by Aja Foxx
Well, he actually had, just not in a way that I was willing to discuss with my mother.
"He was never going to be a match for Harry."
"How would you know?" I snapped. "Did you test his blood?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Henry. If I'd wanted his blood contaminating my child, don't you think I would have contacted him?"
I narrowed my eyes as an anger I'd never felt for my mother before welled up inside of me. "You do realize that Harry and I carry half his genes, right? I was contaminated by his blood the moment you bumped uglies."
"Don't be crass, Henry."
"Oh, no, we mustn't be crass, but it's okay to let your child wither away, suffering terrible pain every minute of every day because we don't want his blood mixing with bikers." My hands clenched as I tried to keep from strangling my mother. "Do you realize how close to death he was? Weeks, maybe days."
"Henry—"
"You would have let him die, wouldn't you? You would have let Harry die rather than ask Butch for help."
"He has no business in our world."
"Then I don't want to be a part of your world." I wanted nothing to do with a world where pain and suffering were preferable to letting someone from a different world help out.
My mother let out a heavy sigh. "Henry, I've had just about enough of this. Go get Harry. It's time to come home where you belong."
I reached over and wrapped my fingers around Gunner's arm and pulled him to my side. "I am home, Mother."
Sarah gasped. "What have you done?"
I stared for a moment, unsure of what my mother meant, but a slow, dawning realization began to fill me, and it made me sick to my stomach. "I think the question is what have you done, Mother? How long have you known about Butch?"
Several people in the room, most of them in fact, gave me confused looks. Butch seemed to be the first one who figured out the conclusion I had just come to. His jaw firmed as he turned to look at my mother.
"When did you know, Sarah?" Butch asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sarah said quickly. "I'm tired of this conversation. Henry, go get your brother."
"Answer the question, Mother." I let go of Gunner and took a few steps closer to her. "How long have you known about Butch?"
"Henry—"
"Did you know Harry didn't have leukemia?" I snapped, anger fueling my words. "Did you let him suffer because you didn't want to admit your son was a shifter?"
"What is Henry talking about, Sarah?" Norman asked.
Norman Nash, the man I'd grown up believing was my father. I wasn't sure if he was totally clueless or just playing dumb.
"Don't be ridiculous, Henry," Sarah replied. "Your brother has leukemia."
"No, I don't."
I whipped around so fast to stare up at the man on the stairs, I almost fell on my butt. Only the large hand on my back kept me from falling. I shot Gunner a grateful smile then glanced back at my brother, watching him walk the rest of the way down the stairs.
He looked so much better. There was color in his cheeks and a bounce in his step. He still looked as if he could use a few meals, but he was walking and talking and didn't look as if every breath might be his last.
"Harry," I whispered when he reached me.
Harry reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "I'm good, bro."
"Harry, what's going on here?" Norman asked. "How are you walking?"
I felt bad for my father. He didn't have a clue what was happening. I knew that now. I could hear the confusion in his voice.
Harry walked over and gave Norman a hug and then grabbed his hand and started leading him across the room. "I have someone I want you to meet."
"Harry—"
"Butch, this is my adopted father, Norman Nash," Harry said. "Father, this is my biological father, James Cassidy, although he prefers to be called Butch."
Norman looked a bit confused as he shook Butch's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Butch saved my life, Father."
Norman frowned. "Is that...what...how?"
"I know this is all very confusing for you, and I apologize for that. I will try and explain it as best as I can. The important fact is that I am no longer sick. I have a little bit of recovery time ahead of me, but I am not going to die."
Tears sprouted to Norman's eyes. "You're not going to die?"
"No, Father. I'm not."
Norman wasn't the type of man who usually showed a lot of emotion or was demonstrative, so I was surprised when he grabbed Harry and pulled him into a hug. Harry must have been surprised as well because it took him a moment to hug Norman back.
"How is this possible?" Norman asked as he leaned back, not quite letting Harry go. "How can you be healed?"
"I never had leukemia."
I knew I had mentioned that before, but maybe my father hadn't realized what that truly meant. "Father," I started as I walked over to join them, "what we discuss here can never leave this room. Do you understand that? If others were to find out what you're about to hear, a lot of people could lose their lives, including Harry."
Norman's face paled and he looked visibly shaken. "What are you talking about, Henry?"
I suddenly understood how hard things had been for Butch and Gunner. "I know this sounds outrageous, but Butch is a shifter, Father. He can shift into a bear."
I waited for my father to start laughing or at least call me insane. I did not expect him to glance between me and Butch and then frown. "What does this have to do with Harry?"
"Harry is a shifter as well, Father. He doesn't have leukemia. All those drugs the doctors have been pumping him full of kept him from shifting. That's why he was so sick."
"What?" the man asked.
"He can shift into a bear," I explained. I knew it was a lot to accept, but I'd seen it, twice. I knew it was real. "Shifters usually shift for the first time when they hit puberty, which is right about the time Harry started getting sick. Instead of admitting that her son was a shifter, mother started pumping Harry full of drugs. Isn't that right, Mother?'
