Page 32 of Edge

“It’s a long story, but she didn’t know Phoenix was her father until she was eighteen. He didn’t know about her either. Annabelle was told Ember was stillborn. Phoenix thought Annabelle was dead. It was a mess. The strangers she referred to were actually the Blackwings. She met Reese in high school, and Reese brought her to the clubhouse to get help. Phoenix agreed to help her, and they figured everything else out shortly after,” he explained.

“Thank you. I know it’s not my business, but I had to ask.”

He reached over and squeezed my hand. “I know. Normally, I wouldn’t share those details so freely, but I figure if we keep showing you we’re the good guys, you’ll eventually believe us.”

I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I don’t think you’re bad guys.”

“I know, but you shouldn’t blindly trust us, either. And I don’t expect you to, especially after what you’ve experienced with the Mad Dogs.”

I shivered involuntarily at the sound of their name and fought the urge to gag. Just thinking about them and what happened that night made me sick to my stomach.

“On a different note, how do you want to handle the registration?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“If you want to stay under the radar, I don’t think you should register it in your name,” he said. “If you want, you can put it in my name until you get your situation settled.”

“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly.

“If you’re worried about me running off with your car, we can sign a contract that says the car belongs to you. Then we’ll transfer it into your name whenever you’re ready,” he offered.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I’m more concerned about insurance,” I said.

“I’ll add it to my current policy, and you can pay the difference.”

“Why would you do that for me?”

He shrugged. “Because I’m in a position to do so. Everyone needs help at some point or another.”

“When have you needed help?”

“When I was younger. My older brother was headed down the wrong path, and I started to follow. At first, I didn’t realize he was dragging me down with him. Soon after I began prospecting for the MC, I realized the error of my ways, and they helped me get back on the right track.”

I wanted to know more, but I was hesitant to ask. Apparently, my face did the asking for me.

He chuckled. “What is it you want to know?”

“I was going to ask what kind of path your brother was headed down, but now I’m wondering how you knew I wanted to ask something.”

“You tend to kind of chew on the corner of your bottom lip and your eyebrows wrinkle a little when you’re reluctant to say something.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll try to be more conscious of that in the future.”

“Only the people who know you well would notice.”

I laughed. “Those are the ones I’m worried about. I don’t really care what strangers think of me.”

“So, to answer your question, my brother fell in with the wrong crowd. Before long, he was selling drugs and joined agang. My parents tried to intervene, but there wasn’t much they could do since he was an adult.”

“Is your brother still involved with the gang?” I asked carefully. Edge mentioned joining the Blackwings after high school, indicating he’d been a member of the club for around twenty years. I was by no means an expert in gang statistics, but I was pretty sure most of them didn’t live long enough to celebrate twenty years of membership.

Edge shook his head solemnly. “No, he isn’t. He was shot and killed fifteen years ago. I assume it was a drug deal gone wrong or something to do with a rival gang. Back then, my parents and I never asked for details or tried to find out. Jared was dead. The story of how it happened wouldn’t make it any less painful.”

I reached over and placed my hand on top of his. “I’m sorry your family had to go through that. Watching a loved one slowly slip away and destroy their life while feeling completely helpless isn’t something anyone should have to experience.”

“It destroyed our family. My parents couldn’t come to terms with his death. I guess they needed someone to blame, so they pointed the finger at each other. They got divorced, Dad moved to a cabin in the middle of nowhere and became a recluse, and Mom also isolated herself and died a few years later. The doctors said it had something to do with her heart, but I believe she grieved herself to death.”

“They just left you?” I blurted, before I could stop myself. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, because I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child, but the death of one son doesn’t give them the right to abandon the one that’s still living.”