Page 43 of Shadow

“I thought it was all in my head. That I made it up. I mean, hearing you on the radio is one thing, but listening to your real voice, hearing and seeing the words come out of your beautiful mouth, I thought it was all a dream. But it’s not.”

“What’s not?”

“You. You really do quiet the voices in my head.”

Taking a step back, I whispered, “Excuse me?”

Shadow ran his hands through his hair. “God, I must sound like a lunatic. It’s hard to explain. I don’t understand it myself, but I know who you are. You’re Lady Luck. I’ve been listening to your broadcast since I came to stay with my sisters. They listen to you all the time. The first night I heard your voice, I was just humoring my sister Hope. It wasn’t until later that I realized the voices were gone.”

“What voices?”

Shadow solemnly looked up at me and said, “The people I’ve killed.”

“What do you mean, killed?” I said, as my back hit the wall and I prayed I just didn’t hop on a bike that belonged to a serial killer.

“I won’t hurt you,Angel,” he muttered.

“I want to believe you, Shadow, but I need you to explain what you meant by killing people. Killed who?”

Shadow moved and sat on his bed. Hanging his head low, resting his arms on his legs as he looked at the floor. “I told Kansas I wasn’t any good at this, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I’m not a Diamondback. I’m a Golden Skull. My club is in East Tennessee. I was the club’s executioner until I accidentally killed an innocent man. I see the faces of the people I killed. They haunt me day and night. Well, they did until I heard your voice. When I am around you, there is silence. I can finally think again.”

Okay, I know he left a lot of shit out of that explanation, and I was willing to give him the benefit of a doubt because Kansas trusted him, but I needed more.

“The night someone attacked you. It was Jinx who was trying to help you. I was drunk. I was using alcohol to quiet the voices. I knew it was wrong, but short of putting a bullet in my head, I didn’t know what else to do. Anyway, the bar was closing when I stumbled outside and heard you scream. I didn’t think. I just ran for you. You were backing away from Jinx. When I saw your pretty face, I saw red. I didn’t think. I attacked Jinx. I broke his neck.”

“He’s the innocent, isn’t he?”

Shadow nodded. “Yeah. For the longest time, I only saw his face. He would yell at me and say, save her. She needs your help. Tell Jinx I love her. I never understood until I came here and found out that Jinx left behind a sister, Kali, Kansas’ wife.”

“She was recently in the paper. The former police detective kidnapped, then attacked her. But someone saved her. It was you. Wasn’t it?”

“I was there, yes, but not for the reasons everyone thinks.”

“Then why?”

Shadow slowly turned to face me, his eyes weary and tired. “Because her brother’s voice was screaming at me to save her. I couldn’t get him to shut up, so I walked into that barn, knowing I wasn’t going to walk out. I hadn’t held a weapon since I killed Jinx. Vowed I never would again.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, confused. “The paper stated that there was a gunfight. That the detective fought back.”

“He did, but that wasn’t what made me shoot. Conroy was working with Kali’s ex-husband. The man who beat and damn near killed her once before. He held a knife to her neck and was about to rape her.”

“That’s when you shot your gun.”

“Yes.”

“Shadow, I’m gonna be honest with you since you’re being honest with me. I’m not familiar with M.C. life. I honestly know nothing about it. I imagine it has its good and bad parts. But so does life. While I don’t condone murder, I’m not opposed to it within reason. I understand that there is evil in this world. I’ve seen it myself. It’s coming for me and if he gets his hands on me, he will kill me. So, I don’t care who you’ve killed in the past, as long as you do me one favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Find my father and kill him.”

Chapter Ten

Shadow

Find her father and kill him.

Her words kept playing on repeat in my head as I looked at the night sky. Never thought I’d find prairie land peaceful and soothing, but as I sat on the back porch looking for miles, I felt a calm wash over me. Almost as if I finally found where I belonged. It was an odd feeling. From growing up in California, playing in the sand and surf to living in the mountains of Tennessee, I just never thought this small patch of flat land would mean anything to me.

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