Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (21 page)

I’m a little worried, but it’s mostly about Tessa.

Tessa?
Jared asked, surprised.

Me? Why?
Tessa was sitting near a tree ahead of them. When they caught up, she joined them, running in between the two larger cats.

You didn’t seem that upset to find out your mother is involved with all this
, Parker thought, his mind voice tinged with concern.

Tessa was silent for a long minute. Jared sensed a hint of guilt in her mind, but mostly resignation.

She turned away from me years ago, when I was still in high school. She’d been working obsessively as a chemist for some big company she’d never tell me about. She worked overtime. I barely saw her from the time I was in ninth grade until eleventh. Then she was fired. She told everyone she quit. It was a lie. Now we know her big company was the military, and the project that made her so bitter was that vaccine
. Tessa leaped over a small stream and kept running, as if she was trying to get away from the conversation.

She looked at him briefly.
No. I’m only feeling a little guilty because sometimes I wonder if maybe I could’ve done something to help her back then. Instead, all we did was fight my senior year of high school. It got so bad I managed to get away from her a half-year early by taking on a semester-abroad study credit. I went to Britain for six months, and when I came back, I went to college early just so I wouldn’t have to live with her at home. Maybe if I’d paid more attention—

No
, Parker interjected.
My brother told me about your mom, how weird she got after she was fired. Didn’t she get super conservative? He told me once that she tried to lock you in the house so you wouldn’t ever meet boys.

Jared was appalled.
Really?

Yeah, she did
, Tessa sent.
I guess John told your brother about that?
She glanced at Parker, and he sent an affirmation over their link.

Yeah. Billy told me some things about John and you before they died. He didn’t mean any harm.

Tessa sighed.
It’s okay. I’m mostly feeling resigned, not hurt or even shocked. After all that’s happened, I know how sick my mom was, and is, but back then I thought it was my fault.

It wasn’t
, Parker assured her, growling at her gently.

Tessa mock-snarled at him, swiping a paw through the air and laughing when Parker stumbled, trying to avoid her.

Jared felt a sense of relief flow through him as he watched their antics. They were all going to be okay.

Chapter 13

It was late afternoon by the time they stopped close to the trees behind Tessa’s house. She was exhausted. Even though she’d had a good night’s sleep, all Tessa wanted to do was eat three steaks, take a long, hot shower, and crawl into bed with her bond-mates. When Jared stepped in front of her, growling quietly and preventing her from stumbling into her yard, she knew she wasn’t going to get her wish.

What is it?
she asked him tiredly.

Sweetheart, I know you’re tired, but we’re not alone
, Parker thought to her.

Tessa sniffed the air and growled, her lips peeling back from her teeth.
I smell my mother.

I do, too,
Parker sent, his mind voice concerned as Jared stalked forward menacingly. The back door sprang open. Jared snarled as three ‘Path addicts dressed in black, like the attackers in the restaurant, walked onto the grass and positioned themselves in a semicircle. Jared growled and moved closer, poised to attack. Tessa’s mom walked out of the house, her gaze on the three large cats clear of the treeline. The scratches on her face had scabbed over, the bruising around the wounds yellow and ugly. She gestured to her minions, and they split apart, two on one side and one on the other. Tessa wished she could see their faces, but only her mom’s was uncovered.

Maybe I should try and talk to her,
Tessa thought, making a split-second decision. She moved forward, ignoring Parker’s protesting whine, her form already shifting back into human. When the change was complete, Tessa walked out of the trees naked. Strangely, Tessa wasn’t self-conscious or embarrassed.
I guess I’m getting used to this
, she thought, looking over her mom’s face. “Hello, Mom.”

“Tessa!” her mother exclaimed, eyes widening. Tessa felt a stab of satisfaction at her mother’s shock, then her expression smoothed into the cruel, mocking sneer Tessa remembered from her high school days. “Well, I see bonding has given you some unique abilities. I didn’t know there were any big cats left in Pennsylvania. Who are your friends?” Tessa’s mom gestured toward Jared and Parker, seemingly unconcerned by Jared’s snarl or Parker’s menacing growl. Tessa frowned, but before she could respond, her mother continued. “And where is Parker? I would think that your bond-mate would want to remain as close to you as possible.”

She doesn’t know we’re human
, Parker sent to Tessa, who had frozen, confused by her mother’s words.

What?

Your mom thinks you have control over big cats. She doesn’t know you can shape-shift
, Jared explained. Tessa sensed him relax a little at the thought. She understood. The odds just increased in their favor, if only minutely, with this information. Still, why wasn’t her mom confused about her lack of clothing?

I don’t think she’s worked through the implications yet, baby
, Parker thought. Tessa sensed his contempt. It made her feel a little better. She straightened her shoulders, not caring that the masked thugs were staring.
Let them look at me. Let them be distracted. They’ll never know what hit them.

“What do you want, Mom?” Tessa asked, walking forward, Parker on one side and Jared on the other. She ran her fingers through their fur, savoring the feel of their strong muscles moving beneath her hands. The pleasure of it almost made up for the increasingly unpleasant stench she sensed the closer she got to the intruders. Their peculiar ashy smell turned her stomach. She also tried not to look at her mom directly—the older woman’s aura was horrifying, a thick, smoggy coating that lingered over her skin like a rotting shawl.

“Can’t a mother visit her daughter?” The men around her shifted uncomfortably.

Tessa added a little bounce to her step, making her boobs wiggle. She caught Parker’s amusement. “You never visit me, Mom. And certainly not with a set of thugs and weapons.” She gestured to her mother’s psychic-acid pistol strapped to her thigh. “You shot Parker.”

Tessa’s mom tossed her head. “Good. I’m glad he’s dead. He deserved it. You don’t need him.”

