"Like mother like son?" I teased, trying to lighten his mood.
"No." His gaze snapped in my direction. "I'mnothinglike her. Sheneverlooked out for us, never gave a shit one way or another what happened to us when she was off doing fuck-knows-what."
I shrank back, surprised not only by his language, but by the venom behind his words. Sure, I cursed like a sailor, but – . No, Iusedto curse like a sailor. Now I just cursed like…well, Lawton, actually.
His gaze softened. "Sorry."
"It's alright," I said. "You said 'us'? You mean you and Bishop, right?"
Lawton shook his head. "No. I didn't even know about Bishop 'til I was a teenager. We're half-brothers. Same dad, different cities."
"So how many kids did your Mom have?"
"Two. Me and a sister."
"Where's your sister now?" I asked.
"College out East. Working on her master's in social work."
"And your Mom?" I asked.
"Dead."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said. "How?"
"Overdose. Finally. Best thing she ever did."
Even knowing more of his life story, his icy demeanor was a shock. What kind of guy was actually glad when his mother died? Even with my Mom, as crappy as she was, I'd still be sad if anything bad happened to her.
He studied my face. "I know what you're thinking."
"I'm not thinking anything," I said, "just taking it all in."
"Let me ask you something," he said. "Your brother. He's thirteen, right?"
I nodded.
"Well, I'm the oldest," he said. "My sister, she's maybe three years younger than me." He smiled. "Probably about your age, come to think of it." The smile faded. "When she was thirteen, Mom tried to sell her."
I felt my body grow still. "What do you mean?"
His gaze hardened. "You know what I mean."
I blew out a breath. I guess I did, but I was hoping that I'd just misunderstood him.
"That's when Grandma kicked her out for good," Lawton said. "Told Mom if she ever came back, she'd be dead before she hit the door. And Grandma meant it. She never said anything she didn't mean. She had this old Remington. She was a hell of a shot too. Took me deer hunting up north once."
"She sounds like an amazing person," I said.
"She was," he said with the trace of a smile. "She'd been a widow forever too. I never knew my Grandpa. Neither did my Mom, come to think of it. He died in some factory explosion a month after she was born. So I guess my Mom didn't have it so good either."
Lawton shook his head. "Anyway, even with Mom out of the house, I couldn't let the thing with Kara go. I mean, what kind of man does that? And why the hell should he get away with it? So I ask around, and I find out who the guy is."
"Then what?" I said.
"Then," he said, "I go after him."
I did the math. "So were you what, about sixteen?"
