Page 37 of Stone (Claimed and Protected #3)

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Son.

The words hit me harder than anything anyone could have said to me in my life.

Without realizing what I was doing, I lowered my weapon, unable to fully comprehend what I’d just heard from the young man’s mouth. Yet as I looked at him, studying his height and muscular frame, the intensity of his eyes—the same vivid color eyes I’d been born with—I was struck by the truth.

He had my same build, my same facial features. He even had the exact same color of hair. But it was the defiant look on his face and the way he clenched his jaw that told me in no uncertain terms the boy had my blood running through his veins.

Kekoa had called, issuing a warning that the young man had insisted he talk with me, refusing to take no for an answer. There hadn’t been a weapon, yet he’d definitely been the person standing in the shadows at the party.

I lifted my gaze to my friend’s face, detecting the same emotions I had running through me.

An acknowledgment of the truth.

“I’m your son,” the young man repeated, once again shifting his gaze toward Dani. His mother.

She was suddenly at my side, her body shaking uncontrollably. “Oh, my God. I thought…” Unable to finish her sentence, she took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, boss. I didn’t know what else to do,” Kekoa said quietly as he pushed his brother back from the open door.

“It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

Nothing was fine.

Nothing would ever be fine again.

I shoved the weapon behind my back, immediately raking my hand through my hair. “I’ve got it from here.”

“You’re sure?” Kekoa asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I motioned for the kid to walk inside, noticing his determined gait as he finally decided it was okay to walk through the door.

Dani remained silent, neither one of us able to look at the other.

What the hell was I supposed to say? This was the secret she’d kept from me. When had she been planning on telling me I had a goddamn son? When was she going to come clean that the last twenty years had been one lie after another?

Anger swept through me, but I tamped it down. Throwing a tantrum like some crazed idiot wasn’t going to provide any answers. Or calm me down.

Dani walked closer, lifting her arm tentatively then curling her fingers while dropping her arm. “What’s your name?” Her voice was no longer one I recognized.

“Tyler Warren.” Goddamn. Even his voice sounded like mine had when I was younger. Gruff and unforgiving.

I finally turned toward Dani, catching her misted gaze.

Her expression was hollow, the haunted look in her eyes something I would never forget.

Was I angry? Fucking yes, I was. How could any man who suddenly realized he had a child feel any differently?

“You knew about this?” This. What the hell was this?

That we’d had a child together? That he’d show up on my doorstep?

That a secret had been kept from me for twenty. Fucking. Years?

My chest ached from my rapid pulse and the realization that I had a son.

A son.

“I…” She looked away, unable to answer. “It’s not what it seems.”

“It’s not what it seems? Then what the fuck is it?” Snarling, I turned away so I could try to collect my shit.

“I’m sorry,” she managed. “You don’t understand.”

The kid was in way over his head, his entire face pinched from our terse interaction.

“I shouldn’t have come,” he said, turning toward the door. Okay, so he had a name. Tyler.

“Stay right where you are.” My tone remained rigid. I moved closer to Dani, scrubbing my face as I peered down at her. When she couldn’t look me in the eye, I did my best to gently lift her chin with my fingers. “Talk to me. Is this possible or is this kid lying, trying to con us out of something?”

“I have proof,” the boy said.

She swallowed and I watched intently as she dragged the tip of her tongue over her trembling bottom lip. “It’s possible.”

“Fuck. Fuuuuck.” I snapped my head in Tyler’s direction. There were no words that came to mind other than the harsh exclamation and I could tell I’d ruffled the kid’s feathers.

He reached into his back pocket and I instantly bristled. “I have a birth certificate. That’s all, man. I don’t have any weapons. Besides, the two goons outside already frisked me.”

Fuck. He even had the same rebellious nature. After he held out the folded paper, I ripped it from his hands. Even taking a deep breath and steeling my nerves did no good when I finally found the courage to look at what was printed on the paper.

Roanoke County, Virginia. Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Parents listed…

Our names were printed on the certificate. There was no doubt, no fucking worthless need for a DNA test. Dani sat down on the couch, still shaking. Still white as a ghost. Unable to form words, I handed her the certificate, watching as she studied the documentation.

When she almost convulsed, I put my hand on her shoulder.

Hell, I felt sorry for both of us.

And enraged.

Her father had something to do with this.

