Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

F or a moment, Cage wondered if he'd been drugged again. Until this very second, he hadn't had a single ounce of proof that he had been the one to knock up Veronica in high school. It wasn't as if she'd ever reached out to him or even told him about the baby. All information that Cage knew about her kid had come from social media and rumor.

Looking at the teenager in front of him… God, it was like looking into a mirror. There was no way that this kid wasn't his.

He was clearly nervous. He was wearing jeans, running sneakers, and a football jersey. The kid also had some guts. He stood with his shoulders squared back and looked Cage in the eyes, as if daring him to deny paternity.

Even before Cage knew he loved Angel, he'd pictured himself as Bree's father. Not only did he feel responsible for her since donating his kidney, but he felt a bond with her. They both cared for and loved Angel. Being a father had never been a consideration for him before Bree.

He'd been wrong. He'd been so wrong.

Ready or not, he should have fought for his kid. His son . He'd been a coward, taking the easy way out. Claiming that he was doing the right thing by staying out of his kid's life and sending money each month.

Stupid. Coward.

Regardless of Veronica's feelings or wishes, there were ways to have forced her hand. Her son was Cage's son too. She had had no right to keep him from Cage in the first place, but it was Cage who hadn't pushed.

He should have pushed. He had a kid . He'd missed sixteen years of that kid's life.

Realizing he was just standing there, staring at his son, Cage lunged forward. He wrapped his arms around his kid and hugged him tight. There was definite hesitation in the boy's movements, but he eventually hugged Cage back just as tightly. His face dipped into Cage's shoulder as he clung to him.

"Fuck," Cage breathed out, "I don't even know your name, but I am so damn happy to see you."

Cage felt wetness on his shirt but didn't judge the kid. He had tears in his own eyes.

"Aaron," came the muffled reply.

Cage gripped him tighter. "It's good to finally meet you, A-a-ron."

His son snorted into his shoulder. "God, how old are you?" But the joke was enough to break the ice. Aaron stepped back, quickly wiping his eyes. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Not as many as you," Cage countered. "But I do have to ask how you got here and if your mom knows you're here."

A flash of worry crossed his son's young face, but Cage had to hand it to him for sticking with the truth. "No. I left yesterday morning as if I was going to school. Hopped on a bus and got myself here." Cage was about to tell him to get on the phone right that second and call his mother, but Aaron's next words stopped him cold. "They want to send me to a conversion camp. I'm supposed to leave tomorrow—or today, I guess."

"Conversion camp?" Cage's blood felt like ice. "What conversion camp?"

"It's some camp their church sponsors." Again, the kid's bravery shone through. He knew nothing about Cage or his beliefs, and yet he looked him right in the eyes as he said, "I'm gay. I will always be gay and no amount of prayers or conversion therapy is going to change that."

Cage felt himself starting to shake with rage. "Angel!"

She was right there behind him. He felt her hand immediately take his as she leaned into him.

"I'm fighting for custody," he told her pointblank. "I know you didn't ask for this. I'll do it alone if I have to?—"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" For a second, Cage felt his heart sink, but he should have known better. He could only blame his lack of faith in her on tiredness and shock at finally being introduced to his son. "Of course, we're fighting for custody. I don't care if we have to have Keys fudge the DNA tests. He is not returning to those bigots!" She turned and looked Aaron up and down. "Though, I highly doubt a paternity test is even necessary."

Cage leaned down and kissed her fast and hard. He leaned his forehead against hers, borrowing her strength. "You are amazing and I love you."

He felt her smile. "Ditto."

Cage lifted his head and turned towards Aaron. "First, meet your stepmom, Angel. Second, you have a sister. Her name is Bree and she's a paraplegic. Third, our house is small but there is a spare bedroom that's yours. You might need to sleep on the couch for a night or two until we can get your furniture situated. Fourth, there will be a cop coming to talk to you in the morning. You tell him everything . I mean, every fucking thing that they have ever done or said to you that is anti-gay or whatever the legal terminology is. Fifth, we'll talk more, but in the morning. We're all exhausted and going to need our wits about us for the battle to come."

Aaron's jaw was hanging open. He looked like a fish out of water. Then he gasped out, "I can stay?"

"Fuck yes, you can stay," Cage snapped.

"And…you're okay with me being gay?"

Cage snorted. "Son, I could care less who you love. Who you love has no reflection on who you are as a man. It is also not an excuse to be an asshole. You be true to yourself and be someone you are proud to be. Anything else after that is just icing on the cake."

A tear streamed down his cheek. Aaron quickly wiped it away. "I didn't know what to expect coming here. I only learned about you about a year ago. I knew I couldn't stay there. I started researching you so I could find you."

Cage's heart felt like it had a vise around it. "Can you forgive me for not coming for you on my own? I swear, I thought you were better off without me in your life."

Aaron let out a snort laugh of relief. "Dad, you have shown me more acceptance in the five minutes I've known you than my mom, her asshole of a husband, and my controlling grandparents have shown me combined my entire life." He wiped his eyes again. "Of course, I forgive you."

