Page 3 of Shank's Tricky Situation

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you wanna know, Billy. Give me a few minutes and I’ll fill you in and tell you what you wanna know,” I tell him, taking a deep breath. “For as long as I can remember, my father abused my mom. It started out as little things such as him berating her for the simplest mistakes to him finally putting his hands on her. Just before you and I got together, he took his beating of her too far. My mom was killed in front of my eyes by my father. When the police showed up, I couldn’t tell them the truth of what I saw. My father wouldn’t leave me alone with them any time I was talked to, he made sure to stand at my side and play the role of the doting father who was helping his grieving daughter through her hardest time in life.

“When I started seeing you, my father would go off in a rage. I was never late and didn’t miss a curfew he set for me a single time, but that didn’t matter. Even before we had sex for the first time, I was called a slut, whore, and anything else he could think of to hurt me. He didn’t start with berating me and all that shit like he did with my mom. My father straight up started beating the hell out of me and making sure he never left a mark you’d find as evidence against him. While I hurt, there was nothing I could show you as proof of what was being done to me at home.”

Looking at Billy, I watch him transform before my very eyes. The man standing before me is no longer my Billy. He’s the biker who’s scary as hell. His eyes are hard and cold, the dark blue going even darker as he stares at me. My eyes take in his clenched fists at his sides and how tight his body is strung. He’s ready to attack and I’m not so sure if I’m the one he’ll be going after or not. I don’t honestly believe he’d ever strike a woman for any reason, but the years have changed us both.

“When I left you, I had no choice in the matter, Billy. My father found out we were having sex somehow. I know he’s got his men following me now, but I don’t know if that’s the case of what happened back then. It could very well be how he found out I was with you and we were having sex. He also found out something you don’t know about yet. That’s the day I left you without a note, message, call, or anything else. I had no choice but to leave you without a word. I changed my name and didn’t use anything electronic that would give you a clue about where I was and what I was doing. My father had his men guarding me and every move I made was monitored until I finally managed to escape them just under a year after I left here.

“This year, coming back here for the job I have now, is the first time I’ve seen my father in all that time and nothing has changed with him. I’ve already been beaten, threatened, and everything else he’s been able to do to me. If it were just me, I wouldn’t give a shit. Billy, you have to know something I’ve kept from you for the last seven years though. Something I wanted to tell you so many times but I couldn’t. There was always too much risk of my father finding out and making good on his threats. Now, with us being here, there’s no way in hell I can’t tell you the secret I’ve been keeping. There’s so much you don’t know and I was too scared to tell you for certain reasons. Billy, you have a son. His name is Zane and he’s six years old now. He’s the spitting image of you and already acts just like I remember you being. If I could have told you the truth about him when I was still pregnant, I would have. Instead, I had to keep this to myself and I’ve raised him on my own since the day he was born,” I tell him, waiting for the man I’ve always loved to explode in a fit of rage at the bomb I just dropped on him.

While keeping my eyes on Billy, I don’t miss the emotions and changes moving over his face. He’s angry, pissed, upset, sad, and so many other things I can’t even name them. When his eyes finally lock on mine again, the only thing I can register is the pain filling him. I’m just not sure what the pain is stemming from with everything I’ve mentioned today. And I didn’t even go into detail about the beatings or anything else my father has done to me over the years. Or how he's threatened me.

“You’re tellin’ me that instead of trustin’ me to take care of your father, you chose to ran? Not only did you run without leavin’ a word of what was goin’ on to me, but you took my son with you. There is no reason for you to have kept him from me, Calla. I don’t give a fuck what your father threatened you with, there is no fuckin’ excuse for you to have kept him a secret from me. I’ve missed out on six years of his life and he knows nothin’ about me. We have no bond or anythin’. How the fuck am I supposed to get back all that time I’ve missed with him?” Billy questions me, anger lacing his voice even though he doesn’t raise it once. Hell, it’s barely above a whisper at this point and it’s still scary as fuck to me.

