“Actually brother, as far as Zig and I are concerned there are no doubts. You look exactly like the fucker.”
Kid forced the words out in a soft growl. “Show me.”
The silence in the office was broken by the soft tap of the keys as Ziggy brought up the photographs he had found of the man called Camden “War” Knight. There weren’t many, but there were a couple of him as a very young prospect and after he received his patch. The rest were of later years and then more recent photos. In the earlier photos he was smiling and relaxed but as he aged the smiles became less and you could clearly see the changes in the man as he climbed in the ranks.
Kid stared at the man in the photographs. He was a tall well-built and rugged looking guy. He had a thick silver and dark blonde beard surrounding his mouth with wide silver slashes running from his moustache down into his fairly long goatee. The scruff on his cheeks was a mix of silver and dark blonde. He wore his hair brushed back and it was heavily streaked with silver and hung to his wide shoulders. Judging by the photos he had started to go grey in his thirties the same as Kid. From the earlier photos he could see that they had the same dark blonde hair colour. It was his eyes that captured Kid’s attention though, a steely grey-blue, the same as his own.
Ziggy had gone further and had set up photos side by side so they could compare the images. Kid couldn’t look away from the four photos Ziggy had up on the monitor. One of him the day he’d been patched in and a more recent photo. When he compared it to the two of the man they thought was his father the resemblance was startling.
“Oh yes, that’s your daddy for sure, bro.” Spider said with a wide grin.
“Why the fuck do you sound so fucking pleased?” Wolf growled at him.
“I’m pleased as fuck because that shit up there means our brother doesn’t have to call the corpse his father anymore.” Spider pointed at the photos, smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. “And look at War, the man is hot for an old guy which means there’s still hope for our brother. But I doubt he could grow a badass beard like that.” Spider teased with a wide grin. “And now that I think about it, I’ve never seen our brother with more than a scruff. He shaves the minute it gets a bit too long, same as his hair.” Spider whirled a finger at his face. “I wonder if it’s because he looks old with all that grey he’s got going on over there.”
Laughter rang around the room and Kid shook his head at his brothers. Fucking Spider. The grey wasn’t the reason why he kept his hair short and his face shaved. And it wasn’t something he wanted to discuss with anyone.
So he turned their attention back to the problem his parentage could cause for the club.
“Are we going to tell Dagger about this shit or are we going to keep it between us, Prez?”
All laughter disappeared as Hawk narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
“Your fucked up mother kept a son from his father for thirty eight fucking years. That’s unacceptable. We’re not keeping any of this shit a secret to spare her from the consequences it might have for her. I’ve set up a meet with Dagger at Zeffers for eleven tomorrow morning. I didn’t clue him in on why I want to meet. He’s bringing Church and Jinx along for the meet. We’ll give them everything we’ve discovered and see what they have to say. Plus we need to know how you being related to the Knights are going to impact both clubs.”
Ice sat forward and the movement had everyone looking at him. “If it turns out to be true, which anyone with fucking eyes in their head can see it is, it means our clubs are connected by blood. Twice. We’re connected through Duncan and now we’ll be connected through Kid. It means a blood alliance between our clubs not only to one chapter but to all of them.”
Kid frowned at Ice because he didn’t get it. “Why to all of them? Wouldn’t it just be between us and their Joburg and Cape Town chapters? And aren’t you counting your chickens a bit early? We don’t know if War is going to believe us or not. If some fucker came to me and said he was my son I’d want to see DNA proof before I’d believe that shit.”
Ice shook his head at him and leant back in his chair and his eyes swept over all of them.
“I’m not counting any damned chickens, Kid. He’ll only have to take one look at you to know you are his, he’ll order a DNA test to use as proof for his club, not for himself. And think about this for a minute, even if he has other children you’re his eldest son. You know how important that will be.”
