Page 63 of Deathless
“Torr, you with me?” Apparently he’d been saying my name for a while.
“Yeah.” I rubbed my weary eyes. “What’s up?”
“A couple of guys just rode up. They say they’re Rori’s dad and uncle?”
I shot up out of the chair, panic lighting a fire under my ass, and stared at him. “What are they doing here?”
Santos shrugged. “I dunno, just coming to say hi, I guess.”
“Shit.” I rubbed my face hard. “Fuck. What do we tell them?”
“The truth, I assume.” His eyes scanned over Rori as if looking for any changes in her condition. “They did this kind of thing back in their day, right? Maybe they can help—”
“First, they’ll murder us for letting this happen to her,” I groaned. “Although it’s not like we don’t deserve it.”
This was going to be a shitshow. Aside from calling her aunt about the safe houses and supplies, then her dad about the logo for the club, Rori had been insistent that she did not want her family involved. Both for their protection and, I imagined, her own pride. She’d never admit it, but I knew she wanted to prove that she didn’t need older adults for this situation.
Her family let her be independent, for the most part, but they had always known about these safe houses. She hadn’t checkedin for a while, naturally, so they were probably doing the regular concerned parent thing and decided to swing by.
At least there was the small miracle that they hadn’t shown up during the brief time this place was under the Sisterhood’s control.
“Let’s get this over with,” I grumbled to Santos, moving past him to the bedroom door. “Should I get shovels?” he asked, following me down the stairs. “They’re probably gonna have us dig our own graves, right?”
How he could muster up a sense of humor right now, I had no idea. But I was grateful for it, and a small snicker left my mouth. “Yeah. Better check the garage.”
As I had feared, Shadow was the dad who’d decided to show up. Rori always said he was the biggest softie of her fathers, but from my outside perspective, I knew he was also the most protective of her.
Shadow’s half-brother, Rori’s uncle Grudge, stood next to him. Grudge was an OG member of Sons of Odin and one of Valorie’s fathers.
The two older bikers sat astride their massive custom rides, relaxed and talking softly to each other as if they were guests waiting to be greeted. Grudge’s hands moved in a fluid sign language while Shadow responded with his voice and an occasional gesture of his own.
Their bikes were shut off, and Shadow’s had several compartments loaded onto his. Most of the fighters had made themselves scarce, unsure of what to do with these two strange men in the driveway.
Val headed for the front door just as I was, and she shot me a worried look that spelled out exactly how I felt.
“What do we tell them?” she whispered frantically.
“The truth,” I answered, grabbing the front door and holding it open for her.
“Fuck,” she muttered before stepping outside and plastering a huge smile on her face. “Heyyy, Dad! Uncle Shadow. What are you old farts doing here?”
Grudge made a disapproving grunting sound, then his face split into a wide smile as his daughter approached. “Is that any way to respect your elders, young lady?” he asked her in sign language.
“Shut up. You know I love you.” Val laughed, signing as she spoke.
“Torr,” Shadow said to me by way of greeting, holding his hand out. “You look like shit.”
“Yeah, I’m—I, uh—”
While I stammered, hunting for the right words to say, he gave me a small punch on the shoulder as he dismounted his bike. “You haven’t been lifting. I can tell,” he added with a teasing smirk as he walked around me to greet his niece with a hug.
“What brings you guys here?” Val’s eyes darted between the two of them, her voice taking on a higher, nervous pitch. “We, uh, weren’t expecting you.”
Shadow gestured to the compartments on the back of his bike. “I got your club gear. Finished the logo and made it into patches. Brought some leather cuts in a few sizes too, we figured not all of you would have them. And,” he turned, making sure to catch my eye as well as Val’s, “I brought my tattoo equipment.”
“Wow,” Val breathed, wringing her hands. “Everything to make us official.”
“Rori deserves nothing less,” Shadow said with a smile. “Where is she, by the way?”
