I instantly looked up at Phantom. When she shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head, I looked back at the man on the screen before me and sighed. He knew more than I thought, apparently. Now, I just needed to figure out how to get him talking.
“Why did you bury it?”
“Katherine, what is going on?”
I wanted to trust him. I really did, but my past wouldn’t let me. He seemed genuine, and it looked as if he really cared, but I didn’t know the man. I may have met him when I was younger, but with no memory of him, I couldn’t trust him with my life or the life of my husband and daughter.
“Tell me about the photo.”
I watched as Toxic sighed and leaned back in his chair. He took a few minutes to reply, but when he did, he had my full attention. “We were on the run to New York when the Trade Towers fell. We were stuck. We couldn’t get home through the normal routes, so we stayed instead of sneaking out of the city. We hid our cuts for weeks and donned a yellow vest to help the first responders search for the living. Well, that didn’t last long, and soon we were just cleaning up the dead. Look, Katherine, at that time, the country was in chaos. No one really knew what the hell was going on. Lots of lines got crossed in a mess. When the dust settled, your dad, Nitro, and I had been gone way longer than we wanted, but while there, we met someone. Someone who knew a lot about the club. Towards the end, he started asking questions. Personal ones.”
“Who?”
“A man named Mirage. He was the one who took the photo of us.”
“Was he with another club?”
“Not that we could figure out. He wore no colors. For all intense and purposes, he was just a lone rider. We meet a lot of those on the road. They are good men generally but harmless.”
“But this guy wasn’t?”
“No. I could tell, and so could your father. There was something about him that made us keep our distance.”
“Did he ever give you his real name?”
“No,” Toxic said flatly. “I wouldn’t go looking for this man. He wasn’t what he said he was. The man is…I don’t know who he is, but your dad confronted him before leaving New York City. The man didn’t admit to shit, but he did say that ‘The sins of the father will be reaped upon the son.’”
I froze.
I knew what that meant, and from the opened mouth stares from Gadget and Phantom, they did too. This was what I was looking for. Another piece to the puzzle. Whoever this Mirage was, he knew the truth. He had to. I just needed to find him and get him to tell me what he knew. But to find him, I was going to need Toxic’s help. He was the only one alive to see the man. Even after all these years, Toxic should be able to identify him. But before I could trust Toxic, I needed to know where his loyalties lay. Taking the bull by the horns, I asked, “Tell me what you know about Caroline Doherty?”
“She’s a cunt. Nothing more than a whore, and if I ever cross paths with her again, I will slit her fucking throat. What the fuck do you want with her?”
Phantom smirked as she whispered. “He seems loyal to me.”
Gadget nodded.
Taking that leap of faith Phantom suggested, I said, “Caroline Doherty is trying to bring down the club.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. She’s been trying to do that since before you were born. Is she still fucking that asshole Diablo? Or has she moved on to someone richer?”
“You know about Diablo?”
“How the fuck do you think I got this scar? That fucker gave it to me the night you were born.”
I sat up and gasped.
Toxic laughed. “Did you think your dad, Pop’s, and Moonshine were the only ones there that night, Kitty? Was that what you were told. Well, let me enlighten you, little girl. I was there, along with Nitro and Acid. Your momma gave birth in the middle of hell and survived. A strong woman that one.”
“My brother? What happened to him?”
“He’s safe. That’s all you need to know.”
“No Toxic. I need to find him. Caroline is searching for him. She killed Nitro. Reaper knows of his parentage. I told him. He’s already started cleaning house. I have to find my brother before Caroline or Diablo does.”
Toxic chuckled. “Good luck with that because his past was erased. I took care of that myself. No one knows who he is. Not even him.”
“But you know where to find him?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Toxic, where is my brother?”
The man looked directly into the screen and said, “Right where I left him,” before ending the video call.
“Fuck!”