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CHAPTER 18

EMBER

I really need to have a conversation with him about the last fifteen years.

“I’m surprised Parker hasn’t returned.”

I swallow the bite of spaghetti in my mouth and nod at Mrs. West. It’s been two days since her adventure , as we’ve been calling it, and Ghost has yet to show his face again at the house. I don’t know if he’s mad at me for what happened or if something else is going on, but I’m a little worried. He’s invested in his mother’s care, whether I’m here or not, and to not show up after the other day is odd.

“I’m sure he’ll come by soon,” I assure her, even though I have no clue if I’m right. “He’s probably busy with stuff at the club.”

“Mmm,” she hums, taking another bite of her dinner. “That little club of his has been so good for him.”

I refrain from telling her that that ‘little club’ is a one percenter biker club that requires her son to do all manner of things. What things, you ask… Well, I don’t know exactly. He and I haven’t talked about it. We haven’t talked about anything deeper than what lies on the surface.

Maybe you should.

In a town as small as Marble Falls, I was shocked to learn that Ghost had returned, and I knew nothing about it. I guess I did a better job than I realized at blocking out all the gossip. Either that or the fact that he went by Ghost instead of Parker had something to do with my ignorance of the facts. As far as I’d been concerned, he’d still been in Oregon, likely married with kids and a dog.

Never in a million years would I have thought he’d be back here, no longer in law enforcement, and I certainly wouldn’t have guessed I’d be working for him.

I really need to have a conversation with him about the last fifteen years.

As soon as the thought enters my mind, it dawns on me how much I actually want to have that conversation. Not because I want to rehash the past or our failed relationship, but because I genuinely want to know about him, the man he is now.

“Did you hear that?” Mrs. West asks, pulling me out of my head.

Stilling, I listen, fully expecting there to be no sound, but then I hear it. A knock on the door.

I smile at her. “Expecting anyone?” She shakes her head. “Okay, be right back.”

It couldn’t be Ghost because he wouldn’t bother knocking. I suppose it could be Lori. She knows where to find me, and after ensuring it would be okay with Ghost and his mom, I told her to stop by any time, but she’d call or text first.

The knocking stops by the time I reach the front door, and when I open it, the porch is empty. I step outside and glance up and down the street but don’t see anyone or any vehicles that shouldn’t be there. Unease washes over me, and when I turn around to go back inside and spot the piece of paper affixed to the door, that unease swells into a tidal wave.

What the hell?

I yank the paper off the door and carry it inside, locking the door behind me.

“Who is it?” Mrs. West calls from the kitchen. “I hope you invited them in.”

“It was no one,” I reply, forcing my tone to remain neutral. “They had the wrong house.”

“Oh, pity. I do love company.”

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick. Are you okay in there?”

“I’m fine, Ember. You and my son worry too much.”

With good reason.

I walk to the bathroom, paper in hand, so she doesn’t get suspicious. Only once I’m there do I unfold the note and scan its contents. The handwriting is messy, almost illegible, but I manage to make them out enough that my stomach bottoms out.

He thinks he can protect you. He thinks you’re untouchable because you’re not a club member. He’s wrong. There is nothing the Soulless Kings can do to keep you safe, nothing the former piggy can do to stop me from raining down all sorts of hell. Tell him and the others to back the fuck off before they force my hand. I don’t like to hurt people who don’t ask for it, but I will. And I’ll do it with a smile on my face.

The note isn’t signed, and it’s not clear if it’s meant for Mrs. West or me. Not that it matters. Whoever wrote it, whoever it’s designed to scare, the message is clear: tell Ghost and the club to stop whatever it is they’re doing or else.

I flush the toilet to keep up the illusion that I’m really going to the bathroom, and then I make my way back to the kitchen, shoving the note in the pocket of my jeans as I go. I need to call Ghost and tell him about this, but I’ll finish dinner first, so I don’t have to explain anything to Mrs. West. No reason to scare her, too.

We finish our spaghetti and then work together to get our mess cleaned up. As soon as that’s taken care of, I get her settled in the living room to watch Jeopardy and head to my room to make that phone call.

“You’ve reached Ghost,” his voicemail greets me. “I can’t come to the phone for one reason or another?—”

Practically growling, I disconnect the call. Why isn’t he answering? He always answers because he knows I only call when it concerns his mom. I try three more times, hoping like hell that he just didn’t get to his cell in time, but I get the same result: no answer. Switching to text, I type out a quick message, one designed to scare him as much as the note is scaring me.

Me: Got a major poblem… CALL ME NOW!