Lullaby Dies, page 9
Chapter Fourteen
Ghost knocked on the door to Brim and Leia’s house, keeping a tight hold on Sidonie’s hand, mentally going over what he wanted to tell his prez. How he could phrase things without sounding like an absolute mental case. The door opened and Thorn stood there, giving them a nod of welcome before stepping back and allowing them to enter.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Ghost said. “Is Chase with you?”
“Yeah, she’s in the kitchen with Leia.”
“We all need to sit down so we can talk. Including them.”
Thorn frowned. “Uh, okay. I’ll go get them.”
Ghost nodded and led Sidonie down the hall to the club’s temporary office. Brim sat behind his desk, sifting through papers, and looked up when they entered.
“Something wrong?” he asked, then his gaze shifted. “Good morning, Sidonie.”
“Morning,” she returned, smiling.
Just then Thorn appeared, followed by Leia and Chase. “Maybe we should go into the dining room. More space.”
“Sure,” Brim said standing up.
Thorn led them to the large oval table, pulling out a chair for Leia and his wife. Brim waited until they were all seated before leveling his gaze on Ghost.
“Is this a conversation I’m not going to like?” Brim asked.
“I think you’ll be more confused than anything.” Ghost sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I could use a fucking cigarette.”
“You quit smoking,” Sidonie reminded him.
“And right now, I can’t remember why.”
She only raised an eyebrow, giving him the look that said, “Are you fucking serious?”
Brim cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Ghost.”
He blinked, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand. “Six days ago, you sent me on a run to my brother’s club to deliver money, not realizing it was an intervention to get me talking to Kix. I left Sid behind because she had to go to work. When I returned, you and Thorn were alone in Ronin’s house and you told me she’d been killed. Strangled and left behind the dumpster.”
Brim’s forehead creased. Thorn tilted his head. Ghost looked at Sidonie, who only nodded in encouragement.
He continued. “I was in the morgue, talking to her … corpse. Then I went home and got drunk. When I woke up the next day, Sid was alive and next to me in bed. I thought I had dreamed the entire thing, but the day replayed with déjà vu. Just in case, I took Sid with me when I went to see Kix. While we were gone, it was Chase who died next.”
Thorn held up his hands. “Wait. I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but I don’t like what came out of your mouth. Did you imagine all this? Have a bad dream? Trying to be funny?”
“No, no, and no,” Ghost said. “Please let me finish and keep an open mind.”
Thorn lowered his hands, looked at Chase, then shrugged.
“Like I said, when Sid got taken out of the equation, the killer went after Chase. She’d been out getting fast food and her throat was slit.”
A round of gasps erupted, and Chase paled.
“But the next morning, everything reset. Chase was alive. Vivi threatened us with her cooking. The day had started over. Again.”
“Hold on,” Brim said. “Are you saying this is a Groundhog Day situation?”
“Exactly,” Ghost replied. “I’m stuck in a time loop, and those are words I never thought I’d say.”
“How did this happen?” Leia asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “I haven’t figured that out, but I was starting to catch on to what was happening. In the next loop, when you told me to go to Kix, I asked Thorn to go instead and take Chase with him. I protected Sid and he protected her, and I thought I had all my bases covered. But, this time around, the killer went after Leia and sniped her from the tree in your backyard.”
Leia gasped.
Brim leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I don’t like where this is headed.”
“Neither did I.” Ghost shook his head. “When Leia died, you pulled her into your arms and then shot yourself. Again, the day reset after midnight and that night Ronin’s house burned. I saw the killer, though, right before he shot me. That time I died. What felt like almost instantaneously, I woke up the next day, thankfully alive, so I went to a forensic artist because I had seen the man who killed me. I finally had a fucking face to put behind this, but everyone I showed the picture to couldn’t identify him. I was back to square one.”
“What happened that night?” Chase asked.
