“Baby!” she sobbed, her voice muffled in my hair. “I thought you were going to die! My baby girl!” she whimpered.
I hugged my mom back, still unable to process what had happened. Had Miss Lane just threatened to kill me? And Thorn was here now, my savior during our time of need?
But it was true because the alpha male got to his feet, glowering before hocking a loogie and spitting on Miss Lane. It wasn’t pretty, the glob of saliva oozing in her hair, disgusting and wet. But Thorn has never been a nice guy, and if someone threatens his property, he’s all over it. His foot literally raised, ready to kick her in the face, but something made him hold back.
“Tell Laney,” he rasped, eyes blazing at Miss Lane. “Tell Laney what you did.”
The older woman was sobbing into the rug now, face down, hands grabbing at her hair.
“Mwmwmwm!” was all we could hear.
But Thorn’s bodyguard grabbed Miss Lane’s hair and yanked her head up so that we could see her face.
“Mwmwmwm!” she wailed, a blubbering mess. “Mwmwwm!”
Mr. Channing wasn’t having it. He seized the gun that had been lying discarded on the rug and pointed it at Miss Lane. The Friday Night Special looked almost comical in his hands, so small in that huge fist. But still, it was deadly and the look in his eyes even scarier.
“Tell her,” he rasped once more. “Don’t make me say it again.”
And Miss Lane opened her mouth then, revealing broken, jagged teeth and a mouthful of blood.
“I love you Thorn!” she wailed. “I love you soooo much!” It was like a scene from a horror movie where a zombie rises from the dead, red liquid dripping from its mouth.
Thorn shook his head in rage, this time stepping near to push the gun against her temple.
“Tell her,” he threatened. “Tell her what you’ve done.”
And with that, Miss Lane caved. The words came out in a babble, a rush that I almost couldn’t understand. But the main part was clear.
“I set you up!” she screamed at me while looking at Thorn. “I set that slut up! She wasn’t worth it! She’s not good enough for you, only I’m good enough for you!”
Thorn’s finger pressed menacingly on the trigger.
“What did you do?” he rasped. “What exactly did you do?”
“I had sex with a man in your spare bedroom!” she screamed. “All those bedrooms for banging different girls! I hate them! I hate you!” she shrieked.
Thorn cocked the gun this time, the barrel pressed tight to her temple.
“What else?” he ground out, the look on his face ferocious. “What else?”
“I waited until Laney was in your apartment, and then had sex with a man inside! So she could hear what a disgusting, trashy manwhore you are!” Miss Lane screamed. “It’s not fair, it’s not fair! You want me, you need me!” she shrieked to the heavens. “I’m the only one who can make you happy Thorn Channing, mark my words!”
I stared wide-eyed at the scene before me. Because was it true? Had Miss Lane set the whole thing up? She’d known I was going over to Thorn’s apartment that night, so she’d had sex with a man in the red bedroom, to trick me into thinking that it was Thorn himself? It was so twisted. Who would do something like that?
But the answer was right in front of me because at this point, Miss Lane began thrashing wildly on the ground, skinny limbs flailing, literally frothing at the mouth.
“I’m the only person who can make you happy!” she screamed through the spittle, banging her face against the ground, blood flowing from her nose and mouth. “Only me!”
And at that, Thorn’s bodyguard hauled her to her feet, pinning her arms behind her back so that she could no longer hurt herself.
“Let’s go,” was all he said before dragging the woman off, still screaming and squealing.
“Only meeeee!” she wailed. “Only meeeeee!”
As the door slammed, the three of us turned to stare at each other.
“Is it true?” I whispered, frozen with shock. “Was that her in the bedroom or was it you?”
The alpha lowered the gun, looking at his palm like he didn’t recognize his own hand.
“It’s true,” he rasped, swinging bright blue eyes to me. “There’s been no one but you,” he added. “No one Laney, no one.”
I nodded.
“But what was this all about?” I said weakly, gesturing to the broken furniture, the blood on the carpet. “What happened?”
Thorn shook his head.
“Baby, I don’t know everything yet. But Serena is certifiably off her rocker, bound for the insane asylum. Because after you left, she confronted me, saying that you were a slut. And I knew something was off. I could smell it in the air. So I had my PI get on it, and after we realized she’d followed you here …” his voice trailed off.