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“Until I met your father.”
With Dad’s face cleaned of blood, I can see the cut above his left brow and the gash in his bottom lip.He’s going to have some shiners come morning. But it’s the wound below his ribs that concerns me the most when Mom lifts his shirt.
“You two told me you met at college over in England. Is everything you’ve ever told me a lie?”
“Yes, and we’re not going to sugarcoat or hide it any longer. You’re old enough to understand and know the truth,” Mom replies matter-of-factly as she inspects dad’s stab wound.
“So this is why we move every couple of years? Because you get found out by the bad guys?”
“Yes, son. So many innocent people get caught up in this world, and I’m doing what I can to try to save them.”
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I blow out a heavy breath, trying to digest what I’ve been told.
Everything I’ve ever known is a lie. My parents have been living in a world much different to the one they’ve created for me. They’ve kept me safe, given me anything I’ve ever wanted, all while Dad’s been trying to save the fucking world.
I don’t even know what to think right now, but to follow in their footsteps seems like the right path forward.
Chapter One
Tal
Jogging up the stairs feels like I’m climbing a mountain I’ll never reach the top of. Eyes are everywhere, ears listening to every conversation. Trust has all but vanished, the patch the only thing tying the brothers together.
In my room, I’m careful to lock the door behind me, twisting the knob to double check that it’s locked.
Dragging the rug out of my way, I use the old rusted crowbar I found out back to lift the floorboard where a burner phone and my notebook are hidden. Leaving the book, I reach for the cell and punch in the one number I have memorised. It rings and rings, and I’m about to hang up when the only person I trust in the world answers.
“Dad?”
“Fucking hell, Ethan! It’s about time you called. Where the hell are you?”
“It doesn’t matter where I am. I’m calling because Bert Collins is here.”
The line goes silent, and then I hear him shuffling around, no doubt finding a quiet place he can talk.
“Where ishere?”
I relent, knowing I won’t get answers unless I offer him some information in return.
“I’m with the Lost Souls MC. Trouble was coming for them, and it turned out it was because of him.”
“Dammit, son. What the fuck are you doing with them?”
“It doesn’t matter right now. I need to know if Bert would know I existed?”
Sitting on the bed, I run my hand through my hair, awaiting his reply.
“He shouldn’t. He was locked up a long time ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Why?”
“Because he kept glancing at me, like maybe I looked familiar. And before he left, he told the club they have a rat.”
When my father is angry, he balloons his cheeks and blows out his frustrations, which I can hear him doing now.
“Get out of there, now—today! Do you realise what they’ll do to you before they kill you, especially if they find out your dad’s a fed?
Memories of my father falling to the kitchen floor, stabbed and beaten. My mother’s scarred hands cleaning his bloodied face and tending his wounds. Yeah, I know why I’m here. Clubs like this don’t deserve to get away with the murders they commit and the pain they cause to others. It was completely by chance that I stumbled across the Lost Souls. They were on one of their runs, so I followed them to Willow’s Peak. It was easy enough to get a prospect patch from there, and the rest was history.
“I can’t do that, Dad. I’m so close to ending them. I have a literal gold mine of information.”