“Like the previous night, the killer came to the house and shot at us. Killed Ares, Ronin, and Sid. Blew up the bikes. And that brings me to right now.”
Thorn started counting on his fingers. “So, you’re up to the sixth rodeo?”
“Yep.”
“This is, uh, quite the story,” Brim said.
“Not just a story,” Ghost said, slumping a little in his chair as the weight of all that was happening settled on his shoulders. “I don’t know how this started, but I need help. I think if I can find out who’s doing this, it’ll break the loop. So, I figured I was doing it all wrong since everyone kept dying. Thought I’d tell all of you to help me catch this guy.”
“What do you propose?” Thorn questioned.
“The one advantage I have is knowing where he’s going to be. Maybe. If we don’t take Sid out of the equation, then he’ll go after her again behind the dumpster. Maybe.”
“Why do you keep saying maybe?” Chase asked.
“Because there have been some minor discrepancies with each day. Some stuff has changed. I don’t know if that means he’ll change his tactics.”
“We could set a trap,” Brim said thoughtfully, the skepticism disappearing from his voice.
“My first priority, however, is making sure Sid is safe.”
“I could help with that,” Leia remarked, holding up a hand. “I have the gift to see if she’s in trouble.”
“Gift?” Sidonie asked.
Leia and Chase looked at one another before focusing back on her and taking a deep breath. “I used to think it was a curse because I can see the shadow of death on people.
Sidonie’s gaze didn’t even blink as she remained silent, listening with rapt attention.
“I ran from it,” Leia continued. “That’s how Brim and I really met, because when I touched him, I saw how he was going to die. I saved his life, and he brought me here. Because of him, I’ve found a family. I’ve learned to accept this unusual ability as a gift.”
Ghost was surprised that Leia was so forthcoming with her ability. Usually, she’d stammer and avoid the topic. Guess she was finding her confidence. He also had to give Sidonie credit. She didn’t even bat an eyelash.
“And I can see the future,” Chase murmured. “Well, only for Thorn and myself. Doesn’t really help in this situation.”
Sidonie looked between them. “You sound like my Great-Aunt Odette, who was a practitioner of hoodoo. She’d look at my palm and tell me what was in my future.”
“That’s funny,” Leia murmured. “I had a psychic give me a reading in St. Louis, and her advertising sign said she was a hoodoo priestess.”
Sidonie’s eyes widened. “Wait.” She pulled out her cell phone and flipped through something before holding up it up. The photo showed an older, regal-looking African-American woman, wearing a turban with gold hoop earrings. “Is this her?”
“Yes!” Leia said, pointing. “That was my psychic.”
“That was the lady in the middle of the road the night I saved Chase,” Thorn said. “Almost caused me to crash.”
Ghost saw the picture, and everything around him seemed to darken and fade away, with only a light at the end of what felt like a long tunnel. Then suddenly, that first night in the morgue when he stood over Sidonie’s body, came rushing back into clarity. The cobwebs blowing away as he remembered all of it. Including the old black woman that had been in the room.
“She started it,” he declared with certainty. “How could I forget?”
They all went silent as he started talking to himself.
“She was there, Sid,” he continued, looking at Sidonie. “In the morgue. I don’t understand why I forgot that. She said … hold on, let me think. She said … we have to pause time. That I had to save you.” He furrowed his brow. “And then she said I must find the why to restart time.”
Sidonie bit her bottom lip. “She put you in the loop. To save me?”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but yes. Fucking magic, I guess, because I don’t have any other goddamned explanation. But why don’t we ask her? Where is she? We can ask her to end the loop. We can find this guy without me reliving this day over and over.”
“Uh, that’s not going to happen, unless we do a summoning spell. My aunt died months ago.”
Ghost blinked. “Died?”
“Yeah.”
“But I saw her,” he argued as an icy trendle ran down his spine. He didn’t get spooked often, but this time he did.
“I saw her too,” Thorn mumbled.
