Page 9 of Bone's Destiny

“Yeah?” He faced me.

I swallowed thickly, trying to force the words out of my mouth. “Shit.” I scratched the back of my head. “This is harder than I thought.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I understand. I’m sorry for what you’ve been going through.” He scrubbed his hands down the sides of his face. “It’s fucked up.”

“It is fucked up. But that doesn’t excuse me for what I did to you and Karma. If I’d known she was pregnant, I would’ve left you alone.” I drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

He stared at me for a long second. “I know that wasn’t easy for you. I appreciate it. It’d go a long way with Karma if you could apologize to her too. We can’t get back those years we lost.”

“I know. I feel like shit about it too. Nova didn’t deserve to be kept from you.” I shook my head, looking down at my boots. “When I think of her being fatherless and the struggles they’d gone through because of my vindictive ways. It makes me sick. I hate myself for it.”

“You can make it up to them.”

“How?”

“By being a good uncle and brother-in-law.”

I chuckled. “Karma won’t let it go so easily.”

“You might be surprised.” He shrugged. “She forgave me, didn’t she?”

“Not the same, brother. I deserve her disdain, but I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.” He sat down, placed his elbows on his knees, and leaned forward with his hands clasped. “Have you searched for Eleanor?”

I sat beside him. “Sure have. Traced her back to New Orleans. Found her in the school system from kindergarten through high school. No birth records. Then in nineteen eighty-eight, she got a North Dakota driver’s license. No job records or rent. It’s like she vanished.”

Cobra arched his dark brow. “Brother, you know people don’t just vanish.”

My chest tightened as I considered his words. Had Eleanor assumed a new name? Or had she died? Or… “Dad’s name was on my real birth certificate.”

“Fuck. I can’t believe he’d cheat on mom.”

“She said he didn’t.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. They were married before I was born. You’re”—he pointed at me—“nineteen months younger than me.”

“I know. Maybe they were separated, so being with someone else didn’t count as cheating.”

“Lady M would never take him back if he cheated.” Cobra raised his gaze to the sky. “So, how the fuck were you created?”

“All I know is Lady M had the birth certificate in the same box where I found some pictures of her with another chick in New Orleans. She’d taken them from me. When I went back into her closet, she’d cleared it out. I haven’t found those papers or pictures anywhere. Believe me, I have left no rock unturned.”

“Guess we need to get Lady M to spill her guts.”

I snorted. “Good luck with that. After her heart attack, Dad probably won’t let me near her again.”

“Probably not.” Cobra turned toward me. “No matter who your mother is, you’ll always be my brother.” He hugged me, and dammit if he didn’t make me tear up. “We’ll find out the truth and where your mom went. I promise.”

I hugged my older brother, my shoulders feeling lighter as he took some of the weight I’d been carrying most of my life. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty. I should’ve gone to Cobra for help eons ago. I’d just been in a fucked up way, embarrassed about it all and angry.

To change the subject, I asked, “So, who’s the chick you want me to take?”

“Her name is Destiny Bates.”

I pulled back. “Destiny? Fucking Spectre called hermydestiny. I thought he was being a smartass.”

“Maybe she is your destiny after all the shit you’ve been through.”

---