“Did you cause my accident, too?” It was sarcasm, not an accusation.
But she blinked.
My knees grew weak and threatened to give. “Did you have something to do with Benny’s death?”
Mother stared over my head. “The guard wasn’t supposed to follow you. You wouldn’t have been hurt if he hadn’t tackled you.”
“Benny was my best friend.”
“He was an attachment you didn’t need.”
“He was my friend and I loved him.” Long-buried grief surged in my heart. “That’s the way humans are supposed to work. I tried to love you.”
And I deserved to be loved.
“Love is a nice concept, but ultimately life is about the survival of the fittest, and who’s strong enough to come out on top.”
“You never should’ve been a parent. Thank God I had Dad.”
“How do you think your father will feel when he finds out you were a means to an end?”
“He already knows.” I lifted my chin. “And his love is more than enough to make up for what a piss-poor mother you’ve been.”
She smirked. “What about Dune? Because I’ve seen the way you two look at each other, and that’s not love.”
“Yes, it is.” She couldn’t shake my faith in him, in us. He’d said it and he’d showed me. He came to New Orleans and stayed. Stuck by me when the crazy started. Called in his friends to serve as backup. Offered me a piggyback ride, because he didn’t want my toes to get cold. “He gave up his life to help me.”
“The Infinityglass is an obsession for him. He came for it, not you.”
“It seems like you’re trying to convince me that you’re a more appealing option than he is. You created me in a lab, not out of love. You want me to murder for you. You’ve got the Infinityglass gene. Why can’t you do it yourself?”
“I don’t want to be a tool.”
“So you built one. The Infinityglass is vulnerable because you believe the true power lies with the person who controls it.” The truth got uglier. “I am your daughter. Do you have any concept of what family is supposed to mean?”
She ignored the question. “Get in the cabin.”
“Are you going to make me forget about my life here? Daddy? Dune? How long would it take you to turn me into Cat? Because that’s what you’ll end up with if you expect me to go with you without a fight.”
“What I expect is for you to get in the cabin. I still have the gun. My next shot might involve an artery. I don’t know how quickly your cells can regenerate, but I imagine the healing process would be painful, especially if you had to do it repeatedly.”
There had to be another option. I wouldn’t kill for her again. I scanned the shore. Too far to jump, and too many bodies in the way.
“Don’t even think about it. You can’t get past the crew unless you can fly, and they won’t hesitate to fish you out of the water.”
“Whatever did you do to make an entire ship of sailors so loyal to you?” I smiled sweetly as the implication landed exactly where I’d aimed.
She didn’t get a chance to answer.
“Hey, boss!” One of the men waved and held up a satellite phone. “Port authority question before we shove off.”
She turned her back on me and signaled to one of the deckhands. He crossed over to Cat, picked up her body, and tossed her into the water.
I watched the proud line of my mother’s posture as she walked away, and thought that I’d rather give myself over to the rips than let her control me for the rest of my life. It was an option. One to consider, eventually. I wasn’t ready to give my life up yet.
Movement by the cabin caught my eye, and my heart became a rapid bass line thumping in my chest. Rips, as if they’d read my mind. How would I fight them on my own?
I turned around.