“Wait,” Leia interjected. “We need to get Vivi here.”
“She’s right,” Chase added. “Vivi needs to be here.”
Ghost frowned. “Why? She wasn’t killed in any of the resets.”
“How come?” Brim asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I mean, maybe the asshole didn’t know about her. Or maybe he couldn’t find her. Maybe he had other plans I didn’t know about. I mean, he clearly had intel on us. He had a backup plan if he couldn’t kill any of the women.”
“She needs to be here because she needs to hear this,” Leia said.
Thorn picked up his phone and texted, and a moment later, his phone dinged. “Lincoln said they’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
Leia rose. “Anyone want something to drink?”
“Coffee,” Brim said, picking up her hand and kissing the back of it. “If the smell doesn’t make you sick.”
“I’ll be fine,” she murmured, smiling. “Your son is settling down.”
He placed his palm on her belly, and the emotion shining off Brim’s face looked a tad too private.
“Could be a girl,” he murmured, looking up at her.
“Could be,” Leia said with a smile. “But it’s not.”
Then Leia headed into the kitchen. To pass the time, discussion around the table fell into sports and predictions for the Super Bowl. How Crew Kiles was one of the best quarterbacks currently playing. Finally, Lincoln showed up and Vivi literally skipped into the room, which was a good indication that she’d had far too much sugar. After Leia served the coffee, she sat back down in her seat next to Brim.
“We need to do this more often,” Vivi commented, bouncing a little in her chair. “Oh! You know what could be fun? If we all go on Family Feud. We can answer questions like why men have nipples.”
Seven pairs of eyes stared at her, unblinking. Uncomprehending.
“Erotic stimulation, my love,” Lincoln told her, grinning. Then looked around at the others. “And on that note, what’s going on?”
“Uh, I’ve forgotten,” Chase said. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it. “Hold on, um, not long ago, Leia, Vivi, and myself were talking about our gifts.”
“You have a gift too, Vivi?” Sidonie asked.
From the look on Brim and Thorn’s face, they had no idea about that little detail.
“Yes,” Vivi said, nodding. “I can calm people with a touch.”
“And you mentioned that you thought we were all drawn here, either by someone or something,” Leia added.
“Is this an intervention?” Vivi asked, glancing between them.
“Sidonie, show Vivi the picture of your great-aunt,” Leia said.
Turning on her phone, she scrolled through the pictures until she found the right one, then turned it so Vivi and Lincoln could see it.
“Hey, I know that woman,” Lincoln said.
“You?” Chase questioned, clearly surprised.
“Yeah, she bumped into me at the hospital when I went to see Parker after he knocked Thorn out when he thought you were dead. It wasn’t anything special,” Lincoln added. “She patted my hand, smiled, and told me I was going to be fine. Which seemed a little odd at the time.”
“When was this?” Sidonie asked.
“A little bit after Barese saved Chase. Why?”
“She’s been dead for five months,” Sidonie replied.
Lincoln shook his head. “Impossible. I saw her. Touched her arm. She wasn’t dead.”
“She wasn’t real.”
He frowned. “I’m confused.”
“A lot of that is going around,” Brim muttered.
“Vivi, you were right,” Chase said. “We were brought here by Sidonie’s great-aunt Odette. She’s helping Ghost.”
Everyone’s gaze swung to him.
“What’s wrong with Ghost?” Vivi asked.
“Nothing,” he replied.
“Except you’re stuck reliving the same day over and over,” Leia said.
“What the what now?” Vivi asked looking around. “I think someone needs to start at the beginning.”
Ghost quickly recounted through the chain of events, then sat back in his chair.
“This is hard to wrap my head around,” Lincoln said, leaning his elbows on the table as he sat forward.
“Tell me about it,” Ghost muttered.
“Well, I really hope my life doesn’t flash before my eyes,” Vivi remarked. “There’s some shit I’d rather not see again.”
Ghost gave her a wry smile. “Makes two of us.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Lincoln asked.
