. Her shame deepened when she realized how all of this was going to look.

Peering down at her, Sebastian offered an unrepentant smirk. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s a very becoming look on you.”

“You are beyond warped,” she muttered, pulling open the door.

A light summer breeze washed over her skin, but it was seeing the woman standing in front of her that cooled Taylor’s blood. More than a decade had passed, and her mother had aged and acquired the lines brought on by time and the worries of life, but there were still traces of the face she had dreamed of and remembered. Her heart ached with pangs of uncertainty and pain. She didn’t know what to say. Did she call her Mom or Elaine? Her humiliation only deepened when the silence lingered and her shoulders slumped beneath a wave of defeat.

People should never have to wonder those things when it came to their own mother. She shouldn’t have to wonder if it was okay to hug her own parent or what to call them, yet here she was, conflicted and torn, and wishing she had pockets just so she had something to do with her hands.

Frowning, Sebastian stepped around her and put an end to the awkward standoff. “You must be Elaine,” he said, extending his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, come inside.”

He gestured her inside and Taylor’s brow knitted as her mother’s gaze flickered her way. It didn’t take long for Elaine’s attention to shift elsewhere once she stepped inside the foyer. Hanging back, Taylor watched her scan her new surroundings.

“You have a beautiful home, Sebastian. Thank you for allowing me to visit.”

Not missing the innuendo, Sebastian tilted his head. Though his smile didn’t falter, the sincerity behind it faded.

“This is your daughter’s home as well.”

“Of course.” Elaine straightened, extending her slender body to its full height. “I’m sorry,” she offered, turning to face Taylor. “I’ve rehearsed this moment a million times in my head, but I still don’t know what to say. Thank you for trying to put the past aside and welcoming me into your home. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”

Her throat tightened. Swallowing hard, she blinked against the burgeoning threat of tears and nodded. “It’s okay…Mom.”

She closed her eyes, drawing reassurance from Sebastian as he rubbed slow circles against her lower back and kissed the side of her temple.

“Dinner should be done, baby. Let’s carry the food to the table and get your mother something to drink.”

Nodding mutely, she let him steer her into the more private seclusion of the kitchen. The concern in his eyes made her heart hurt even more as he stared down at her and brushed a thumb across her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice unstable and shaky. “I don’t know what I was expecting.”

“It’s okay,” he soothed. “I just don’t like seeing you under this much strain. It’s not good for you.”

“I’ll be fine. I just need to work through this. I’ve dreamt of her coming back into my life so many times, Seb, but I never once imagined things would feel this distant. It’s almost like meeting a total stranger.”

He frowned. His expression was full of empathy as he ran his fingertips over the tiny swell of her belly. “A lot of time has gone by, baby. Just sit tight. Hopefully things will get easier. I can’t make any promises, but I will try to do whatever I can to help you here.”

She tried to smile but memories of Christmas Eve and their dinner party with Irene tumbled through her head, and she was sure the gesture came across as more of a pained grimace. Inviting her mother into their home was a bad idea on so many levels, but there was nothing she could do now but try to get through it.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His stare weighed heavy, calculating both mood and condition. She could feel the reluctance thrumming through him and the atmosphere shifted, darkening like a gathering of clouds. Sebastian’s guard was going up and his tolerance down, neither of which bode well for the situation. He’d always been hyper-vigilant and queued into her every mood and reaction, but now that she was carrying his child, Sebastian was on constant edge. She loved him for his protectiveness, but she also knew if she didn’t find a way to ease the tension of the evening, he would kibosh the whole thing before it even had a chance to begin.

A few moments later, she’d set the fresh dinner rolls down and settled into her chair. Thin tendrils of steam rose from the baked ziti, carrying the rich aroma of olive oil and garlic she’d chosen in lieu of marinara. Her mother forced a tremulous smile over the rim of her white wine as Sebastian took his seat at the head of the table.

“It smells wonderful.”

Taylor couldn’t help but feel a small burst of pride. “Thank you.”

Dishing a liberal portion onto his plate, Sebastian then passed the bowl. “Your daughter is an amazing cook,” he agreed. “She keeps me very well-fed.”

“Not too well,” Elaine stated, seeming to relax a little. “You seem fit. I imagine that is part of your job though.”

“Yes. I suppose it is.” Sebastian turned his attention to his meal, his expression contemplative.

Taylor buttered her roll. So many questions flitted through her mind. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Mom, but it’s been so long since we talked. How did you find me?”

Elaine’s fork hovered in midair. Round grey eyes locked with Taylor’s across the table. The careful mask of composure her mother wore faltered for a mere second before the regal mask slipped back into place.

“I visited your uncle last week. He was kind enough to fill me in on your current situation.”

Sebastian frowned and set his glass down. “What situation is that?”

She remained aloof and collected. The brief purse of her painted lips was the only sign she felt anything other than what her expression indicated.

“Roy told me my daughter had moved to Flagstaff. It wasn’t hard to find you, once I had a name. You appear to have provided for her quite well, Agent Baas. She seems happy and healthy. Seeing that much at least has helped ease some of my reservations.”

The soft clink of silverware hitting a plate filled the room. Nauseas, Taylor closed her eyes and rubbed a shaky hand over the lower half of her face.

“Mom…”

“It’s alright, Taylor,” Sebastian said. “I am curious, Elaine. Just what might those reservations be?”

“From my understanding, you isolated my daughter and cut her off from her family. This raises some concerns in my eyes.”

“I see,” Sebastian stated, leaning back in his seat. “Let me ask you something. Roy is your brother, correct?”

“Yes.”

Taylor’s heart sank as she watched the cold, calculating gleam flare to life in her lover’s eyes. He nodded stiffly at her mother’s response, his mouth hardening into a grim press.

