Page 2 of Bone's Destiny

I thought hard for a long second. Dad had called Momma Maggie one time. Oh, she got PO’d at him. Made him sleep on the couch. I squinted my eyes and studied the brunette. Could that be Momma? The more I stared at the girl, I believed it was my mom.

Who was the blonde named Ellie? Probably Momma’s friend. I wanted to know more, so I kept digging through all the papers.

A large envelope with MK was at the bottom of the box. I opened it and removed something that looked official with a seal in the corner. Certificate of Live Birth was at the top. I read on and saw my name: Micah Charles Knight.

Wait. What?

I blinked several times. I’d seen my birth certificate before; this wasn’t it. My eyes traveled to the father, Benjamin Knight, then to the mother, Eleanor Hebert.

What the hell? My mom was Margaret.

“Micah, what are you doing?” My mom’s voice came from behind me. “Get out of my closet right now!”

I held the certificate as I stood. “What’s this?”

Her face went white as a ghost. Momma looked down at Piper cradled in her arms, then at me. “You know better, Micah. Our bedroom is off-limits unless you’re invited in. Daddy has stuff in there that he doesn’t want you kids around.” She reached for the paper. I stepped back and put it behind my back.

“Why’s my name on this document? Who’s Eleanor Hebert?”

“I’m not going to ask you again. Gimme the paper.”

“Is Eleanor my mother and not you? Dad’s name is on the paper. Why isn’t yours?” My heart hammered in my chest. It was like I knew the answer to my own question, but I needed to hear her say it.

“Micah, I am your mother. That document isn’t real.” She reached her hand toward me, and I hit it away. She gasped, her eyes bulging in shock. “Micah—”

“Then why do you have it in that box if it’s not real? And don’t lie to me!” Tears burned behind my eyes. “Am I adopted?” How could I be if my dad’s name was on the paper? I struggled to breathe, wiping the sweat off my forehead. My stupid chest and stomach were tight. None of this made any sense.

“Micah—” She bounced Piper in her arms. “Give me that paper, or you’ll be ground for life, mister.”

“Where’s my real mother?” The words shot out of my mouth like a bullet aiming for Lady M’s heart. Her hand went to her chest, and a flash flood of tears poured out of her eyes.

At that moment, I knew everything I had thought was real had been a lie.

Someone banged on the plane’s window, startling me. I shook those damn thoughts out of my head and turned toward the voice.

“You okay in there?” Spectre stared at me with a perplexed expression. “I called your name several times.”

I nodded and opened the door. “Yeah, just sitting here thinking about shit.” None of my brothers or sister knew the truth. Hell, I hardly knew the truth. Which was why I needed to see Lady M before she croaked.

You son of a bitch. You don’t want “mom” to die.

I didn’t.

“Well, let’s get going. I don’t have time to waste.”

I got out of the plane and took in Spectre’s demeanor. My little brother was the club’s Sergeant at Arms and took his position very seriously. He wasn’t so little, though. He was over six feet tall and muscular like the rest of us. Spectre had always been glued to me when he was younger. Our bond strengthened when we set out to destroy Cobra and Karma’s relationship.

“Something going on I should know about?” I shut the door and went to tie down the plane. It was windy in North Dakota every damn day. Just one more reason why I enjoyed living in Montana: less wind.

Spectre cocked his head. “You left the chapter and started your own. Are you asking because you’re curious, or do you want to help us?”

“What flew up your ass?” I made sure the plane was secure and stalked toward him.

“Oh, I don’t know. My favorite brother abandoned me and hasn’t been home in a long time. Or our mother had a mild heart attack, and you waited two days before coming to see her.”

“Three months isn’t a long time. And I would’ve been here sooner, but—”

“But what? None of your excuses are more important than Lady M.”

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