Shadow of Sin (The Martin Family)

by Kincade, Parker

  Douglas Martin was a whole other story. A career military man, Douglas had held his family together with a firm, yet fair, hand. Samantha remembered his voice, so much like Caleb’s, its timbre rich and deep. The kind of voice that rattled the bones when raised and soothed the soul when calm. Douglas had been quick to smile, and he loved his family more than any man Samantha had ever seen. And she owed him more than could’ve ever been repaid.

  Caleb had loved his father, so how could he understand the hatred she had for her own? When it came to family, they came from two different worlds.

  “It’s a long, boring story.”

  “Somehow, I doubt that. Come on, Samantha.” He took her hands in his. “Talk to me.”

  She jerked her hands away with a frustrated groan. She didn’t want to talk about this stuff. Ever. “How about we go back to your place and get naked instead?”

  “Is that how you cope? Or, should I say, avoid? Is this a pattern I should be aware of?”

  Her Irish temper reared its ugly head. “What do you want to hear, Caleb?” she fumed through her teeth, careful to keep her voice at a normal octave. “My father is a piece of shit and my mother is a fool who follows his every command. End of story.”

  He was taken aback. “That’s pretty harsh.”

  “I was being kind,” she said dryly. Somehow, she didn’t think she was getting out of this conversation. She drained the remaining beer from her glass and waved to the waitress for a refill. Sharing this particular part of her life required at least one more beer, maybe two, depending on how many times he interrupted her.

  “You know, you can tell me anything.”

  That wasn’t the problem. The problem was what he’d think of her after her story was out. Less than a week ago, he’d thought her the bane of his existence. The causer of trouble for himself and his siblings.

  What would he think after he learned that she’d stood and watched her mother being beaten for something Samantha had done?

  She swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat as she remembered the sounds of her mother’s cries. “My father is a wealthy, powerful man. He’s not nice. At all. He runs his household with the same strict, emotionless attitude as he does his corporations. Only when you mess up at work you just get fired. The repercussions at home were much more severe.”

  “How severe?”

  “You want my life story, Caleb? Well, here it is. My father stole my childhood. He stole my mother’s soul, although I’d doubt she’d agree with that statement. When I rebelled and he realized he couldn’t control me any longer, he tried to steal the money my grandfather had left for me.”

  She lowered her voice, making sure she wouldn’t be overheard. “Where your father was firm, mine was violent. Where your home was filled with warmth and laughter, mine resembled a museum, the only sounds the occasional screams that resulted from something being out of place, or a command not obeyed.”

  “He hit you?” His voice took on a deeper tone, one that vibrated with controlled fury, as though he knew already knew the answer.

  She nodded, fighting back the tears that threatened. Damn it. After all these years, she shouldn’t have any more tears to cry for that time of her life. Like Caleb said, the past is past. Let it die and take its memories with it.

  “Yes. Repeatedly. Whenever I did something he didn’t want me to do … like breathe, for instance. But that wasn’t the worst of it.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Caleb exploded. “It gets worse?”

  Samantha darted a glance around the restaurant. “Settle down before you get us thrown out of here. I’d prefer not to share my business with the world and now people are staring. If you insist on having this conversation right this second, then just shut up and listen.”

  She didn’t know if she could do this. Alec and Amanda were the only people she’d ever told about her father, and even they didn’t know the whole of it.

  She could gloss over the highlights, but now that she’d started, she wanted to trust Caleb with her secrets. More than anything, she wanted to put her faith in him.

  He wasn’t her father. Caleb might be controlling at times, but only because he cared about her safety, not because he desired her to be who and what he wanted.

  She could feel his anger on her behalf. Caleb was a warrior, a protector of the innocent. Of course he’d be angry at the pain she’d suffered. She prayed he’d have the same faith in her once he knew the truth. He’d never abuse her trust, she had to believe that. She did believe it.

  Because she was desperately in love with him.

  For that reason alone, he deserved to know the truth.

  “This isn’t easy for me, Caleb. I’ve tried hard to forget that part of my life. Or, as you so eloquently pointed out, avoided the memories.”

  “Jesus, Samantha, I’m —”

  “Don’t apologize.” A tear escaped the corner of her eye and she swiped at it. “Please don’t apologize. I can’t take it. You weren’t wrong. I’ve made some good decisions over the years, and I’ve made some bad ones. Some really bad ones. There’s no point in sugarcoating it, because I can’t go back and change it. My only hope is that I’m smart enough to learn from my mistakes. And if I can help someone along the way…” She shrugged a shoulder. “Even better.”

  She stared into the past. “I was seven the first time it happened. I’d tripped over a loose piece of carpet and knocked over a priceless vase. It broke, of course. Instead of punishing me, my father punished my mother, believing it would cure me of being clumsy. The psychopath’s guide to reverse psychology. He made me watch. Threatened to make it worse if I cried or tried to help her. I didn’t move a muscle. Not that time, or any time, save one. I stood, still as a statue, and watched every lash, every punch.”

  “He did this often?” Caleb’s voice was soft, but his tone was filled with disgust.