“Right now, all I want to do is break this time loop when no one dies. To stop houses and motorcycles from getting blown up.” His phone beeped with an incoming email and he glanced at it. “Tony came through with the list of demolition licenses.”
He opened it and quickly scrolled, then paused as he recognized one name. He looked at Brim.
“What was Knuckles’s name?”
“Oliver Oakley,” Brim answered. Ghost held out his phone and Brim took it, reading it silently. His lips pressed into a hard line.
“When the bikes were blown up, you mentioned the man must have had experience in demolition, and that got me thinking. My friend in the EOD pulled the licenses.”
“What is it?” Thorn asked.
Brim slid the phone to him. “Robert Oakley. Knuckles’s dad.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ghost took a deep breath and dialed the number on his cell that would connect him to his brother. Kix operated under the thought that they were still at odds. That Ghost was still a dickhead about their past. Well, more than likely he was still a dickhead, but not about blaming his younger brother anymore for his own actions. He needed Kix to understand, which is why he called and not Brim.
“Jeff?” Kix asked.
“Ghost now,” he corrected.
“Right. Ghost. So. How are you?”
“Good. Thanks. I know we need to get together. Talk.”
A slight gasp came through the line. “Sure.”
“I know Brim was going to send me to meet up with you, but something came up. There’s a man threatening our women.”
“Da fuck?” Kix asked immediately. “How can I help?”
“I was wondering if Mac could pull a DMV picture and email it to me.”
“Yeah, hold on.”
There were sounds of a door, of people talking, of Kix walking. Then Ghost heard Mac greet Kix.
“Ghost?” Kix asked.
“Still here.”
“Who’s the person you need a DMV pic of?”
“His name is Robert Oakley.” He proceeded to spell the name.
“Give Mac a moment,” Kix said.
“Hey, brother?”
“Yes?”
“I want to apologize,” Ghost said. “I’ve blamed you for things that were not your fault, and I know we have a long way to go, but I hope one day we can be brothers again.”
Silence.
“Chris?” he asked, using his brother’s real name.
“Yeah,” Kix said clearing his throat. “I’m here. Just … you’ve rendered me speechless.”
“I like keeping you disarmed.”
Kix chuckled. “You succeeded.”
“I know we need to get together. You need to meet Sidonie and I need to meet my new nephew.”
“How about you come for a visit soon? After whatever it is you’re needing a DMV photo for is resolved.”
“I’d like that,” Ghost admitted. “We’d like that a lot. I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“That’s great, Jeff. Best thing I ever did was put a ring on Piper.”
“Wanna be my best man?”
“Absolutely.” There was talking in the background for a moment. “Mac says he’s got the pic.”
“Can you send it to my phone?”
“On it.”
A beep came through and Ghost glanced at it, making sure it was the right one.
“That’s it. Please say thank you to Mac for us.”
“Will do.”
“And … I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, brother.”
Ghost disconnected the call and pulled up the photo that Kix texted to him. He stepped back into Brim’s house and looked at Brim and Thorn.
“I just sent the pic to both your phones.” As if on cue, both phones dinged. “There are two motels in town, we can see if he’s registered.”
“Let’s spilt up,” Brim said. “Text me and Thorn the pic. We’ll head to the Cardinal Inn and you can check out the Motel 7.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Brim turned to Lincoln. “Your job is the most important. Protect our women.”
“With my life,” Lincoln vowed.
“Why don’t we all go back to our apartment?” Vivi suggested. “This bad guy probably doesn’t know about our new place.”
“Good idea,” Thorn replied. He walked over and kissed Chase.
Brim hugged Leia. “Stay safe.”
“I will,” she promised.
Ghost’s gaze locked with Sidonie, and he poured all his feelings into that one look. As soon as he woke up to the next day, he was going to ask her to be his wife. The ring burned a hole in his pocket. But none of them were safe until Robert Oakley was out of the picture.
