Page 70 of Restless
Rory drew in another breath, suddenly livid. This underhandedness had his father’s stupidity written everywhere. When Dad walked out, he’d either added this information himself, paid someone to do it, or contacted the site’s webmaster.
Because of Bash. There was no other reason Rory could think of for any of the goings-on over the last day.
Bash.
His mind whirling with solutions before what he’d read became a problem, Rory remembered he needed to find out about Bash.
Fingers trembling, he went to the next site that came up in the search results. It disappointed him that it was just a table with the MC name, the name of the founder, the place and year it was founded, and a note for each club. It wasn’t a comprehensive list by any means. Here, the founder of the Death Dwellers was listed as Logan Donovan. Sharper Banks’s name wasn’t anywhere…
Sharper Banks.
Wasn’t Uncle Mort and Uncle Digger’s father named Sharper Banks? Hadn’t he been a respected and wealthy minister?
Rory stumbled to his bed and plopped on the edge. What tomfoolery was this? For a moment, he stared at his phone, the words onscreen blurring and merging together, as he tried to place all the puzzle pieces.
Dad would know, but he’d left because of…
Right.Bash.
Intending to close the site and go to the next one in the results, he scanned the MCs again. His gaze caught on the nameCee Cee Caldwell.He’d founded the American Scorpions several years before the formation of the Death Dwellers.
Cee Cee Caldwell was Rory’s grandfather.
The location of the club’s founding is a subject of intense debate. Some suggest the club was founded in Hortensia, WA, and later moved to Richmond, VA, to make room for the rise of the Death Dwellers. Others insist the American Scorpions’ original charter was in Portland, OR.
Nostrils flaring, Rory clicked the hyperlinked American Scorpions. Immediately, a new page opened onto the club’s website. He flipflopped between choosing the ‘Free Birds’ menu option or the ‘Officers’. Onemightanswer if Cee Cee and Sebastion were one and the same. Road names were given for a reason: anonymity. Sir names shouldn’t be used for that purpose. On the other hand, that other website had Christian names and family names, but no road names.
Cee Cee was dead. Whether hewasSebastian didn’t matter. Bash was very much alive and looked at lot like Uncle Christopher.Hewas the immediate threat.
He opened the page for the officers. The first picture he saw was Bash’s. He was the club’s president.
What the fuck was Dad up to? Was he betraying the Dwellers? That meant automatic death. As angry as he was with his father—as much as he felt like slicing him—the thought of Dad’s death crushed Rory. Mom had come to truly love and accept Dad, which meant she’d come to love and accept Rory.
Kendall Miller Donovan was a strange dichotomy. On the surface, she was strong and dominant. Underneath, she was as fragile as handblown glass. Both sides of her was a schemer in Rory’s eyes, yet Dad was her safe haven. He’d sworn to lay down his life—alltheir lives—to save Mom, and now that motherfucker was in cahoots with Bash?
Anger vibrating through him, Rory gritted his teeth and clicked on the ‘Free Birds’ page. It opened onto a huge photo of a man that looked uncannily like Uncle Christopher. And Bash. Except Uncle Christopher’s green eyes were warmer, not maniacal like Cee Cee’s or soulless like Bash’s. Uncle Christopher didn’t have Bash’s pockmarked skin or Cee Cee’s harshness. Uncle Christopher was handsome; the other two were frightening.
At the top of the photograph were: Founder and President-for-Life. At the bottom of the picture was the date of his birth and presumed date of death. Underneath that was a name: Sebastian “Cee Cee” Caldwell.
Holy fuck.
The Scorpions and Dwellers were mortal enemies, however, Cee Cee was listed as the founder of one club and a charter member of the other. Bash had come to Hortensia for a fucking reason, and Rory bet it had something to do with Cee Cee’s involvement with the Dwellers. He’d even hazard to guess that Dad knew that reason.
Glancing at the clock on the wall above the door that led to his private bathroom, Rory jumped to his feet and sent a quick text to Ryan. CJ already had too many problems, otherwise he would’ve been Rory’s first choice.
Get your ass to the cave. Now!
He didn’t wait for a response, instead hurrying out of his room. Downstairs, he found his mother sitting on the floor in the foyer. Her back was against the wall and her knees were drawn up to her chest. Her pale skin and reddened eyes gave her a tragic air.
All the many times she’d made him sit in a darkened foyer for one infraction or another flashed through Rory’s head, and a moment of triumph surged inside him. Then, he shoved aside his glee, reminding himself he categorized his life in before and after terms. Before Mom’s suicide attempt and after.
He went to her and kneeled in front of her. “Mom,” he whispered.
“Your father’s dead,” she said blankly.
For a moment, Rory thought she’d gotten confirmation and he recoiled. His mother was too calm, nor were any of the other members here to give condolences.
“No, Mom—”
