Kara

Beware of the one who holds the dog.

Tala's words from a long time ago echoed in my head over and over as I stared at the stunning woman. I had an overwhelming urge to snatch Rosie out of her arms, but warning bells rang in my head, telling me to stay where I was for now.

"Put the dog down."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, but I knew she was faking it. "Is that how you greet a guest? You're hurting my feelings."

Her fingers stroked Rosie's head, the movement as gentle as the flutter of a butterfly's wings, but her nails were sharp as talons and painted a glossy black.

"Why are you here?"

The smile came back, slow and knowing. Devious.

"I'm looking for my son. He's tall, devilishly handsome, a gift from the gods. I'm sure someone of your level would not pass him by without looking up."

She paused, letting that sink in. As she put Rosie down and I watched the little dog run away to safety, realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

She was Raven. She was Cameron's mother.

"Have you seen my Cameron?"

The relish was there in her eyes, the twisted gleam of amusement as she watched my face register her identity.

"You bitch," I hissed.

It was an instantaneous reaction. I couldn't have controlled myself if I tried. My chest felt tight with anger that was climbing dangerously to rage. This was the woman who had made Cameron's life a living hell. The woman who had tortured his mind.

"That's not very nice," she said. "But the ones on the bottom struggling rarely are, aren't they?"

Struggling? I'm struggling, all right. Struggling not to come over there and share my fist with your face!

She yawned, raising her hand an inch away from her mouth for cover, blatantly showing me how unbothered she was by my anger. Her diamond rings gleamed in the sun.

Then her upper lip snarled in disgust as her attention was pulled to her muddied designer stilettos. "I never understood why he goes in for this nature shit."

Carefully, she scraped her heels on the grass.

Calm the hell down! Use your head. Why the fuck is she here? Get some information that can help Cameron. You won't get anything out of her if you become reactive.

I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, did it again. The way her eyes, pure black with a glint of malice, watched my every move made me feel like a hamster in a cage.

But that was where she underestimated me. I wasn't a hamster. I was a dragon. I would show her. The nerve she had, the shameless audacity showing up in Cameron's home—our home outraged me. She was a psychopath, a narcissist.

The fact that I got into her car and was fooled by her mask didn't escape me. I didn't know who she was back then. I thought she was a friend of Rick's. I was stupidly reckless. I wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"He should be back soon. He just had something to do," I said conversationally, forcing myself to swallow the lump of hatred burning in my throat.

She angled her head to the side, assessing my face shrewdly, probably wondering why I had become friendly with her. Then she smiled at me.

And I smiled back, bared my teeth.

"Ah. You've sprouted a backbone. Oh, fun!"

"Backbone?" I repeated, copying her tone. "That's what I'm made of, can't you tell? Why are you looking for Cameron?"

"Imagine. Some girl asking me why I'm looking for my son."

"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I heard you don't particularly have a friendly relationship with your son. I've heard things about you and none of them are good."

I had a feeling that she would know if I was lying, so I decided to be as close to the truth as I could. For now. "In fact, I believe you need Jesus more than anyone I know personally."

She laughed—low and full of dark delight, placed her hand on her chest. "Aw. Cameron talks about me? That makes me very happy. Who doesn't hate their parents at one point in their lives? He'll get over it."

Get over it? Did this woman forget what she'd done to her own son? She was completely delusional!

She looked around her. The cabin, the woods, the maze, then turned her gaze toward the mansion with loathing stamped on her beautiful face.

"He's fixing that shithole when I could give him a castle," she spat, and she sounded offended and incredulous. "In fact, we already have one."

"He doesn't want a castle."

"You think you understand him." She rolled her eyes. "They all think they can. I find it cute you'd even try."

"I feel that I should tell you, just in case you didn't notice, that he can't stand being around you, that the sight of you makes him sick. What do you want from him?"

The laughter disappeared in her eyes.

"Fishing, aren't we? I can see right through you. You're terrible at this game, sweetheart. Let me be generous and give you something to chew on, seeing as you're begging for it. It might help your little brain understand."

