Page 57 of Reaper's Rage

In a matter of seconds, Dante and Reaper follow Chill back into the room. Wildcard, Byte and Spark are with them.

“Do we know who the woman is or why she’s with the Shadow Borns?” Wildcard asks.

Chill shakes her head. “She told them Maklin Brooks needed help.”

I see everyone’s eyebrows rise in unison, which would be amusing if the situation wasn’t so serious.

When the door opens again, a woman around Desdemona’s age enters. She’s tall with long blond hair and stunning looks, even with the bruise blooming on her right cheek. She’s holding a small child who looks to be five or six. He’s a gorgeous little boy with the blonde hair of his mother, but his skin is much darker than hers. I suck in my breath when I see his eyes. Because I know those eyes. They’re the same color and shape as Reaper’s. And Puma’s. I turn to look at Alisa and I see her staring at the boy. I don’t think I’m the only one who’s noticed. When I share a look with Reaper, he shrugs. I don’t think he’s missed the family resemblance, either.

Behind the women are two bikers that I remember meeting the previous evening. I remember the name of one, Trouble. He’s the President of the Shadow Born motorcycle club. They helped me question Coach Matthews. The other has Captain on his kutte with the name Scorch.

“Wildcard.” Trouble says, reaching out his hand to shake hands with Puma’s VP. “Dante.” He says, moving to shake Dante’s hand. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Quick trip. Reaper here is one of mine and we came to visit Puma, his uncle.” Dante says. “What’s this? I hear Puma is in danger.”

Trouble nods at the woman. “This here is Corinne and her son, Mal. She came to our clubhouse by mistake, looking for Puma. She needs to tell you her story.”

As Trouble, Dante, and Wildcard talk, Alisa rises and moves to the woman and the child. She brings them to our table and offers them a chair.

“How about I take Mal here to meet Elina.” Desdemona offers. Turning to the woman, she introduces herself. “I’m Desdemona Konstantin.”

“The artist?” Corinne asks and Desdemona beams at her.

“Yes, I am. Alisa has a little girl, Elina. She’s in her room playing. There’s a prospect watching her and he’ll be happy to watch Mal.” Desdemona offers.

“My dad’s back there, too.” Alisa chimes in. “He loves kids and he’ll take excellent care of Mal.”

Corinne looks reluctant.

“Little ears.” I say, drawing her attention. She glances at her son and then nods at Desdemona.

Desdemona holds out her hand out to Mal. He looks at his mother and then back at Desdemona. I don’t think he’ll go willingly until Desdemona speaks to him. “I know a little girl who would love to meet you. She’s been pestering her grandfather to let her watch Turning Red. I bet she’d like some help convincing him to provide the snacks.”

Mal looks at his mom, who smiles encouragingly. He slides off her lap to take Desdemona’s hand.

“Corinne.” Trouble prods her. “Tell them what you told us.”

Corinne nods and takes a deep breath. “I think Malik is in danger. A man broke into my condo earlier today. He ordered me to call someone named Puma and get him over to my place, alone. I didn’t know who he was talking about.” She places her fingers on the bruise under her eye. “He hit me.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “He said he knew Puma was Mal’s father. That’s when I realized Malik is Puma. I called the number the man gave me and Malik answered.” Corinne takes a breath and I see tears filling her eyes.

“Puma doesn’t know about Mal.” Reaper says, and Corinne shakes her head.

“No. We had a one-night stand. I was living in Florida and met him in a bar after one of his games. We had an immediate attraction. I didn’t know who he was until after we had a few drinks. He invited me to his hotel room, and I went. He used protection, and I was taking birth control, but I was getting over a sinus infection.” She shrugs. “I didn’t know I was pregnant until several weeks later. By then, Malik was back on the road.”

“You could have reached out to him.” Reaper pushes, his anger flaring. I see Dante put a hand on Reaper’s shoulder.

“We need to focus on finding Puma.” Dante reminds him and Reaper gives a sharp nod, but continues glaring at the woman. I know he’s angry on Puma’s behalf. Puma loves his family, whether by blood or leather. Discovering he has a son he’s never met will gut him. “Continue with what happened today.” Dante presses her.

“I called and told him I was in town and needed his help. He agreed to meet me. Alone.” Corinne says. “Once he agreed, the man locked us up in Mal’s room.”

“How did you get out?” Wildcard asks.

“I have a ladder in each of the rooms. In case of fire. I used it to get Mal and me out of the building. I hid in the parking lot. My plan was to stay out of sight, then stop Malik before he entered the building. He didn’t show, but the man came running out. He jumped into a car and took off. I wasn’t sure what to do. I thought I should find Malik and warn him.”

“How did you know where to look?” Chill asks.

“I kept track of him during his career. I almost reached out to him after the accident, but I read stories about how he wasn’t handling the aftermath very well. When I read he retired and stayed in Vegas, I moved here. I thought that one day, if Mal wanted to meet his father, I’d reach out to him again.”

“Why did you come to us?” Trouble asks. “You thought he was part of our club. So you knew he was a member of a motorcycle club?”

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