Kid shook his head. “I doubt it would be of any significance. I’m fucking thirty eight years old, a grown man, not some little kid he can raise to follow in his footsteps. My loyalties are here, with my brothers and my club, with the Iron Dogz MC.”
Ice was about to answer when the door opened and Bulldog walked in. His face looked like a damned thundercloud.
“That bitch is enough to give me indigestion for fucking weeks. She hasn’t stopped snivelling and blaming everyone except herself. To listen to her you’d swear she had been an innocent bystander and not the instigator of the whole fucking mess.” He looked at Kid as he sank into the couch. “Sorry, son, but she’s a sly piece of work.”
Kid had to smile at Bulldogs’ furious outburst. “I know, I grew up with her, remember. I have no illusions as to who she really is behind that façade of a helpless old lady she presents to the world.”
Bulldog sighed as he settled deeper into the couch. “She’s locked in one of the club girl rooms for the moment. No way for her to get out unless we let her out. And just to put it out there, I don’t think she’s told us the truth about what happened between her and War. She likes putting the blame on the men in her life. We won’t know what really happened until we talk to the Sinners or to him.”
“I agree.” Hawk leant his crossed forearms on his desk. “We meet with Dagger, Church and Jinx tomorrow, show them what we have found then take it from there. All we have at the moment is the obvious likeness between Kid and War, and his mother’s word, which we have no reason to trust. There’s nothing more we can do about this today. Let’s leave it for the moment and we’ll take it further once we’ve spoken to the Sinners.”
Spider suddenly waved a hand in the air. “I have a question.”
Hawk sighed and gave him a chin lift, letting him ask his question.
“How old is Esther?” He had a tiny frown between his brows as he waited for the answer.
“She’s sixty four, why?” Kid had a suspicion he knew why Spider had asked. The age difference.
“You realise she was twenty six and he was only seventeen when she got pregnant, right?” Spider raised his shoulders. “Don’t you find that a bit icky? I do. Think back to when all of us were seventeen with raging teenage hormones. If a hot older woman threw herself at you would you have turned her away? Hell no, you would’ve grabbed on and rode her as long as it lasted, but claim her? No way in hell would any of our parents have allowed it.”
Kid was about to answer but Spider wasn’t finished.
“Think about this. War was a legacy with officer status in his future. Have his kid, demand maintenance and you’re set for life. Unfortunately for her it seems he came to his senses and ended it with her. It was most probably before she knew she was pregnant and could get her claws into him permanently. Unfortunately for him he didn’t know she was pregnant with his son when he walked away.”
There was a few seconds of stunned silence before Kid picked up where Spider had left off.
“Realising that she’s not going to get what she wants from War she turned her sights on the next best thing. His half-brother Flash, a power hungry asshole at another club. She tells him the kid is his but instead of paying her maintenance like she thought he would he made her his old lady and married her to give his son his name. A son he belatedly found out wasn’t his. After Jane was born she was stuck with him because he would never have let her leave with his only heir.”
“If that’s how it went down then it’s fucked up.” Beast growled.
“That it is.” Hawk tapped
his fingers on the desk and the mumbles died down to silence. “We’re going to leave all the speculation right here. We can’t be sure about the facts until we’ve spoken to War and compared his story to hers. Tomorrow Boots, Spook and Scar will be riding out with us to keep an eye out while the three of us are talking to Dagger and his officers. For now this stays here with us until such time as Kid feels ready to share with the rest of our brothers.”
Agreeing nods came from everyone and Kid knew he was lucky to have these men as his brothers.
He was damned apprehensive about talking to Dagger and Jinx about the possibility that he might be War Knight’s son. And about his possible ties to the Sinners Sons.
It wasn’t going to be an easy meet at all.
CHAPTER THREE
Kid
They all laughed when they pulled into Zeffers and saw Wimpie had at last given in and renamed his restaurant from Zephyr to Zeffers as the restaurant was commonly known as.
He was waiting for them when they walked in. And he went into his whole GOT bullshit with Hawk and his prez played along, like he always did.
