Page 2 of Daughters of Chaos

The bar's silhouette grows more pronounced as I coast toward the building. I learned through some investigating that Elias owns this little place. It's a good sign. It means he's still in the area, at least, I hope. Otherwise, the long trek I made to get here would be for nothing.

I know Raven will be pissed once she finds my note and discovers what I'm doing. She told me not to do this and said tracking down Elias was a colossal mistake. She said I'd only end up brokenhearted if I came here and looked him up. But I'm ever the optimist, and I have questions that need answering.

I pull into the nearly empty lot and see only a few motorcycles parked beside the building. It's another good sign. From my research, I learned that Elias is part of a motorcycle club called the Sons of Sorrow. The bar has a faded sign on the wall saying precisely that.

This has to be the place.

I turn off the engine as I try to psych myself up to do this.You've got this, Phoenix. Go in there and ask for Elias. Tell him who you are and go from there.The worst thing that will happen is he'll turn me away, right?

With a deep breath, I step out of my car and push my feet inside the dark building. The bright sun outside is a starkcontrast to the darkness here. It's eerie and intimidating. A few men in leather vests are sitting scattered around the bar. They all turn to face me the second I walk in, including the young bartender, who looks friendly enough. I walk up to him, ignoring the uneasiness building in my gut.

"Well, hey there, sweetness. What's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?" he asks.

Here it is, the moment of truth. I put on a brave face, standing tall as I approach the bar. "I'm looking for a man named Elias West. Do you know where I can find him?"

The second the question passes my lips, the bartender looks uneasy. He eyes me warily as he asks, "How do you know Elias?"

After a few seconds of debate, I decide the truth is the best explanation for why I'm here.Here goes nothing.My heart starts pounding faster as I say the words out loud. "He's my father."

I hear someone behind me choke on their drink. The bartender looks at them, then back at me before laughing. He's almost doubled over with tears in his eyes as if I told him the funniest joke he'd ever heard. Many of the other men are laughing as well. It isn't the reaction I expected, but it could be worse.

When the bartender finally pulls himself together, he tells me I made his day. He then asks if someone put me up to it, thinking this is some big joke by one of Elias's friends. I keep my composure, staring back at the man with a straight face.

When he notices my annoyance, he drops his smirk. "Wait. Are you serious?"

The other men's laughter subsides, and the air grows thick as I force out my response. "I'm serious. Elias West is my father."

The young man behind the bar eyes me again before looking at the men sitting closest to him. Silent communication passesbetween them before he looks at me and disappears into a room behind the bar.

I wait with bated breath as I hear him talking to someone. The seconds tick by as my pounding heartbeat thuds in my chest. After a while, someone laughs in the back room. Then, out walks the bartender and an older man. He looks familiar, like an older version of the man in Mom's pictures.

The new arrival wears an irritated face, one I've seen Raven wear a hundred times or more.Yeah, that's got to be him.Elias looks at me, annoyed at first, then surprised.

He squints at me as he approaches. "Who are you?" he asks cautiously.

I swallow the lump in my throat before replying, "I'm your daughter."

Hazel eyes the same shade as mine and Raven's look me over before their owner laughs heavily. "Nice try, sweetheart. I don't have kids. Made sure a long time ago that would never happen." He makes a scissoring gesture with his fingers, making the rest of the men in the bar snicker.

The uneasiness I felt earlier subsides and gives way to a wave of irritation. I square my shoulders and stare the man down. "Let me guess; you got snipped as soon as you got to Arizona? About twenty-six years ago?"

The smirk he was wearing seconds ago drops. "How'd you know that?"

"It would make sense. That's right after you knocked up my mom and left her on her own in Albuquerque."

Elias takes a broad step closer, his face forming into something unreadable. I swear I see his color drain slightly. "Who's your mom?" His voice is low and dangerous.

"Hope Hughes," I say, hoping her name will wipe away his doubts.

Instead, his jaw clenches and his face contorts as he studies me closely. That was not the reaction I was looking for. He starts to look more and more angry as the seconds pass. I knew things might not go the way I wanted when I came here to find him, but I never expected him to react like this.

A growl sounds in the back of Elias's throat, and the last of my bravado fades. Suddenly, coming here feels like a huge mistake.

2

Raven

Icould strangle her—no, scratch that—I amgoingto strangle her when I find her. How could she do this? How could she be so foolish? Running off on her own to find some man she knows nothing about . . .Dammit, Nix!

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