Page 43 of Priest’s Sunbeam (Renegade Souls MC: Next Generation #2)

Sebastian

As traffic whizzed by his vision at a death-defying speed that was so fucking illegal, Seb rested his reeling head on the cold window and thought about the only thing that always occupied his mind.

His Sunshine.

He didn’t want her frightened when she realized he wasn’t home.

The car took a sharp corner, making him jerk in the seat.

His head cracked against the pane of glass when another corner was taken with abandon.

But Seb was incapable of doing anything about it, so the radiating pain in his skull mingled with the already dizzying effects of the drugs swimming in his bloodstream.

His irrational thinking led to an immense mistake.

Receiving a text from an unknown number earlier had been the first domino.

UNKNOWN : I hear you’ve been looking for me. Come and talk with your old dad, son. I’ll be at the crosswalk on Trent Alexander Way.

It was a mistake to go alone.

He hadn’t been thinking, only that he wanted it finished. He wanted Dwayne out of existence so his wife could go outside safely again.

Seb tried to lift his head and found it heavier than a boulder, his brain matter fighting to stay checked in. That’s when he heard from the driver’s side.

“Relax, my boy. It’ll wear off soon; it was only so you wouldn’t do anything stupid. There’s no room for heroes here, you get me?”

The piece of shit hadn’t been where he claimed he’d be when Seb arrived, and then out of nowhere, someone approached from behind. Before he could turn, he’d felt a prick in his neck. The motherfucker had shot Seb up with a sedative.

“Not… your… fucking… boy.” He struggled to get out, and the older guy cackled.

“Such a little fighter, aren’tcha? Chip off the old block. Real fucking proud of that.”

Seb was too dazed to let panic set in. If Dwayne wanted him dead, he could have killed him already. The old bastard had an agenda; he wanted Seb’s attention. That’s what all his tricks had been about these past months. Well, here he was, an unwilling audience.

He was zoned in on Sunny.

His beacon in the dark world.

The pure star he breathed for.

Was she awake and wondering where he was? Had fear set in when she couldn’t locate him? His heart hurt.

He thought he could take on the world for her, be her knight in shining armor, and nothing would stop him.

He’d been so wrong. As the truck came to a rolling stop, the engine switched off, his eyes fighting to stay open. Seb took steady breaths and thought of his wife, vowing to her he’d fight tooth and nail to get back to her.

His door opened, and he tipped out, but a set of hands stopped him from falling.

“Get… off.” He managed until his speaking ability dried up, and Seb’s mind checked out; blackness swallowed him whole.

The last thing he heard was a smoke-riddled cackle as he was bodily pulled out of the truck. “It’s so good to be back together, isn’t it, son?”

And then the dizzying void took him under.

* * *

Sunshine

As much as her family rallied around her, Sunny couldn’t sit still to take their comfort.

Her brain was frantic, but outwardly, she was trying to hold all her panicked pieces together. They were holed up in the clubhouse. Most of the old ladies and some prospects were left behind to watch out for them.

They’d found Seb’s Harley abandoned on a back street. But no Sebastian. That news came an hour ago, and nothing since.

They’d made so many pots of coffee that Sunny was about to drown if they pushed another cup into her hands. Standing by the window, she watched for any signs that the gates were opening so she could be the first to see when Sebastian returned.

She held onto that thought for hours. While comforting Ruby about her missing son, Sunny remained calm.

He’d come back to her.

She felt it deep in her heart.

Whatever he was dealing with, he’d get out of it. Seb was the most intelligent man in the world. Capable. There was nothing he couldn’t face.

“He’s going to be okay.” She told Ruby, hugging her mother-in-law. Hoping she could believe her promise.

Tears were poised, ready, but she couldn’t let them fall. Wherever he was, Seb was being brave. She could be brave for him, too.

But as the hours wiled away, slower than ever, it became increasingly clear that whatever was happening was complicated. His absence meant the others were still searching to pinpoint Seb’s exact location.

Around the ninth hour mark, a crack appeared in Sunny’s mask, and she slumped into her mom’s arms in the privacy of a side room.

“We’re supposed to have four kids, Mom.” She said, a warble of emotion in her voice.

Gia Hawk was gentle, yet had a titanium spine. She had a heart of gold, but she would be the first in line if anyone wronged her family. And Sunny leaned into that strength.

“Four? That’s ambitious, baby. Does Seb know this?”

