Page 76 of Taming Raptor

“Let me know when you have something. I need to get back to the clubhouse.” The boys would be here soon. The problem was, did I tell them what we suspected? Or did I secretly attempt to gather their DNA without their knowledge?

The ride back to the clubhouse was quiet. Though I was fully aware of the sidelong glances Gator gave me, I remained silent. He parked the UTV behind the building and sat in the seat leaning on the steering wheel with one arm as he studied me.

“What?” I muttered, finally turning to look at him.

“Do you want my advice?” He tilted his head and cocked a brow.

“Do I have a choice?” I held his gaze until he dropped his a moment, then lifted it to lock with mine.

“Always.”

“Then, yes.”

He huffed a laugh. “Those boys aren’t stupid. It seems as if they’ve been through enough shit in their lives that honesty would be appreciated. They may be young, but they are wise beyond their years.”

Foot propped on the dash, I slouched slightly in the seat and rested my arm on my upraised knee. My chest seemed to squeeze, and my stomach clenched as I thought about telling them.

“What if it comes back that I’m actually not their father?”

“Then they’re right where they are now.”

“And if I’m their father, they learn that their mother lied and kept them from me out of pure spite and hatred.”

“Either way they lose something, I suppose, but if Voodoo is right… they win a father that loves them and will teach them what they need to know to be men—men with an amazing gift.”

The sound of an approaching vehicle signaled the arrival of the boys. I climbed out of the cart in time to see the car round the cedar trees that flanked either side of the road. My heart raced as I watched them climb out. Sweat trickled down my back.

Their smiles and laughter faded when they saw my expression and I regretted that I was the reason for their somber faces.

“Boys, we need to talk,” I announced.

They shot nervous glances to each other before they looked back to me.

They followed me to my office and once they were seated, I closed the door and rounded my desk. Seth fidgeted in his chair and picked at his thumbnail, but Sam boldly made eye contact with me the entire time.

“I don’t know where to begin.” I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I have reason to believe that I was wrong.”

“About?” Sam asked with a lift of his chin.

Swallowing hard, I reached into the lower drawer and withdrew a folder, which I set in front of them. They both looked at it as if it was a snake that would strike if they moved.

“Go ahead. Open it.” Then I had second thoughts and slapped my hand over in. “Wait. I’m sorry, I fucking suck at this shit. There’s some amount of resentment that I’m dealing with—and not well. I wasn’t sure how to explain this, so I was going to try showing you… Jesus, I’m fucking this up again.” I palmed my face and dragged it down with a groan.

“Adrien, we’re not babies. We’ve also seen some things that would send a lot of kids to the looney bin. I mean how many teenagers can say they watched as they morphed and sprouted feathers, then flew? My guess is not that many in the general population could lay claim to that,” Sam boldly explained. “So let me see whatever it is you have, then we can discuss it. Fair?”

A puffed laugh blew through my nose at my underestimation of the boy’s maturity.

Sam narrowed his eyes, but bravely flipped the nondescript manilla folder open. He frowned. Then looked to me with a pinch between his brows and a slow blink. As if he might’ve missed what I wanted him to see, he looked it over again.

“Why are you showing us the paternity test results?” Sam finally asked as he studied the page, repeatedly straightening it with the other papers in front of him. Considering they confirmed what we’d all been told—that they weren’t mine—it probably was confusing.

“Because I think they may have been falsified or forged.”

“What?” Sam gasped. Both of their jaws dropped.

“I’m not going to mince words with you. As you pointed out, you’re not children—despite your ages. An extremely close friend of mine had a vision. He conferred with his grandmother who also has a similar gift. Both of them told me…” I took a fortifying breath and exhaled roughly… “you were my sons. Initially, I was going to find a way to run the tests without telling you, but I believe you have a right to know.”

Sam and Seth fell back in their seats as they stared at me slack-jawed.

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