“I know, Billy. I’m so sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am. I just couldn’t risk Zane’s life. Like I said, I fully believe my father when he says he’ll lock me up and torture me daily while making me watch him kill my son. A child he was going to force me to abort when he first found out I was pregnant. That’s why I had to escape his men and remain running until I came back here. Now, I’ve got him threatening to kill both of us if I so much as look in your direction, Billy. I didn’t know what else to do. When I left here, I didn’t know for certain I was pregnant. I thought I was, but nothing had been confirmed at that point,” I tell him, knowing the words won’t mean anything to him because of the anger he has every right to feel toward me right now.

“Calla, I can’t even fuckin’ look at you right now. I’m gonna walk the fuck away and take a ride. When I fuckin’ call or message you, you better fuckin’ answer the phone. If you don’t, I’ll believe you ran again and won’t fuckin’ hesitate to send out every member of my club lookin’ for you. If you’re scared of your father, he’s got nothin’ on me, Calla. Time for hidin’ and games is over,” Billy promises me as he stalks past me and leaves me standing alone with nothing but the wind blowing around me.

As I listen to Billy’s bike start up and race from the parking lot, I let myself break. Tears slide down my face at a steady pace. They’re rolling so fast I can’t stop them so I don’t bother trying. My entire body is shaking from head to toe with the pain and fear filling me. I have no one to blame but myself for the mess I’ve created. I deserve every second of Billy’s anger because I’m the one who kept his child from him. It was a decision I chose to make instead of trusting he could keep me protected.

After several minutes, I finally leave the area I’ve been standing in. My car is the only one in the parking lot as I continue to look around the area to make sure I’m alone. When I finally manage to make it to my car, I don’t hesitate to get inside and start the engine. I’m going to be early as hell, but I decide to go to the school and wait for Zane to get out. If anything, I know I’ll be safe from anything my father might think to do if he got wind already that I met up with Billy.

Chapter Three

RAGE IS THE only thing I can feel right now. Riding my bike as fast as I can through the outskirts of town is doing nothing to calm me down. My entire world has fallen apart and crashed with a few words from Calla. To know she’s gone through everything she has and never once thought to turn to me for help makes me question every aspect of the relationship I thought we had seven years ago. I never once believed I thought I made her feel as if she couldn’t trust me. Especially with something as large as keeping my son from me. I have a little boy who’s six and I’ve never once laid eyes on him. There isn’t any detail of his life I know either. I’ve missed out on so fucking much and lost time I can never get back with him. I didn’t see him being born, get to watch Calla grow large and round with our son in her stomach, see his first steps, hear his first word, or anything else. All the shit I never thought I’d want but am missing out on and wanting to get back now.

News about Zane isn’t the only reason I’m in a murderous rage. Knowing that motherfucker put his hands on my Calla is pulling at my heart. There was never a single reason for him to hurt her and yet he never cared about keeping her safe. The one person in the world who was supposed to love and protect Calla with everything in him made her life hell. Made her run away and hide in fear of her life and that of our son. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around what makes a person treat their own flesh and blood that way. That’s without knowing many details about what the hell Calla actually suffered through. Eventually I’ll get those details, but for now, I’m filling in the blanks and it’s not coming out very good.

Turning my bike around, I have a lot to think about. The one thing I am sure of right now is that I’m going to be in Zane’s life. Zane is a name Calla and I always talked about having for our son when we were together. Yes, we planned out our life together more than once. I don’t give a fuck what I have to do to be part of Zane’s life. Right now, I can’t even think about being with Calla in any kind of relationship. I don’t honestly know if I can look at her without wanting to hurt her anyway I can if I’m being honest. That’s going to take time and I don’t know how long before I get over her betrayal.