Cage stepped forward. He put his hands on his son's shoulders. "You have so much acceptance coming your way, kid, that you're not going to know what hit you. You have an army at your back that you didn't know existed and, I swear to you, if it is your choice to stay with me, I will fight until the ends of the earth for you."

Since Bree was already asleep at Bulldog's, they left her there and would introduce her to her new brother in the morning. Aaron only had a backpack with him.

The one thing Cage did do was call Carlos. He needed to know, legally, that he was within his rights and he wouldn't be charged with kidnapping. Carlos had to come over and put eyes on Aaron so he could verify he was safe and healthy. Then he got the ball rolling to ensure that any Amber alerts issued for Aaron were cancelled.

Despite the fact that Aaron was the spitting image of Cage at sixteen, Cage needed to get a paternity test done ASAP. Cage needed to call a lawyer and petition immediately for full custody. At sixteen, Carlos said that any judge would take Aaron's account of his life and his opinion into order.

Carlos would be by in the morning to take Aaron's statement, but he did say that Cage had paternal rights the moment paternity was confirmed.

As Angel got Aaron situated on the couch, Cage pulled out his computer and started looking for family lawyers. He didn't care what it took or how much it cost. He was getting custody of his son.

Conversion camp? What the ever-loving fuck. He didn't even realized places like that still existed.

"You can't blame yourself."

"I sent money to those fuckers yesterday ," Cage snapped. He was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop in front of him. "I've been paying for those fucking bigots to raise my son ."

Angel's arms came around his shoulders. "I know," she said softly. He felt her lips against his cheek. "But he's here. He's safe ."

"I should have gone after him years ago."

Angel let out a deep sigh and then moved in front of him. She sat down and took his hand on the table. "You think I don't blame myself for what happened to Amber? We weren't close, but she was still my twin. She felt what I felt and vice versa. I will never know what she went through those last two days of her life, but I know she was scared.

"We can't change the past, Cage. We can only change how to react to it in the present and the future. We are here for Aaron now . We will be here for Aaron tomorrow . Show him your unwavering support and love. Show him the type of man he should aspire to be."

Cage looked over at Angel for the first time. "You truly are amazing, you know."

She smiled. "I know." She stood up. "Come to bed. I'll make some calls in the morning too. We'll get custody of Aaron. I promise."

Cage stood, allowing her to pull him from the table and his computer. "You know, I made good on my end of the deal, but you still never did tell me how you got Bree's identity faked so quickly and so perfectly."

Angel smiled back at him. "Fuck me again and I'll tell you."

"Oh, yeah?" He pulled her back against his chest. "Should I fuck you right here, right now? I'll be building up credit then, since you were the one who didn't hold up your end of the bargain last time."

A voice came from the living room. "Um, still here, guys."

Angel's cheeks reddened but Cage just smiled.

The only downside about spending so much time in Uncle Bulldog's house was the fact that it didn't have the amenities her own did. As Bree rolled herself down the ramp to the sidewalk, she wished that Cassie's room was on the first floor. It wasn't the end of the world, but she didn't like having to be carried up and down the stairs. At least they had had a ramp to their front door put in.

Bree didn't know where Angel and Cage had gone last night with most of the club. But she'd been around the club and was old enough to understand that sometimes, you just don't ask questions. It was safer.

As she pushed herself up the ramp to her house, Angel opened the front door for her. "Got a surprise for you."

Bree raised an eyebrow at her mom. "Oh yeah?"

Angel pulled her backpack off of the back of her chair. It had her bathroom supplies, pajamas, and toiletries in it. Bree had to take a daily prescription pill to help her defecate on a schedule in the mornings. She also needed to take supplements like iron, cranberry, and magnesium. Angel pulled her pill caddy out of Bree's bag before tossing the pack onto the table by the front door. In other homes, items could be tossed around on the floor and picked up later, but Bree needed the floor to be clean and clear for her to get her chair around easily.

Angel led Bree into the kitchen, where Cage and—Bree's eyes went wide—a miniature Cage sat. Actually, miniature was incorrect. The teenager was huge, but he was a replica of Cage. Bree knew immediately that this was the kid that Cage suspected he'd fathered in high school. As she watched the two men pile pancakes into their mouths in an identical fashion, a wave of unexpected jealousy hit her.

When Angel had told Bree about her miscarriage, she'd been upset for Angel. She didn't feel like she'd lost out on something herself because she hadn't known about the baby before she'd been gone. It was sad but not devastating for Bree as it had been for Angel. However, it did make Bree think. She liked the idea of having a younger sibling. It would make their family more whole.

The fact that the first feeling she felt upon meeting Cage's son was jealousy took her by surprise. She shouldn't feel jealous. She knew that. She should be feeling excited and happy. Maybe a little nervous and apprehensive about the future, but not jealous .

