Page 53 of Keys

“Well, what does seem real is this,” I explained as I tapped my finger on the note. “This is my father’s bullshit handwriting.”

“You sure about that?” Quickshot asked as he scrutinized the odd block print.

“Positive.”

“Your father?” Jack asked, his jaw dropped in shock.

“I take it you know who he is?”

He nodded. “Your mom wouldn’t marry me until she told me the whole truth about you, about him, and what you had done.” He must have noticed the disbelieving look I gave him because he quickly shook his head. “I swear, she didn’t sugarcoat anything for my benefit. She’s been in therapy for a while. It’s been helping. June’s been happier than I’ve ever seen her. She came clean about everything as part of her therapy, taking responsibility for her actions and how they drove you away.”

“Yet she never reached out to the one person who probably should have heard all that,” I chided.

He tipped his head forward, in a half-nod. “I’m sure she would have reached out, eventually.”

“I’m going to find her for you. There’s no need to give false platitudes. She had my number and chose not to use for nine years. She had my new name too. It wouldn’t have been that hard for her to find me if she ever wanted to.”

“Maybe she thought you wouldn’t want her to.”

Jack might have had a good point there, but I refused to acknowledge it or look any deeper. If my mom wanted to be a part of my life, she could have been. Hell, I hadn’t even known she married the man, just that they’d been living together. The ring on his finger told me they had already sealed the deal though.

“Jack!” I yelled the man’s name even though he was only standing a few feet away.

“Yeah?” He asked hesitantly.

“You said that she needed to come clean before you got married. Did you?”

“What?”

“Did you get married to my mom?”

“Yeah, two weeks ago. We tied the knot in a small ceremony at the church right up the road.” He looked at me guiltily then. “I tried to get her to contact you before we did it, but she didn’t think you’d care.”

“I’m not worried about that part, Jack.” I turned to Quickshot and Paul. “My father has always been crazy obsessive about my mom, especially when she appeared to be getting serious with another man. The one thing that would probably throw him over the edge completely would be knowing that she was marrying someone else.”

Quickshot scoffed. “As if he didn’t get married to someone else and father a couple of children with another woman too.”

“That’s different. He lives by his own rules. It is everyone else who is supposed to follow along with his whims.”

We all stood there staring at one another for a few minutes before I decided to break it all down for everyone. “So, we’re looking for my father, who may or may not be working with the remnants of Winter’s Renegade MC and his Florida family who was running women, drugs, and guns. No matter what, he’s definitely involved in this human trafficking ring that keeps plaguing us. There are too many ties binding him to it.”

“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions on that front, Keys.” That was Paul.

“It’s possible that he’s a pawn and being used too,” Quickshot added, though he didn’t sound as if he believed one bit of that lip service that he just attempted to pay me.

“Come off it. I have pictures of him with other women over the past few years. Some of them have popped on searches of missing women. If he’s not knee deep in this shit on his own, then I don’t know diddly squat about hacking.”

Paul and Quickshot both looked away, but Jack finally chimed in again. “You think your father is part of a human trafficking ring?” The worry on his face made it clear how much he loved my mother. Panic was going to set in soon. That much was obvious too.

“Jack. I need you to take a seat,” I directed. Once he did, I pushed his head down between his knees. “Take a few deep breaths, slowly, in and out. That’s it. I promise you that we will bring your wife back to you. You have to keep the faith though.”

“Your father is a United States Senator who is involved in a human trafficking ring. He has access to international flights that don’t get checked. What if he already has her stashed halfway around the world? Or worse.” The last two words were mumbled as a sob broke free from the man who only moments ago had appeared too sturdy to ever break in any way. I just hoped that I wasn’t lying to him when I looked him in the eye and promised one more time to bring my mother home to him.

Chapter 19

“Keys.” Paul got my attention and then pulled me aside. “I hate to do this, but I need to get back. My sister had to be taken back to the hospital for emergency surgery. Dane’s out on assignment still, tracking those girls. One of us needs to be there.”

“Shit! Go. Take care of MiMi.”

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