Ghost knocked on the door to Brim and Leia’s house, keeping a tight hold on Sidonie’s hand, mentally going over what he wanted to tell his prez. How he could phrase things without sounding like an absolute mental case. The door opened and Thorn stood there, giving them a nod of welcome before stepping back and allowing them to enter.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Ghost said. “Is Chase with you?”
“Yeah, she’s in the kitchen with Leia.”
“We all need to sit down so we can talk. Including them.”
Thorn frowned. “Uh, okay. I’ll go get them.”
Ghost nodded and led Sidonie down the hall to the club’s temporary office. Brim sat behind his desk, sifting through papers, and looked up when they entered.
“Something wrong?” he asked, then his gaze shifted. “Good morning, Sidonie.”
“Morning,” she returned, smiling.
Just then Thorn appeared, followed by Leia and Chase. “Maybe we should go into the dining room. More space.”
“Sure,” Brim said standing up.
Thorn led them to the large oval table, pulling out a chair for Leia and his wife. Brim waited until they were all seated before leveling his gaze on Ghost.
“Is this a conversation I’m not going to like?” Brim asked.
“I think you’ll be more confused than anything.” Ghost sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I could use a fucking cigarette.”
“You quit smoking,” Sidonie reminded him.
“And right now, I can’t remember why.”
She only raised an eyebrow, giving him the look that said, “Are you fucking serious?”
Brim cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Ghost.”
He blinked, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand. “Six days ago, you sent me on a run to my brother’s club to deliver money, not realizing it was an intervention to get me talking to Kix. I left Sid behind because she had to go to work. When I returned, you and Thorn were alone in Ronin’s house and you told me she’d been killed. Strangled and left behind the dumpster.”
Brim’s forehead creased. Thorn tilted his head. Ghost looked at Sidonie, who only nodded in encouragement.
He continued. “I was in the morgue, talking to her … corpse. Then I went home and got drunk. When I woke up the next day, Sid was alive and next to me in bed. I thought I had dreamed the entire thing, but the day replayed with déjà vu. Just in case, I took Sid with me when I went to see Kix. While we were gone, it was Chase who died next.”
Thorn held up his hands. “Wait. I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but I don’t like what came out of your mouth. Did you imagine all this? Have a bad dream? Trying to be funny?”
“No, no, and no,” Ghost said. “Please let me finish and keep an open mind.”
Thorn lowered his hands, looked at Chase, then shrugged.
“Like I said, when Sid got taken out of the equation, the killer went after Chase. She’d been out getting fast food and her throat was slit.”
A round of gasps erupted, and Chase paled.
“But the next morning, everything reset. Chase was alive. Vivi threatened us with her cooking. The day had started over. Again.”
“Hold on,” Brim said. “Are you saying this is a Groundhog Day situation?”
“Exactly,” Ghost replied. “I’m stuck in a time loop, and those are words I never thought I’d say.”
“How did this happen?” Leia asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “I haven’t figured that out, but I was starting to catch on to what was happening. In the next loop, when you told me to go to Kix, I asked Thorn to go instead and take Chase with him. I protected Sid and he protected her, and I thought I had all my bases covered. But, this time around, the killer went after Leia and sniped her from the tree in your backyard.”
Leia gasped.
Brim leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I don’t like where this is headed.”
“Neither did I.” Ghost shook his head. “When Leia died, you pulled her into your arms and then shot yourself. Again, the day reset after midnight and that night Ronin’s house burned. I saw the killer, though, right before he shot me. That time I died. What felt like almost instantaneously, I woke up the next day, thankfully alive, so I went to a forensic artist because I had seen the man who killed me. I finally had a fucking face to put behind this, but everyone I showed the picture to couldn’t identify him. I was back to square one.”
“What happened that night?” Chase asked.
“Like the previous night, the killer came to the house and shot at us. Killed Ares, Ronin, and Sid. Blew up the bikes. And that brings me to right now.”