  She stared at her lap, unable to meet his gaze for fear she’d break into a million pieces. She could handle his lust, but his loathing was something she’d never get over.

  “Not once he realized his methods weren’t effective. I hated my mother almost as much as I hated him. Far too many times she’d stood as I had, watching as my lip split under his hand because I’d worn a color that offended him or slouched at the dinner table. Never once did she try to protect me or shield me from him. I used to think maybe I caused trouble out of spite, in hopes that she’d be punished and I could sit smugly by as it happened.”

  A tear fell on her hand, followed by another before she could wipe them away. “But, that would’ve meant I was no better than they were.”

  Caleb’s soft curse burned her ears. “You were a child, Samantha. You can’t possibly blame yourself for what happened.”

  “I don’t. Not anymore.” She dared a glance at him, relieved he didn’t appear to be judging her. “It took me a while, but once I was out from under his thumb, I realized that no matter how many times he’d hit my mother, my first instinct had been to protect her. Once I got a little older, I tried, but my father was true to his word. I never tried again.”

  “Wasn’t there anyone who could’ve helped you?”

  She smiled at the familiar question. “Money and power buy a lot of things, Caleb. Silence. Loyalty. Add a healthy dose of fear and the answer is no. My mother covered for him and his employees turned the other cheek. I was on my own.”

  The fact that he didn’t like her answer was written all over his face. “Do you worry about her?”

  “My mother? My mother told me that had she known I’d be so much trouble, she’d have killed me in her womb. That her life would’ve been better without me in it,” Samantha all but snarled.

  “Don’t ever forget that,” her mother had said, pinching Samantha’s chin hard as she drilled her with a stare. “And don’t ever darken our threshold again.”

  For once, Samantha and her mother had been in perfect agreement.

  “No, Caleb. I don’t worry about her. Maybe I did
at first, but it served no purpose. After I graduated from law school, I tried to help her. She refused. She’s as crazy as he is. Trust me, they deserve each other.”

  He seemed to consider her words. Samantha knew it went against his moral code, but her mother was a lost cause. She didn’t want out and Samantha wouldn’t waste any more energy trying to change her mind.

  “You were young when you left your parent’s home, right? How’d you survive?”

  “I was fifteen, and honestly? Alec and your dad.”

  “What?” The shock on Caleb’s face made Samantha wonder just how clueless Caleb was about his family. “How did they help you?”

  “Alec and I had been casual friends for a year or so. I hadn’t been allowed to date or have friends over, but I’d see Alec at school. He’d notice the bruises I’d tried to hide and eventually figured it out. One day, he confronted me about it and I broke down and told him the truth. Alec ignored me and went to your dad, who made arrangements with an attorney to help get me away. I stayed with her after my mother kicked me out. She gave me a place to stay while she fought for my inheritance. I don’t know all the details, but my father fought hard. Then, after a visit from your father, he backed off. And I mean seriously backed off. I haven’t heard from the man since.”

  And Douglas Martin had taken that conversation to the grave.

  Caleb shook his head. “I never knew.”

  Samantha shrugged. “You weren’t here and it didn’t concern you. There was no reason you should’ve known. The woman who took me in was a friend of your parents. Claire Atwood. Ring a bell?”

  “Claire.” His eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance. “Yeah, I remember her. She passed away a few years ago.”

  “Yes.” Not a day went by that Samantha didn’t miss her. “She helped me get into law school, even made arrangements to pay my tuition, although I wouldn’t hear of it. She’d argue that she had no kids of her own and she couldn’t take her money with her.” Samantha smiled with fond remembrance. “She called me a natural after that argument. Anyway, I never met my grandfather; he passed before I was born. He left a provision in his will for me. One that made sure I’d be taken care of. Financially, anyway. He must have known what kind of man his son was. Claire and I compromised and donated the money she would’ve spent on my tuition to a local woman’s shelter and I used a portion of my inheritance to pay for college.”

  Understanding dawned in his gaze. “That’s why you helped Carlotta.”

  “Vincent is just like my father,” she spat. “Men who have that kind of money and power think they are above the law. That they can do whatever and hurt whomever they want. No,” she shook her head. “Not on my watch. When I left my father’s home, I swore I’d never allow another man to push me around. And I’d never sit back and watch it happen to anyone else. Vincent Matteo is a parasite. If he thinks he can bully me into giving him what he wants, he’s dangerously mistaken. Even more so, now that you are on my side.”

  Caleb stared at her long and hard. She met his gaze with unwavering resolve, willing him to understand, to support her decision to stand strong against Vincent.

  “How could I have missed it?” he asked quietly.

  “Missed what?”

  He slid into the seat next to her, his hard, muscled frame crowding her space as he gathered her against him. His lips pressed against her forehead a second before he tightened his arms around her. “How special you are. You’re an amazing woman, Samantha Quinn,” he whispered close to her ear. “I’ll always be on your side. We’re in this together, Samantha. No matter what.”

  Tears sprung in her eyes again and she blinked them back. “Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, Caleb.”

  He pulled away so she could see his face. He shook his head, his expression sincere. “Wouldn’t even think it.” He brushed a hand over her hair. “I’d slay dragons for you, if you’d let me. You know that, right?”

