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ChapterFive
Damon pushed the steak around his plate, hardly able to focus on the conversation around him. Detective Kamada’s words kept ringing through his mind.
I shouldn’t consider the son of Cal Jones, the notorious serial killer?
Anytime something criminal happened around Damon, someone reminded him of his roots.
He would always be suspect.
Why didn’t anyone ever remember that he was the son of his mom too? She’d been the most kindhearted woman, and he was equally her child. He was more her than his dad.
But Damon was the only one to hold her memory.
Nobody would forget the infamous Cal Jones.
Maybe what he needed was a name change. Or to move somewhere so far away that no one had ever heard the name of his father.
“Don’t like my cooking?” Charles teased, pulling Damon from his thoughts and back to the dinner table with Ari and his friends. Charles and Lia had invited Rita to join them.
Since her return, the group eating dinner together had become a regular gathering. With Boone in prison, Rita was spending less time at her restaurant, giving her managers more responsibilities.
Now she actually liked being home.
“Your cooking isn’t the problem,” Damon said.
“What then?” Charles asked. “You act like dead bodies were found on your property today.”
Lia nudged him. “Stop.”
“Too soon to joke about it?”
Damon set his fork down. “You’re fine. I’d be laughing too, but something the detective said keeps bothering me.”
“What?” Ariana asked, her brows drawing together.
“He brought up my father. He’s keeping his eyes on me.”
She slammed her fork down. “He can’t hold that against you! That doesn’t make you a criminal.”
“Try telling him that.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Does anyone else know who your dad is?” Rita asked. “In the neighborhood, I mean?”
“Only you guys,” Damon said. “It isn’t something I like to advertise. People get uncomfortable real quick when they find out they’re in the presence of a serial killer’s son. I’m surprised you all accept me.”
“You can’t help who your parents are,” Charles said.
“Do you still believe that?” Damon asked. “Even with bodies dug up on my property?”
“Boone probably put them there,” Lia said. She looked at Rita. “No offense.”
“None taken.”
Damon sighed. “I can’t blame people for being nervous. I’m sure I’d be too.”
Especially if they knew the urges he’d been fighting since Boone threatened Ariana.