I gritted my teeth hard, looked up to the heavens for a moment and prayed for patience.

"Someone like you will never know what Cameron truly needs. Can you believe that he'd give up his trust fund for his useless father? That's millions! Millions. His useless father is going to rot in jail and I'm going to make sure of it."

She checked her nails, turned them this way and that, a picture of a pampered wealthy woman. "Since my Cameron met you, he's been on a downward spiral and I can't ignore it any longer. This is all your fault, your influence. I've left him alone for too long and parasites like you have taken advantage of him. It's time for me to get rid of all the vermin around him. I'll straighten him out, remind him what's important."

Then she let out a theatrical sigh. "Oh, look at me. Why am I even telling you this? I'm so, so bored of this place that I'm even talking to you."

With a last dismissive look, she turned her back to me, took a step toward the cabin.

That's it! This sick, sick woman. How did Cameron endure this? How could anyone?

The vicious need to protect Cameron rose in my chest. She talked about him like he was her property, her possession she could control and mould to anything she wanted.

I couldn't keep pretending that this wasn't disturbing me any longer. She was warped, twisted as all hell. Screw getting information out of this woman. I sucked at being subtle and faking nice anyway. I was always better at tackling things head-on like a bull.

"I'm about to fucking barf listening to your shit," I spewed out, stopping her in her tracks. "Listen here, you old, twisted hag. How about I give you something to chew on so you can finally get a clue? Cameron doesn't need your castle. He doesn't need his father's millions or whatever the fuck you think you people can give him."

She turned around to face me.

"Somehow your son grew up a decent man despite your neglect, your abuse. That's a testament to how strong he is. He finds joy and fulfillment in hard work. He values the people in his life and takes care of them even at his own expense. He will sacrifice his own dreams to keep them safe. And that is why he will never be like you. That is why you will never understand him."

I bared my teeth, letting her see the revulsion I felt for her.

"He's building a life here, something meaningful. Something he wants to protect. He's happy here. But you can't stand that. You tortured his mind since he was a child and you just keep doing that, don't you? You think manipulating his mind will allow you control over him, give you a connection with him. Well, it's over, bitch. I'm not letting you do that to him ever again. You're nothing but a psychotic, narcissistic abuser!"

Her face slowly and bit by bit twisted with mirth. She laughed, laughed, and laughed until tears were running down her face. Until she was doubling over and holding her stomach from laughter.

I cringed away and said, "Take your comedy show somewhere else and pay someone to watch it, lady. I'm not buying a ticket. You suck! Get out of here or I'm calling the cops. Laughing at something not even remotely funny. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

When she kept laughing, I said gravely, "Cameron doesn't even call you Mom."

I saw the transformation in her. The amusement melted away from her face. And there was a derange look in her eyes that made my stomach churn, raise the hairs on my arms, made my blood run cold.

She hid the raging lunatic inside her with her beauty, her elegance, her wealth. But a leopard cannot change its spots. Her nature comes out eventually, spilling like burning sulfur.

I could see the vein pumping in her temple. Her eye began to twitch. She was starting to lose it. Was that her trigger—Cameron not calling her Mom?

"Listen here, you little bottom feeder," Raven spat, eyes huge and glaring. "I know your type. Running around lost and abandoned. Waiting to dig your hooks into the first thing that comes along. Like some gutter trash worm waiting to be fed. You need to be squashed.

"Since he moved in this little town, he'd finally stopped running away from me. He stayed here and I always knew where he was. But after he met you, what did you make him do, you pathetic little fool?

"You made him run from me again! He left again, left this town because you ran him to the ground! And I had to look and look and look for him. You're a curse to him. My poor boy. All you do is take from him, take advantage of him. I'm not going to let my son serve you and your gutter trash family. I'm going to take him back. He belongs to me. He's my blood. He's mine!"

She looked unhinged. All the things Cameron told me about her all made sense now. The unhealthy and twisted dependence and possessiveness she felt for her son, to always know where he was, to control who he was with, stemmed from her terror of losing him.