Except…

Bree loved Angel. She was the first person to stand up for Bree, to fight for her, in her entire life. She had taken Bree in and given her so much, including knowing what it felt like to be loved by a mother. Not a foster mother, but a mom .

Cage, though, had given Bree something that Angel couldn't. Regardless of how much Angel had fought, it had been Cage who had saved Bree's life. His selfless actions in giving her one of his kidneys had given her a fighting chance.

But she wasn't his kid . Regardless that Cage had plans to adopt her, she wasn't his kid . For some unknown reason, Bree hadn't felt upset or angry when she'd learned about Cage and Angel's baby or their plans to try again in the future.

And yet Bree felt displaced by this teenager who looked so much like his father when she didn't even know his name or how long he planned on staying?

Angel, not noticing Bree's inner turmoil, put a hand on Bree's shoulder. "Baby, this is Aaron, Cage's son. He's going to be moving in with us. Aaron, this is Bree, my daughter."

My daughter. Not our daughter. Angel had not given Cage claim to Bree with a single word.

Aaron quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. "Hey, Bree. It's really great to meet you."

He approached her and Bree wondered if he planned to kneel in front of her. Since being confined to her chair, she'd picked up on the different ways two-leggers, her own word for walking people, treated those in wheelchairs.

The first was to completely and utterly ignore them. If she couldn't walk, she didn't exist.

Next was the pity squat. They come down to her height but they did so with this look of pity that made her want to slap them. Like they were doing her this great favor by stooping to her level.

And then there was the bend . When they remained standing and bent over her like they were staking their dominance because they were taller and abled .

Aaron, however, did none of those. He remained at his full height, which nearly matched Cage's, and held his hand low to her.

Bree studied his face for a moment to see if he actually meant his words. He looked like he did, but maybe he was just a really good actor? When she saw Cage and Angel exchange a worried look that she was leaving Aaron hanging, Bree reached forward and took his hand. "You too." She tried to make her voice sound even and pleasant. She wasn't sure she succeeded. "You're moving in?"

"Yeah, as soon as my dad gets custody of me."

Bree flinched at the word. She didn't mean to. Normally ‘dad' didn't bother her. Still, it was close enough and she was already feeling…out of sorts that it got to her.

Noticing her reaction, Aaron took a step back. "If you're not okay with me here?—"

"It's not that," Angel quickly insisted. She squatted down next to Bree. For some reason, Bree had never minded Angel lowering herself down to speak with her. Maybe because she never acted like it was a hardship. She made it seem natural. "Do you need a minute?"

Bree shook her head. She was grateful Angel had picked up on her distress, but also grateful that Angel hadn't noticed her other unrest.

Cage stepped up behind Aaron. "I'm sorry, Bree. I wasn't thinking?—"

"It's fine," she said quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Cage to get mad at her. What if he decided that he didn't want two teenagers to take care of? What if he decided, now that he had Aaron, that he didn't want Bree too. "Really. I'm fine."

No one, not even Aaron, looked like they believed her.

Angel turned Bree's chair so she was facing her rather than Aaron and Cage. "Want to try that again? This time with the truth."

Bree's cheeks heated. "Really, Mom, I'm fine. If that's what he wants to call Cage, then it's fine with me."

"Hey!" Bree's head automatically turned at the loud voice. Cage didn't look mad , but he did have a scowl on his face. "I'm Pops, remember, kid?" He pointed to his own chest. "And you have every right to feel comfortable and safe in this house. If it bothers you to have Aaron call me ‘Dad' then you can ask him nicely to also call me ‘Pops'."

Bree swallowed. Cage had never spoken to her like that before. Like…a dad. In a weird way, it was comforting.

Softly, Aaron asked Cage, "What's wrong with the word ‘dad'?" He glanced between Cage, Angel, and Bree.

Bree cleared her throat. "Angel isn't my bio-mom. She adopted me after I was rescued by the club. I was held for two years by a pedophile who insisted I call him Da—" The strength in her voice broke and she flinched. Bree slammed her eyes closed and had to internally count backwards from ten. It's just a word , she reminded herself. A word cannot hurt me . "Who insisted I call him ‘Daddy'," she forced herself to finish as if she hadn't had to take a moment to get herself under control. Bree opened her eyes to look at Aaron, who had gone pale. "For obvious reasons, that word is a trigger towards my anxiety."

"Well…shit," was all Aaron said.

Bree was tempted to tell him about the swear jar. "I have no right to ask you not to call Cage your…dad," she forced out the word, "but it's close enough that sometimes it also triggers me."

"Hey, I have no issue calling him ‘Pops'. I'm not here to cause you problems or to make you feel uncomfortable in your own home, Bree. I am— Hell, it sounds so pathetic in comparison, but I came here to beg for a safe home. My bio-mom is trying to force me to go to a conversion camp since I came out of the closet."

Bree tipped her head to the side. "You're gay?"

He nodded. The kid was six feet and was clearly a jock. It sounded bad, especially coming from her, but he didn't look gay. But her jealousy was slowly being replaced with sympathy. When Cage had told her about his possible kid, he'd said that he would be sixteen by now.

