Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(18)

sanity.

“Oh, hell.” She tossed off her covers. She wanted to see Tabitha. Buttscooting to the edge of the thin mattress, she dropped her feet down

and stood up. The cast felt heavy. She felt a little dizzy. But she’d waited long enough. The worry for her sister hung in her chest like a

lead weight.

Grabbing the back of her gown with her good hand, she went in search of room six and her sister.





Chapter Five

Perry hesitated before facing his father, trying to chase any glimpse of guilt from his expression.

“I asked who you were talking to?” his father repeated.

As Perry turned around, his mind raced into recall mode. Exactly what had his father heard? How far up shit creek without a paddle had he

traveled? When he replayed his words in his head, the tension in his gut slackened. He hadn’t said anything completely incriminating—that he

remembered. But at times like this, Perry’s memory wasn’t its best.

To reassure himself, he tried to read his father’s body language. He got nothing.

In spite of Perry’s natural ability to read emotional shifts in others, his father was often unreadable. Or was he too close to his dad to

read the man correctly?

Probably for that reason, Burnett had insisted Perry pull out. Not an option. Especially knowing what Caleb was capable of doing.

His dad had said they hadn’t brought anyone new into the gang in a year. That meant no one had a better chance at stopping this than Perry.

And no one had more of a reason to do it. Not that he completely understood those reasons, or the reason he’d felt compelled to find his

parents, but something drove him to be the one to make this right.

“A girl. I was talking to a girl. Why?”

“You got a girl?” The edge in his voice was gone.

“Sort of.”

“You banging her?” his father asked.

The crude question ran over every nerve Perry had. It sounded like Caleb. “That’s none of your damn business!”

“Of course it is. I’m your father.”

And I’d never have seen you again if I hadn’t come found you. And soon you’re going to wish I hadn’t. He couldn’t help but wonder if his

father would feel half as betrayed by him as Perry had by his abandonment.

When Perry didn’t have a comeback, his father spoke up again. “Just don’t sneak off to make calls.”

“Since when do I need my calls monitored?”

His father frowned. “Since Caleb’s got it out for you. Don’t give him a reason to suspect you’re up to something.”

“I don’t give a damn what he suspects,” Perry lied. One of the many untruths he’d told his father. In the beginning, Perry kept his link

with Shadow Falls a secret because of the FRU’s association with the school. He knew unregistered supernaturals like his parents feared all

things FRU. Then Perry learned other reasons to keep it to himself.

His father glanced over his shoulder, as if making sure they were alone, then refocused on Perry. “You need to take your attitude down a

notch. For now. Caleb’s gonna screw up. Jax already has him on his radar.”

Jax again. “You said you didn’t know who was running this show.”

“Maybe I know more than I said. But you’ve got to trust me.”

Trust. It hit then. A whole knot of hurt, like tightly wound rubber bands, unfurling in his chest—each one snapping free and leaving an

emotional welt.

He stepped closer to his father, now just inches from the man’s face. “Trust you? You friggin’ abandoned me when I was three years old. Left

me in a damn mall. I almost killed someone.” It was the first time Perry had brought it up. Not that he hadn’t wanted to. It was the damn

elephant in the room.

But pointing out the elephant wouldn’t accomplish anything. So why had he spilled his guts now? Because he wasn’t thinking straight—his

concern over Miranda had pushed him over the edge.

Suddenly, he didn’t just want to talk to someone about her over the phone. He wanted to see Miranda—in person. He needed a break from this,

from his father and the scum he hung out with.

He needed it now. His eyes stung with heightened emotions. He inhaled once, then twice, hoping to rein it in before he morphed into something

big and angry.

Before he said something he shouldn’t.

Before his father guessed that he wasn’t here to rekindle their lost relationship.

“You were impossible to handle. Your mom was going to leave me if I…” Was that regret in his old man’s eyes?

Nothing like a mother’s love. Perry had figured out that it had been his mom’s idea to abandon him. The memories of his early years were not

of him clinging to his mom, but to his dad. Even at two he’d sensed her lack of love.

Maybe that was why this was so hard. Because while his dad was the one committing the crimes, Perry knew it was his mom’s idea.

“Hey, you’re the one who looked us up,” his father said. “And if you came just to give us some crap, then pack your shit and leave. If you

came to see how we might be able to help each other, then forget the past. And start listening to me.”