In her mind anyone who got close to Cameron was a threat to take him away from her. And so, she destroyed anyone who tried to help him or get close to him, unless they served her purpose.

And in turn, she had ruined Cameron so deeply, traumatized him, conditioned him, and made him so afraid to form attachments for fear of hurting others and fear of whatever was important to him would be taken away that he wouldn't even allow himself to dream of a future. That he would rather run away even when he wanted to stay to keep those important to him safe from his mother.

I could see she was falling apart. I realized that it was all for show—her theatrics, her arrogance, her act of superiority. In reality she was terrified of losing Cameron.

And her biggest threat was me. Because we both knew she had already lost.

"No, Raven." Calm and resolve washed over me. "We both know you're wrong. Cameron is mine and I am his. He doesn't belong to you anymore. He belongs with me."

"You little bitch!" Her hands trembled as she shoved them both in her hair. "You're nothing to me. A blip in the radar. You don't worry me. You're not a main character in my story. You're just something I have to erase in Cameron's life."

"Is that why you're scared of me?"

She wiped her mouth carelessly with the back of her arm, dragging the bloody-red lipstick on her cheek. Her eyes, bottomless dark, seemed to take over her face as they fixated on me with a crazed gleam in them.

"My, my." She smiled, and she looked wild. I resisted the urge to step back. Danger, my brain warned. Something inside me was screaming to get away from her.

"Look at this little mouse pretending to be the big, bad cat," she drawled. "But, darling, no matter what you do, you can't hide in your hole once I burn them all down, can you? How was the fire in your shop? Was it hot? Was it exciting?"

"What the fuck?"

"Uh-oh. Did I scare the little mouse? Don't worry, I wouldn't dare do such a horrible thing to you. I did meet Beatrice-Rose for coffee days before they stuck her in a loony bin though. I'm very good friends with her family. Poor girl. She was supposed to marry the youngest Lockhart, her biggest dream. Not gonna happen now, I'm afraid."

She pouted her lips in an expression that was supposed to be sad. Then she blinked, and just like that, she was smiling again. And it was sinister. "Told her about your shop, Kara. I heard good things about it from your Uncle Andrew. So, I recommended it. Did she ever come to visit?"

My body went hot all over. I balled my hands into fists, raised them, took a threatening step toward her.

The smile turned into a grin as she took a step back, then she shrieked as her stilettos got caught between the jutting rocks on the ground and she pitched back with a loud scream, her arms circling around like helicopter blades.

She fell on dark, sticky, wet mud.

"Kara!"

Cameron ran toward me, placed me behind him with his arm stretched back around my hip to keep me close. A big, wall of strong, solid protection. Rosie was on his heels, growling low as she plastered herself against my leg.

"Are you alright?" Cameron looked at me over his shoulder, his blue eyes burdened with worry. He was out of breath. Sweat trickled down his temple to his jaw. And I realized he ran here to get to me. "Are you hurt?" His hand on my hip pressed against me protectively.

I shook my head. My whole body was quaking. "I'm not hurt."

"I am! Cameron, baby, she pushed me! She did this to me. Oh, I don't feel well. Help your mother up, my love!"

My hands bunched into tight fists. My body started vibrating with fury I couldn't even form any words.

Raven lifted her arm to him, an expression of pain on her face, but the eyes—the eyes told everything. They were piercing and knowing and focused on me.

Cameron gave me a reassuring squeeze before he stepped forward and away from me. I resisted the urge to grab onto him. I desperately wanted to take him away from Raven. She was poison. I knew what I experienced today was only a very tiny part of what he had to go through in his life with Raven. How did he stay sane? How did he turn into a man with a good heart?

No matter how evil she was, how twisted, she was still his mother, and I had to remind myself that as I watched him
reach for her hand, lift her up. He wouldn't ignore his mother if she was hurt.

I gritted my teeth and stopped myself from slapping the smug look off her face as she stared at me. She was gloating. She must've been too happy that Cameron came to help her because she bounced on her heels smoothly, contradicting her claims that she was hurt.

