Page 81 of Wrecked

“What will you do when you find them?” Crow asked, teasing his mouth with gentle nips.

“I don’t know. They aren’t really my family anymore.”

“They’re blood.”

“Yeah, but blood doesn’t mean they’re family.”

“I don’t follow.” Crow frowned and Rebel laughed, lightly pressing at the lines between the man’s eyebrows.

“You are my family and we’re not blood-related.”

The whispered words pierced Crow’s heart and he wondered how the fuck he’d gotten so lucky to meet someone like Rebel.

With Rebel, he didn’t need to hide who he was. Sure, there was an age gap between them, but Rebel kept him young, and hopefully, Crow could teach Rebel things that came with age so the young man would be ahead of the curve.

“I am,” Crow confirmed.

He was indeed Rebel’s family.

One and a half weeks later…

“Rebel?” Mira Sharp said tentatively as she stepped out of her room and found him waiting in the hallway of the hotel.

He smiled at the tiny woman who was his birth mother and took her hand.

“Good morning.” Rebel smiled and drew her toward the elevators.

He had always known he was of half Asian descent and seeing her beautiful face had confirmed it. Her nature was gentle, eyes kind, and her voice soft.

And over the past week since she’d been there, Rebel had quickly come to adore her.

His father, Justin Sharp, had died a few years ago from cancer at the age of forty. Way too young, and Rebel was sad that he had never gotten to meet the man.

Ushering her into the elevator, he punched the button and the car raced downward.

“Where are we going?”

“Breakfast.” He smiled and stepped out into the lobby.

He guided her to the hotel restaurant and a booth located by the window. Bright sunshine shone through along with a view of Fallen Nevada. The place was known as the Oasis of Nevada with its wetlands, mountains, and state parks.

“Where’s Crow?” Mira asked.

“He’ll meet us here in a few moments.”

Rebel ordered coffee with heavy cream from the waitress and his mother ordered the same.

It amazed him how much he was like her and not only in food choices but also in looks. Sometimes, her hands waved about just like his did.

An image of his fake mother came to mind. He looked nothing like her, and that should have been his first clue.

Of course, the woman had caved beneath Crow’s threats. All it had taken was stabbing her new boyfriend in the thigh. When Hank screamed and demanded Dory Miller spill the beans, it all came out.

It hadn’t been the back of a liquor store. Dory had taken Rebel from his own backyard by climbing over the fence.

Rather than kill Dory, Rebel had looked at her pock-riddled face and skinny frame. She looked like walking death from the drugs she did. At that moment, he hoped that she lived a very long and miserable life.

From there, it had taken the power of Genesis forty-eight hours to locate his real mother.

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