Bree pursed her lips. "Are you going to be going to school with me?"

Aaron looked to Cage, clearly not having an answer for her.

"Yes," Cage told her. "Not right away since we have to figure out custody. I've got a call in with a lawyer who is filing a petition as we speak for emergency custody due to child endangerment. We'll know more hopefully soon, but once he's ours permanently, he'll be going to school with you, Ollie, and Scotty."

The sudden image that came to mind made Bree snort.

Angel raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Kinda sounds like the start of a really twisted joke. Two gay kids and two special needs kids walk into a high school…"

Angel rolled her eyes at her. "Glad to see you found your sense of humor."

Aaron looked to Cage. "Who're Ollie and Scotty?"

"Your new cousins," Cage told him. He gestured for everyone to come sit at the table. Bree pushed her chair up to her spot. "Scotty just turned seventeen. He has Downs and goes to the special education classes at the high school. Ollie is a foster kid Steel and Jenna are seeking adoption for. He's also gay and was treated poorly because of it."

Though Bree saw plenty of syrup already on his plate, Aaron picked up the bottle and poured even more onto his cut-up pancakes. "Are there a lot of kids here? I didn't really know what to expect when I found out you were a member of a motorcycle club, but you guys don't really seem that badass."

Bree caught the look Angel and Cage exchanged, as well as the way Angel's lips twitched.

"You met Steel last night," Cage told his son. "He's married to Jenna. They have three kids, Carter, Jordan, and Melanie. Carter is married to Lucy and they have a son, Drew. Jordan is mid-twenties and works in Philadelphia and Melanie is eighteen. She just started college. They recently took in Ollie.

"Then there's Lucky?—"

Bree stopped Cage with a hand up before he could list the entire club. She knew from experience how daunting that could be. "I have a cheat sheet on my phone. I'll get it for you."

Aaron gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks. I really hope there's not a quiz at the end of the day."

In spite of her earlier feelings, Bree felt herself smile back at him. "I've been where you are. But, you know, there's no one more badass in this club then that man right there." She pointed her fork at Cage. "He gave me a kidney when he didn't even know me."

Aaron's jaw dropped. "What?"

The rest of breakfast was filled with laughter and astonishing stories as the tension in the room completely died away. Cage threw Bree the occasional wink, which assured her that she was in no way displaced by the new presence in their lives. Furthermore, Cage made it known that he was adopting Bree.

Angel was silent most of the meal but watching with a look of adoration as the man she loved got to know his long-lost son. Aaron told them about being on the football team and his plans to join the Army out of high school. At Cage's aghast and heartbroken expression, Angel made a cheer and told Aaron that he'd chosen the "better" branch.

Hours passed before Bree realized it. She was just starting to think that, perhaps, having an older brother wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…when Cage pulled out his phone to show her all the Pride Ally paraphernalia he'd already purchased.

"I got the rainbow socks. Even ordered a patch for my cut. Next time I'm in the shop, Angel's going to tattoo ‘Pops' on me in rainbow colors."

Angel snorted. "I am, am I?"

"You are now," Cage informed her.

Aaron dropped his face in his hand. "How is it that I haven't even known you twenty-four-hours yet and somehow you're already embarrassing me?"

"Trust me," Cage said in a warning tone, "I haven't even begun to embarrass you." He clicked on his phone and then turned the screen around to show them. "This is the shirt I will wear on your first day of high school here."

On his screen was a black t-shirt with a dinosaur graphic. A large outline of a t-rex was in white and he was fist-bumping a smaller t-rex that was colored with rainbow stripes. There was even a rainbow heart above their tapping fists. Underneath the dinosaurs were the words Papasaurus Rex .

Aaron's jaw dropped as his cheeks flamed. "Oh God."

Cage smiled wickedly. "I also got a book called The Joy of Gay Sex. I got a lot to learn before I can give you the birds and the bees talk."

If possible, Aaron's face flamed even redder.

Carlos had one of his deputies bring a camera to record Aaron's interview. Angel took Bree out for a ride on the trike to give Aaron some privacy. Though Angel had offered to stay, Cage encouraged her to go. This was Bree's last day of summer before she started school the next day. The original plan had been for the three of them to take the hogs out once more, so it was only Cage backing out that changed Bree's day.

Aaron and Cage were sitting next to each other on the couch. Carlos pulled up a chair so he was in the video but not prominent.

"This is Sheriff Carlos Santiago of the Mount Grove Police Department in Mount Grove, Pennsylvania. Today is Tuesday, September 10, 2024, and it is 11:34 in the morning. I am interviewing Vasileios Georgiou and Aaron Banks, minor, age sixteen. Vasileios Georgiou is the suspected biological father of Aaron Banks. Cheeks swabs were taken this morning at 11:04 and are being submitted for a paternity test.

"Mr. Georgiou, please tell us in your own words why you believe that Aaron is your son."