“Okay. All of us need to take a beat.” Or fifty.

“I was told you died,” she managed. Then the tears began to flow. She dropped her head into her hands, weeping openly.

Tyler was uncomfortable as hell, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other. I handed him the paper, barely able to look the kid in the eye. My mind was tilted off center, incoherent thoughts slamming against my brain. She wasn’t lying and I wouldn’t put it past Bradford to lie to her.

But about something so incredibly important?

Maybe his existence was the sole reason I’d been brought into the fucking drama.

I wanted to wrap my hands around the man’s neck. I wanted to rip out his heart with my fingers. And dear God, I wanted to put a bullet in his brain. Bradford Vale was scum.

The awkward silence was almost worse than the news. I rubbed my eyes, the ache behind them more intense than before. “How did you find me?” He’d come to find me, not his mother, yet it didn’t seem to be a surprise seeing the two of us together.

There were two people I could think of who could have had a part in this reunion.

“I need a drink. You want one?” I wasn’t certain who the hell I was asking. All I knew was that my mind was spinning.

Tyler seemed surprised, once again darting his eyes to his… To Dani. “I’m underage. My mom won’t let me drink.”

Fuck me.

“Your mom sounds like an amazing person,” Dani all but whispered. She was still rocking, her face stained with tears.

“How about a Coke?” My words were stilted.

“Sure.”

I took long strides to the bar, pressing my fisted hands against the surface for a few seconds while I collected my shit.

I had a son. A son. I poured two whiskeys and grabbed the bottle of Coke.

Dani refused to take the glass from my hand, so I placed it in front of her, walking slowly toward Tyler.

We studied each other for a few seconds before he smiled, nodding in appreciation as he took the bottle from my hand.

“You might as well sit down.” I sounded authoritative. Like his… father. Oh, fuck me.

He was as nervous as Dani, fidgeting, but finally sitting down.

“How did you find me? Find us?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed before he answered. “My mom and dad never kept it a secret I was adopted. When I turned eighteen, they gave their blessing for me to start looking, but social services weren’t helpful. I didn’t exist as anything but Tyler Warren.”

“And the adoption agency?” Dani asked. “Was the adoption sealed?”

“Evidently an agency wasn’t used. I couldn’t find one anyway. I went back to my parents and Dad told me they got a call in the middle of the night about a baby. I guess they’d been trying to adopt for a couple years.” Tyler wiped his hand on his leg.

My hackles were raised. “Interesting. What did your parents say?”

“Not much. They, um… I think they were worried I’d be angry. They said the source was anonymous and a close family friend had helped with the legal documents. I kept digging by myself. Finally, the same friend of my dad’s came clean. He managed to find my original birth certificate.”

“It was a private adoption,” Dani said as she choked. Her hand was shaking as she reached for the drink and Tyler was immediately on edge, ready to take action if necessary. She looked at me and all I could do was nod.

This had all the markings of Bradford Vale. A great big secret. How many more were there hiding in the darkest crevices of the man’s soul?

I held my hand out in a gesture telling him no.

“Yeah, private.” If Dani had been told her child had died, Bradford had paid off the doctors to lie to her.

Then he’d likely paid big money to Tyler’s family to take the child, or to a private handler.

I wouldn’t put the blame on Tyler’s parents just yet.

They could have been conned just as easily.

Plus, he seemed like a good kid, raised to be a gentleman. God, what the fuck did I know about kids?

“I’m sorry I came.”

Tyler’s voice held as much despair as Dani’s. “Don’t be sorry,” she whispered. Once again, she couldn’t look at me. Hell, I wasn’t any different. I couldn’t look at her either because I had no idea what to say to her.

“So how did you make the final connection?”

“My dad confessed he knew and had your address. After that, my parents gave me money to fly here and said it was important.”

Tyler was clearly distraught, uncertain he’d done the right thing.

“Didn’t you think that was a bunch of shit?” My voice was too harsh. “I’m sorry, kid. As you might imagine, this isn’t how I planned on spending my evening.”

“Nah, I get it,” he said. “You don’t know me.”

I threw back half the goddamn glass of liquor, wishing I could feel a harsh burn to allow me to feel anything but the twisted emptiness that was all consuming. “Who are your parents, Tyler?”

“Trisha and Mike Warren.”

Never heard of them.

“And where do you live?”