“She said she wrote you a letter telling you about me when I was around ten but you never responded.” He broke this glare, staring at his hands in defeat.
“Never got it.” I shrugged. It was true. No such letter had ever made it to my doorstep.
“Figures.” He rolled his eyes. “Mom always did have a knack for lying.”
“How’s your mom doin’, anyhow?” I honestly had always wondered what happened to her. She was the only woman I’d ever loved, and one day she had just vanished. It was soul crushing to a teenaged boy who was love drunk and pussy whipped.
“She could be better. We don’t really speak much, to be honest. That’s why I wanted to come find you.” The words rolled easily off his tongue but there was an edge to them that broke my heart.
“You in some kind of trouble or something?” I scoffed at him.
“No, sir.” He straightened up quickly, returning his eye contact.
“Then why all of a sudden, out of the damn blue, did you decide today was the day to come pay a guy you have never met, who may or may not be your father, a damn visit at seven in the fucking morning?”
“I know I’m your son.” His voice was unwavering as his declaration tainted the heavy air.
“And how in the fuck are you so positive?”
“Well, genetics. You can’t tell me I don’t look like you. I’ve seen pictures, and I’m a dead ringer for you in high school. I think that’s part of the reason why Mom hated me so much as I was growing up—I was a reminder of the guy who ruined her life. We both have one dimple in our right cheek, eye color is the exact same, and so is our hair. I’d say it’s a safe bet there’s a cleft in your chin hiding under that graying beard. Genes don’t lie, unless my mom was sleeping with your twin at the same time.”
Damn, he’s good.
“So what now?” I asked, staring at my son in disbelief. It was a lot to take in for the amount of alcohol I had consumed over the course of the night and the lack of sleep I was running on.
“Fuck if I know.”
Chapter 4
Trent and Abel sat at the bar on either side of me as Crickett leaned over the oak capivated, listening to me tell them about the son I never knew about.
“I’ll be damned. So that’s where Pauline ran off to—to have your bastard kid in secret to not shame her family. Fuck the seventies, man. That is some crazy ass shit.” Abel slammed back his shot.
“Is he going to stick around?” Trent asked as he picked at the corner of the coaster in front of him.
“Fuck if I know. We talked this morning and then he left the house to go get a part for his bike that was acting up.” I still couldn’t believe how much my life changed in such a short amount of time all over again.Hadn’t I been through enough surprises to last a damn lifetime?
“You didn’t offer to bring it to our shop?” Abel cocked his head to the side. “That ain’t like you, Holt.”
“It ain’t like me to have a kid either,” I barked. To be honest, I just didn’t know how much father-son bonding I was ready for at that point. I was already dealing with Rave’s death and planning for sweet revenge—how much more was I supposed to be piling onto my plate at once?
“Hold on, I think I have an idea. We could use him,” Trent said under his breath. “That’s it—this is how we’re going to get to the bottom of what happened to Rave.”
“What in the hell are you muttering about over there, Tre?” Abel barked.
“Who is the most likely to have done this to Rave?” Trent looked at both of us as the light bulb going off in his brain got brighter.
“The Sinners, or someone they paid off,” I responded without hesitation. Our biggest rivals’ fingerprints were all over the damn hit if any wanted my opinion on it.
“Exactly.” He pointed at me sharply. “We’ve known for a while that they have been actively recruiting new blood. We get the kid to pose as a potential prospect, and he can sniff out the dirt we need so we can make those bastards pay.”
“Fuck no.” I slammed my fist onto the counter. “I don’t know if I can even trust this kid with knowing where I live, let alone club business like this. He could get all of us killed.”
“I think I’m with Trent on this one, brother. It’s a pretty fucking brilliant idea. Kind of pissed I didn’t think of it myself.” Abel pulled a blue Fun Dip out of the inside pocket of his cut and ripped it open.
“Crickett, you’re quiet.” I looked up at her as she just stared at me.
“Just taking it all in.” She waved me off. “Pretending like I didn’t just hear the stupidest fucking idea on the planet. It isn’t any of my business.”