Then Cameron stepped away, walked back to me, and placed himself in front of me again, shielding me from her. I wondered what expression he had on his face. I could see the tension in his shoulders, in the tightness of his fists, in the veins standing out in his arms.

"Really, Cameron?" Raven glared. "Didn't you hear what I said? She pushed me!"

"Stop lying. I saw everything. Kara didn't push you."

"Well, you saw wrong! If I say she did, then she did!"

"Enough. How the fuck did you know I was here?"

"Aw, don't be like that, darling. I know everything about you. I even know you've been asking around about what happened that night. I know you don't have any memory of it. You were so young, so little, but so fierce, so protective of me even back then. Would you like to know what really happened?"

"I want you to leave, Raven."

But he was shaken. I could tell from the tone of his voice. Fear slammed into me.  I reached for his hand on my hip, gripped it.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." She shook her head at him, her voice dripping with disapproval. "And leave you here with that girl? Not a chance. She's going to fuck somebody else and leave you eventually. Everyone leaves you, Cameron. But not me. When are you going to realize no one is going to love you like I do? I love you the most in this world!"

"I'll take you to your car. Let's go."

"No!" She backed away, almost falling again. One heel of her stiletto must've gotten detached from her fall earlier. "I'll tell you the truth about that night. I know you don't remember. You've been begging me to tell you, you've been so desperate to know.

"You can't move on, baby. You've been like that since you were a child. Isn't that why you bought this place? You can't even move on from that welfare boy. Even in death, you still can't forget him.

"And I know you'll never move on from that night either. Do you even know who died? Who got shot and why? Do you now what you did for me? No one else is going to tell you the truth, baby. Just me. No one else knows. Why don't you have dinner with me, catch up? I'll tell you everything."

"No, Cam." My arms embraced him possessively, fearfully, scared that he'd believe her words, get swayed by them. I knew how desperate he wanted to know what happened that night. How that night haunted him in his dreams.

He turned his head to look at me over his shoulder, and the look in them made my heart beat strong. I shouldn't have worried, I realized. In his eyes was solid rock determination, quiet decisiveness, and fierce protectiveness. And I knew right then and there that except for God, there was nothing and no one that could separate us again.

I reached for his hand, linked his fingers with mine and stepped beside him, facing Raven together. He would protect me when I needed protection, and I would protect him when he needed it too.

"It doesn't matter, Raven," he said calmly. "I don't want anything from you."

Shock covered her face. "What the fuck are you talking about? Of course, it matters! It always matters to you. What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you talking to me like that? Why are you looking at me that way?"

But Cameron never wavered. He kept silent this time, his gaze steady.

"No, no, no. Don't look at me like that. Not you. I will never lose you. Not then, not now. No one is going to take away my child from me ever again! You belong to me. You're my son. My child."

Raven turned her accusing gaze at me, filled with hatred.

"You bitch!" She screeched, her steps menacing and quick as she lunged for me.

Cameron placed his arm in front of me, blocking Raven even before she could get close.

"The Diamond Stone Project," he said, voice hard. "You built it with my father. You were in on it."

Raven froze in her tracks. Her hair, sleek and straight when she got here, was a tangled mess from her raking through it now. Eyes wide with fear, she glowered at him. "How did you find out? That's impossible! You couldn't have. What do you know about it?"

I heard that Cameron's father was in jail for fraud. Did this have anything to do with that?

"Enough to know that you should be behind bars just like him. So why aren't you, Raven?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I would. But because you're my mother, I'll give you a choice. Whatever the cops find out about this, it won't come from me. If you leave Kara alone, if you don't show your face to me ever again, this will stay with me."

"You don't mean that, baby. You don't mean it!"

"I do." He took his jacket off, walked to Raven, and placed it on her shoulders. "This is the last time. Goodbye, Raven."

Her eyes hardened.

Cameron held his hand out to me and I walked toward him, linked his fingers with mine. Raven silently stared at him, then said, "You never could make the right choice, could you?"

He didn't give her a reply and pulled me to walk with him toward the cabin without looking back.

When we passed Raven, I heard her say under her breath, "Mommy will never leave you, baby."