Chapter 52

(**Rayne’s POV**)

As they drove to Shadows Retreat, Parker kept tapping the wheel impatiently as he kept getting stuck at traffic lights along the way. She knew that there was nothing to do to help calm his nerves. Rayne had to admit that she was very curious about the timing of his father’s return. First, Frank shows up claiming to be his brother, now his father shows up? What are they both after? Why now?

“What do you think they want?”

Parker glances at her, then his eyes focus back on the road. “Do you think he knows Frank? Are they in this together?”

Rayne sighed as he voiced what she was thinking. “I had a bad feeling with Frank, it was just odd to me. With your father, I don’t feel that. I am not sure why. I want you to keep a rational mind this time.”

Parker growled in frustration as the traffic came to a standstill again. “I know I jumped head first with Frank. I wanted to believe more than anything that someone in my family was still alive. That I wasn’t alone in this world.”

The pain in his voice had tears slipping from her eyes. She knew that feeling he described very well. Reaching her hand over to him, she stroked his cheek tenderly. “I love you, Parker. We will figure this out together. You are not alone anymore.” She took his hand off the wheel since they were stopped and placed it over her stomach.

The smile that replaced his frown made her smile too. “We have made our own family now, Rayne.”

“I know it isn’t that same as having someone from the family you were born into.”

“I just want to know what happened back then. I was so young when they died. Owen coming back made me remember how close we used to be as kids until the orphanage. I know that I was angry with you when you told me you thought he was acting odd. I guess I figured with all the time that had passed between us, it was just how he is now.”

Traffic finally moved, and they could get to the bar. His father was leaning against the wall by the front stairs as he pulled around to the back of the building. Parker pulled the jeep up near the back door and parked it, then he went around the front to greet his father while Rayne went inside to unlock the front door for them.

“We got stuck in traffic, I am sorry.” Rayne heard Parker telling his father as she unlocked the door.

As they both entered the building, Rayne walked behind the counter to grab two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. They laced all of their booze with a substance that could get supernaturals drunk. They had varying strengths to them, but this bottle was the lightest potency they had. She placed the bottle and both glasses on the countertop, then sat on the stool kept behind the bar.

“This is an interesting place you have here. From the outside, it looks like an abandoned building. The glyphs on the wall are very well hidden. I wasn’t sure this place actually existed until now.” Parker’s father stated as he sat on a stool.

“What are you talking about?” Parker asked as he sat on a stool next to him.

The man turned to look at Rayne and studied her for a moment before he spoke again. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Declan Donovan.”

“Hello.”

“I am going to tell you both a story of the past. It will sound a little crazy, but I want you both to believe me when I say it is all true.” Declan grabbed the bottle of whiskey and filled his glass half full.

Rayne looked at Parker then said through their link, *Do you think he knows what we do for the supernatural world?*

*Possibly, let’s hear him out first.*

“So, before I start, there is a question I have to ask. What do you remember from back when you were told we died?”

Parker frown as he thought about it. “Truthfully, there isn’t much I remember from that day. Just that you and mom were driving somewhere. Owen and I were left with the neighbors. Then I remember going to the orphanage after they came to tell us about the accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident.” Declan downed the contents of his glass.

“What do you mean?”

“We were driving to get your birthday present. As we left the village, your mother noticed we were being followed. It was a long drive to the city on a very narrow road, so I pulled over to let the other car pass us. Once the car passed, I got back on the road and we continued our drive. Not long after, we lost track of the other car because of fog that came in suddenly. When we cleared the fog, there were three cars blocking the road with several men standing outside.”

“What the hell?” Parker demanded as he watched his father's face.

“I put the car in reverse to turn around, put that was when two cars pulled out of the trees to block us in. I rolled down the window to ask what they wanted, but when I did one man shot into the car, it it your mother in the shoulder.”

“Holy crap.” Rayne breathed out in shock.

“Before I could shift to protect her, we were pulled from the car. Two men separated themselves from the rest of once we were on the ground. I would have fought the men harder, but I was more worried about your mom and they baby.”

“Wait, mom was pregnant?”

“Yes, we were planning on telling you and your brother when we got back to the house.”

“What happened to you both?” Rayne asked quietly.

“One of the two men introduced himself as Gerald Finkman, then he signaled his men to surround us as he approached. The look on his face sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were calculating and fixed on me. When I tried to ask what he wanted, someone knocked me out. When I woke up later, I was in a cell with my arms above my head as I hung from the ceiling.”

“Who the hell is Finkman?” Parker demanded as anger surged through him.

“I asked that very question and many others over the course of the next week. Then a week turned into a month, a month turned into two, then I stopped asking questions. One day one guard took me from my cell telling me the boss wanted to show me something. He took me to a small theatre where a Gerald sat waiting for me.”

Declan poured himself another drink, he down the entire thing in one swallow before he continued his story.

“I wanted to ask why I was there, but before I could, a shrill scream filled the theatre. Gerald smiled at me as the screen came on. What I saw there stopped my heart. It was your mother giving birth. I was told she was dead by one of the many guards that would torture me. Hearing her scream as he pushed our child into the world broke me.”

“What happened to her and the baby?” Rayne asked with tears in her eyes.

