Chapter 17

Meanwhile

Nash

California

“Where’d you get this number?” I growl. Fuck.

“You know I have skills, man. Romeo told me to track you down. Wouldn’t make contact unless it was serious,” Truth says. “We have a visitor here. A redheaded prick. To be exact.”

“I’m gonna kill my son, aren’t I?”

Truth chuckles. “He’s made quite an entrance into the family. You might want to get a hold of him before Rebel chokes the life outta him.”

“What the fuck is he doing there?”

“There’s a lot to fill you in on, man, but it isn’t conversation to be had over the phone. Need you here. Soon as possible.”

“Fuck,” I grumble.

“Pretty much. When should we expect you?”

“Soon,” I tell him, wondering how in the hell I am going to do this without upsetting my wife.

I hear the shower shut off. Damn it. I’m not ready to have this conversation with her.

I hang up with Truth and go into my home office to call in a favor.

Kev will have a car here in twenty minutes, his jet will get me there in no time. Karly will be pissed, but I can’t not go. What in the hell will I tell her? If I lie and she finds out she’ll have my balls. If I got away with lying, the guilt would kill me. I suppose there is only one thing I can do. Going to the kitchen I grab beer from the fridge. I’d prefer a hard shot of liquor, but I stopped keeping it at the house once Cole got a taste for it.

Sara comes in for a snack.  “Hey dad, you talked to Cole lately?”

“No!” I snap, not meaning to yell at her. I’m so tense and stressed the fuck out right now. I am going to kill that boy. Sara just happened to bring him up at the wrong damn time.

“Sheesh, sorry I asked.” She shakes her head, rolling her eyes at me.

“I didn’t mean to lose my cool, kiddo. It’s just, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Do you have any away games this week?”

“Nope, no games.”

“That’s good.”

She looks at me quizzically. “Okay. I’m going to go paint my nails to match my outfit for tomorrow or something. You’re being all weird.” 

I sigh as she grabs a water and granola bar from the pantry.

I suppose Sara and Karly could come with me to Kentucky. It’s been years since we left. There isn’t any threat to my family anymore. Other than my son being a dumbshit it seems. I can’t help but wonder how in the hell he ended up in Kentucky…in Drag Creek.

Time to have a talk with my wife. Time for the past to be laid to rest once and for all.

Karly

“He did what!?” I shriek, unable to process what my husband just told me. “How?” All the color has drained from my face and my hands won’t stop shaking. I’m going to kill my son and then I am going to hug him before I kill him again. I can’t believe he found my father. How did he know who to look for? Has my old man been in contact with him behind my back?

“Fuck if I know, but what’s done is done. I’m flying out in a few hours and need to get to the airport. Are you and Sara coming with me?”

“I don’t know.” I shake my head and pace the floor of our bedroom while my husband gets a bag together. “You know what this means don’t you? No more hiding who we were.”

“It isn’t as though most of them don’t know. Truth called me,” Nash tells me.

“I know that, but is this really a road we want to go down?”

“It seems Cole has left us without a choice.”

“I guess he has. I’ll talk to Sara. How much should I tell her?”

“As much as you can without freaking her out. I don’t know how Cole ended up where he did, but that can’t be changed. We can only move forward.”

“Book us tickets too.”

“Don’t need to. Called in that favor Kev owes me. He’s flying us.”

I sigh and fight the urge to have a glass of wine or the whole bottle for that matter.  Before I walk into Sara’s room I put in a call to my supervisor. I never miss work and I hate Sara will be missing school, but there is no getting around this. It was bound to happen one day, but I was hoping it would be more of a deathbed confession; Hey kids, I’m dying but before I do, you have family I never told you about. Our real name isn’t Johnson…

After calling Lisa, I go to Sara.  I knock softly on her door. I hear a thump and she turns her music down. The door to her room opens. “Hey mom, what’s up?”

“Sara, I don’t know how else to put this, but we have a family emergency. We need to go to Kentucky. Something has come up with your brother. I’ll explain more on the plane, but you need to pack a bag quickly.”

“Cole’s okay though, right?”

“He is for now. When I get ahold of him…” I shake my head. “Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.”

I leave her to pack and make my way back to my room to get a bag ready for myself. I want to tell Sara more…the truth, but she is only twelve. I’m not ready to do this. I’m not ready to give Cole to my father, but deep down I know that life has always called to him, ever since he was a baby. All he has ever wanted to do is ride a motorcycle.

Now look at him, he’s right in the middle of everything I never wanted for him. Everything I ran from.