Page 17 of Eden's Joker

It’s all I need from them, so I walk back out into the glaring sunlight, wishing I had a readily available solution for the issue with Eden.

“You clear it up with them?” Scorpio asks as I reach my bike. I didn’t see him lurking in the shadows to the side of the building. He’s procured a bottle ofJack from somewhere and is enjoying a liquid breakfast as is his habit lately.

“Yeah, we’re all gonna pretend we’re strangers,” I say. “That goes for you and Karma too.”

“Oh, good, I get to start fresh with her.”

I give him a level look which just makes him laugh.

“I’m gonna take a ride to clear my head now,” I say and mount my bike.

He nods and gives me a drunken little wave. I’m glad he didn’t ask me where I’m going, because I’m not ready to discuss the possible failure of this mission before it even got started. Or the fact that I’m heading into Pleasantville so I can keep watch on Eden.

And if she’s not ready to reschedule our date soon, I might just grab her tonight.

11

Eden

My mom, Barbie, had been through a lot before she met my dad, mainly in terms of going from one abusive relationship to the next. But she was no stranger to getting abducted either. She tried to hold it together all through dinner—a very tasty lasagna with a side of a mixed green salad—but by the end she couldn’t rein in her feelings anymore.

She talked about how she hoped her daughters would never know the type of fear and desperation she’d known, and how terrible it was that now Summer will be scarred forever by this. Dad just sat there, not saying much while me and my sister tried to convince her everything will be all right.

Summer is in the kitchen with her now, probably still trying to convince her she’ll be fine. I’m on the porch with Dad who’s drinking a beer and still not saying much. The amber streetlights are twinkling, the fire in the small, portable fireplace is crackling and the wind is carrying the sweet, gentle scents of honeysuckle and magnolias, mixed with the ever-present tangy smell of the redwood trees. It’s a perfect, soft night and I wish all four of us were out here to enjoy it.

“I’m sure no one blames you for what happened to Summer,” I say.

He looks at me like I shocked him, then chuckles darkly. “Your mom does.”

“She’s just riled up,” I say. “I’m sure this has brought up some very bad memories for her.”

He nods and takes a gulp of his beer. “She’s not wrong though. I should’ve protected Summer from this. It should never have happened.”

“I wish it hadn’t,” I say and glance over my shoulder through the kitchen window where my mom is loading the dishwasher and Summer is rinsing the dishes, talking animatedly. “Summer seems to be handling it OK… for now. But I read that shocks like these could take days or weeks to be fully processed.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “You read this in one of your fiction books?”

I feel my cheeks heat up. “Yeah, but I also checked if it was true online. Maybe she should talk to someone… like a professional.”

He nods. “Roxie has already talked to her, but Summer insisted she was fine. She’llkeep trying.”

My aunt Roxie is married to the MC President Cross, and she runs a shelter for abused women here in town. Summer will be in good hands with her.

“I’ll give her a call later and give her some suggestions on how to handle it,” I say. “Or better yet, let her give me some suggestions.”

I know my sister very well, most of the time Ifeelher and I’m certain she’s more shaken by her near-death experience than she’s letting on.

My dad sighs and wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. “You’re such a good and caring soul, Eden. Don’t ever change.”

Yup, that’s what I am. A good, wholesome girl. Whenever he’d say this to me before, I’d always tell him that I won’t ever change. But now, especially after my date with Tyler, I’m kind of done being the good girl. I want to have some fun. I want to be wild for a change. I want to experience the dark side, not just read about it.

Of course, I’m not going to tell my dad any of that. I’m blushing just thinking about it in his presence. So I just wrap my arms around him too and lean against him.

“I’m sure everything will work out for the best soon,” I tell him, not even sure where those words came from. But I just know it. The war, and the danger, doubt and fear it brought, will soon come to an end. I have no idea how I know that, but I do.

“Yeah, as soon as we ride against the bastards thatdid this to Summer,” he says, impenetrable darkness shrouding his words. Used to be I hated him talking about things like this. Killing. Retribution. War. All things my father knows a lot about. They used to scare me. Now I’ve accepted them as part of my every day. That should probably scare me even more.

“I know you’ll make it right,” I say and refrain from telling him what I really think… that all the killing and abductions won’t stop until someone stops them. And maybe that someone is us, not our enemies.

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