Shade(275)

“I will tell you what we know. Your mother was killed in the flash flood with the rest of the village he was ministering to. Then he traveled from village to village, preaching to whoever would listen and give him and a place to stay.

“He made no attempt to come back until recently. He had come to a village where a Christian group was visiting, and they helped him get paperwork to get back in the United States.

“He showed up at the church one night when Brooke was there, and Merrick was visiting someone.” He watched her reaction carefully to Brooke’s name and gave a silent breath of relief as she continued to listen. “She told him how his congregation had fallen since he left. The egotistical bastard believed he would find it as he left it—too afraid to commit any sins.”

“He’s mentally ill.”

“No shit,” Shade snapped then calmed at seeing the hurt she tried to hide. “Angel, he’s more than mentally ill; he’s a sadistic whack job. Brooke fed that craziness, telling him about Beth’s and our relationships before we were married, that we belonged in a motorcycle gang. She fueled him into striking out then told him she would help him get his church back from Merrick, but it would take time. He would have to prove to his congregation that he deserved the church again. She stashed him at Cal’s house after she asked him who his most faithful followers were.”

“I remember Cal’s parents went there from the time they were little. They were very upset when they heard he had died.”

“They believed Saul could heal her cancer. They placed all their belief in him and even went so far as to stop her chemo, which was why she was slipping so fast. Cal wanted to tell someone, but he wanted to make his mother happy during her last days. Saul slowly contacted more members of his congregation, and they began meeting at Cal’s house.”#p#分页标题#e#

“Poor Cal.” Lily’s soft voice was filled with sympathy.

Shade agreed with Lily that time. The kid had wanted to give his mother peace in her last days; instead, it had been horror-ridden. She had died two days before at home, still believing Saul would save her.

“Cash has talked to him several times and warned his father to stay away from him. Because he needs the job Drake gave him, he’s signed over guardianship. He’s living with Drake and Jace.”

“I’m glad.” Lily laid her head down on his thigh. “The day we went there, it was filthy. I can’t imagine Cal living there.” She shuddered.

Razer had told them they had known something was wrong when they had entered Cal’s house. The front door had been opened by Cal, and Razer had been carrying the Crockpot. Cal’s father had slammed the door shut behind them, attacking Razer as more men jumped them. Then they had grabbed Beth and Lily, threatening to hurt them if Razer didn’t stop fighting. Saul used the storm outside to work them into a religious frenzy as proof God wanted him to punish them. They were tied up, thrown in the trunks of their cars, and driven to the other church.

“It’s over, angel,” Shade reminded her.

Lily rose to her feet. “Yes, it’s over.”

John cried from the other side of their bed.

“He’s hungry.”

“When isn’t he?” Shade joked, going to the chest to get a shirt while watching as Lily sat down on the rocking chair to nurse the baby.

They had moved back into the basement while their house was being rebuilt. He hadn’t wanted to move back downstairs after the fire, but after one night upstairs, the members coming to work the next day bleary-eyed had convinced him it was for the best. He had asked Lucky if they could use it until their house was finished and he had agreed, moving back upstairs for the time being.

Shade had alleviated his worries about his family being trapped in the back room by pulling the workers off the house for long enough to build a trap door which they could crawl through to the club room. It had only taken a day, and he was much more at ease since they had an emergency exit.

Lily switched breasts and John latched on quickly, making Shade laugh. Lily grinned down proudly, rubbing his head with a gentle hand. He took his cell phone out of his pocket, snapping a picture.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking a picture so when I want another one and you need convincing, I can show you.”

“I won’t need convincing.” She smiled softly, staring back at him with love shining in her violet eyes.

Shade took the baby, dressing him as Lily finished her makeup and brushed her hair. When he was finished, he buckled him into the carrier which would slide into the base already in Lily's car.