Taken by Storm by Kelli Maine Page A

beside the lake, but because the fact that he was taking a leisurely stroll with Merrick
didn’t
make him uneasy.
    It should. He should be a nervous wreck, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t figure out if he was that much of a detached asshole to have no feelings about this at all, or if it just hadn’t sunk in enough for his brain to believe it was real.
    He pretty much just didn’t know what the hell to think.
    Beside him, Merrick let out a sharp, disdainful chuckle and shook his head. “Jesus, you’re a grown man. I missed everything.”
    “It’s not your fault,” MJ said, wondering where the words were coming from. He must have some auto-responder in his brain turned on. God knows he’d thought about this moment enough times. His mouth probably had the words he’d wanted to say memorized.
    “I’m sorry,” Merrick said. “You shouldn’t have had to grow up with him.”
    The Old Man. Enzo. “Don’t worry about it. I survived.”
    “I need to get you out of here. I don’t have any right to make you leave, but I can’t stand you being here withhim.” Merrick reached up and ran his hand briskly over the back of his head, like the thought of Enzo made his skin crawl.
    “Turtle Tear?” MJ asked. “Rachael asked me if I wanted to go.”
    Merrick’s head snapped to look at him. “Will you?”
    Maddie flashed in MJ’s mind. He’d been anxious to get away from her, but now he didn’t know if he wanted to. He knew he should. If he stayed, he’d pressure her into being with him just to win her from the other guy. He wouldn’t stop until she gave in, and that wasn’t how she should make her decision.
    But he still wasn’t giving the ring back until she asked him for it.
    Being at Turtle Tear with Merrick and Rachael—both strangers to him—and his aunt and uncle… Jesus, it would be like a freaking family reunion. Awkward with forced conversation and probably bad food too. But, the alternative wasn’t looking so hot either. “Yeah. I’ll go.”
    “Good. I have to wrap up a few legal issues with your grandfather and my lawyer before I join you, but you and Rachael can leave in the morning.”
    The morning? Nothing like having time to ease into the idea. “I can wait until you’ve got everything here done.”
    Merrick shook his head, adamant. “I’d rather have you out from under his nose as soon as possible, if that’s okay with you?”
    With his housing at school up in the air and Maddiehounding and haunting his every waking thought—what the hell?—he might as well take off. “Sounds good then.”
    Merrick nodded to the tree line in front of them. “I used to hide out back here in the cemetery. Morbid, but nobody bothered me. Your aunt was afraid. Wouldn’t step foot in these woods.”
    “My mom’s buried in the cemetery. Me and my friend Maddie used to hang out back here too.”
    Merrick licked his lips and pressed them together tightly. “I’m sorry about your mom.”
    MJ only nodded. He couldn’t talk about it. He’d hated his dad for a long time. Blamed him for his mom being dead. Mostly because he couldn’t blame Merrick for not being around himself.
    They stopped walking at the cross-shaped path marker on the ground. “Should we visit her?” Merrick asked.
    MJ had never thought of this scenario before—not in his wildest dreams. His mom and dad together. Even if one was six feet under. Something about the idea made him queasy, but he swallowed it down. “Yeah. Probably.”
    The trail was narrow, so Merrick motioned for him to go first. MJ trudged up the sun-dappled hill, birds singing in the branches overhead. Whatever the weird numbness was that wrapped around him, he hoped it didn’t crack when he saw her grave.
    Reaching the top of the hill, he stopped and looked down into the cemetery. Merrick stepped up beside himand tucked his hands in his pockets, his chin dropped, gazing at the pink marble grave marker below.
    “I picked out the angel,” Merrick said.
    The hurt