“We haven’t seen you here in a while my liege, therefore you’re not aware of the changes I’ve made. My establishment is being used by more and more clubs seeking neutral territory to discuss their troubles. It came to my attention that sitting down out here while discussing club business wasn’t ideal. And I therefore came up with a solution.” He explained hurriedly as he stood in front of them, barring the way to their usual table.
“I see, and what is that solution?” Hawk frowned at him and Wimpie rushed to explain.
“I now have a secure, windowless conference room for the use of any club who might need a secure place on neutral territory. None of the staff have access before or during a meeting. I sweep for bugs and cameras before and after every meeting. I guarantee that anything discussed between those using the room will not be overheard or recorded.”
Hawk nodded slowly. “That’s excellent, Wimpie. Let’s see this conference room of yours.”
He led them past the bar and down a short passage to a closed door that he unlocked then stood back for Kid to enter first. As SAA that was his job, to ensure the safety of his president and club. He checked it over before going back out to let his prez and VP know it was safe.
They settled at the table and Wimpie brought in a tray of beers and set it on the table.
“If you need more just press the buzzer on the table and I will bring them in. The buzzer doesn’t sound in the restaurant but goes directly to my phone. If anyone knocks on this door during the time you are in here, and you haven’t pressed the buzzer, then consider whoever it is the enemy.” Wimpie dragged his big handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his sweaty forehead. The bastard always sweated more than any man Kid has ever seen. It had nothing to do with being nervous at all. It was just Wimpie.
“Thanks, Wimpie. The Sinners should be here any moment. Bring them back here the minute they arrive. I want to get this started and done as soon as possible.” Hawk ordered and Wimpie left with a short bow.
“That bastard is crazy, you know that right?” Ice didn’t really expect an answer from Hawk.
“He’s harmless but a damn good connection to all the clubs who pull in here. I’ll take his crazy shit as long as the info keeps flowing our way.” Hawk twisted the cap off his beer tipped it back and took a big slug. He gave a satisfied sigh as he put it back down on the table.
The Sinners Sons walked in not long after. They all stood when they walked in and shook hands before sitting back down. Everyone took a beer and they drank in silence.
Dagger broke the silence.
“Right. We are here as requested. What is so important that we’re meeting in Wimpie’s super secure club conference room?” Dagger asked as he set his beer down.
Hawk didn’t hesitate and laid out the reason for the meet.
“Yesterday Kid was given some disturbing information by his mother, Esther Warne. And that is why I requested this meeting. As you know she was Flash Warne’s old lady but what you don’t know is that she’s most probably as twisted as her old man and daughter. She claimed that Kid wasn’t Flash’s son and fortunately we had DNA on hand we were able to check and she’s right. He’s definitely not the fucker’s son, but...they are related.”
Kid caught Jinx giving him several confused and curious looks as Hawk laid it all out. Until he got to the good part. Fuck. If it even was a good part.
“According to Kid’s mother his father is War Knight.” Hawk dropped the bomb and the three Sinners stiffened, then their narrowed eyes focussed on Kid. Hawk didn’t leave it there, he dropped the tablet with the proof of the DNA test and the photos on the table and the three men bent over it. They went from one photo to the next over and over before Dagger pushed the tablet back to the centre of the table.
Jinx was the first to speak.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit.” Jinx whispered. “That’s why he always looked sort of familiar but we never got close like we are right now, so I never made the connection. He has his eyes, you can see that, right Prez?”
Dagger sat with a thumb under his chin and the knuckle of his forefinger stroking over his bottom lip then nodded his head. “He does, and the hair is the same. Like you, I never realised why he looked so familiar. I just assumed it was my brain trying to make connections that didn’t exist. If this is real, and I do believe it is, and he is War’s son, it’s going to cause a fucking uproar.”
Church, Dagger’s VP, was the one who brought the issues the news might cause to the table. “War has an old lady and two children. His son is his SAA, but his daughter isn’t involved in the club. We need to consider how this is going to impact their lives before we make any life changing decisions.”