Thorn started counting on his fingers. “So, you’re up to the sixth rodeo?”
“Yep.”
“This is, uh, quite the story,” Brim said.
“Not just a story,” Ghost said, slumping a little in his chair as the weight of all that was happening settled on his shoulders. “I don’t know how this started, but I need help. I think if I can find out who’s doing this, it’ll break the loop. So, I figured I was doing it all wrong since everyone kept dying. Thought I’d tell all of you to help me catch this guy.”
“What do you propose?” Thorn questioned.
“The one advantage I have is knowing where he’s going to be. Maybe. If we don’t take Sid out of the equation, then he’ll go after her again behind the dumpster. Maybe.”
“Why do you keep saying maybe?” Chase asked.
“Because there have been some minor discrepancies with each day. Some stuff has changed. I don’t know if that means he’ll change his tactics.”
“We could set a trap,” Brim said thoughtfully, the skepticism disappearing from his voice.
“My first priority, however, is making sure Sid is safe.”
“I could help with that,” Leia remarked, holding up a hand. “I have the gift to see if she’s in trouble.”
“Gift?” Sidonie asked.
Leia and Chase looked at one another before focusing back on her and taking a deep breath. “I used to think it was a curse because I can see the shadow of death on people.
Sidonie’s gaze didn’t even blink as she remained silent, listening with rapt attention.
“I ran from it,” Leia continued. “That’s how Brim and I really met, because when I touched him, I saw how he was going to die. I saved his life, and he brought me here. Because of him, I’ve found a family. I’ve learned to accept this unusual ability as a gift.”
Ghost was surprised that Leia was so forthcoming with her ability. Usually, she’d stammer and avoid the topic. Guess she was finding her confidence. He also had to give Sidonie credit. She didn’t even bat an eyelash.
“And I can see the future,” Chase murmured. “Well, only for Thorn and myself. Doesn’t really help in this situation.”
Sidonie looked between them. “You sound like my Great-Aunt Odette, who was a practitioner of hoodoo. She’d look at my palm and tell me what was in my future.”
“That’s funny,” Leia murmured. “I had a psychic give me a reading in St. Louis, and her advertising sign said she was a hoodoo priestess.”
Sidonie’s eyes widened. “Wait.” She pulled out her cell phone and flipped through something before holding up it up. The photo showed an older, regal-looking African-American woman, wearing a turban with gold hoop earrings. “Is this her?”
“Yes!” Leia said, pointing. “That was my psychic.”
“That was the lady in the middle of the road the night I saved Chase,” Thorn said. “Almost caused me to crash.”
Ghost saw the picture, and everything around him seemed to darken and fade away, with only a light at the end of what felt like a long tunnel. Then suddenly, that first night in the morgue when he stood over Sidonie’s body, came rushing back into clarity. The cobwebs blowing away as he remembered all of it. Including the old black woman that had been in the room.
“She started it,” he declared with certainty. “How could I forget?”
They all went silent as he started talking to himself.
“She was there, Sid,” he continued, looking at Sidonie. “In the morgue. I don’t understand why I forgot that. She said … hold on, let me think. She said … we have to pause time. That I had to save you.” He furrowed his brow. “And then she said I must find the why to restart time.”
Sidonie bit her bottom lip. “She put you in the loop. To save me?”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but yes. Fucking magic, I guess, because I don’t have any other goddamned explanation. But why don’t we ask her? Where is she? We can ask her to end the loop. We can find this guy without me reliving this day over and over.”
“Uh, that’s not going to happen, unless we do a summoning spell. My aunt died months ago.”
Ghost blinked. “Died?”
“Yeah.”
“But I saw her,” he argued as an icy trendle ran down his spine. He didn’t get spooked often, but this time he did.
“I saw her too,” Thorn mumbled.
“Wait,” Leia interjected. “We need to get Vivi here.”