“I am sure you were well aware of your brother’s situation. You knew the man could barely make ends meet, yet you abandoned your daughter at his door, knowing he would never be able to provide for her. She grew up feeling she was nothing more than an added burden and an extra mouth to feed. Where was that concern then?”

“I left her with family,” her mother countered.

“A loose definition of the word at best. There was never any real sense of love or belonging. Instead, she was made to feel indebted to those people. People who in turn used her and betrayed her trust. Your brother and his son tried to pin their moonshining operation on your daughter and were more than willing to let her take the fall so they could go free. You have no idea how many strings I had to pull or the amount of cajoling it took to keep her out of jail, so you will have to excuse me if I fail to see things from your perspective.”

“I don’t think you understand my point, Agent Baas.”

“You are correct,” Sebastian agreed. “You have no point. I didn’t tell your daughter to stop associating with those people in an attempt to control her. I did it to protect her. If not for me, she would have been behind bars. If I truly wished to cut her off from her family, you would not be here.”

“What about her friends?”

“I am a private man. I admit to being jealous and overprotective at times, but I am not petty. Taylor keeps in touch with a young man she went to school with. If my intentions were as trivial as you claim, another man would be the first to go.” He spread his hands, his smile taut and unforgiving. “Yet here we are. They talk often and she’s asked Daryl to escort her down the aisle.”

“I see,” her mother stated, focusing her attention on her plate just long enough to sneak in a quick bite. “What about her job?”

Sebastian sighed. “Your daughter was exhausted and working herself to the bone. I make more than enough to sustain us. I saw no reason for her to continue driving herself into the ground.”

“So you told her to quit?”

Taylor stared across the table at her, grappling with a heady mixture of annoyance and disbelief. The constant barrage of questions was bad enough without the woman acting like she wasn’t sitting right there in the same room with them. The brittle threads of self-control she’d been clinging to frayed and snapped, much like the illusions of love and security she’d wrapped herself in as a child. Mother or not, she was not going to sit back and let this woman dismantle her life all over again.

“Sebastian didn’t
tell
me to quit. He never once demanded that of me. He asked if I would give him a chance to take care of me. To give
us
taking care of each other a chance. What did I have to lose? I was working twelve to fourteen hours a day at a truck stop. It’s not as if I gave up some exciting and successful career.”

“I know, honey,” her mother soothed.

“No. You really don’t, and I don’t see any reason why we should have to explain everything to you.”

“I was just trying to understand where you’re coming from, Tay. I wasn’t trying to offend either of you.”

“Well, you did,” Taylor shot back. She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but judging from Sebastian’s wince, she failed miserably.

“I can see that and I’m sorry. I was just trying to learn more about you. The only things I know are what your uncle has told me.”

“Whose fault is that? You walked out on
me
. It’s been
ten years
, Mom. I can’t even remember the last time you bothered to call. If you really cared about me, you would have been there. You would have made an effort. You would have done
something
.”

“Taylor,” Sebastian cautioned softly.

“What? She has no right to walk into my life after all that time and question me. You haven’t even bothered to ask me how I am doing or if I am happy,” she accused, staring across the table at her mother. “You already tore my life apart once. You don’t get to do that again. Either drop the interrogation act or get out of our house!”

Elaine opened her mouth as if she meant to answer but clamped it shut with enough force to make her teeth clack. Glancing between them, Sebastian dragged a hand through his hair. His bewildered stare swung to Taylor before drifting back to her mother again.

“I am at a loss for words here,” he stated quietly. “I don’t think this is quite the evening either of you had planned.”

“No,” Taylor agreed. “It’s not.”

She started to push away from the table, only to have his hand close around her wrist.

“Sit down, Taylor. You need to eat.”

“Sebastian, please.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. You are going to eat. This is not open for debate.”

She held his gaze for a long moment before she reluctantly obeyed and dropped onto her seat. His stare didn’t waver until she picked up her fork again and speared a bite of pasta and zucchini onto the end. A forced nod of approval was all she got before Sebastian picked up his wine glass and turned his undivided attention to her mother.

“I’ve had a very long day, Elaine, and my dinner is getting cold. Let’s skip the formalities and get to the point. It’s obvious you don’t intend to mend any fences with your daughter, so why are you really here?”

Taylor stopped chewing, her breath catching as she waited for an answer. Her heart seemed to twist, wringing like a wet dishtowel in her chest, as she prayed the response would be one her battered emotions could handle.

Her mother remained regal and composed, unflappable despite the potential storm brewing. “You are quite perceptive, Agent Baas.”

“It’s a job requirement,” he stated flatly. “Answer the question.”

Taylor’s mother smoothed the lapel of her crisp linen suit. The cream silk shimmered in the luminous glow of the candlelight. Raising her fork, she took a bite of squash and met Sebastian’s condemning stare with a serenity few men could muster.

“What does the name Colleen James mean to you?”

Confused, Taylor knitted her brow as she watched Sebastian’s eyes narrow into dangerous slits. They seethed, the pale green now smoldering with barely checked anger.

“Next to nothing,” he ground out, his tone bitter.

“That’s a shame. I can fill you in if you would like.”

“I would rather you didn’t.”

Unable to help it, Taylor glanced between the two of them. “I think I remember that name, but I can’t place it. Who’s Colleen?”

“No one.”

“That’s not true,” her mother argued. “She is a very dear friend of mine and has been for a number of years. Your fiancé seems to think she’s a person of interest as of late.”

Numb, Taylor tried to wrap her mind around the conversation. It hurt to know her mother had other intentions, other reasons for this long overdue visit. She wondered how she was supposed to respond to something like that, but Sebastian spared her the trouble.

“I had my reasons,” he said. “Given her situation, I helped her as much as I could, but I am not going to sit here and justify myself or my actions to you, Elaine.”