She lowered her head. “I don’t know why I’m here, don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Lyle is just getting nasty when it comes to your name. You need to watch your back, Rafe. He has a lot of power in this town. You already went down once for something you didn’t do.”

I stared at the river, recalling how Alex had fallen in the other night. I tried not to display any emotion. No clues, no ticks that would give away my guilty ass. “You should go,” I said, knowing I was being rude but unable to stop myself. I had no explanation for Nikki. I didn’t know what to do about my son. Fuck, I didn’t know what she wanted me to do about him. “If you want Lyle to be his dad, I’ll honor your wishes. Eight fucking years is a lot of time to miss. Maybe it’s too late.”

Why did that abrade so much? I’d barely glimpsed the kid, but the thought of letting him go, just as I’d found out about him, chiseled a hole in my heart.

She frowned. “You’re his father. He should know you.”

“He’s probably in what…second grade now?”

She nodded.

“Kids talk, and they’re mean as fuck. Maybe it’s best if we keep it under wraps for now. Last thing I want is to disrupt his life by meeting him, then do it all over again by the talk that’ll follow.” I grimaced. The poor kid would take a lot of shit because of my time in prison.

“Okay.” She turned and headed toward the dock, though I glimpsed the sadness in her eyes before she went. A few minutes later, after she’d started the motor and began across the river toward the boat ramp, I headed up the path to the cabin, my thoughts on Alex and whatever it was she was hiding. I didn’t like it. Too much of the situation was on the verge of crumbling. I couldn’t afford to be in the dark about anything, especially with a kid to think about.

Jax met me at the door, shrugging into his jacket as he stepped onto the porch. “Gotta go. I’ll be back late tonight. Work is getting heavy.”

“See you later.” He and I needed to have a heavy talk, but first things first, Alex was going to spill, and seeing the river, remembering how absolute her fear was, would give me the perfect leverage to make her stubborn ass bend.

17. Interrogation - Alex

17. INTERROGATION - ALEX