“She’s right,” Chase added. “Vivi needs to be here.”
Ghost frowned. “Why? She wasn’t killed in any of the resets.”
“How come?” Brim asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I mean, maybe the asshole didn’t know about her. Or maybe he couldn’t find her. Maybe he had other plans I didn’t know about. I mean, he clearly had intel on us. He had a backup plan if he couldn’t kill any of the women.”
“She needs to be here because she needs to hear this,” Leia said.
Thorn picked up his phone and texted, and a moment later, his phone dinged. “Lincoln said they’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
Leia rose. “Anyone want something to drink?”
“Coffee,” Brim said, picking up her hand and kissing the back of it. “If the smell doesn’t make you sick.”
“I’ll be fine,” she murmured, smiling. “Your son is settling down.”
He placed his palm on her belly, and the emotion shining off Brim’s face looked a tad too private.
“Could be a girl,” he murmured, looking up at her.
“Could be,” Leia said with a smile. “But it’s not.”
Then Leia headed into the kitchen. To pass the time, discussion around the table fell into sports and predictions for the Super Bowl. How Crew Kiles was one of the best quarterbacks currently playing. Finally, Lincoln showed up and Vivi literally skipped into the room, which was a good indication that she’d had far too much sugar. After Leia served the coffee, she sat back down in her seat next to Brim.
“We need to do this more often,” Vivi commented, bouncing a little in her chair. “Oh! You know what could be fun? If we all go on Family Feud. We can answer questions like why men have nipples.”
Seven pairs of eyes stared at her, unblinking. Uncomprehending.
“Erotic stimulation, my love,” Lincoln told her, grinning. Then looked around at the others. “And on that note, what’s going on?”
“Uh, I’ve forgotten,” Chase said. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it. “Hold on, um, not long ago, Leia, Vivi, and myself were talking about our gifts.”
“You have a gift too, Vivi?” Sidonie asked.
From the look on Brim and Thorn’s face, they had no idea about that little detail.
“Yes,” Vivi said, nodding. “I can calm people with a touch.”
“And you mentioned that you thought we were all drawn here, either by someone or something,” Leia added.
“Is this an intervention?” Vivi asked, glancing between them.
“Sidonie, show Vivi the picture of your great-aunt,” Leia said.
Turning on her phone, she scrolled through the pictures until she found the right one, then turned it so Vivi and Lincoln could see it.
“Hey, I know that woman,” Lincoln said.
“You?” Chase questioned, clearly surprised.
“Yeah, she bumped into me at the hospital when I went to see Parker after he knocked Thorn out when he thought you were dead. It wasn’t anything special,” Lincoln added. “She patted my hand, smiled, and told me I was going to be fine. Which seemed a little odd at the time.”
“When was this?” Sidonie asked.
“A little bit after Barese saved Chase. Why?”
“She’s been dead for five months,” Sidonie replied.
Lincoln shook his head. “Impossible. I saw her. Touched her arm. She wasn’t dead.”
“She wasn’t real.”
He frowned. “I’m confused.”
“A lot of that is going around,” Brim muttered.
“Vivi, you were right,” Chase said. “We were brought here by Sidonie’s great-aunt Odette. She’s helping Ghost.”
Everyone’s gaze swung to him.
“What’s wrong with Ghost?” Vivi asked.
“Nothing,” he replied.
“Except you’re stuck reliving the same day over and over,” Leia said.
“What the what now?” Vivi asked looking around. “I think someone needs to start at the beginning.”
Ghost quickly recounted through the chain of events, then sat back in his chair.
“This is hard to wrap my head around,” Lincoln said, leaning his elbows on the table as he sat forward.
“Tell me about it,” Ghost muttered.
“Well, I really hope my life doesn’t flash before my eyes,” Vivi remarked. “There’s some shit I’d rather not see again.”
Ghost gave her a wry smile. “Makes two of us.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Lincoln asked.
