Page 62 of Unmasked Legacy

“Know you’re in there. You either open the door, or I’ll kick the fucker in.”

He’s in that kind of mood, is he?

Fine.

I’ll take Knox’s advice. I’ll let him speak.

Then, I’ll pack my things and leave this club, never looking back.

At least then I know I have done the right thing.

Pushing to my feet, I walk over, opening the door and turning before I even cast my eyes over him. I hear his booted steps as he walks in, then the door closes behind him. I don’t turn and look, I can’t. If I see him, I don’t think I’ll ever stop crying. I’m tired of crying, and more than that, I’m tired of feeling that sting in my chest when I think of the feelings I’ve developed for him.

“Look at me.”

His voice is firm, but possibly kinder than I’ve ever heard it.

“I’m scared to look at you, Wolfe. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop this pain if I do.”

He steps up closer to me, his chest so close to my back that I can feel the heat radiating off him. “Turn around, Mera. Look at me.”

I close my eyes, and more tears drip from my eyes, but I do as he asks.

I turn.

When I look up at him, I see the flash of shock wash over his face at the state of me. I know I look like a hot mess. Reaching out, he takes my chin and uses his other hand to swipe the tears from my cheeks. Why does he have to do this now? Be kind? He’s done nothing but shatter every piece of me, and now he chooses to show me some level of kindness.

“We need to talk.”

I nod, pulling my face away and walking over to the bed, sitting on the end of it. He doesn’t sit; instead, he stands with his arms crossed, no doubt wondering where to start.

“Just tell me everything,” I say, staring at my hands. “I want to know all of it.”

“Met your dad when I was a boy, around fourteen or so. I was in a bad fuckin’ place, and when I say bad, I mean bad. My fatherwas a drunk, my mother worked the streets, and most days, we barely had enough food to get through. My little sister died when she was only six months old, and it fuckin’ destroyed me. She was the only thing I had.”

My heart breaks because nobody should have to experience that.

“I was at the bar one evening, trying to persuade my mother to come home. She was drunk, causing a scene, and I was desperate. She lost control and started hitting me in front of everyone. Your father intervened. I don’t know why he was there, but I’ll never forget him in that suit, his hair impeccably styled, looking like he didn’t belong. Yet, he stepped in and got me out of there.”

I know the version of my father he is talking about because it’s the one I grew up seeing.

“He helped me, cleaned me up, and got me a job. Then, he got me into a house for homeless youth, and that’s where I met Caleb. He had a similar story, and he took a liking to your father. Somehow, he became a staple in our lives. He would come by, visit, take us fishing, and teach us the things our fathers wouldn’t.”

My chest burns, but I say nothing.

“We knew he had a family, knew about you. You were only young when I met your father, maybe four. He kept the life he was leadin’ with us away from the life he had with you. It was nothin’ secret, I think it was just somethin’ he wanted for himself.”

The lies go back so long, it’s hard to wrap my brain around what I’m hearing. Did I know my father at all?

“When the murders started happenin’ in town, of course, everyone was interested. Suddenly the place we called home was upended into turmoil. I didn’t know it was him, not for a long time. I was troubled, mixin’ with the club and doin’ shit Ishouldn’t have been. He was tryin’ to help me, tryin’ to get me out, but I was at a point in my life where I didn’t want to hear it.”

My heart is racing, but I don’t say anything. I just keep listening.

“It was a complete mistake that I caught him in the act. I followed him, hopin’ to talk to him about a drug issue I was havin’. He had just left the house after seein’ Caleb, and so I got in my car and followed him, hopin’ to catch him before he went home. But he never went home. He picked up a woman. Had this feelin’ in my gut, like I already knew, but I kept following him anyway.”

I’m not sure I’m ready to hear this.

“He took her to an old, abandoned house in the woods, and when I snuck up to that house, I saw somethin’ I never wanted to see in my fuckin’ life again. The shit he was doin’ to that woman will haunt me for the rest of my life. I ran, but not before stumblin’ over a pile of logs. He heard it and came running out, catching me. For a second, I thought he was goin’ to fuckin’ kill me, too.”

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