Page 101 of Their Property
He leaned off his bike seat, straightening to his full imposing height when I parked next to him. Dressed in riding leather from the neck down, only his facial scar was visible, a slash through his left eye and nearly half of his face.
The injury had turned that eye white, and his odd-eyed gaze would have been unnerving if he didn't look so fucking happy.
“Grudge.” He held his arms out, his grin almost jovial.
I allowed Kyrie off first, the laughter already escaping me as I went to embrace the big man. Our arms clasped violently around each other, and I sent him staggering back a few feet.
We had only met a few years ago, but he and I understood each other in ways few others did. T-Bone and Dyno knew how I turned out this way, but Shadow was the only person who had lived a similar existence.
I had my tongue removed and was forced to witness something that would haunt me until my last breath. Shadow nearly lost an eye and was covered in a hundred lifetime's worth of scars. And that was only the physical damage done to us.
Miraculously, we both crawled our way out of that hellish existence and found the people who healed what was left of our bruised, battered souls.
“It's been too long, brother.” Shadow playfully slapped the sides of my head. “You need to come meet your niece and nephew. Mari will lose her shit when she sees you.”
“Mm-hm!” I tapped his chest and nodded. Aside from Dyno's son and Bash's kids, I'd never been around children much. The Steel Demons were extended family, and I hoped we got a chance to meet their twins.
“Kyrie.” Shadow stepped away from me and smiled at her warmly. “You look well. The Sons have been taking care of you?”
There was a hint of teasing in his question, and Kyrie didn't miss it, blushing furiously. “Hi, Shadow. It's good to see you too. And...I guess you could say that.”
He laughed heartily while the others pulled up and dismounted.
“Shadow!” T-Bone shouted, raising his arms in the air as he approached. “Looking good, big daddy. Damn, congratulations on putting twins inside of Mari. How about them super sperm—”
“Uh.” Shadow cut him off with a hand against his mouth. “I'm pretty sure it wasn'tjustmy sperm. Our daughter is most likely Gunner’s, but thank you. We're all very happy. Sleep-deprived, but happy.”
“Leave it to Travis to make it weird,” Dyno laughed, coming in next for his hug. “Congratulations, Shadow.”
T-Bone introduced Chris and Tiff before getting into the business at hand. “So what calls for the emergency meeting, big daddy?”
Shadow sobered then, his smile fading as he glanced at Kyrie. “I relayed your message to General Bray, who then informed Governor Vance. The governor then called me in himself, demanding to know where Kyrie was and who she was with.”
“Did you crack?” Chris asked, arms crossed in front of his chest.
“Of course I didn't,” Shadow said. “General Bray is basically a father to me, so he backed me up, but none of it mattered. Vance wasn't satisfied, no matter how much we tried to assure him that Kyrie was in safe hands. He wanted either names and a location or to see his daughter himself.”
Shadow blew out a breath and scanned his gaze over all of us. “So he's mobilizing. He's sending troops into Sevier to search for her.”
“What?” Kyrie shrieked. “He knows about the uprising, right? Who knows who's trying to take over now? If he sends troops, they're going to be caught up in the fighting there. He’s risking lives for no reason!”
“I don't think he cares,” Shadow said apologetically. “It's your last known location, so that's where he's headed. He's panicking and doesn't know what else to do but find you.”
Kyrie slapped her hands to her face and groaned with frustration. “Why can’t he just believe that I’m okay?” When her hands dropped away, her expression was suddenly calm. Almost eerily so. “I have to go see him myself then.”
T-Bone, Dyno, and I all held a collective breath, thinking the same thing. If she went into that territory, there was a chance she would never be allowed to leave. A pang hit me hard in the chest. Just the thought of never seeing her again was unbearable.
“What will you tell him?” T-Bone asked her.
She raked a hand through her long hair. “That I've been with you guys, I guess.”
Dyno swallowed. “Platonically or...?”
Kyrie chewed on a fingernail. “I...I don't know.”
“What if Chris and I escorted you in?” Tiff suggested. “Make a buffer between you and them three in case any shit goes down.”
Kyrie shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I think it'll be worse if my dad and his people don't know you. They might hold you for interrogations or something.”