Cage didn't like having the camera on him, but he was willing to push through his discomfort if it helped get custody of Aaron. Danny, one of Carlos's deputies, had already been by to take a cheek swab from both Aaron and Cage. They were sending it off to the lab with a rush order per the judge Carlos had been in contact with already that morning.

"When I was seventeen, I cheated on my girlfriend, Emily Santo, with her best friend, Veronica Milton. She's married now and goes by Veronica Banks. Anyway, we did use protection. About four months later, Veronica suddenly moved out of our school."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Carlos said. "Where was this?"

"Watsonville, Illinois. It's outside of Chicago. It was summer of 2007, I believe."

"Thank you. Continue."

"As I said, Veronica left school suddenly. I didn't think anything of it. Emily and I had already broken up around that time and I had no reason to pay attention to Veronica. But there was this rumor going around school that Veronica left because she was pregnant. Since we'd slept together, I thought I should call to check, but I could only ever leave messages. She'd had a boyfriend around that time too, but I wanted to make sure. I even tried her parents' home phone. No one ever answered.

"Then I saw a post on social media. Veronica was tagged in it, even though we weren't friends online. I saw that she had a baby in her arms. Again, I tried to reach out. I didn't know what to do, really. But then I landed myself in trouble and I was arrested."

Carlos opened up a folder he had brought with him. "I see the charges were dismissed because you signed an eight-year contract with the Navy."

Cage nodded. "The judge gave me a chance to make something of my life."

"Did you ever try to reach Mrs. Banks again?"

"Several times. I came to the conclusion that she blocked my number."

"Did you ever hire anyone to try to find her or the baby you suspected was your son?"

Cage shook his head. "I mailed money each month to her parents' address. I knew from others around town that they still owned the house."

"Why would you mail money if you didn't know the baby was yours?"

Cage had to think about that answer for a moment. "I needed to do something. Maybe it was guilt over the original affair, I don't know. I just knew that there was a chance that her baby was mine and I wanted to give him something."

"Thank you, Mr. Georgiou. Is there anything else you would like to add?"

Cage shook his head, but then changed his mind. "Just that I regret missing out on the last sixteen years of my son's life. I should have made more of an effort back then." He looked at Aaron. "But I'm here now and I'm not giving up my son without a fight."

"Thank you, Mr. Georgiou." Carlos turned to Aaron. "Hi, Aaron. Can you please confirm for me your full name and date of birth?"

"Aaron Vincent Banks. My birthday is June 4, 2008."

"You're sixteen. Have you ever had contact with Mr. Georgiou before today?"

Aaron shook his head. "I didn't even know Mr. Georgiou existed until about a year ago."

"What did your mother tell you about your father?"

"I thought her husband, Garrett Banks, was my father. That's what everyone's always told me, anyway."

"Can you tell me how you discovered otherwise?"

Aaron glanced at Cage and then back at Carlos. "My parents had been fighting a lot. Nothing physical, just a lot of yelling."

"This was two years ago?" Carlos clarified.

"Always," Aaron amended. "But it got really bad around my fourteenth birthday. I overheard my dad—I mean, Mr. Banks—shout at my mom that he was tired of raising her bastard son. That's when I found out that my dad wasn't my dad. I did some digging. I discovered that my mom had married the man I thought was my dad when I was three. When she took his name, she had my name changed too.

"I got really mad. I confronted my mom and demanded she tell me about my real dad. She refused to give me his name but told me that he didn't want me, that he'd never wanted me. But she let it slip that he'd gone to the same high school as her. I knew she had some of her old high school memorabilia in her bedroom closet. I waited until she was out one day and then went to see what I could find.

"I got out her junior yearbook—she didn't have a senior one that I could find—and an old photo album. I took it back to my room to look through. That's when I found this." Aaron reached into his back pocket. He opened his wallet and pulled a folded photo out.

Cage took the picture Aaron handed him. It was a picture of himself at sixteen. His arm was around Emily's shoulders. Another kid—Cage couldn't remember his name—had his arm around Veronica's. They were at the beach. Cage and the other boy were in swim trunks while the girls were in bikinis. Looking at himself at sixteen and then Aaron now, there was no doubting his son's lineage.

Cage handed the photo to Carlos, who held it up in front of the camera.

"Mr. Georgiou, do you recognize the people in this photo?"

Cage nodded. "I don't remember the boy's name, but he was Veronica's boyfriend that summer. Emily's with me on the left and Veronica's on the right."

"Thank you." Carlos handed the photo back. "Aaron, how did you find Mr. Georgiou's name?"

"Well, after I saw the picture, I knew immediately who my father had to be. I found his name in the yearbook from the year before. Then I started searching him online. Once I found his business website, it was easy to track down where he lived and worked."

"Did you try to reach out to him? Call him? You suspected Mr. Georgiou was your father for two years. In that time, did you do anything with that information?"

Aaron shook his head. "I believed what my mom told me, that he didn't want anything to do with me."

