I snorted.
Sean’s face showed no surprise at my sister’s comments, but there was amusement clearly shining in his eyes.
“Why did you invite him, then?” Alex pushed.
“Because he looked all lonely,” she murmured. “I also invited…oh, here he is now.”
I turned to see Ghost stalking towards me.
They’d all, of course, come to my parents’ house, but this was one of the rare times I’d seen them come knowingly into my mother’s presence.
Apparently, my mother had no qualms when it came to butting into her adult son’s love life. She also extended the same love and concern over love lives of the men in my club as well, which was why they rarely, if ever, came to my family’s functions if my mom was going to be there.
Not that I blamed them. If I could get away with not coming, I’d do the same, too.
Three hours later, I found even more of my club brothers showing up at my parents’ house, further surprising me.
“Who was that?” Tally whispered to me as she dropped down into the seat beside me. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever caught his name.”
“That's Ghost.”
“Who is Ghost?” she asked. “Why does he seem so…I don’t know, separate maybe, from y’all?”
I looked back at where Ghost was disappearing out of the yard, and shrugged. “Ghost is Ghost. He is more of a nomad, no real home. I don’t think he’s ever settled here. He’s living half a life, and I feel like maybe he’s in limbo, always waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
She blinked. “That sounds kind of sad.”
I shrugged. “Ghost has a story, and only one person knows that story.”
“Who?” she whispered, leaning forward like I was about to tell her a juicy secret.
I grinned.
“Ghost.”
She growled.
“Can I talk to him?” she questioned.
I didn’t know why she wanted to talk to him. He was pretty standoffish. However, we could all see the pain in his eyes. The hurt and sadness that he tried to conceal.
“Ohhh, I’d like to get in on that.” Imogen, New Guy’s old lady, added.
I looked over at the two women who were nodding their heads excitedly in agreement.
“I guess you could try. He’s not very talkative.”
Tally grinned. “I’ll just give him Tallulah. That’ll make anyone talk.”
Then I watched as the two women disappeared around the side of the house to where the party was happening in the backyard.
“What’s…”
I held up my hand, and Sean halted what he was about to say as he watched me pull my phone out and answer it.
“Hello?” I answered, looking at my watch.
It was seven in the evening on a Saturday. Who on earth would be calling me from the hospital on a Saturday when I wasn’t on call?
“Mr. Tomirkanivov?”
It was Lucia.
“Yeah?” I asked, covering my opposite ear and walking away from Sean and Aaron in a vain attempt to hear her better.
The party was loud, and my sister didn’t care one bit that her music was spilling into the front yard for all to hear.
“I’m sorry to say this but…”
I lost what she was about to say when two police cruisers pulled up.
“I’m sorry,” I interrupted Lucia. “I will need to call you back.”
Hanging up my phone without listening to her reply, I headed down the driveway to the officers that had just exited the police cruiser.
“You coming for some dinner, Big Papa?” I asked, offering him my hand.
Big Papa took it, but his eyes weren’t right.
“I need to speak with you. Privately.”
My brows rose, and I turned to find Sean and Aaron had followed me down the drive at having spotted the police cruisers.
“What’s going on, BP?”
Big Papa gestured to the other side of his cruiser, and I followed, unsurprised to find that Aaron and Sean had followed as well.
I leaned against the hood as I waited for him to get whatever it was off his chest out in the open.
My eyes flicked up the driveway to see Ghost holding Tallulah, on his way down the driveway, with a worried looking Tally following close by his side.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Big Papa’s jaw clenched.
“There’s a young woman who is accusing you of rape.”
Chapter 21
My biggest fear is that I’ll find a man who I adore with all my heart, and then he’ll ask me to go on a diet with him. I love Chipotle. It holds a piece of my heart. What do I tell him if he asks me to choose? I’m sorry, but burritos taste better?
-Tally’s secret thoughts
Tally
“She’s lying,” I snapped, my eyes hot, as I stared at Big Papa with anger written all over my features.
My back was stiff, and my hands were clenched at my sides.
Imogen was on one side, and Ghost was on the other, as we watched Tommy willingly walk away with his hands cuffed in front of him.
The other officers who had come to ‘assist’ as Aaron had just said, were watching them with matching frowns.
“They’re pissed that Big Papa didn’t cuff him like a criminal,” Aaron murmured. “And I know she’s lying. He was with you the day that the alleged ‘rape’ happened.”
“Did they say who the victim was?” Ghost broke in, lifting his arm up a little higher to find a more comfortable position with Tallulah in his arms.
I offered to take her from him more than once, but he’d shook me off. Three times.
“Some girl at the school was all I heard,” Aaron, aka ‘the New Guy’, grumbled.
He was looking down at his phone, brows furrowed, as he read a message from one of the other cops.
“Markeep is the one who took the victim’s statement.”
The whole group at my back groaned.
“That’s fucking unlucky,” Ghost grumbled.
“What’s unlucky?” I whispered fearfully. “Is this ‘Markeep’ a bad cop?”
Ghost’s dark eyes came to mine.
“She’s not a bad cop, but I wouldn’t say she’s one who I would count on to be on my side, either,” he said bluntly. “She’s a serious bitch, and has some bone to pick with Mooresville PD. Every time we have to collaborate on something, it ends up going to hell in a handbasket.”
Wonderful.
“And she won’t tell you who the girl is?” I asked nervously.
But there was something niggling at the back of my brain. Something was shouting at me to figure it out already, but I couldn’t quite grasp the threads.
I would, though. Hopefully not too late, however.
My phone rang in the pocket of my bag, and I ignored it for the fourth time.
“You should probably answer that,” one of the men suggested.
I’d also noticed that he hadn’t answered my question.
I looked up to see Sean staring at my purse, and then me, in worry.
“Why?” I asked numbly.
“It’s not making anything better by ignoring the outside world. Just deal with your shit, and eventually we’ll figure it out.”
I swallowed thickly, and pulled my phone out of my purse, stopping only when I saw who it was that was calling.
“It’s my friend. She’ll hold,” I murmured.