Page 95 of Stone
He reached into his back pocket and I instantly bristled. “I have a birth certificate. That’s all, man. I don’t have any weapons. Besides, the two goons outside already frisked me.”
Fuck. He even had the same rebellious nature. After he held out the folded paper, I ripped it from his hands. Even taking a deep breath and steeling my nerves did no good when I finally found the courage to look at what was printed on the paper.
Roanoke County, Virginia. Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Parents listed…
Our names were printed on the certificate. There was no doubt, no fucking worthless need for a DNA test. Dani sat down on the couch, still shaking. Still white as a ghost. Unable to form words, I handed her the certificate, watching as she studied the documentation.
When she almost convulsed, I put my hand on her shoulder.
Hell, I felt sorry for both of us.
And enraged.
Her father had something to do with this.
“Okay. All of us need to take a beat.” Or fifty.
“I was told you died,” she managed. Then the tears began to flow. She dropped her head into her hands, weeping openly.
Tyler was uncomfortable as hell, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other. I handed him the paper, barely able to look the kid in the eye. My mind was tilted off center, incoherent thoughts slamming against my brain. She wasn’t lying and I wouldn’t put it past Bradford to lie to her.
But about something so incredibly important?
Maybe his existence was the sole reason I’d been brought into the fucking drama.
I wanted to wrap my hands around the man’s neck. I wanted to rip out his heart with my fingers. And dear God, I wanted to put a bullet in his brain. Bradford Vale was scum.
The awkward silence was almost worse than the news. I rubbed my eyes, the ache behind them more intense than before. “How did you find me?” He’d come to find me, not his mother, yet it didn’t seem to be a surprise seeing the two of us together.
There were two people I could think of who could have had a part in this reunion.
“I need a drink. You want one?” I wasn’t certain who the hell I was asking. All I knew was that my mind was spinning.
Tyler seemed surprised, once again darting his eyes to his… To Dani. “I’m underage. My mom won’t let me drink.”
Fuck me.
“Your mom sounds like an amazing person,” Dani all but whispered. She was still rocking, her face stained with tears.
“How about a Coke?” My words were stilted.
“Sure.”
I took long strides to the bar, pressing my fisted hands against the surface for a few seconds while I collected my shit. I had a son. A son. I poured two whiskeys and grabbed the bottle of Coke. Dani refused to take the glass from my hand, so I placed it in front of her, walking slowly toward Tyler.
We studied each other for a few seconds before he smiled, nodding in appreciation as he took the bottle from my hand.
“You might as well sit down.” I sounded authoritative. Like his… father. Oh, fuck me.
He was as nervous as Dani, fidgeting, but finally sitting down.
“How did you find me? Find us?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed before he answered. “My mom and dad never kept it a secret I was adopted. When I turned eighteen, they gave their blessing for me to start looking, but social services weren’t helpful. I didn’t exist as anything but Tyler Warren.”
“And the adoption agency?” Dani asked. “Was the adoption sealed?”
“Evidently an agency wasn’t used. I couldn’t find one anyway. I went back to my parents and Dad told me they got a call in the middle of the night about a baby. I guess they’d been trying to adopt for a couple years.” Tyler wiped his hand on his leg.