Jinx shook his head. “There’s no way we can keep this quiet. Uncle Camden will never forgive me if he found out I knew he possibly had another son but didn’t tell him. He’s all about family, you know this, Dagger. He’s been there for me when I needed him, gave me a place to stay while I worked through losing Sparrow and the shit my ex pulled. I have to tell him.”
Dagger shook his head. “No, we’ll do this together.”
“Do you really think I could be his son?” Kid asked softly.
Jinx nodded his head vigorously. “Yes, definitely. Unless my dad fucked around and you’re my brother. You have a strong family resemblance but it’s your eyes, they look exactly like War’s and my grandfather’s. We can call my dad and ask him if he fucked your mother back in the day but I doubt he did. He met my mum in high school and knocked her up with my sister while they were in college. They got married and have been together ever since. And my dad doesn’t cheat.”
Dagger nodded along as Jinx laid it out, obviously agreeing with him.
“I agree with Jinx. I don’t think Fox is your father but we can call him to get more clarity about what went down back then. I’ve always wondered why War was sent to Cape Town while he was so young and had only just started to prospect. When I asked my dad told me to let sleeping dogs lie. Now I wonder if by saying that he had been giving me a pointer. He always was a cagey bastard.” Dagger pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at Kid. “I’m going to call Fox and ask him right out if War was fucking your mother back then. What was her maiden name?”
“Esther Goldstein. Her parents are Jewish and apparently she ran away at twenty one to avoid marrying the man they had chosen for her or so she says. I’m not sure what to believe because she lies, a lot.” Kid didn’t try to sugar coat the person his mother was, it was better if everyone understood right from the start.
They were quiet while Dagger dialled the number then put his phone on speaker. It rang about four times before it was answered.
“Fox.” A deep irritated voice growled.
“Prez, it’s Dagger, and to let you know upfront you’re on speaker with Church and Jinx present as well as Hawk Walker, Ice Walker and Kid Warne. I have something very i
mportant to ask you that concerns one of them.”
“Fuck. What has gone wrong now? The fucking Dogz are being screwed more than a bitch in heat.” He growled angrily.
Dagger tried to disguise his grin but he wasn’t successful and neither were the rest of them. They all grinned.
“Well, to be honest it concerns the Sinners more than the Dogz this time. I’m not going to beat around the bush, Prez. Back in the day, did you fuck a bitch called Esther Goldstein?”
The silence was long and they could hear the man’s breathing before he spoke.
“So the bitch has surfaced has she?” He didn’t give them a chance to answer the question before he continued. “No, I never laid a hand on that crazy slut. She had her claws deep into War at the time. Why are you asking?”
“We have a bit of a situation, Dad.” Jinx jumped in.
The fact that he went from club brother to son clued his father in that whatever it was they had brought to him was family business.
“What has she done? I’m not going to allow that slut anywhere near War or his family, just a friendly warning if that’s what you’re trying to do.”
Jinx was quick to reassure him.
“No, not at all, Dad. This is more complicated than that.” He paused for a few seconds, looked at Dagger who nodded and then at Kid who did the same.
“Right. There’s no other way than to just come out and say it. As we all know she is Flash Warne’s old lady. And you know Kid Warne, his son, is the SAA at the Joburg chapter of the Dogz. But here’s where it gets screwy. A while back they had reason to conduct DNA tests of all their club members. And I’m sure you already know what I’m going to say next but here goes. Kid found out that Warne wasn’t his father and he confronted her with it. She claims he’s Uncle Cam’s son.”
They listened in stunned silence as Fox Knight spewed out in a string of vile swear words, calling Esther every name under the sun and more. Dagger and Jinx mouthed ‘sorry’ to Kid but he just shrugged. He agreed with a lot the man was saying.
Neither Black Nor White (Iron Dogz MC, #6) Page 3
