RAGE (The Rage Series Book 2) by MJ Riley Read Free Book Online Page A

of blood and the flying teeth had done him a world of good.
                  Emerson had said some pretty nasty things about his mother; but, they were only the latest in a life full of insults he'd dealt the Marscomb family. When David opened his mouth to speak to his mother, a part of him hoped desperately that she remained as mute as she had been for the past years. It was the same part of him that feared, deep down, that Emerson's words had been the truth. Yet, a much larger part of him craved his mother's reassurance and the sound of her voice.
                  He needed to hear her speak now more than ever.
                  “Mom,” he said in a low voice, wrapping an arm gently around her to hold her against him as his heart began to race in anticipation. “I know you sometimes have a hard time…expressing yourself. I understand that more than anyone else. I've gone through what you've gone through. I loved Dad, too. I know you're hurting inside.” He searched for what to say next, wondering how he could possibly breach such a sensitive subject. “I've never asked you for anything, Mom. I've always taken care of you and kept you close and hoped you'd come back to me; but, now I need something from you. I need the truth. Did you…did you ever meet Dad's old friend Emerson?”
                  Almost immediately, the woman stiffened in his arms, and David's heart sank. Her hollow eyes jerked up to his to stare at him almost accusingly, and her mouth formed a slight 'O' in her surprise.
    “Mom…” David's voice lowered to a whisper, his tone almost pained. “Please tell me you didn't. Tell me you never touched that man. He betrayed Dad. He betrayed us …”
                  As his words faded away, tears unexpectedly welled in the older woman's eyes. Without a word, Miranda Marscomb stood on shaky legs, casting her son a look that spoke volumes of her guilt. Then, she turned and hobbled from the room.
                  For a moment, David could only sit there in disbelief.
                  It couldn't be.
                  He'd calmed his rage, his fear, and his desolation while he'd been locked up with the hope that his mother would disprove, without a doubt, the claims that Emerson had made. Instead, she'd remained just as silent as she'd always been and proclaimed her guilt with a single look.
                  Emerson Mathers was his father.
                  The thought made him physically ill. He was still sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, when Marshall and Leah entered. Neither of them looked too happy. Without a word, his friend sat on the couch next to him, extremely somber. Marshall simply said, “I'm guessing you didn't get the answer you wanted.”
                  With a tortured groan, David looked up at him before picking up the nearest object—which happened to be a cheap glass vase—and hurled it at the wall. The object shattered into a thousand pieces, making both Marshall and Leah duck. Slowly, David rose from the couch, wondering how he was ever going to come to terms with the new knowledge he'd gained. Emerson was his father, which meant that he'd been seducing his own goddamn sister. How could he live with himself?
                  “David,” Marshall interjected, stopping his perilous thoughts, “whatever you're thinking, stop it. This isn't the time to fall apart.”
                  “I'm going to kill him,” David said, seething, his eyes shut tight as he prayed for composure. “I'm going to strangle him in his goddamn hospital bed.”
                  “You're not going to kill anyone,” Leah said, calmly. “We can handle this, David. We can use it in our case against him.”
                  A case was a case.
                  This was his life . All these years, his mother had been carrying