Ghost dragged in a desperate gasp as he just about vaulted up in bed, panting. Only relaxing as he realized he was alive. Sidonie still slept next to him and he ran a hand through his hair, heart racing like he’d run a marathon. Fuck, he’d just died, like ten seconds ago. He touched the place where the bullet had entered his body, remembering the pain. Recalling how he took his last breath. He could honestly say he wasn’t a fan.
Sidonie rolled over and touched his back. “Babe? You okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Bad dream.”
“Come on back to bed. It’s too ear—”
A loud knock sounded on the door. “Rise and shine! I’ve cooked breakfast. Make sure you come on down before it gets cold.”
“Rise and shine,” Sidonie said with a snort. “I’ll rise but I’m not shining. I swear Vivi could turn Satan angelic just by talking his damn ear off.”
It just dawned on him that he was back to square one. Had to get Thorn to get Chase out of town. Had to get Brim to protect Leia. Had to make sure the house didn’t burn to the ground. Any more days and he was going to need to make a list of shit he had to do.
Except this time, he now had a face to work with.
“Sid, I’ve got to get to my old precinct,” he said, turning to her. “I want you with me all day today.”
“I’ve got work.”
“It’s imperative you stay with me.”
As if sensing his agitation, she searched his face. “What’s wrong?”
“A lot,” he replied. “Please, Sid. I’ll go with you to the bar, but right now you need to stay with me.”
“Why?”
“Can you just take my word for it?”
“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” she asked.
He nodded. “Come on. We have to get ready to face this fucking day.”
He flipped the covers back and grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor. “You use this bathroom and I’ll head to the community one.”
“Jeff,” Sidonie said, halting him. “I’m not stupid. Or intimidated. I can handle whatever is going on.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “What would you say if I told you I’m experiencing a closed time-like curve?”
She blinked. “Um. What?”
“I’ve already had this discussion with you,” he said, sighing. “Why did you fail mathematical physics in college?”
“How did you know I failed?”
“Because you told me.”
Her brows pulled together. “The professor wanted me to sleep with him for a passing grade. My answer was to punch him in the face and break his nose. He pressed charges and because it was his word against mine, and the fact he was a professor, I was arrested, fined, and kicked out of college.”
“What a dick. Want me to fuck him up?”
She smiled. “Maybe. Let’s talk about it later, after you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“You told me about CTCs.”
“As in a hypothetical time loop?”
“Nothing hypothetical about it. This is my fifth time of the same day.”
“Oh. Wow. I … I think I need to pee.” She rose from the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom.
He rose and followed. “Really? I just told you that CTCs are real and your response is to urinate?”
“The word urinate sounds vulgar,” she said. “And get out of here. I’m not peeing in front of you.”
“I’ve had my lips on your pussy. No need to be embarrassed after that.”
“Get!” she said, shooing him out of the bathroom before closing the door. “And don’t listen to me pee!”
He rolled his eyes and headed out of their bedroom to use the hallway bathroom. It didn’t surprise him she needed a moment away from him. Probably thought he was batshit crazy. After cleaning up, he went back to the bedroom and dressed. Sidonie was still in the shower so he went downstairs to wait for her and place a couple of calls.
Brim answered quickly. “I was just talking to Thorn,” he said. “I have to run—”
“To my brother’s, yes, I’m aware. But I can’t make it.”
“How did you know about the run? Did Kix call you?”
“No. Long story. I’ll call my brother later, but I can’t go.”
“You’re saying no to me?”
“There’s a killer in Cardinal,” he said, sticking with the story he came up with the day before. Or was it the same day? The logistics irritated him. “I saw him and I have to talk to a sketch artist.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
“I wish. We have to keep the women safe, as well as Ronin’s house.”
“Why his house?”
“The perp has been known to torch homes when he can’t find a target.”
“How the hell do you know all this?”
“I can’t really reveal my source,” he replied. What else was he supposed to say? Hey, I’m stuck in a time loop. Go figure! “But it’s legit info.”
He sighed heavily. “All right. I’ll warn the rest of the club, including Ronin.”
“Make sure you keep Leia away from windows and the backyard. And send Thorn and Chase to my brother’s.”
“You know, for not being president of this club, you sure are throwing orders around,” Brim said angrily.
Ghost tried to rein in his temper. “I’m sorry, Boss, but it’s been a minute. I don’t have much time with this fucking asshole and I need to get his image on paper so we know who the fuck we’re dealing with.”
Brim was silent for a moment. “I understand what you think is the gravity of the situation, but don’t ever talk to me like that again. Understood?”
“Yep. Loud and clear.”
Brim hung up on him and Ghost relaxed a fraction as that situation was brought under control. He knew Brim would never let someone harm the old ladies, especially Leia.
“Everything all right?” Sidonie asked from behind him. He turned around and took a moment to appreciate how fucking beautiful she was. Her denim jeans hugged her ass like a caress and her t-shirt dipped into a V-shape, revealing the tops of her luscious breasts.
