Page 30 of Shine: Sins of the Father (Evil Dead MC: Second Generation #8)

Shine—

Rolling to my stomach, my nose sinks into the pillow, and I breathe in Fiona’s lingering perfume. My eyes pop open, and last night comes flooding back. I reach out, but the bed next to me is empty, and the sheets are cool.

Glancing at the small bathroom attached, I see no light on.

How long has she been gone?

Throwing off the covers, I yank on my clothes, hoping maybe she’s out at the bar drinking coffee, but I know that’s a long shot.

Checking my phone, I see it’s after 10am, and I’ve got no texts or missed calls.

When I stride into the room, there’s a prospect behind the bar, and a couple of patched members. Cole is one, Daytona is the other.

They’re both nursing coffees, and I wonder if Daytona’s told him everything about Donnie Ray yet.

Cole points at me. “Set him up with some coffee, prospect.”

A steaming mug is set before me. “Thanks.”

“Glad you’re up, Shine,” Daytona says. “I was just going to tell Cole what happened at the cabin.”

Cole frowns. “What happened?”

My eyes shift to the prospect, and Cole tells him to take out the trash and not come back for a while.

Once he’s gone, I spill the entire story, leaving out the part about the girl being Fiona.

I explain how I heard the asshole who raped my sister was released from prison and that I made the decision to go after him.

I tell him how he put a tracker on my bike and followed me to the cabin.

I explain that I returned to get my father’s watch that I’d left behind.

When I finish the story with how Donnie Ray ran like a coward, I tell Cole I returned to find Carl and shot him before he shot me.

“Jesus Christ.” Cole drags a hand across his jaw and gives Daytona a glare, then his eyes shift to me. “You clean up the fucking mess? You better not have left any evidence.”

“I cleaned everything.”

“What’d you do with his body?”

“I wrapped his head in a garbage bag and carried him out in the woods and buried him under a fallen log.”

“And you’re just tellin’ me this now?” Cole’s gaze shifts to Daytona.

My prez spreads his hands. “We’ve been trying to wrap up the loose ends. I wanted that done before I told you.”

“The loose ends being this Donnie asshole?”

“Yeah, but he keeps slipping through our fingers.”

Cole sighs heavily. “You’ve done me a lot of favors, Daytona. That shit that went down with our attorney and his widow… I don’t take that help for granted. And I hate a rapist, so I get why you went after him, Shine. So, as long as you’re sure he’s buried where no one is going to find him…”

“I swear it. I picked a good spot.”

Cole sips his coffee. “You boys need our help tracking this fucker? I’ve got some guys who are really good on the tech side. Maybe they can hack into his phone or some shit.”

Daytona looks at me, then Cole. “Any help would be appreciated.”

Cole drains his mug and stands. “How about that ride we talked about? I need it after this news.”

Daytona grins and stands, then pats my shoulder. “Want to come?”

I shake my head. “Nah. Think I need another coffee.”

He nods, and the two of them walk out.

I hear them talking to someone before the door shuts behind them, and a moment later, Reckless pushes through the door. They must have told him I was at the bar, because he doesn’t look surprised to find me here.

Taking the stool next to me, he motions for a coffee, then meets my eyes.

“How’d it go?”

I smile. “Real good.”

“Yeah?” His face lights up. “Glad to hear it. Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She was gone when I woke up.”

The smile fades from his face. He sips his coffee, then studies the rich brew. “There’s something about Fiona I should tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“She’s been through a lot.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“She and Tori, Rafe’s ol’ lady, were abducted a while back.”

I tense, everything in me going still.

“They weren’t hurt, not like your sister, so relax. They were being held by some college bullies Tori went to school with. The place was on a waterway across the bay. They tried to get away, and Fiona made it, but they caught Tori.”

“My God.”

“Fiona stole a kayak and paddled through the night until she found a waterside bar and made a call to the club.”

“What happened?”

“We went in, guns blazing. Kyle took a bullet, but it all worked out. That’s not my point. My point is, Fiona will tell you she’s fine, and she’s been seeing a therapist, but there’s got to be emotional scars she’s carrying, ya know?”

I nod.

“I’m just sayin’ you should consider that in how you behave toward her.

And I know she lied to you, and maybe you’ve gotten past that, maybe you haven’t.

But keep all of that in mind. I guess what I’m sayin’ is, she may make decisions that don’t make sense to you, but to her, she’s protecting herself. Understand what I mean?”

“Yeah. Cut her some slack and treat her gently.”

“Exactly. Shine, the lies she told you… they may not be the only time she lets you down, but it won’t be about hurting you. It’ll be about protecting herself.”

It sounds like he’s trying to tell me something without coming right out and telling me.

“There something else I need to know?”

“There is. I was hoping she’d tell you, but I can tell she hasn’t.”

“Obviously not. So just tell me.”

“Come on. Let’s go out back.” He climbs off his stool and drains his mug.

“What’s out back?”

“We’ve got a place we use for target practice.” He shrugs. “It’s basically just some beer bottles set up on a two by four, but it works.”

“You want to target practice now?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a feeling you’re going to want to get some aggression out in a minute.”

I huff a laugh. “Really? Then maybe you should step in that cage and let me beat the shit out of you.”

“You may want to after I tell you what I’ve got to tell you.”