Norman spun around and glared at Sarah. "You knew," he shouted. "You knew all of this time and you never said anything?"
"Norman!" Sarah's face flushed with anger. "Do not raise your voice to me."
"My son was dying and you could have stopped it." Norman sounded outraged and devastated at the very same time. "How could you, Sarah?"
"Norman—"
"I've always known Harry and Henry weren't my biological children. I didn't care. I was there throughout your pregnancy and I was there the moment they took their first breaths. I've always been there. They are my sons." Norman's eyes narrowed to little glint of anger. "And you would have let one of them die when he didn't have to. Why?"
My mother sucked in a breath as if she suddenly realized she was in the hot seat. "You were never supposed to know," she said in a much quieter voice. "My father made me swear never to say a word to anyone."
"Who in the hell do you think told me?"
Sarah's mouth dropped open.
"The night before we got married, your father called me into his office and told me everything. That you'd gotten pregnant with some summer fling and that the biological father was a shifter, and then he offered me ten million dollars to marry you and keep my mouth shut."
Sarah gasped.
I got a really sick feeling in my gut.
"I told him to shove his money up his ass."
Holy shit!
"But...you married me," Sarah whispered.
"I loved you."
I didn't know whether to laugh, to cry, or to shout at my mother.
"I married you and spent over thirty years at your side because I loved you." Norman shook his head. "Now, I'm not so sure it was worth it."
My mother's cry was anguished. "Norman!"
"You let Harry suffer needlessly, Sarah. You almost let him die. If it hadn't been for Henry, he would have. Why?"
Tears sta
rted to stream down my mother's face as she walked over and sat down in a chair. Her shoulders slumped and she seemed to almost shrink in demeanor. She opened her small purse and pulled out a white handkerchief, wiping at her cheeks.
Norman let go of Harry and walked over to sit in the chair next to Sarah, reaching out for her hand. "Explain it to me, Sarah. Explain to me how you could let one of our children suffer like that."
"My father..." She sniffled. "When he found out I was pregnant, he was incensed. He ranted and raved for days. When he finally came to me, he said he'd had James investigated and knew all about him. Knew he was a shifter and that he'd had some trouble with the law. He said that the boys had a fifty-fifty chance of being born shifters and if he found out that they were, he'd take them away from me, that he'd give them to some institute to be experimented on."
Butch growled.
I stiffened. "He said what?"
"When Harry started showing symptoms of being a shifter, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't let my father find out so I paid some doctor to start treating him for leukemia. It was the only thing I could think of to keep him away from my father."
Fresh tears slid down her cheeks as she looked up. "I never wanted you to suffer, Harry. Please believe that. I just couldn't let my father take you away." She wiped at the tears on her cheek again. "I was just waiting for him to die before taking you off the medication."
"Wait." I pressed my hand to my forehead as I tried to get all this information to make sense. "You knew Harry was a shifter, but you kept him on drugs so that grandfather wouldn't take him away?"
"Every year on your birthday, he sends me a card."
"Right, I remember. I always thought that was kind of nice, but..." I sucked in a painful breath. "Oh god."
My mother's smile was bittersweet. "They always had bears on them. Sometimes, they were cartoon bears, other times they were photographs of bears, but there were always bears. It was his way of reminding me to keep my mouth shut."
"That bastard!"
I knew my grandfather was always cold and distant. I'd always assumed it was because he was an asshole, born in a generation that was taught not to feel emotion. I never realized it was because he hated me and my brother.
"I tried so hard to keep you all from finding out and now..." She shook her head. "Now, I don't know what I'm going to do. Once he finds out—"
"How's he going to find out?" I asked. "I'm certainly not going to tell him."
I'd actually prefer never to see my grandfather again if I could help it.
"He always finds out," Sarah said.
"So what if he finds out," Harry said. "What's he going to do? Kidnap us?"
I gasped as I glanced at Gunner. "You don't think..."
"I don't see how the two things could be connected," Gunner said. "Besides, you don't have any symptoms of being a shifter. If what your mother said is true, he'd take Harry before he took you."
"What are you two talking about?" Harry asked.
"Someone already tried to kidnap your brother," Gunner explained. "We were able to stop him and get Henry back within minutes, but we still have no idea why Ross kidnapped him."
"Ross?" Sarah asked. "Arnold Ross? Detective Arnold Ross?"
Gunner's eyes narrowed. "How do you know the detective?"
"I don't," Sarah replied, "but he's been on my father's payroll for years."
Oh damn!
Chapter Twenty Two
~ Gunner ~
As soon as Sarah announced who Detective Ross worked for, I'd grabbed Henry and pulled him into my arms. I had no plans to let him go anytime soon. I was terrified I'd lose him if I did. We were fighting an unknown enemy, one who was unpredictable, had a long reach, and more money than God.
We were kind of screwed.
"Gunner, I need to go talk with my mother."
I grunted.
"Please?"
I huffed and loosened my grip on Henry enough that he could walk over to sit down across from his mother.
I stood behind his chair. Harry sat down next to Henry, Jefferson standing behind him. Butch walked over and sat down in the only other chair available.