She was trying to distract her, and Sunny let her; her brain needed it.

“We’ve talked about it, and he didn’t say no. I want two girls and two boys, all looking like him.”

“That boy will never say no to you.”

She’d take him telling her no to all her ideas for the rest of her life and never complain if only he’d walk through the door and take her into his arms.

She drew in a stuttered breath. “He has to come home.”

A hand coasted over her hair. “I know it doesn’t feel like it right now while you’re in the midst, sweetheart, but you can endure this. My girl has a strong will.”

“I’m trying to stay positive, but I miss him, Mom. Not knowing what’s happening is driving me crazy. What if he’s hurt?”

“Do you want me to call your dad for an update?”

“No, leave them to it. If Dad hasn’t called yet, there’s no update to give. He said he’d let me know when there’s something to know.”

No news is good news, was the saying. However, the news could also be bad. She didn’t want her dad to call to tell her it was bad news.

Seb, wherever he was, needed Sunny to remain calm and not fall to pieces yet.

So that’s what she did.

She paced and waited by the clubhouse windows, one unnerved breath at a time, watching the gate that didn’t open.

Sunny managed to hold it together for her husband.

Because what other option was there?

There was none without Sebastian.

* * *

Sebastian

The clock on the wall said hours had passed.

Hours of lost time, and now Seb was inside a motel room. Where? He didn’t know.

His heart was still bleeding out onto the fucking floor after the phone call Dwayne made him make, but his head snapped up as he listened to the cackling old man as he switched Seb’s phone off before tossing it onto the dresser.

“Cut ties with your old life, son. It’s not you anymore.” He’d told him, like he was a doting father taking his kid for a family trip. Instead, he’d shot Seb up with the sedative again so he could barely move and held the phone to his mouth.

It was the only thing he could think of to warn her without telling her outright and putting her in danger.

“Don’t worry, the drugs will wear off soon.

I just wanted time to talk to you without you going off half-cocked.

” Dwayne said, sitting on the side of the bed opposite Seb, slumped in an armchair by the window.

He glanced out and didn’t recognize the motel parking lot.

He’d probably driven out of town long ago.

Though his head was fuzzy, it was less sluggish than earlier, and Seb stared at the man with a hand in half of his DNA. Thank fuck he didn’t see any similarities. It was going to make killing him easier.

“Spit out whatever you want to say to me, and let’s get this over with.” He said, making Dwayne grin.

“You got some spunk to you. I wondered if you’d grow up like a little pussy.

Glad to see you didn’t.” Was Seb supposed to be flattered?

He went on staring. Trying not to think about when Sunny listened to the message and how her heart would break at first before she hopefully realized he’d used their special word.

“I kept tabs on you. The thing about being in lockup is that you make a lot of contacts. They did me a favor once they were out and checked up on my kid. Big shot at engineering, huh? Saw a few articles about you, too.” Dwayne rubbed his chin and smirked.

“Could’ve knocked me over when they told me you were in with the Souls.

Guess that interfering bitch Ruby landed on her feet with that, huh? ”

Seb ground his back molars until pain radiated along his jaw, holding inside his immediate anger. This lowlife could say whatever he wanted, but it didn’t make it accurate.

“Is there anywhere you wanna settle down? Delaware has a good scene and some opportunities to make fast cash. Maybe Austin, I’ve got buddies there.

Lots of garages to work in down there.” Dwayne grabbed a bottle of beer from a cooler.

He twisted the cap and drank half in one gulp before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

“You and your old man setting up shop together. Never thought I’d live to see the day.

” He sounded proud and drank again, twisting off a second bottle cap.

Seb pictured himself lunging out of the chair once he had regained the use of his body and choking the life out of that guy. He swallowed bile and stared, unblinking, letting the fool weave his fantasy life in words.

“Those bikers must’ve paid you a decent packet, yeah? They’re notorious and have their paws on everything in this country. We’ll have enough to buy a little place, go legit with my boy fixing up motors and shit and me working the front.”

The asshole was delusional.

Seb’s tongue felt thick and slow in his mouth, but he forced out words, working hard to sit up straighter in the armchair.

“This was your plan? You stalked me on my honeymoon and talked to my wife when she was alone. You fucked with my vehicles.” And then something penetrated through Seb’s cloudy brain, and his eyes snapped forward.

“Did you have something to do with a drive-by?”