Page 11 of Heartless
“Me?” His eyes widened. “But if she asked for Gunner—”
“Yeah, go, man.” Gunner slapped his arm. “You’re her shiny new toy.”
Shadow looked between us both as if wondering if this was a test, or a trick. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Gunner gave him a playful shove. “She didn’t want to hurt my feelings, but it was really you she wanted anyway. Go.”
“Unless you’re justdyingto listen in on military strategy,” I chuckled, pulling out a cigarette.
“Ah, okay. I’ll...I’ll pick her up from the hospital.”
“Don’t look so excited,” Gunner ribbed. “Get goin’. We’ll fill you in on who to assassinate later.”
Without another word Shadow turned, walking quickly across the small bridge. I daresay the guy had a spring in his step. The anxiety in my stomach eased just a little. Gunner was a great shot and more than capable of protecting Mari, but Shadow would make a swift kill before the enemy even knew he was there. Our woman was in good hands with him.
“He’s, uh,” Josh cleared his throat politely. “A bit of an odd one, isn’t he?”
“You get used to it,” I said, lighting up and taking a deep drag. “He’s had it rough but he’s good, loyal. And the most efficient killer the Steel Demons has ever had.”
“Ah. Good, good.” Josh smiled politely but paled a little, swiftly looking away. “Oh, there’s General Bray now,” he said, sounding relieved.
Gunner and I turned in the direction he looked, spotting the man decked out in a camouflage uniform marching toward us. I squinted through my smoke, feeling an eerie sense of familiarity in the general’s posture and the way he walked.
I’ve seen this man before,I realized. More than that. Iknewthis man, but from where?
“Gun.” I leaned toward him, lowering my voice. “Does he look familiar to you?”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “No, Reap. Can’t say he does.”
“I know him,” I growled under my breath. “But fuck if I can remember how.”
“Do I need to draw?” His hand was already drifting toward one of his guns.
“Not yet.” The general’s face was shaded under the brim of his hat, but the width of his shoulders, the mouth set in a firm line--they were all features that poked at long-buried memories.
“General.” Vance outstretched his hand. “So good of you to join us. This is Reaper, president of the Steel Demons MC, and his captain of the guard, Gunner.”
“It’s a pleasure, gentleme—”
General Bray turned to me, his hand outstretched in greeting and his face now clear to me. But it was his voice that finally clicked all the pieces into place.
Both of us froze in disbelief as we stared at each other. His beard was gone, but that was definitelyhismouth. The brown eyes and bridge of his nose were exactly the same, if a bit more tan than before. He took off his hat with a shaking hand, his dark brown hair speckled with far more gray than I remembered.
He spoke first, a barely audible whisper. “Rory?”
Somehow, I found my voice in the wrangled knot that my throat became.
“Dad?”
Four
SHADOW
Icould see Mariposa from up the road, twirling around in front of the hospital, arms out like wings and her mouth open with laughter. A light dusting of snow had just started falling, quickly melting and turning to mush when it hit the ground. But she kicked and danced underneath it like a girl from a Christmas movie.
She slowed her twirling as I approached, leaning heavily on a metal pole outside the hospital. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” Her cheeks were flushed from her spinning but she hugged her arms close, her flannel shirt doing little against the cold.
“Gunner asked me to come,” I said. “He and Reaper were waiting on the general.”
