Steven paled. “Now wait a minute. I’m your daddy. I don’t have any place to go. I have to have an address. It’s a condition of my release. Have a heart. I’m trying, Carmella. It’s hard for a man on the outside after being in so long. We were stressed because I spend so long on the bus trying to find a job. It’s hard without a car. I tried to protect her. You know how she can be.”

“She’s high and covered in bruises. You tried to hide her from me. She tells me she wants to sell the house for your future together.”

“You have no right to keep this house from me.” Virgie stumbled out in little more than a long T-shirt, and when she saw Duke, she halted, patting her hair down. There was a bruise on her calf that looked a hell of a lot like a shoe print. Several other bruises stood out in vivid purple on her legs.

Around her wrist were fingerprint bruises and not the digging in during sex kind.

She smiled self-consciously at Duke. Pity filled him. And then rage when he saw the marks around her throat.

“Company? No one said. I look a fright.” Virgie headed his way. “I’m Virginia Hay but everyone calls me Virgie. I’m Carmella’s mother, though I hear we look like sisters.”

Her words were slow.

“Say your good-byes to Steven. He won’t be living here anymore.”

“Stop being so selfish! For once in your life, do something for someone else, Carmella,” Virgie snapped and then looked back to Duke with a smile. “You didn’t even introduce this gentleman to your mother. Where are your manners?”

“Ma’am, how about you go to the doctor now? Let us take you so they can make sure you’re all right?” Duke wanted to set this place on fire and drag Carmella away from it forever. But he knew she still felt responsible for this monster and so he’d go along with that direction.

For the moment.

Virgie laughed gaily. “Oh, I’m all right. We had some champagne and I fell.”

“No one believes that. Steven, you’re not packing,” Carmella said.

“I won’t allow you to kick him out of my house,” Virgie said.

“You don’t have to. This is my house.”

Steven moved to intercept Virgie but Carmella blocked him. As hurt as Duke was on her behalf, he had to admit she was pretty freaking stunning right then. She turned on her heel and got in her father’s face.

“I said get out. You only have ten minutes now. Tick tock.”

Virgie reached for Carmella and Duke stepped in, picking her up and moving her over to the kitchen.

“I’ll call the police if you don’t leave,” Virgie screeched.

Carmella went to hand her mother the phone, but it had been ripped from the wall.

“I don’t know how that happened.” Virgie’s words had begun to slur again. The only pity he had was for Carmella.

“Fine. I have a cell. I’ll call the police for you. Or do you want to do it yourself?” She held her phone in her mother’s direction.

“No. I’ll go,” Steven said. “If her heart is this hard, she’s never going to change, Virgie.”

“I’ll go with you then,” Virgie proclaimed.

“And do what?” Carmella asked. “You’re not taking your medication but you’re on something. Did you sell your pills or trade them for something else? What is it?”

“You’re always accusing me of things. You only like it when you have me all to yourself so you drive them all away. Every man.” Virgie looked to Duke. “I was alone, struggling to raise a kid. Who’d begrudge me some company to get through?” She attempted to point at Carmella but her depth perception was off. “This one here. And when her daddy is home from being away, she doesn’t like that either. You be careful of her. She stole this house.”

“Don’t engage with her,” Carmella said to Duke.

“You’ll hear from my attorney!” Virgie shook her fist and then looked at it awhile.

“Steven, you now have seven minutes. When you run out of time, I will throw everything left in here out the window.” Carmella kept her expression blank as she faced him, hands folded across her chest.

“Come on, Virgie. You and I will get out of here,” Steven said and Duke knew he’d done it to manipulate Carmella’s concern for her mother. Eventually he’d worm his way into staying.

Duke wanted to say something but Carmella spoke first.

“Mom, you can’t go.”

Duke watched the emotions on Carmella’s face. The exhaustion of dealing with this scene. The years of this behavior and abuse from her parents. Neither of them deserved her.

Virgie straightened slowly. “I will go to be with him. You can’t stop me.”

“You can’t, Carm.” Duke pulled her off to the side. “She’s an adult. What are you going to do? Tie her to a bed? Doesn’t she always come back in a day or two when she does this?”

“She doesn’t do this,” Carmella hissed. “I only bought the house two years ago. I’ve never had the power to kick him out. He doesn’t have any place to stay, but he’s got some family he can go to. Or whatever. I really don’t care. He beat my mother up.”

Steven Hay was not the problem. Everyone had said that, and Duke could see now that they’d been right. Virgie was the real issue. Carmella had managed this woman pretty much her whole life, but this wasn’t something she could keep up.