Guilt seized Cage—because he hadn't done a damn thing that would have proven to Aaron otherwise.

"And what made you think differently that you ran away from your home to go find him?"

"My parents—I mean, my mom and her husband were arguing again. Mr. Banks was drunk and throwing insults at my mom. He called her a slut and a whore."—Cage cringed at that. Regardless of Veronica's homophobic views, no one deserved to be sexually shamed like that.—"Mr. Banks called me a bastard and shouted that the only reason their church even accepted me was because of him. That my mom owed him. Anyway, I wasn't going to let him talk to my mom like that, so I intervened. We exchanged a lot of bad words and then he told me that I'd be better off with my own father. Something about ‘at least he puts out for me'.

"I didn't understand what he meant so I asked. Mr. Banks told me that my birth father paid money each month for me. I figured that was something the courts made him do, but then Mr. Banks said something about how my mom was such a slut she didn't even know who my birth father was and she was just conning some poor guy out of his money."

Cage reached over and took Aaron's hand.

"Aaron, tell me about your childhood. Were you fed, clothed? When you were sick, were you taken to the doctor?"

Aaron nodded. "My mom has very strict religious views when it comes to my sexuality, Sheriff, but I do not want it known that she's a bad mom. She raised me very well."

"We're going to need to talk about that. Are you okay discussing your sexuality openly?"

Aaron nodded. "I am not ashamed to be gay. I never have been. As soon as I realized I was, I came out. I am not the sort to hide—though I don't judge those who do," he quickly added.

"That's very brave of you," Carlos commented. "What was your mom's reaction when you told her you are gay?"

Aaron licked his lips. He looked to Cage, who gave him an encouraging nod. "It wasn't good." Aaron swallowed nervously. "She started praying for my soul. There was a lot of crying. Then she left to go speak with her pastor."

"What about Mr. Banks?"

Unlike with his mom, Aaron's face now turned angry. "The man called me a cocksucker and told me that he was glad I was no son of his. That was the last time I spoke to him."

"When was this?"

"About six months ago."

Rage burned through Cage. The man who'd been raising his son in his place had dared to call him a cocksucker?

"What happened that made you run away from your home?"

Aaron cleared his throat. "My mom started to take me to church every day with her. She told my grandparents, her parents, and they agreed that I needed to have my sin purged from me. Their pastor tried praying and he baptized me again. He even put me in a room and made me watch straight porn for hours on end."

Cage could see the anger on Carlos's face before he composed himself. "Was your mom aware of what your pastor was doing to you?"

Sadness crossed Aaron's face. He looked away from Carlos and Cage. His chin trembled slightly. "She was there. Not in the room with me during…" His cheeks reddened. "She encouraged it. Said I needed to learn what real men acted like."

Carlos pressed Pause on the camera. "I'm so sorry, Aaron. Do you need a minute?"

Aaron shook his head and quickly wiped his face. Then he wiped his cheeks again, harder. Cage reached over to grab a tissue for him. The men waited patiently for Aaron to collect himself before Carlos pressed Play again.

"Interview continuing with Vasileios Georgiou and Aaron Banks," Carlos said to the camera. "Aaron, did you protest this treatment with your mom?"

"Many times." Anger had replaced the sadness in his voice. "I pleaded with her not to make me go. One time, my grandpa even strong-armed me into the car and then dragged me into the church."

"This is your mom's father?" Carlos asked, taking notes. "Name, please."

"Lucas Milton, but he goes by Luke to his friends."

Cage racked his memory to try to remember if he'd ever met Veronica's father in person. He didn't think so—but the fucker was dead. The man had strong-armed his son!

"What did your mother say to your protests?"

"That my soul was damned. She called me a sodomite even though I'm a virgin and don't even know if I like or want to have anal sex. Each day after school, I had to read Bible verses she chose out loud to her for hours. I know that Leviticus 18:22 states that you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination . I know that Leviticus 20:13 also states that if a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them . Genesis 13:13 claims that the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord . Corinthians 6:9 ends with neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality are unrighteous and will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Cage believed in God. He hoped that God was loving and forgiving as the Bible said. But listening to his son quote scripture about how he was unwelcome in Heaven because of who he loved… It tore Cage up inside. How could a God, any God, claim to be the maker of all and yet damn those He made?

Carlos had to clear his throat. He looked like he was as ready as Cage to punch something…or someone. "Were you ever physically harmed?"

Aaron looked at Cage. He wasn't sure what his son was looking for, but he nodded his encouragement. "Just tell the truth."

Looking like he'd rather be doing anything else than what he was about to do, Aaron stood up. He turned around so his back was to Carlos and the camera. When Aaron started to undo his pants, Cage and Carlos exchanged a confused look. Aaron lowered his jeans down just enough where part of his butt cheek showed.

Cage. Saw. Red . "Turn off the camera."

"Cage, we?—"

Cage stood to block his son's body from the camera. "Turn off the fucking camera!"

Carlos pressed Pause again.

