A Warrior Betrayed (The Carson Colt Thriller Series Book 2) by M.C. Thomas

Author:M.C. Thomas [Thomas, M.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon
Published: 2024-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

20

Christine took a deep breath and stared at the front door of her mother’s house in Memphis. She’d been standing on the porch for almost five minutes, willing herself to knock.

Yuri waited in the car and talked on the phone with his contacts. His connection, a retired FBI agent who went by the codename Bloodhound, was located in central California. Bloodhound had been able to provide reconnaissance from Twin Bridges, reporting suspicious activity and accounts of armed men in the woods. This alone confirmed Christine’s belief that Twin Bridges was the key to finding clues about Nina’s plan.

The recon was helpful, but Christine still needed the exact coordinates to pinpoint the house’s location since it didn’t have an address.

Christine hadn’t seen her mother in over three years but being at this house in Memphis brought back memories that felt recent. The disgusting place with garbage and roaches everywhere, the constant smell of beer and tequila, the used syringes lying all over.

I just gotta get in, get the coordinates to my father’s workhouse, and get out.

Finally, she mustered enough courage to knock.

The door opened, and Christine took a step back. She hardly recognized the woman standing in front of her. Most memories of her mother included unkempt hair and clothes, bags under her yellow eyes, and a hunched posture.

This woman stood tall and carried the aroma of a rose-scented perfume. She wore a clean button-up shirt and jeans. Her skin, darker than Christine’s, had always been covered in red lesions, but now it looked smooth and healthy. She appeared young enough to be Christine’s sister.

Christine glanced at her mother’s arms, which had always had fresh needle holes in them. All she saw were old scars.

“Mom?”

Her mom’s eyes glistened, and she gently lifted her hands, resting them on Christine’s cheeks. She opened her mouth like she was ready to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, she broke down into tears and embraced Christine.

A pit formed in Christine’s stomach as she hugged her mother. After so many years of addiction and neglect, she didn’t know what to say. It was like hugging a stranger. This transformation was completely unexpected, and Christine had a lot of conflicting feelings about it.

“My baby,” her mother said. “It’s been so long.”

Every bit of Christine wanted to tell her mother off for being drugged out and emotionally absent her whole life, but now that the opportunity was here, she just couldn’t.

Her mother invited her inside, and Christine gazed throughout the home, which looked like a completely new place. Spotless floors, the scent of apples, and paintings on the walls. The news played quietly on the TV in the living room.

Where was all of this when I was a kid?

Her mother got the coffee pot started. “I have cookies left over too,” she said. “They’re store-bought, but still good.”

“Mom…how…?” Christine could barely get her words out.

“I finally went to rehab.” They sat at the table, where her mother placed the cookies. “It did wonders for me, mentally and physically.

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