Page 84 of Savior

“I took some of his hair… and yours. Well, I also took your toothbrush, but I swear that my heart was in the right place. You know when you’re trying—”

“Dakota,” Zane growled out. “Get to the goddamn point!”

“It was a simple test. I saw the picture of you from high school, and I thought it was Little Ricky. I thought he’d be happy to know that you were really his dad, but he and Molly seemed upset, and now he won’t talk to me. And I know you’re mad too—”

The hand holding the gun fell uselessly to his side. “Wait, what the fuck are you sayin’?”

I sighed. “I’m saying that I did a paternity test without anyone’s consent. Little Ricky is your son. I am very ashamed of my actions and the pain I may have caused your family, but please don’t kill my husband because I was only trying to help.”

Bear shoved the gun back into its holster before running his hands over his face with a loud inhale. Zane took the opportunity and moved in front of me.

“That’s impossible, Bear muttered to himself. “I—we used a condom—Jesus, you’re sure?”

I nodded. “It was a solid match. I mean, sometimes accidents happen. Look at me and Zane. Well, that’s not really the best example because we didn’t use protection—”

“Dakota, shut the fuck up and go. As far as anyone is concerned, we never saw each other, and you were never here.”

We quickly agreed and were making our way back to the truck when Bear called my name. I turned back. “Yeah?”

“Tell Celia that the Sons have eyes on her. I haven’t figured out how they’re pullin’ the strings, but they are. Motherfuckers have eyes everywhere. Until then, none of you are safe. Next time it might not be me knockin’ on the window. So, stay the fuck out of it and let me do this my way, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you again, S—Bear. Good luck with your, um, family things.”

“Dakota.” Zane tugged my arm. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”

The radio was still crackling with a staticky Mike, demanding our location. Zane buckled me in before jogging around to his side.

My foot stung from the glass I’d stepped on, and when the dome light overhead kicked on as Zane’s door opened, I made the mistake of lifting it up to inspect the damage.

“Oh,” I said in surprise, watching the bright red blood as it flowed from the cut.

Zane had just managed to retrieve the radio when he realized what was happening. “No, no, no. Don’t look at it!”

I watched him move across the console in slow motion, reaching for me before everything went black.

Chapter Eighteen

Kate

The vinyl on the chair squeaked as I leaned forward to study the computer screen again. My head ached from straining to make sense of the sometimes blurry footage, and my leg bounced restlessly between two men who were seconds away from coming to blows.

My stomach, which had been unsettled all day, tightened into another knot when Jeremy broke the silence.

“So, right here…” He paused the video and reached for my hand, letting his fingers brush against my thigh before lifting it back to the computer. “Do you see anything that seems out of place?”

“You touching my wife,” Nate warned.

I pulled my hand free and moved it back to my lap before shaking my head. I just needed to focus on the task in front of me, and then I could go back to my mother’s to scrub his touch from my skin. “I’ve already told you that I don’t remember seeing anything unusual that night.”

“And I’ve already told you that I saw a lot of fucking things that were unusual, Lucky,” Nate said with a growl, poking fun at Jeremy’s red hair.

Jeremy’s gaze moved between me and Nate, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Hey, Doc? You might wanna watch your step. Be a shame if something were to happen to you because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut.” He clicked the mouse, and the video started again.

A man appeared on the footage from one of the emergency room cameras, and I tapped the screen. “Stop. Right there. I know who that is. From the gym. What did Dakota call him? Um, uh, Doucheface!”

Jeremy’s mouth curved up in a wide smirk. “Is that his given name or just a nickname?”

“I don’t remember his real name. He hit on me at the gym when I went once with Dakota—”

---