“Goddamn it, Reckless. Just tell me.”

He shakes his head. “I’d rather do it outside.”

I roll my eyes and follow him to the shooting area. There’s a ton of broken bottles under the board where more sit waiting. The shattered pieces on the ground sparkle in the sunlight.

Reckless pulls his weapon from under his cut and checks the clip, then aims and fires. He’s good, taking out three bottles before missing the fourth.

“Your turn.”

I aim and fire, clearing the other half-dozen away. “So, tell me already.”

“Remember when I told you to go outside and look at the sky, and to remember the day?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember it?”

“February 20 th . You gonna tell me what it means?”

Reckless holsters his weapon and digs out his phone, then turns it to face me. I half expect him to have a photo of the night sky. “We gonna compare photos of the moon?”

He shakes his head, his expression serious.

I lean and look at his phone. It’s a baby. A newborn. My eyes immediately flick to his, and my stomach drops.

“That’s the night your son was born, Shine.”

“My son? I have a son?”

He nods, while I feel the world spinning around me.

“Fiona gave birth that night. She named the boy Dylan.” He swipes to another photo. “This is more recent. He’s almost six months old now.”

I swallow. I have a son, and not only did I miss his birth, I missed the first six months of his life.

Fury flashes through me, quickly followed by shock.

I squat, feeling like I can’t breathe. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“She was scared, I think.”

I pin him with a look. “Why didn’t you?”

I surge to my feet and plant two fists in his chest and shove him to his ass.

“I’m sorry, brother. I wanted to tell you. I tried to convince her you had a right to know.”

“All this time… all this time I’ve had a son and didn’t know it.”

Reckless climbs to his feet, dusting off his ass.

“I’m a father, Reckless.”

“Yeah. Question is, now that you know, what are you going to do?”

“Hell, I don’t know. I’ve only known for two minutes.”

“You want to go confront her?” Reckless asks.

I walk in a circle, thinking. Then shake my head. “I felt like there was something she wanted to tell me, but was holding back. Maybe if I give her more time, she’ll come clean.”

“Maybe?”

“I don’t want her to know I know.”

“What? Why?”

“I want her to come to me.” I need to know all the lying is over. I need to know I can trust her.

“You two are something else.”

“What do you mean?”

“First, she keeps things from you, now you’re keeping things from her.”

“Just trust me on this, okay?”

Reckless throws his hands in the air. “It’s your life, brother. But this is fucked up from start to finish.”

“It’s the way I want it.”

“Fine.”

“I need to go for a ride.”

“Let’s go.”

We ride around San Jose, and Reckless shows me everything. He even rides past Fiona’s bakery, pulling to the curb and pointing at it, telling me how she worked and scraped together enough to open the place, then worked her butt off to make it a success.

I study the place. It’s cute as hell, and I can’t help being proud of her.

It’s closed now, so I climb off my bike and peer through the door. The inside looks just as cute as the outside. I’m amazed.

“She did all this?”

“Yep. The apartment above is hers. Came with the shop rental.”

I step back and glance at the window.

“I don’t think she’s up there, though. Harley was going to breakfast with the girls. That’s probably where she is. They do it once a month. Mimosas and all that.”

At least now I know where she lives.

“Let’s head to the clubhouse.”

I follow Reckless to our bikes, and we pull out.

Daytona and Cole are back; their bikes parked out front.

When I climb from mine, Reckless cocks his head. “What’s that look? You plannin’ something?”

“I’m going to ask Daytona if I can stay in town a while.”

Reckless grins. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Walking through the door, I see my president at the pool table, shooting a game with Cole. When I approach, they both look up.

“Can I talk to you a minute, prez?” I ask.

“Sure.” He lifts a chin at Cole. “Give me a minute.”

We walk into the hallway that Fiona led me down last night.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“I want to know if I can stay here in San Jose for a week or two.”

Daytona grabs my arm. “This about that chick? ‘Cause she’s still Wolf’s daughter, Shine.”

“She had a baby.” I drop the bomb. “My baby.”

“What the fuck?”

“Calm down. She never named me as the father. Wolf doesn’t know.”

“You don’t know for sure it’s yours, either, Shine.”

“Maybe so, but I probably am.”

Daytona sucks in a long breath. “All right. You’ve got until Cole gets tired of you. I’ll have to talk to him. I’ll tell him you just want to spend time with Reckless. Hell, I don’t know what I’ll tell him.”

“Thanks.”

He stares at me. “So, you’re a father, then. You’ve wanted that for a long time.”

“Yeah.” I drag a hand through my hair. “This wasn’t exactly the way I thought it’d happen. I already missed so much. The kid’s six-months old, prez. He was born back in February.”

“How do you feel about all this?”

“I’m trying to figure that out. That’s why I need some time here.”

“And she never named the father, huh?”

“Reckless says no.”

“Reckless? Did he know about this?”

“Yeah. He wanted to tell me. He tried to get Fiona to do that. He thinks she’s just trying to protect herself and the baby.”

“What about Donnie Ray? He finds out you’re here, he might show up. If he ever finds out about this kid…”

He doesn’t have to finish the sentence.

“There’s no way I’m letting him anywhere near them.”

“We’ve got to find that asshole.”

“Now more than ever.” I suddenly realize just how much I have to lose.