I tipped her chin up but she closed her eyes. “Look at me, Siren.”
Broken blue eyes met mine.
“I’m sorry you’re hurtin’.” It was all I could give her. I wasn’t sorry he was dead. I wasn’t sorry if it was my trigger that killed him. I wasn’t sorry about a lot of shit, but this? This I was sorry for. “I never wanted to cause you more pain.”
“You didn’t.”
Jesus. My whole body turned traitor and I fought from pulling her into my arms. I wanted her forgiveness but I wasn’t gonna take it based on a lie. “You know I—”
“He dropped before you started shooting from the ground.”
Fuck me. Was she going to forgive me? “Is there’s a difference between me or Neil pulling that trigger?”
“No.”
Shit lodged in my throat and I nodded. Dropping my hand, I turned away from her. “I gotta grab a few things from the house.”
“He was dead long before you or Neil returned fire.”
I pivoted and stared at the frightened, devastated blonde in front of me whose voice was stronger than her appearance. This morning, I’d been buried deep inside of her, thinking I knew who she was. “I’m not askin’ for you to forgive me.” I held my breath.
“He shot first. He didn’t want to live. That part wasn’t your fault.”
But the part where he died was. I released the breath and the last ounce of hope I had. “I’ll be right back. Get in the Challenger and lock the door.” I needed a moment the fuck away from her to get my head straight.
I didn’t wait to see if she listened to me, I went into the house and threw ammo and some clothes in a bag. I stripped my T-shirt off and did a quick and dirty job of covering the wound where the bullet grazed the length of my bicep. I tucked the bloodied T-shirt in my bag because I didn’t want to leave it here and I was back at the Challenger less than five minutes later.
When I slid behind the wheel, Siren was holding the phone I’d given her.
“Call someone?” I asked casually, hiding my alarm.
“His mother.”
“I thought his mother was dead.” He’d told me that once.
“The woman who raised him. He considered her his mom.”
“Where does she live?” I needed to get the SIM card outta that phone and destroy it before we could be tracked.
“Ocala.”
A piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “So that’s where you met him?”
She nodded. “When I was in high school.”
I had to ask. “Did you know who his father was when you hooked up with him?” I couldn’t imagine any girl’s father wanting his daughter running with a notorious MC’s president’s son.
“No. But it wouldn’t have mattered if I did.”
My gut churned.
“I wouldn’t have known who he or the Lone Coasters were anyway,” she explained. “He was just a kid living with a family who wasn’t his. We hit it off.”
I backed out of the garage and pulled down my driveway. “Why’s that?” I glanced left and right before I pulled north on A1A.
“I was adopted. Randy lived in a similar situation.”
Surprised she was talking to me but not wanting to ask her about it for fear she’d shut down, I plowed on. “Can’t say I know how it feels to be adopted. Glad you had someone to talk to.”
She drew in a breath but didn’t respond.
I thought I’d blown it when she didn’t speak for a full minute.
“Where are we going?”
Something was different in her tone of voice. Since I’d gotten in the Challenger, she seemed calmer but I’d seen this way too many times to rule out shock. “Ormond Beach to pick up Kendall then we’re heading to Miami.”
“Is she coming with us?”
“Yeah.”
“She doesn’t like me.”
“Far as I can tell, she doesn’t like anyone. Don’t take it personally.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Doin’ what?”
“Taking me away, taking Kendall. Being involved. Risking your safety and leaving your business with someone you don’t trust.”
“That’s a lot of questions.”
She didn’t say anything.
We drove for a few miles in silence then I don’t know what happened. I opened my mouth and shit came out that I’d never told a soul about.
“My mother died when I was seventeen. It was just me and her. We were poor as fuck but she loved the hell outta me. I knew somethin’ was wrong when she started droppin’ weight but she wouldn’t go to a doctor because she didn’t want to take food off the table. I was playin’ football and tryin’ to keep my grades up so I could get a scholarship and I should’ve noticed before shit was too late, but I didn’t. By the time she collapsed and I rushed her to the ER, it was a done deal. The cancer had spread everywhere and she didn’t make it outta that hospital. I buried her a week before my acceptance to Annapolis.”