Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(72)

Caffeine wasn’t his friend, but he needed something.

Perry ordered the fastest thing on the menu, and she walked off. He focused back on his parents. “Where’s the other guys?”

Pride beamed from his father’s eyes. “Jax sent Chuckie and Mark to finish something. Caleb no longer works for Jax.”

Perry’s mind scrambled to take it all in. Mark had gone with Chuckie. Perry needed to let Burnett know. Trying to play it cool about the Caleb

information, Perry sipped the bitter coffee. “What happened with Caleb?”

“I talked to Jax,” his father said.

“That’s not the only reason.” The sound of his mother’s voice said she drew pleasure from chipping at her husband’s pride.

“Maybe not all of it.” His father frowned and focused back on Perry. “But when he found out the FRU had been called because a girl was dead,

he was livid. He told Caleb to pack his shit and run because he was sending guys after him.”

Perry set his cup down.

His mom spoke up. “Jax doesn’t take shit from anyone.” She looked right at Perry, almost as if she was warning him.

Two thoughts hit and not about the warning. One: Perry hoped Jax did him the favor of killing Caleb, but then how would Perry know for sure? He

personally needed to know that Caleb paid for killing Bell. Two: How was it his mother seemed to know Jax so well? Perry had assumed his father

was the one with the connections. Had he assumed wrong?

His father forked another bite of his French toast. “It made things worse that the girl Caleb killed was Jax’s ex-girlfriend.”

His father’s words bounced around Perry’s head. Shit. Was Jax the father of Bell’s baby? And if so, would he go looking for him?

His father picked up his fork and went in for another bite of his French toast. His mom pushed his dad’s plate back. “You’re gonna get fat.

And I have to see you naked.” She snatched his fork from his hands.

Perry waited, hoping his dad would tell her where she could put the fork.

He didn’t.

His mom nudged her hardly touched plate of French toast away. “She wasn’t Jax’s girlfriend, just some slut he’d screwed. And she was stupid

to jump into a fight with shape-shifters.”

Her words were like a hot poker hitting every nerve Perry owned. “She was the security. It was her job.”

“Then she was an idiot taking the job. Everyone knows vampires can’t control shifters.”

Perry took in a deep breath. “She’s dead. It’s disrespectful to speak ill of her.”

“I only said the truth.” She smiled as if annoying Perry made her happy.

He swallowed the emotions clogging his throat. After several beats of silence he spoke up again. “You sound like you know Jax well.” Faking

calm he didn’t feel, he turned his coffee cup.

She looked at his father. “You haven’t told him?”

His father shrugged. “Not yet.”

“What?” Perry picked up the cup, staring at them over the cup’s lip as he took a sip.

“Jax is your half brother,” his mom said.

Perry choked on the hot liquid sliding down his throat.

He set his cup down a little hard and the hot liquid sloshed over the mug’s lips.

“You’re joking.” He grabbed a napkin to soak up the mess.

“No,” his mom said. “I had a baby a year before I met your dad.”

Perry took in air. “I don’t remember a brother.”

“His dad kept him,” his mom said as if that didn’t reflect badly on her at all.

What? Your first child’s daddy refused to abandon this one? Cynicism filled Perry’s chest. At his mom. At his dad. Then came a realization—

equally disturbing.

Not only was Perry going to put his mom and dad away, he’d be taking down his half brother. Damn it! Any more family members to destroy?

Then another thing occurred to him. The baby, Bell’s baby, could be Perry’s nephew.

The waitress dropped Perry’s pancakes down. He took a few bites, but noted the blood on his shirt again, and his appetite went south.

“Should we get going?” he asked his father.

“Eat, he just lives two blocks down Jackson.”

His mom’s phone rang. She looked at the screen. “Speak of the devil. Hi son.” She looked at Perry as if he would be jealous. “We’re on our

way.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

Perry could hear Jax talking, but couldn’t distinguish his words.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” his mom said. “You didn’t think it was yours anyway.”

Oh, hell! Was Jax trying to find the baby?

“Okay,” his mom said. “Why?”

Why what?

“What time?” She paused. “Fine, call me with details.”

She hung up. “Jax can’t make it today. He wants us to meet him tomorrow. He’s going to let us know where and when later.”

Perry took another sip of his coffee, his mind racing. First order of business was losing his parents.

“If we’re not meeting him, I’m going back to my girlfriend’s.”