Page 122 of Golden Atonement

“Emma’s mom.”

Unsure I heard her correctly, I muttered, “What did you say?”

Remi looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “I met Sarah. She’s alive, Max. Emma’s mom is alive.”

“Where?”

“In Nebraska. After I read through all the files Sypher had, something kept bugging me. My hometown. I mean, the place where I was raised. I didn’t understand why, in all the places in the world, theSocietychose to put me in Nebraska. I still don’t understand. It makes no sense to me. Nebraska is in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing there but farmland and cornfields.”

Saying absolutely nothing, I waited, giving Remi time to gather her thoughts so she could tell me what I feared I didn’t want to hear.

“I always thought it odd, you know. On the outside, it looked like I came from a normal family, but that was the farthest thing from the truth. I don’t know what made me go back there, but I had to see it again.”

“See what, baby?”

“My old house. Vladmir begged me not to go, but I didn’t listen. He went with me, just so you know I didn’t go alone. Only when I got there, everything looked different. The same, but different. She’s living in my old house, Max. They put her in my old house. Why would they do that?”

“Who did, baby?”

“TheSociety,” she whispered. “Only the Soulless Sinners were there. But they’re not. I mean, they wear the same cuts, but they’re not affiliated.”

“Baby, you’re not making any sense.”

“When I mentioned Montana’s name, Joshua got very angry. Told me to leave and never come back. He said he had absolutely nothing to do with his cousin or the club itself. That he ran a clean club, the way it was supposed to have been run all along. Why would he say it like that?”

“I don’t know, baby,” I muttered then asked, “What can you tell me about the man you met?”

“His name is Joshua Stone. He’s the president of the Nebraska Chapter. He owns my old house. Owns them all. He and his club are protecting Sarah. When I mentioned your name, she froze and started crying. The next thing I knew, she had a broken piece of glass in her hand. She was going to kill herself before Joshua and another brother stopped her. But that wasn’t the biggest shock. While I was in the house, I saw a photo, Max.”

Looking at the ground, I whispered, “What did you see?”

“I think you already know. You do, don’t you?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

“That wasn’t Sarah in the picture, was it? It was her mother.”

I nodded.

“Does he know?”

“No.”

“Max, what the hell is really going on?”

“Honestly, I’m trying to save a fucker I really don’t like.”

“What do you mean, save?”

Getting to my feet, I raked my hands over my head and said, “Because he’s about to learn that everything he knew about his pops is fiction. And knowing that bastard, he’s going to fly off the rails and cause another fucking war and my club will be a casualty. All because of some really sick, twisted individuals, our lives are forever connected, and I hate it. I can only imagine how Montana will take it. But that’s not even the worst part. Because when he learns what his Nebraska club has been keeping from him, he’s going to come for me.”

“But, Max, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I know that!” I shouted. “Hell, everyone here knows that, but he doesn’t. He won’t think rationally. He never does. His temper rivals mine, if you haven’t noticed. The fucker is a hothead.”

“You think he will come after the club?”

I nodded. “Yeah, and we’re not big enough to stop him.”

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