Page 8 of Alfie: Part One

Kellan took another drag from his smoke and scratched his chin. “Here’s the thing, Alfie. I don’t think it’s wise to include you more if this is a decision you’re making based on hurt, and?—”

“It’s more than that,” I said. “I’m fuckin’ tired of the bullshit. I’ve been hiding a part of who I am in one way or another since I was a kid, and at least I can stop worrying about West now.”

He cocked his head, interested. “What’ve you been hiding, other than your affiliations?”

Myaffiliations. My actual relation to the Sons. I’d never told West, and I’d never told Kellan.

Three people knew. My parents and West’s father.

Question now was, did I tell my buddy?

Fuck, the thought actually made me nervous, because that hadn’t been the plan coming here tonight.

“I’ll make it simple for you,” he said. “Is there anything I should know?”

That didn’t make shit simple at all.

Well…simple, but not easy.

Goddammit, he should know.

“Probably,” I admitted. I took a final drag from my smoke and stubbed it out under my shoe before it joined the leftover fries. Then I chugged half my beer.

“Then you tell me before we move forward,” he stated.

Fuck.

“I thought you could only spare twenty minutes.” I knew he had a sit-down later, though he might cancel.

He chuckled. “Shan can wait a few minutes extra. I’ll make it up to him.”

Bet.

I rubbed my forehead and heard Ma yell in my head.

Don’t you dare, boy!

Sorry, Ma.

I released a big breath. “I wasn’t born O’Dwyer,” I said. “My dad is my stepdad in technical terms.” But he was my dad. I loved that man. He’d raised me. He’d been my hero for as long as I could remember.

Kellan frowned.

I cleared my throat. “My mother was the mistress of a Son, and he paid her to make sure I was kept far away from the syndicate. He didn’t want me near his other kid and his wife and whatever.”

His mind started running. I could tell by the way his gaze flickered and how he knitted his brows together.

“But we’ve discussed this before,” he replied. “It’s a miracle you and I didn’t run into each other before college. We grew up in the same neighborhood.”

Not so much a miracle. I’d avoided them all.

I shrugged. “I went to a shittier school, and we moved. The only place we shared was church. She refused to go to another one.”

“And your biological father agreed?”

“He must’ve.”

He hummed and folded his arms over his chest. “So the million-dollar question, Alfie. Who’s your daddy?”

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