“Right now, all I want to do is break this time loop when no one dies. To stop houses and motorcycles from getting blown up.” His phone beeped with an incoming email and he glanced at it. “Tony came through with the list of demolition licenses.”
He opened it and quickly scrolled, then paused as he recognized one name. He looked at Brim.
“What was Knuckles’s name?”
“Oliver Oakley,” Brim answered. Ghost held out his phone and Brim took it, reading it silently. His lips pressed into a hard line.
“When the bikes were blown up, you mentioned the man must have had experience in demolition, and that got me thinking. My friend in the EOD pulled the licenses.”
“What is it?” Thorn asked.
Brim slid the phone to him. “Robert Oakley. Knuckles’s dad.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ghost took a deep breath and dialed the number on his cell that would connect him to his brother. Kix operated under the thought that they were still at odds. That Ghost was still a dickhead about their past. Well, more than likely he was still a dickhead, but not about blaming his younger brother anymore for his own actions. He needed Kix to understand, which is why he called and not Brim.
“Jeff?” Kix asked.
“Ghost now,” he corrected.
“Right. Ghost. So. How are you?”
“Good. Thanks. I know we need to get together. Talk.”
A slight gasp came through the line. “Sure.”
“I know Brim was going to send me to meet up with you, but something came up. There’s a man threatening our women.”
“Da fuck?” Kix asked immediately. “How can I help?”
“I was wondering if Mac could pull a DMV picture and email it to me.”
“Yeah, hold on.”
There were sounds of a door, of people talking, of Kix walking. Then Ghost heard Mac greet Kix.
“Ghost?” Kix asked.
“Still here.”
“Who’s the person you need a DMV pic of?”
“His name is Robert Oakley.” He proceeded to spell the name.
“Give Mac a moment,” Kix said.
“Hey, brother?”
“Yes?”
“I want to apologize,” Ghost said. “I’ve blamed you for things that were not your fault, and I know we have a long way to go, but I hope one day we can be brothers again.”
Silence.
“Chris?” he asked, using his brother’s real name.
“Yeah,” Kix said clearing his throat. “I’m here. Just … you’ve rendered me speechless.”
“I like keeping you disarmed.”
Kix chuckled. “You succeeded.”
“I know we need to get together. You need to meet Sidonie and I need to meet my new nephew.”
“How about you come for a visit soon? After whatever it is you’re needing a DMV photo for is resolved.”
“I’d like that,” Ghost admitted. “We’d like that a lot. I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“That’s great, Jeff. Best thing I ever did was put a ring on Piper.”
“Wanna be my best man?”
“Absolutely.” There was talking in the background for a moment. “Mac says he’s got the pic.”
“Can you send it to my phone?”
“On it.”
A beep came through and Ghost glanced at it, making sure it was the right one.
“That’s it. Please say thank you to Mac for us.”
“Will do.”
“And … I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, brother.”
Ghost disconnected the call and pulled up the photo that Kix texted to him. He stepped back into Brim’s house and looked at Brim and Thorn.
“I just sent the pic to both your phones.” As if on cue, both phones dinged. “There are two motels in town, we can see if he’s registered.”
“Let’s spilt up,” Brim said. “Text me and Thorn the pic. We’ll head to the Cardinal Inn and you can check out the Motel 7.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Brim turned to Lincoln. “Your job is the most important. Protect our women.”
“With my life,” Lincoln vowed.
“Why don’t we all go back to our apartment?” Vivi suggested. “This bad guy probably doesn’t know about our new place.”
“Good idea,” Thorn replied. He walked over and kissed Chase.
Brim hugged Leia. “Stay safe.”
“I will,” she promised.
Ghost’s gaze locked with Sidonie, and he poured all his feelings into that one look. As soon as he woke up to the next day, he was going to ask her to be his wife. The ring burned a hole in his pocket. But none of them were safe until Robert Oakley was out of the picture.
