Mason chuckled.

She whirled to him. "What are you laughing about—"

Logan and Nate jumped off the counter. Neither grinned now.

She stopped whatever she'd been about to say.

And Mason stepped away from her, but towards me. He ushered me further back, at a safer distance from my mother. When he stopped chuckling, he shook his head. His voice came out bored. "Are you this crazy?"

She gasped.

Logan smirked.

"I mean, you're effing crazy if you think you can talk to her like this. This is how you talk to the one person who's stayed by you?" He rolled his eyes. "Look, this is your daughter, but if you think she's going anywhere with you when you're like this, you're delusional too. She's not leaving. You are."

Analise went pale and her body stumbled back. It looked like a sudden violent wind had whipped against her. It came out of nowhere, but there was no wind.

"Just get lost, woman," Logan snickered. He circled around her while Nate stayed in place.

Mason stepped back again and this time was effectively in front of me. He completely blocked me, even from her vision. I tried to shift to the side, but he moved back again and had me trapped against the wall. So I snuck a hand on his side and peaked around him. He didn't stop me, but he tensed at my touch.

Logan moved again and all three had encircled her. She glanced around as panic started to set in her eyes.

Mason spoke, "We've been quiet, woman. We've taken your presence in this house like calm good little boys, but we're not good little boys."

"Not at all," Logan's hyena laugh came out. His eyes flashed hatred.

"What are you—what are you do..doing?" she stammered out.

Nate spoke in a calm voice, "We're not going to hurt you."

"No." Mason shook his head.

"But you are drunk. You're wacko in the head and you're being semi-abusive to your daughter." Logan's laugh gentled, but the sound still sent shivers down my body. "So we could say anything to you, do anything to you, and who'd believe you? Your own fiancé sent you packing tonight and went back to his dinner."

"You guys wouldn't…" She was white as a ghost and her eyes jumped between the three of them. Then she found me and held a hand out. "Sam, he—"

Mason moved again so she couldn't see me. I heard a smacking sound and my mom cried out, "Ouch!"

I jerked behind him, but I didn't know what to do. Help her or help myself? I burrowed my head in the back of his shirt.

"How do you think this is going to end?" Mason was back in charge, so cold. It was like he'd asked about the weather.

"I..I—I—what?"

"Do you really think we're going to be bitches and let you talk to Sam like that?" Logan spoke now. "You're screwed up in the head if you think you've got the power to do that, especially in front of us."

"But—bu—you guys don't even like her!"

Nate laughed.

Mason sighed. It was a pitying sound. "Don't like her? We'd like anyone compared to you."

She gasped. "But—I didn't—your father—"

Logan snapped, "Stop choking like a little bitch. I thought you had bigger balls than that."

"Wha—huh? You guys can't talk to me like this…" But she didn't sound so certain.

Mason taunted her softly, "What he doesn't know, you're not going to tell."

"What?"

Logan came out strong, "Here's the way it's going to be. You're going to leave—"

Nate jumped in, "You're going to a hotel."

"And you're going to sleep off this drunk stupor," Mason ended.

My entire body shivered as I listened. All three of them spoke as one unit. They moved as one and they had their sights on my mother. I pressed even closer to Mason, not sure what to do, if I could at all. Did I even want to? It'd been so long since someone protected me…

"I'm not that drunk."

"You are." He said it so smooth, so soft, and so chilling. Now he left me. I fell forward a step, lost from his warmth, but contained myself. He moved as a stalker, silent as a ghost. Then he motioned to Nate.

A second later, my mom whimpered out in pain. I had my hands in front of my face, but when Logan started laughing again, the sound was so delightful and so dark, I couldn't hide anymore. I took a deep breath and looked up. He'd taken hold of the back of my mother's head and tilted her head back.

Mason watched. He didn't seem affected and then he motioned for Nate with his hand again.

"No-!" My mother screamed out.

"Come on," Logan chided her and then forcibly pulled her jaw down. Her mouth snapped opened and Nate poured something down her throat. She convulsed forward, choking as liquid spewed from between her lips. Her back spasmed backwards then, but Logan didn't let her go. He clamped her mouth shut again and ran a thumb down her throat. I watched as my mom fought, but in the end she swallowed.

They did it again.

And again.

After a fourth time, after Nate had almost emptied a bottle down her, he looked up. "I think that's enough."

Mason nodded and stepped back towards me again.

Logan swept my mother up in his arms. She'd grown weak during the ordeal and the fight had left her after the second time. Her eyes rolled back as she was cradled to his chest. When he turned for the door, Nate followed.

The door closed behind them and silence filled the room again. I couldn't stop from trembling. My teeth were chattering. My arms were jerking all over and then Mason swept me against him. He cradled my head to his chest and ran soothing hands down my arm.

My hands took hold of his shirt and hung on. I couldn't let go or I'd fall. I didn't want to fall. When I thought I could speak, I choked out, "What's going to happen to her?"

His lips skimmed my forehead, so soft. "She'll go to a hotel and sleep it off."

"But…" I took a deep breath.

His lips pressed another kiss to my cheek.

I held on tighter. When his hand swept down and caught my leg, I climbed up him, grateful for the hold. I was going down otherwise. "What if she says something to your dad?" What would she do to me? I hadn't stopped it.