"Does anyone want a drink?" Butch asked. "I know I could use one."
Several hands went up, including Norman and Sarah's.
"Ink, a round of drinks over here," Butch called out over his shoulder. "And make sure it's the good stuff."
"You got it, Boss."
"I'd like to say something," Sarah said. "I know it doesn't mean much, but I'd like to apologize for any pain I may have caused you, James. I never wanted to keep you from the boys, but I felt as if I had no other choice. I couldn't let the boys find out about you. I even tried to persuade Henry to stop working in the emergency room so there'd be no chance he'd run into you or another shifter. I have no doubt my father would do exactly what he said if I ever said anything to anyone."
Henry's eyebrows lifted. "That's why you wanted me to go into private practice?"
Another bittersweet smile crossed Sarah's face. "I think it's commendable for you to work with people who might not be able to afford medical care, and I'm very proud that you do, that you ignore my nagging and do it anyway. I'm just terrified your grandfather will find out."
"He already knows I work in an emergency room. He stopped in to see me once. He didn't seem thrilled with where I was working, but he never told me to work anywhere else. You did, every time I talked to you."
"I was trying to do everything I could to keep you and Harry from learning of your father and what he is. I just couldn't take that chance."
"A little late for that at this point," Harry said. "Not only do we know, but I've already shifted once." Harry smiled as he tilted his head back and glanced up at the man standing behind him. "I even claimed my mate."
Sarah's smile seemed real this time.
"You knew," Henry whispered. "You knew Jefferson was Harry's mate."
"I knew." Sarah nodded. "I figured Jefferson was the best person to take care of Harry. No one would be more invested in his care than his mate."
Henry's jaw dropped.
"How did you know?" I asked. It wasn't like a shifter could be picked out of a lineup. We looked just like humans until we shifted.
"Jefferson put his former alpha down as a reference when I interviewed him and I called him. Once I found out he was a shifter, I was all set to get rid of him until I saw how he looked at Harry, and then I just knew."
"What about Nurse Ratchet?" Harry asked. "Did you figure he was the best person to take care of me, too?"
There was a lot of venom in Harry's voice, making me wonder just what had occurred between Harry and his nurse.
"Your grandfather hired your nurse, Harry," Norman said. "I remember your mother arguing with him about it." The older man winced. "I'm afraid I'm the one who talked her into accepting your grandfather's help. I thought having a nurse on call twenty-four hours a day would be a good thing. I had no idea that your grandfather might have had ulterior motives when he offered."
"He always has ulterior motives," Sarah says. "He never does anything without knowing exactly how it will benefit him."
"So, how does getting rid of us if he finds out we're shifters benefit him?" Henry asked.
"I don't know," Sarah admitted, "but there has to be some motive there."
"Could it be as simple as not wanting people to know his grandson is a shifter?" I asked. Appearances seemed to be important to these people.
Sarah shook her head. "While I am sure he doesn't want others to know because it might affect his social standing, his motives would be more sinister than that."
I was starting to get the impression that Sarah didn't like her father very much. "If he hates shifters so much, then why did he even let you have Henry and Harry?"
"I threatened to go to the media if he did anything to them," Sarah said. "At that point, we didn't know if they were shifters or not. We just knew I was pregnant with twins. I told him if
he did anything to interfere with my pregnancy, I'd go to the media and tell them everything."
"But I thought he threatened to take the boys away from you," Norman said.
"He did. Like I said, we made an agreement. I'd marry you and become the little social darling my father wanted, keeping my mouth shut about Henry and Harry's possible parentage, and he promised to leave me alone to raise them. As long as I towed the line, he kept his word."
Okay, I was starting to like Henry's mother just a little bit more. I even felt a little sorry for her. She'd carried a huge burden for a very long time. Maybe things would get better now that everything was out on the table?
"Henry is going to buy the building next door and build us a residence on the second floor and a clinic on the first floor," I told everyone at the table. "If your father truly knows about Butch, then he's going to know Henry knows about shifters here real soon."
"If Detective Ross truly did try and kidnap Henry, then I suspect my father already knows."
Well, that wasn't good.
"Boss man," Bug said, "tummy not good."
That was even worse.
The front doors burst open and Razor came hurrying in before anyone else could say anything. "Butch, there's a big black limousine pulling up in front of the club."
"Soldiers of Fortune," Butch shouted as he stood. "Front and center!"
Butch trained us well. Bikers came out of the woodwork and from every direction. Within a matter of moments, a crowd of us stood around Butch waiting for his orders.
"Razor," Butch said, "go man the security cameras. I want all of this recorded, inside and out. I also want you to watch for any little surprises that might be trying to make their way inside."
"When did we get cameras?" I asked. I knew we'd talked about them, but that was far as the conversation had gotten.
"Butch had me put them in while you were down, man," Razor said. "Guess it was a good thing, too, huh?" He shook his head as he took off.
"The rest of you span out," Butch said. "Be prepared for anything, but no one makes a move until I give the word. Understood?"
We all nodded.
