The door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the kitchen. Foss let out a sigh. "Well, that went great." Maybe confronting her so directly hadn't been the smartest idea. But on the other hand, he'd definitely struck a nerve.
"I thought it was a pretty good guess. That he's your dad. I mean, that's the kind of plot twist I'd go with."
"But this isn't a story," Foss grumbled.
"It's your story. And your mom's. But come on, it makes sense she'd panic, right? Killing an old acquaintance is one thing, but the father of your kid? Most people wouldn't be cool with that. Even if they knew their mom's got a habit of cutting people's throats. And you're the center of her world."
Foss sighed again and rubbed his face. A good night's sleep would've been helpful. "I'm guessing killing an old friend wouldn't be easy either."
Was that what had really shaken her? Finding out a friend from the past was actually a rapist? Given her history, that had to be tough. She'd told him that her first kill had been the guy who raped her. Foss had been six.
The thought still made him sick.
But would she really just take that at face value? There were plenty of stories about men being falsely accused. Why couldn't she provide proof this time, like she had before? And why was she being so secretive about it, especially when Nash and he already had a good idea of what she was doing?
Were her victims even really rapists? Or was she just telling him that so he'd be more okay with the fact that she kills people? He shook off the doubts. This was his mom. Sure, she had secrets, but she wasn't out there butchering innocent people. Right? Still, that sliver of doubt lingered.
"I want to meet him."
"Huh?" Nash gave him a curious look.
"Rage. That article said he did time... his sister had been missing for years... I don't know. Something just feels off. Maybe someone's out for revenge. And the fact that Mom has no proof..." He shook his head. "Plus, a biker with a record... how does someone like that just slip through the cracks? It doesn't match the profile of the guys she usually talks about."
"Unless he's threatening his victim," Nash said. "With a whole club backing him, I can see why someone might keep their mouth shut."
Fair point.
"We don't know the guy, so we could speculate all day. Might as well go check him out. We could stay at my grandma's place for a bit." Nash's eyes lit up, clearly already on board. "Sleep Forever's ancient history." A flicker of pain crossed his face. "So maybe I should give a biker club a shot. At the very least, we can hang around and get a feel for what kind of guy he is."
Foss's lips curved into a smile. That was just like Nash—diving headfirst into a new adventure to avoid facing the dream that had shattered. He could totally see Nash joining a motor club just for the hell of it.
Foss thought it over. Logically, it was kind of insane. Trying to get to know one of his mom's old friends to figure out if he was really a rapist. Or maybe that wasn't even the main reason. Maybe he just wanted to know more about the past his mom kept so tightly under wraps. And if he could keep a guy alive when he wasn't a hundred percent sure he deserved to die... well, that was a win.
"Alright, I'm in. Let's do this crazy thing." He could use a change of scenery, especially with things being so tense with his mom. If he stayed, he'd be walking on eggshells. This whole thing would keep gnawing at him, and he didn't want it to blow up in his face. Though she'd probably lose it if she found out he was poking around her target. Oh well, maybe that'd get her to open up. "We could also ask Vicky to hack into that inbox. I'd like to see those emails."
Nash snorted. "Vicky and I aren't exactly on speaking terms. She'd probably run straight to your mom with that laptop, hoping she'd gut us. Or at least me."
Foss let go of the idea, albeit reluctantly. Maybe because, deep down, he knew it would be crossing an even bigger line. If that Rage guy didn't give them anything useful, they could always ask Vicky for help later.
He downed the last of his tea and looked at his friend. "Are we really doing this?"
Nash's grin spread wide. "Hell yeah. I'm calling my grandma right now. She'll love having us around for a few weeks."
That made things a lot easier. The moving company wouldn't be happy if he dropped out, but he was working on a call basis and figured he'd put in enough hours lately. Meanwhile, he could still hunt for any outstanding programming projects. He could afford to take a few weeks off.
Now, he just had to hope his mom wouldn't freak out too much or catch wind of what he was up to...
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