Tessa stared at her. Didn’t she realize? “If Parker were dead, I wouldn’t be here. We’re bonded, remember?”

The older woman’s eyes darkened. “You’re my daughter. You’re stronger than any bond. And I need your blood.”

Tessa frowned darkly. “I’m your daughter, not one of your experiments.” Her mother smiled, the expression on her face so empty Tessa shuddered in response, her fingers clutching at Jared and Parker. They were the only reason she could face this horror.

“If you won’t cooperate, I have no use for you. I made you, I can unmake you, daughter.” With those words, Tessa’s mother lunged for her pistol, ripping it away from the Velcro straps and whipping it up. Tessa dived for the ground as Parker and Jared lunged forward. The first psychic-acid round exploded near her head, thankfully missing anything vital. A few drops landed on her shield and dissipated without harming her. She glanced up. Jared had already taken down one of the men while Parker grappled with the other. Suddenly, a force slammed into her mind, trying to push past her shields. Her mother was using her power to try and break through.

Jared! Parker, hurry up!
she sent as she grunted under the weight of her mother’s assault. She looked at the steps, not surprised to find her mother staring right at her, blue eyes gleaming with malice.
How is she this strong? She couldn’t hurt us like this in the restaurant
, Tessa thought, beginning to pull energy from the earth to help reinforce her aura shield. What had her mother done?

“Just give in. You can’t resist me forever, Tessa. I’ve already made another advance with my formula.” The older woman ripped open a pocket and pulled out a ball of green liquid, then popped it in her mouth, biting down. A sharp, acrid scent ripped through the air, cutting through even the ashy smell of the addicts’ auras.

Tessa gagged, her claws suddenly ripping out and into the ground as her mother swallowed her concoction. Without warning, the force of her mother’s aura increased five-fold, slamming into Tessa’s mind. Her mother just wouldn’t give up. Frantic, Tessa shored up the threads of the bonding that had frayed in the new attack, shaking her head at the muzzy feeling stealing over her thoughts. Why was Parker yelling at her? She concentrated.
Shift?
She felt a sting on her hand. Jared crouched next to her. He swiped at her again, raising another welt.

Shift! Shift to your cat form, Tessa! That’ll protect you
, he cried into her mind, bypassing her mother’s frantic assault.

Tessa nodded with difficulty then moaned, reaching for her power. The shift this time was agonizingly slow. She could feel her bones popping. It was more like acid raining down on her than water rippling into her. It was horrible.

It’s your mother, pushing at you
, Parker sent as he grappled with another addict.

Where did that one come from?
Tessa wondered, her mind voice fractured. She forced the shift to continue.
I thought there were only three of them?

More came while you were occupied with your mother
, Jared sent. He slashed at one of the new attackers who came too close to Tessa. She sensed Jared’s anger and his grim determination to protect her as the man fell. She pushed even harder, sensing her fur growing, her teeth elongating. Her skull felt like it was breaking apart. She wanted to scream but couldn’t spare the energy. When she tumbled through the last bit of change and settled into cat form, she almost didn’t believe or understand it was finally complete, but she had no time to think about it. Her mother shrieked at her and raised her pistol, horror twisting her face into a caricature.

Tessa flinched as her mother fingered the trigger.
If I don’t do something, I’m going to die
. She stared at her mother, thinking of how easy it was to manipulate cells using the trio-bond energy. Could she affect others in the same way? No time to deliberate. She concentrated, willing the older woman’s hand to disintegrate. Her mother screamed once, a horrible, low sound filled with pain as the pistol fell to the ground in a shower of thick, black blood. Tessa gagged, horrified at what she had done. It was so fucking easy. Tessa’s mother spat at her, clutching the stump of her arm, then ran into the house.

Oh my God, what have I done?
Tessa thought, faintly.

Jared snarled, slashing at another attacker.
Now is not the time to freak out, Tessa
, he sent, his mind voice determined. One more slash, and the man went down.

Tessa shook her head, trying to force the sight of her mother’s stump out of her mind.
I’m okay
, she thought to Jared then cocked her head as she heard a car start in the front of the house.
That must be my mother.
She looked at the back door as Parker trotted up to her and leaned against her side in support.

We should follow her
, he sent.
We can’t let her get away with that new version of the drug. Or that acid pistol.

Tessa looked around. All their attackers were dead.
No more thugs?

Jared whuffed, and Tessa growled in sympathy. He was trying to get the taste of the addicts’ blood out of his mouth.
The two that were left after you hurt your mother ran around the house after her.

Parker loped up the steps and through the house. Tessa followed on his heels, trying not to wince as she sensed their fading aura-scent in her house. Disgusting.

She took off in a Jeep
, Parker sent, shoving his way through the front door. Jared and Tessa followed him down the front porch steps, sniffing at her mother’s tracks. Her scent was strong, the ashy-rotting aura of her addiction lending a note of bitterness to her normal smell.

Can you track it?
Tessa asked, sniffing around the tire tracks. The nasty aura scent clung even there.

Yes
, Jared said, his mind voice certain.
I could follow that stench anywhere.

Okay, let’s go
, Parker said, his mind determined.

How is she even driving?
Tessa sent as she followed Parker, loping down her driveway to the road. She shuddered, thinking of what she’d done to her mother’s arm.

She probably has someone else with her, driving the Jeep
. Jared paused, sniffed, then took off again, Tessa and Parker following. Her body strained as they picked up more and more speed, trying to follow the car. The attack at her house had exhausted her even more, but she knew she needed to follow her mother and stop her. She pushed herself, muscles burning, trying to keep up with Jared and Parker, but they were larger than her. Stronger. She wasn’t going to be able to stay with them. A stab of despair cramped her gut. She tripped, cutting the soft pad of her paw on a stone.