Black Rose (In the Garden 2)

There was pounding, monstrous fists of fury, on the walls, in the walls, and the floor trembled under her feet. A large Baccarat perfume bottle detonated, a crystal bomb that spewed jagged shards like shrapnel.

In the midst of the whirlwind, Roz stood, clutching the vanity mirror, and her shout over the explosions of shattering glass, the ferocious banging, was Arctic ice.

"I'll stop every attempt to find out who you are, to right whatever wrong was done to you. I'll do whatever it takes to remove you from this house. You won't be welcome here.

"This ismy house," she called out as fire erupted in the hearth and the candlestick on the mantel spiraled up into the air. "And I will, by God, clear you out of it. I swear on my life, I will remove you. "

The air died at once, and what had been spinning in it fell with thuds or crashes to the floor.

The door burst open instantly. David, Logan, and Stella pushed through it an instant before Harper barreled through the terrace doors.

"Mama. " Harper lifted her right off her feet, his arms banded around her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. "

"We couldn't get in. " Stella touched Roz's back with a trembling hand. "Couldn't get the doors open. "

"It's all right now. Where are the children?"

"Hayley. Hayley's got them downstairs. When we heard - God, Roz, it sounded like a war. "

"Go tell her everything's all right. " She pressed her cheek to Harper's before she pulled back. "Go on now. "

"What happened here?" David demanded. "Roz, what the hell happened?"

"We started to come in, and she objected . . . strongly. "

"Your mother slapped her back for it," Mitch told Harper. "Let her know who runs this house. "

"You're bleeding," Harper said dully.

"Oh, my God. " Roz shoved the vanity mirror into Harper's hands and moved quickly to Mitch to touch the cut on his cheek.

"Some flying glass. Nothing major. "

"Got some nicks on your hands, too. " She lowered her own before they could shake. "Well, let's clean them up. "

"I'll pick up in here," Stella offered.

"No, leave it be. Go down, make sure Hayley and the kids are okay. Logan, you ought to take them to your place. "

"I'm not leaving you. " Stella stood firm, shook her head. "That's not negotiable. "

"I'll stay here. " Logan draped an arm around Stella's shoulders. "If that's all right with you. "

"That's fine. " Letting out a breath, she took the mirror back from Harper. "She'd've gotten more than a tongue-lashing if she'd broken this. " She set it back in place, then turned to give Harper's hand a squeeze. "It's all right, baby. I promise. "

"She does anything to hurt you, I'm finding a way to get her out. "

"Like mother, like son. " She smiled at him. "I told her the same, and since she stopped when I did, she must know I mean what I say. Go down now. Hayley can't leave the children, and she must be frantic. Mitch, come on into the bathroom. I'll clean those cuts. "

"I don't want her alone up here tonight," Harper said when his mother left the room.

"She won't be," Mitch assured him.

When he went into the bath, Roz was already damping a cloth with peroxide. "They're just scratches. "

"Doesn't mean they shouldn't be seen to, and since I've never doctored cuts caused by some ghost's tantrum, I'm doing it my usual way. Sit down. "