I don’t stop riding until I pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse and park in my spot. It seems as if everyone is here with the exception of Boxer. Since today isn’t too cold and there’s no snow on the ground, we’ve all pulled our bikes out to get in some much-needed wind therapy. Not that it did me much good. Later, I have to go see Boxer and meet the newest princess of the club. For now, I can’t even think about him though. My only thought is getting to Zeus so he can pull up everything on Mr. Adams as he can. I’m going to know every-fucking-thing about Calla’s father as I can before I make my move against him. Calla and my son will not live in fear of that asshole a second longer than necessary. At this point, it’s just a matter of if I do this alone or with the club at my back.

Walking in the clubhouse, I don’t stop to talk or do anything as I’m greeted by everyone. There are days when I don’t talk to anyone and this is one of them. When I’ve got shit going on, the people around me know not to get too close or I’m liable to go the fuck off on them. It’s happened before and it will happen in the future if people aren’t careful. It’s the only reason I’m glad Boxer isn’t here right now. He wouldn’t leave me alone for a single second until he knew all of my secrets. It’s the same I’d do for him. However, I don’t even know how to fucking explain what I’m feeling right now.

“Shank, you goin’ to the hospital today? Ran out of there last night before you could go in and meet Kaydence,” Lash asks me as he steps out of his office.

“Not now, Lash. Got more important things to fuckin’ worry about,” I answer without stopping until I pound on Zeus’ door.

Instead of making his way to where he was going, Lash turns and follows me. I can feel his presence at my back and want to make it known I don’t need him in my business. Unfortunately, I can’t just lash out in anger at my President. So, I keep my mouth shut and wait for Zeus to let me come in his office.

“Enter!” I hear called out, Zeus’ voice rumbling through the wooden door separating us.

Walking in, I find Zeus sitting at his desk and looking at each monitor in front of him. He’s always keeping an eye on things and making sure nothing happens we can prevent before it actually takes place. It’s one of the many reasons he’s so fucking good at his job. Along with the fact that he can hack anything he comes in contact with.

“What’s up, Shank?” Zeus asks me, not turning from his monitors.

“I need you to do somethin’ for me. It’s personal and not a club issue. I need all the information you can find on an Alan Adams. He was born and raised here in town. I don’t have much information about him, but here’s a picture I have from years ago,” I tell him, pulling out my wallet and removing the only picture of Calla I’ve ever had.

The picture is of her and her parents before her mom was killed. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that shit too. I never once would have thought that Calla’s mom was murdered in front of her and for her to live with that all these years without being able to tell a single soul. I’m honestly surprised she gave me that piece of information when she really didn’t have to. Yes, it leads to everything else she’s said about her father, but it’s still something she could have left out of our conversation.

“What the fuck is goin’ on, Shank. You corner that nurse yesterday at the hospital after not takin’ your eyes off her for a second. Now, you want some asshole looked into because of personal reasons? We don’t handle our shit alone, Shank. You know this. If there’s somethin’ goin’ on, let us in and tell us what’s goin’ on,” Lash says, standing behind me.

“I don’t know what the fuck to say, Lash,” I yell out, all of my anger coming to the surface. “I have a fuckin’ six year old son I just learned existed and that the love of my life was threatened to the point she left me instead of stayin’ to tell me what was goin’ on. So that I could fight her battle for her. So, what the fuck do you want me to say?”

Lash and Zeus don’t say a word in response to my outburst. I hang my head and stare at the ground before me. My chest heaves with the fast breathing as I try to get myself back under control. I’m about to lose my shit and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

“Shank, this is some heavy fuckin’ shit. You sure this woman isn’t tellin’ you a bunch of shit to tie herself to you?” Zeus questions, not knowing the full situation between Calla and me.

“Calla wouldn’t do that shit, Zeus. We were together for three years in high school. She left without a word and I wasn’t able to find her in the last seven years. Zeus, I’ve had you try to dig up shit on her more than once over the years. This girl has been hidin’ out from her father, Alan Adams, for all that time until she moved back here for the job at the hospital. I haven’t heard a fuckin’ thing from her and she never once mentioned wantin’ any money or anythin’ for him when I saw her a little while ago,” I tell them honestly, finally looking up between Zeus and Lash

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