Page 140 of Prey

That was the narrative William was sticking to, though I knew an internal investigation was taking place.

There was nothing they could find that would tie the King’s Men MC to the cabin, so there was that.

The King’s Men MC was safe, and my dad was dead.

I met my mom’s eyes across the room, and it was hard not to feel some resentment over the fact that she wasn’t grieving as much as I was.

Twenty-three years of marriage, and all she could do was shed a few tears in public?

I looked away from her before she could tell what I was thinking, and I walked out to the backyard, leading to a small garden.

I sat on the stone bench and looked up at the night sky.

My chest still hurt.

Someone sat beside me.

I turned to find Brent there, his green eyes set in desolation.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Ryleigh,” he said softly.

I could only nod. I was sure he thought of my dad as his own at one point.

We didn’t say anything after that.

But Brent stayed with me, and when it got a little cold, he offered me his jacket as we remained outside, hiding from everything and everyone.

I didn’t believe in God.

I didn’t believe there was life after death, though I found myself wishing that there was one now.

It would probably lessen the pain a little if I thought, for even a tiny moment, that Dad still existed. That his soul lived on.

But he was dead.

Brent wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his shoulder, letting him comfort me the only way possible right now.

“It’s okay, sweet girl. It’s okay.”

No…

It really wasn’t.

* * *

A week passed.

I had been sleeping at my childhood home.

On the third night, I brought up a cot we had in storage to Dad's office and started sleeping there.

I felt closer to him in there than I did anywhere else in this house.

Mom had been quiet.

I still didn’t know how she felt, and I was afraid to ask.

She seemed to be coping a little too well, and I knew it was mean, but I wished she was in more pain.

---