  “There’s no such thing as dragons.” She leaned into him, sank into the protection of his arms. Her guard began to dissolve. She didn’t have to be strong all the time, she’d realized. Not while in the arms of the man she loved. Just for a moment, she could let his strength hold her up, keep her going. Just for a moment.

  “It’s getting late.” His lips brushed against hers for a brief moment. “Let’s go home.”

  Samantha sighed. There was that word again.

  Home.

  Chapter 14

  All these years…

  He’d known Samantha was tough, but damn. Her strength humbled him, made him proud … and more determined than ever to protect her.

  The fact that she’d been abused, had been forced to watch as her mother was abused … Caleb rolled his shoulders in an attempt to release the tension that had been building all afternoon. He had the insane desire to find Thomas Quinn and work off a little aggression. Caleb doubted the man would fare as well against someone bigger than him.

  And, as if the disgust he felt for Samantha’s father wasn’t enough, he wanted to kick Alec’s ass for not telling him what she’d been through. Then, hug the crap out of him for keeping her safe.

  If he hadn’t heard it from Samantha herself, Caleb wasn’t sure he’d have believed it.

  It seemed there was a lot he didn’t know about his baby brother. Alec worked hard and played harder, that he knew. There was obviously more to him than hacking and sex. Go figure. He’d have to watch him more carefully in the future, to see just how fooled they all were.

  For now though, all of his attention went to the beautiful redhead in the other room.

  Caleb stretched his back, twisting from side to side. The unwelcome feel of the tie against his throat made him cringe. He bounced a few times on his shined up, black boots, feeling like a boxer about to enter the ring. His leg ached, but would survive the night without too much trouble. Provided Samantha didn’t have her heart set on dancing the entire night.

  He hadn’t lied to Alec. He had this.

  As elusive as Matteo had been, this could be his only shot. After Samantha’s bombshell this afternoon, it was even more important that Caleb educate the man as to who he was dealing with.

  Samantha was his. Nobody threatened, taunted, or touched what was his.

  Period.

  He wasn’t sure when it happened, or when he’d come to the conclusion, but now that he had, there was no going back.

  “Well, don’t you look handsome?”

  Caleb turned, drawn by her sultry voice, and was immediately floored.

  “Wow.”

  Not very articulate, but it was all his brain could process as Samantha walked into the room. Son of a bitch, she was stunning. The emerald evening gown she wore hugged her curves, accentuating every inch of her womanly figure. A slit ran up her thigh, offering him the slightest tease of skin as she moved.

  Her rich, auburn hair fell in irresistible waves, framing her face and tumbling over her bared shoulders. He imagined shoving his fingers through the thick mass and tasting those red-stained lips. From there, he’d kiss down her throat to the valley created by the deep, plunging neckline.

  A thin, delicate-looking line of sequins crossed under her breasts and disappeared around her sides. His gaze traveled lower and his hands ached to find out what she was wearing under that gorgeous satin. Or wasn’t wearing.

  “How do I look?”

  Caleb’s heart pounded in his chest as Samantha turned a slow circle. He growled low in his throat as he checked out her ass. A fine, delectable ass. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened again, yet nothing came out. How could mere words describe the perfection that stood before him?

  Like a temptress, she sauntered forward, stopping mere inches from him. Her hands smoothed over the lapels of his jacket and came to rest at his waist. “I do believe I’ve rendered the horseman speechless.”

  No longer bothered by her nickname for him, Caleb found his voice. “Rendered him hard as stone is what you’ve done.” He searched h
er face, looking for some evidence of the woman that had endlessly annoyed him, defied him, and drove him bat-shit crazy.

  What he saw was a woman who was his equal. A woman who balanced his harsh moods and controlling behavior, who’d never take his shit. A woman he could spend his life with.

  The idea excited him as much as it freaked him out. He wasn’t against relationships, but he was no picnic and he knew it. His years in the military had changed him. He had blood on his hands. He had secrets. He didn’t know if he’d share them even if he could. Most women couldn’t deal with that. They’d expect him to be an open book, there for them to pick apart at any given moment.

  But, Samantha was different. She knew much of his past, although not all, and she’d never pressed for more. His family loved her. She’d known his parents for chrissake.

  He’d always known it would take a special woman to deal with his baggage. Maybe Samantha was that woman.

  Caleb took her hands in his and raised them to his lips. He kissed the palm of one hand, then the other, drinking in the faint, delicate scent of her perfume.

  “You’re incredible. You’ll be the most beautiful woman in the room tonight. If I weren’t chomping at the bit to show you off, I’d have you out of that dress in two seconds flat.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “I never imagined you’d say something like that to me.”

  Was she serious? “Sweetheart, every man in the place will want to get you out of that dress tonight. What makes you think I’m any different?”

  “I meant about you wanting to show me off.” Her eyes gleamed with wicked intent. “Hmm, every man, huh? Guess you’ll have to work really hard to make sure I come home with you.”

  She turned and pressed her back against his chest. The sensual sway of her hips, the feel of her ass rubbing against him, tested his control.