“I am a lucky bastard,” he said and held out his hand. “Come, my beautiful songbird.”
She grasped his hand and he led her from the house toward his bike. A few minutes later, they roared away. The town of Cardinal was small and only had a sheriff’s office, but they didn’t have a detective or access to a forensic artist. Ghost had lived and worked in the city that lay halfway between Cardinal and Rider Pass, so it took them about an hour to reach his old precinct. Once they parked and dismounted, Ghost called his old partner.
“What the fuck do you want, Jeff?”
“I’m outside, Peter. I need to see the sketch artist.”
A heavy sigh came through the line. “Why?”
“I can’t go into all the details, but I saw a man kill someone—”
“What?” Peter interrupted angrily. “Did you report him?”
“There’s nothing to report, Pete, unless I get a composite.”
“You’re not a cop anymore! You can’t take this into your own hands.”
Ghost sighed. “Please. I need to get a composite so I can question people in Cardinal and maybe find out who the son of a bitch is.”
“So, you’re a vigilante now?”
Ghost didn’t reply. Peter was silent, then he gave an irritated noise.
“You know, you’re asking me to do the very same thing you were fired for,” Peter said.
No, he hadn’t known. Hadn’t realized. It hit him between the eyes how he’d resented his brother for asking him to do little favors, yet here he was, asking Peter to lay his own career on the line. Peter was a resource, just as he’d been. Just as all their contacts were—nothing more than a means to an end.
“I can’t, Jeff.”
The refusal was … unexpected. He really thought Peter would’ve helped him. They’d never been the best of buds, but they had been friends. Colleagues. Partners. Yet, he’d said no. And fuck, just like he could’ve done all those years ago when his little brother had first asked him. He’d had a choice, and he had chosen Kix.
Damn. I have to apologize to my little brother and tell him he was right.
“I can’t allow you in the precinct,” Peter continued, expanding his previous denial. “But I’ll ask Joe if he’d come outside to meet with you. Wait until I call back.”
The call ended.
“What did he say?” Sidonie asked.
“He told me I can’t go inside,” Ghost replied, looking up at the building that used to be his entire world. He’d worked hard to make Detective, so his badge had been a sacred talisman. It had killed some piece of his soul when he’d had to turn it in, disgrace tarnishing the shine. Now, he saw the precinct as an old memory from a life that no longer held any appeal.
When he’d first became a cop, he’d believed in the law. Believed he was helping people. Over the years, red tape and bureaucratic bullshit had slowly leached out the satisfaction of his career. Maybe self-consciously he’d sabotaged himself. Regardless, it had never been Kix’s fault, and it shamed him to realize he hadn’t been a man and taken responsibility for his own actions.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was so mad at Kix for getting me kicked off the force. I told myself he was my brother so I helped him with names and addresses, and told him stuff that I shouldn’t have. But I’ve been stupid, haven’t I? Kix was never the reason I was fired. That rests completely on my shoulder.”
She patted his chest. “I’ve never met Kix but as a president of a motorcycle club, he’s got to have a level and understanding head on his shoulders.”
He drew her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “You are a very wise woman and I’m a damn lucky man.”
“Yes, I am, and yes, you are.”
“So very modest, Miss Brendel. His phone rang and he answered it immediately. “Yes?”
“Meet Joe in the park down the street,” Peter said and then disconnected the call.
Guess his ex-partner just severed the last tie to his old life. He took Sidonie’s hand and walked the next block over to a large park, choosing a picnic table in the shade of a tall tree.
“What do we do now?” Sidonie asked.
“Wait. Hopefully, not too long.”
It took about twenty minutes for Joe to join them. Ghost stood and held out his hand. Joe eyed it before reaching out and shaking it.
“I thought Peter was joking when he said you needed a favor,” Joe murmured. He shot a glance at Sidonie. “I’m Joe.”
“I’m Sid.”
Joe sighed. “Okay, let’s get this done.”
“Hey, I appreciate this,” Ghost told him.
“Yeah, yeah.” He pulled out two tablets from a reusable grocery bag and handed one to Ghost. “Now, you know the drill. Are we dealing with a white man? Black man? Hispanic? Asian?”
The tablet Joe had handed to him showed a variety of pictures of eyes, lips, mouths, and noses which would help Ghost paint a picture of the perp he’d seen. “Old white guy, probably in his mid- to late-fifties.”
As Joe sketched, Ghost recounted every detail he could until a face emerged that Ghost was happy with.
“That’s him,” he said, staring at the man who had killed him. As well as Sidonie, Leia, and Chase in another lifetime. “Can you send that to my phone?”
“Yep,” Joe replied.
A moment later Ghost’s phone dinged and he downloaded the picture so he could show Brim. “Thanks, Joe.”
“Don’t ask me again,” Joe said, gathering the other tablet and sticking both into his bag. “You’re prohibited from contacting any one of us.”
He gave a small nod to Sid before taking off back to the precinct.
“Bridges burned?” she asked Ghost.
“I guess so.”