Silas turned with a malevolent smile. “Hello, Shaney. Good to see you again, son. I’m your father.”
Chapter Sixteen
Shaney’s legs wobbled beneath him as he continued to step back toward the stairs. Hudson held out his hand, moving toward Shaney. If Hudson touched him, Shaney’s resolve would flee.
“Stop!” Shaney commanded. Hudson halted and, after a moment’s hesitation, dropped his hand. “Just stay back.”
Shaney needed to think. This couldn’t be what it looked like. Hudson betraying him? Hudson a part of the madness his life had become? And what was up with the Luke-I-am-your-father crap? That was a load of shit because Shaney had a father and he’d died, and Silas had even known him.
“What’re you doing here?” Shaney asked.
Hudson frowned and Shaney said, “Not you. Him.” He pointed at Silas.
“Silas is—”
“A friend of my father’s. He was with my mother at the diner.”
Hudson’s terrorized expression scared the crap out of Shaney. Hudson shifted nervously, his gaze darting between Shaney and Silas. He didn’t seem to trust Silas standing near Shaney. Well, Shaney no longer trusted Hudson either.
“Why. Are. You. Here?” Dread rose inside of Shaney. Why was his world spinning out of control?
“Shaney,” Hudson said in a calm tone.
Shaney shook his head. “No. You don’t get to say anything. You told me I was electrocuted. It was your cabin. Did you do this to me?”
Hudson’s eyes widened. “I would never hurt you. Ever,” Hudson insisted. The anguish in Hudson’s eyes cut Shaney to the core, but he needed to remain strong.
“Like I’ve never heard that before. Usually it’s right before someone gets into my pants. Amazing the lies a guy will tell for a little Shaney ass.”
Hudson winced, his expression pained.
A grin stretched across Silas’ craggy face. “You’ve consummated your bond?” he asked with an almost giddy excitement.
Shaney frowned at the old man. “None of your fucking business!”
Hudson shook his head. Whether he was answering Silas’ question or not, Shaney wasn’t sure. No penetration, but they’d definitely spilled their seed all over in a lust-fueled frenzy of passion. Or maybe not passion on Hudson’s part and that thought made Shaney’s heart ache.
The elderly man was unfazed by Shaney’s outburst and stepped toward him. Hudson grabbed the man’s arm to stop him from moving. Hudson must have known Shaney was about two seconds away from rabbiting.
Shaney turned his attention back to Hudson. “Well, answer the question. Did you do this to me?”
Hudson shook his head. “No. I never wanted anything to do with this crap,” he said, waving his hand around the room. “This was my grandfather’s obsession. He tried to drag me into his world, but I never wanted it. Believe me, I had no idea what was happening at the cabin. And, yes, it is my cabin, but I didn’t draw those symbols.”
Shaney recalled how freaked Hudson had been leaving the cabin that night, but had that was because someone had broken into it.
“But you lied to me,” Shaney said, feeling a monstrous wave of hurt and betrayal slam into him. The pain rested heavily on his chest. “I told you everything, and you tried to convince me I was wrong. That Todd and Caleb were wrong.”
“Caleb’s here?” the old man growled.
Shaney snorted. “Of course, you’d know Caleb. All you crazies hang together. Probably got a clubhouse and a secret password and a handshake to keep the normal people out.” Shaney babbled, but he tended to do that when his entire fucking world was falling apart.
Hudson raised an eyebrow at Shaney, but remained silent.
Silas’ face tightened into a scowl, but ignoring the snarky remarks from Shaney, he pressed, “He was a student of mine for a few years. Brilliant in his own right. Ego the size of a planet. I taught him most of what I know until he got cocky and insisted his knowledge had surpassed mine. Little twit has no idea just what kind of knowledge I possess.” Silas narrowed his eyes. “And how exactly do you know Caleb, Shaney?” The menacing glare told Shaney that no matter what he said, Silas wouldn’t care for the answer.
Might as well make it a good one. “Well, you know, we met at the last Comic-Con. He was all nerdy scientist, hell bent on controlling some primordial energy, and I just happened to have some of that excess energy hanging around, so I said, what the hell, tie me to a fucking wall and torture me for hours to rip that energy out of me because I have nothing better to do!” Shaney’s hands shook and his chest heaved. He either was having a panic attack, or was two seconds away from imploding.