Bad Boy Soldier (Bad Boy 3)

Hunter turned and left the apartment, closing the door behind him. I felt strange after he left, knowing there was something going on that Hunter couldn’t tell me.

It was about Spencer's past in Alexandria. That was all I knew.

Later that afternoon, I asked George if he could take me to see my mother. I was concerned about her, and wanted to see her and make sure she was all right. I didn't relish the thought of seeing Spencer, especially after the strange discussion Hunter and I’d had earlier, but I had this vague sense of doom hovering over me.

James drove me to my mom's house in Cambridge and I went inside, using my key to enter. When I got there, the house was quiet. I usually called before I came over but that afternoon I hadn't, hoping that Spencer would still be at work. When I walked into the cool dark interior, I was surprised at how quiet it was. The drapes were drawn and the lights were all off. I walked through the house, checking the living room first to see if she was on the sofa, but she wasn't so I went to her bedroom.

Inside, she was lying on her side under the covers, her back to the door.

"Mom?" I said softly, not wanting to wake her if she was deeply asleep.

When she didn't answer, I went to the side of her bed and saw that her bottle of pills was open, next to a glass of water. The pills had spilled out onto the night table.

Alarmed, I sat on the side of the bed and shook her, worried now that she may have taken too much. She didn’t respond.

"Mom? Wake up," I said. She opened her eyes, blinking and my heart rate slowed a bit. She wasn't too drugged up if she was able to blink.

"Sweetie," she said and tried to roll over, but she made a face and I had to help her. "I didn't know you were coming over. How nice to see you."

"You spilled your pills," I said and picked up the few stray ones that were on the floor. "The bottle must have fallen over."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," she said. "I'm so clumsy." She kept her eyes closed and lay on her back, a slight smile on her face. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you and Graham when I was away."

"We missed you, Mom," I said and leaned over and kissed her. Then, I adjusted the blankets and glanced around. "Did you have lunch?"

She didn’t open her eyes. "Lunch?" she said, dreamily. "What time is it?"

"It's four," I said, frowning. "Didn't you have lunch yet?"

"I don't remember," she replied. "I remember eating breakfast this morning. Is it really four o'clock? I needed some more pain pills and must have fallen asleep. Is Spencer here?"

"I didn't see his car in the drive, but I didn't check the garage. I'll go see."

I left my mom on the bed and went down the hall to the stairs, taking them to Spencer's basement room where he had his office. I knocked on the door and pushed it open, only to find Spencer hunched over a laptop, earphones in. When he saw me at the door, I could tell he was shocked and quickly closed the laptop.

"Celia," he said, pulling the earbuds out. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you call first before you came over?"

"Have you given my mom anything for lunch?"

He made a face, his back straightening. "She wasn’t hungry," he replied and I could see the anger start. It started in his body, and then made its way to his face, his mouth turned down, his lips thin. "I know how to look after your mother."

"Her pills were spilled onto the floor," I said, unable to keep the disgust from my voice. "She hasn't eaten since breakfast. Don't you know she has to eat when she takes those pills? You've been told enough times that she needs to keep her calories up."

"Don't you talk to me like that," he said and came over to where I stood by the door. "This is my office. You shouldn't just come in without my permission. I have classified material here." He covered up some files on his desk.

"Are you hiding something?" I said saucily, unable to hold myself back. "Surfing kiddie porn sites?"

He slapped me, his move so fast I barely saw it coming.

"You little bitch," he growled and then his hands went around my neck. I grabbed his hands, fighting with him, my anger now so great that I was not going to let him hurt me again. I kicked his shins and tried to elbow him but he was bigger and stronger.

"Stop," I managed, despite how tightly he held my throat. "You're choking me."

He said nothing, his face a mask of hatred.

"Stop!" I screamed, and kept kicking him, my heart racing from adrenaline.

"Spencer!" my mother said, and it was only her voice that stopped him from choking me to death. "What are you doing?"