Cage knelt down so he was facing Aaron's bottom. "Show me," he demanded.

He heard Aaron swallow and then he lowered his pants down to his knees. Cage gently lifted the back of his son's shirt. Angry red markings crisscrossed his lower back, butt, and back of his upper thighs.

"Who did this to you?" Cage tried very hard to keep the anger out of his voice. He didn't want to scare his son, who was being so brave.

"Pastor Robins," Aaron told them. His voice shook, which was understandable. "He said if prayer didn't work then he'd ‘beat the gay' out of me."

Cage squeezed his eyes closed, trying to collect himself. The pastor was beyond dead. Cage would put him in the cellar right next to Nathan Moore. "Your mother knew?"

Aaron only nodded.

Goddamn it, Veronica , Cage cursed the woman he hadn't seen or talked to in seventeen years. He had never harmed a woman, but Veronica Banks had just made his list. He might give her to Angel, though. Cage wasn't sure he had it in him to actually hit a woman.

"Call Bear or Tessa," Cage ordered Carlos behind him. Cage wasn't sure he'd be able to articulate what had happened to the couple without making it sound like a dire emergency. Upon closer inspection, Cage saw that none of the marks were open wounds. There was light bruising, but most of them looked irritated.

"Anywhere else?" Cage didn't even recognize his own voice when he asked.

Aaron shook his head.

Cage turned to Carlos. "Do you need pictures?"

Carlos didn't look happy about it, but he nodded. "Aaron, are you okay with that?"

Aaron certainly didn't look happy. He kept his hands in front of his groin as he nodded. "Do what you need to do."

Carlos came over. He made Cage step back so he could get a clear shot of the markings. When he was done, he put a gentle hand on Aaron's shoulder. "Thank you, son. You're being very brave. You can pull up your pants now."

Aaron did so quickly. Without looking at either adult, he asked, "Can I have a minute?"

"Take all the time you need," Carlos said before Cage could. Cage was grateful for Carlos's answer.

Soon after Aaron stepped into the hall, they heard the bathroom door close. Cage whirled on Carlos. "What the fuck!" he shouted.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear," Carlos held up the camera, "but this is good, Cage. This will grant you the petition."

"You think I wanted my son beaten for his sexuality so I could win custody ?" Cage roared. "All I have ever wanted is just to know my son!"

Carlos did not take the bait. "You know damn well that that wasn't what I meant."

Cage started pacing by the couch. "I need to get those pictures to my lawyer."

"I'll send you over a copy of everything as soon as I've processed it at the station," Carlos promised. "Do you need a minute too?"

Cage shook his head. "No. I want to get this over with. Did you call Bear?"

Carlos nodded. "He's got Maggie, but he's on his way."

"Thank you," he said, though his gratitude came out sounding like a growl. "I want to continue as soon as Aaron is ready. We haven't even gotten to the part where Veronica tried to send him to a conversion camp."

"What do you remember about Veronica?"

Cage shrugged. "Honestly, not much. She was willing and I," he cleared his throat, feeling a bit abashed by the admission, "I was a horny teenager."

"None of this is your fault," Carlos told him.

"People keep telling me that, but I'm having a hard time believing it," Cage said as the bathroom door opened down the hall.

Carlos and Cage turned as Aaron reentered the room.

"Are you ready to continue?" Carlos asked him gently.

Aaron nodded. "Let's get this over with."

The next week flew by in a blur. Not wanting Bree to feel pushed aside by Aaron's entrance into their lives, Angel made sure to drop her off and pick her up each day from school. The town offered her the use of a handicap bus, but Angel told the school that she would be taking Bree for the first few weeks.

Both Harper and Pirate had given Angel private opinions on how Bree was doing in school. At lunch, she sat with Scotty and the other students from Harper's class. While no one seemed to be giving Bree a hard time, it also didn't seem like she was making any friends. Some of the kids were nice to her, but no one stood out as ‘a new friend' to Harper or Pirate.

Bree spoke of her classes and she liked her history teacher, Mr. Bennett. She said he was ‘cool', which was probably the highest praise a teenager could give an adult. Yet, Angel had also picked up on the fact that Bree had not mentioned making any friends.

Cage told Angel to give it time and to not force the situation. High school was hard enough without the pressure of having friends or being popular.

Angel knew he was right but…still… She wanted Bree to have friends. Aside from Cassie, who didn't go to school with her, she had none. Angel wanted Bree to have experiences that weren't linked to the club.

The fallout from their night in Pittsburgh was minimal. As far as Keys could tell, no one suspected the VDMC had any part in the Pythons massacre. Neither King nor Fang had shown their faces and Keys was pondering whether they had split with what resources they'd had on hand before the VDMC had acted.

Steel ordered Keys to stay on their trail.

The AC Pythons were calling for blood but, so far, the blood they were after belonged to the 3Ts. Neither Ivy nor Scar had been seen recently. Bulldog was starting to get pissed off by Scar's appearing and disappearing act.