Declan looked away from them after she asked. His body was almost hunched in on itself and the air in the bar was full of his pain. Then in a broken voice he answered her, “He had her killed after letting her hold and name our son, then he had the child taken away. I went mad when I saw her lifeless eyes staring out at me. I was knocked out again, but this time when I woke all I saw was darkness.”

Rayne wanted to reach over to hug Declan, but held back on her instinct as Edmund came up beside her. “Shh, I got you, Ray.”

Declan tensed when he heard Edmund speak. “Edmund Solas, meet Declan Donovan, my father. Edmund is Rayne’s father and he can be trusted.”

“I am sorry, I am just very twitchy when it comes to strangers.”

“That is understandable from what I have overheard as I was coming in. Please finish your tale.” Edmund grabbed another glass from under the bar, filled it halfway, then waited for Declan to continue.

“I spent the next six months in that little cell in almost complete darkness. The sun barely filtered through the tiny window near the ceiling. Then one day the door opened and Gerald stood there staring at me. I was blindfolded, taken somewhere by car, then cleaned up where we arrived out our destination. There they escorted me to a cell that had a bed, a bookshelf, and a small corner bathroom. Then I was given clothes, food, water, and vitamins. This was now my life.”

“The Collectors captured you!” Rayne exclaimed in horror.

(**Parker’s POV**)

The moment those words left Rayne’s lips, Parker saw red. The Collectors were behind everything. It all seemed to circle back to those sick humans.

“The child, my brother, what happened to him?”

“Frank, his name was Frank Donovan.”

Parker looked at Rayne with wide as at the sound of the name Frank. That explains why he looks so much like Owen. He really was Parker’s brother, just not the one he pretended to be. “Wait a second, was as in he is dead?”

“Yes. I was told by Gerald that Frank died ten years ago. He went on a hunger strike in his cell. He was already weak from a beating so his body couldn’t handle the rebellion her was trying to have.”

Parker reached into his pocket to pull out the picture he found at Frank’s house yesterday. He looked at it then slid it do Declan. When there was no recognition in his eyes for either man, he knew two things instantly. Declan didn’t have a clue what Frank looked like, and he didn’t recognize Owen. Neither of those things surprised him at all.

“Who are those men?”

“Turn the picture over.”

When Declan read the names on the back, his eyes went wide. “How is that possible? Frank died and Owen was with the neighbor.”

“The neighbor lady refused to take care of us after they told her you had died. They sent us to the county orphanage.”

“How did you escape?” Rayne asked Declan. She looked pale and tired.

Parker stood from his stool to walk to her. Edmund moved around the bar to sit on a stool near Declan. Lifting Rayne up off her stool, Parker lifted her to sit on his lap as he sat down. He rubbed circles on her back as he waited for Declan to answer the question.

Declan watched the three of them for a moment with a wistful expression on his face. He looked down for a moment, then he answered Rayne’s question. “Six months ago, Gerald was transferring me to another facility, it was only then I learned the full truth of what was happening. I was not his only captive. They loaded ten of us in total into a van. None of us were blindfolded but were all bound in some way. There were two guards in the back with us and two in the cab. They drove from a full day and night before stopping, then a brief break while the guards changed positions. They drove another full day and halfway through the night.”

He filled his glass to drink again. The look in his eyes made Parker want to hurt Gerald Finkman badly. Who the hell was Finkman anyway?

“They stopped the van at what I assumed was a set of train track by the noise. That was when chaos ensured. The door to the back of the van was torn open, the guards inside were shot and killed at the same time the driver was killed too. We were all pulled out of the van and into multiple cars. We were taken to a port and put on a ship bound for the United States.”

“Who freed you?”

“A man name Devon and his group. They are...”

“We know them. Rayne and I met them in France a few weeks ago. They are helping us locate another Collection. One if their member’s mate is there.”

“They fed us, nursed us back to health, then found us homes. I went to Canada, where a large group of shifters have settled. I stayed with them until I heard about another group here in California. When you told me the name of the bar, I knew I was in the right place. Who is your leader?”

Parker looked at Rayne as she sat up a little straighter in his arms. “She is.”

Declan looked surprised for a moment, then nodded his head. “I am sorry for how Gillian and her brother treated you. They will not be back here, I promise you. As for the rest of the team I brought with me, we would like to help the cause as much as we can.”

“You want to help with the efforts we are making to free all those in the hands of The Collectors?”

“Yes. Each of the shifters that came with me has lost someone to them at the hands of these human monsters. I would lead your allies to where Gerald held us if I could. I tried to give Devon and his team the general area, but since they blindfolded me when I first arrived there, it was a loss on how to help. Beside he was moving us when we were rescued.”

Gerald frown as if he was just remembering something, then he reached for the photo that was still on the counter. He picked it up to study it again. “How did you get this picture?”

“Frank.”

“What do you mean? Do you really think the two men in this photo are Frank and Owen?”

“One of them is Owen, I remember his eyes like it was just yesterday that I saw them last. That crinkle at the corner.” Parker put his finger on Owen’s face. “That is Owen. The brother who I was told died in a fire when I was still a child.”

“They resemblance between the two of this is so close. How the hell did Frank survive and how on earth did he find his brother?”

“Pure coincidence is how I found Owen. How I escaped Gerald, that is a short story. Let’s get this family reunion started with a drink.” Frank walked into the bar and sat on a stool.

What the fuck is going on here?