"The next time I see him, I'm tranq'ing him and then I'm going to get some damn answers!" Bulldog had proclaimed.

However, now that Keys knew that Scar had been working with Ivy and going after the 3Ts as well as the human trafficking ring connected to both the Heaven Haven Community and Mateo Castillo, he was starting to come up with a pattern. Since Scar's departure in February, Keys was able to pinpoint based on police reports roughly where Scar had been. The amount of carnage he left in his wake was daunting but, since it was all criminal blood, no one shed a tear.

Until King and/or Fang were discovered, Steel considered the matter of the Pythons' threat to be closed.

The battle for Aaron's custody had begun and the first lines in the sand had been drawn. Aaron's mom, Veronica, was claiming that Cage had kidnapped her son. Cage was nearly arrested by federal agents and probably would have been if not for Carlos. Agent McAlester, who knew the club from their involvement in Ohiopyle two Aprils ago, had tagged along when he'd heard that one of the VDMC had kidnapped a child and brought that child across state lines.

It had taken some doing, along with a rushed paternity test, but a judge finally signed off on the emergency custody after seeing the video of Carlos's interview with Cage and Aaron. What had been the deciding factor was not Aaron's claim that he was being forced against his will to attend a conversion camp, but the fact that he had permanent marks on his butt from when his mother's pastor had beaten Aaron with his mother present .

The entire club had been outraged at the news. Cage himself had to be held back because Veronica, whom he hadn't seen in seventeen years, had dared to bring her pastor with her to court. The man who had beat his son was in the same room as him and Cage had been forced to let the man walk out of the courtroom alive.

When the judge asked Aaron if he truly wanted to live with his father, who was, by the very definition of the word, a stranger to Aaron, the teenager replied, "Yes," with no hesitation.

Their petition had been granted. Additionally, Cage was filing charges against Veronica, her parents, and her pastor on behalf of Aaron for child endangerment and abuse.

In a little more than a year, Angel had gone from being a single woman to being a single mother to being in a committed relationship with a man she'd once called a ‘man-whore' to being in a family of four. It was all happening so fast that Angel actually had to pinch herself that this was now her life.

The third bedroom in her house had been used as storage. With the help of the prospects, Angel and Cage were able to get it cleared out and painted in a matter of two days. Since the bed frame from Bulldog's old room at his mom's house was not currently in use, they were able to take that and only needed to purchase a king size mattress for Aaron.

The court petition for his emergency custody was not permanent. They still had a battle ahead of them, but it was something . Abuse had been proven. The fact that the judge had a gay son was also on their side. At one point, the man had looked like he wanted to punch Veronica's pastor himself.

The day that Cage had been granted his petition, the club threw a massive party. Aaron was given his club cut, which was made of denim and proclaimed him to be Property of Cage and Angel . Bree was also given a new rocker. Her one single parent patch was now replaced with one proclaiming she had two.

However, the best part of that day, in Angel's opinion, was the meeting between Aaron and Ollie.

Angel had difficulty explaining it. Ollie, who was tall and willowy, was a shy kid of fifteen. He was still working up the courage to attend club gatherings. His history with club events was not good. King had used them as excuses to further mistreat him. The last cut he'd worn had pronounced him to be a ‘faggot' as well as a prospect. Ollie had expressed how much he hated that word.

So when Steel had given Ollie a denim cut that pronounced him Property of Steel , no one was sure how Ollie would take it. Jenna had been standing right next to him, ready to step in if needed.

Ollie, though, looked up at Steel. "Really?"

Steel nodded. "Jenna and I would be honored if you wanted to stay with us."

Ollie burst into tears and threw his arms around Steel's neck. Then he hugged Jenna just as hard. So hard, in fact, that he nearly knocked Jenna over. He couldn't put his new cut on fast enough.

Aaron, who had been getting a non-alcoholic drink at the bar for himself and Bree, had not seen the wholesome display. As he walked back over with a soda cup in each hand, Ollie started doing a happy dance that involved a lot of butt wiggling. Scotty had joined in. Ollie was shouting "shake those hips" at Scotty when he stepped back—and tripped into Aaron.

Soda went flying as limbs flailed. Aaron fell onto his back and Ollie landed on Aaron's chest. Ollie pushed himself up, covered in soda pop, and stopped mid-apology when his eyes landed on Aaron.

Aaron looked just as starstruck as he stared up at the smaller teen.

Angel stopped Cage, who had been moving forward to help them. He looked at her in confusion, but she signaled for him to wait.

Sparks seemed to fly as Ollie and Aaron continued to stare at each other. The moment, though, was broken up by Scotty, who knelt next to them. "Is this part of the dance too?" Then Scotty threw himself onto Ollie's back, pushing him back down onto Aaron's front with a grunted " Oomph! "

Lila shouted, "Cannonball!" and then cross dived like a professional wrestler onto Scotty's back.

Cage turned to Angel. "Now can I help him?"

Angel, who had a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, just nodded.