Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Not much I can do. Not like I can sick Grim on him.” I glanced over at him with an aggravated look as I said, “He’s Tallie's brother.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“We need to get into her father’s files and see if there’s anything that might help us figure this thing out.” I turned to Shep. “You think you can get access to his server?”
“Yeah, I’ll see what I can find, but I’d get a lot farther if I had his laptop.”
“I’m guessing that’s with the fucking cops.”
“More than likely but give me some time. Let me see what I can do.”
“Need a hand?”
“I get that you want a hand in this, but you know me. I work better alone.”
“Understood. Just let me know if you need anything.”
“You know I will.”
Shep gave me a pat on the shoulder, then turned and went back to his office. I stood there for a moment, and my mind instantly went back to Rooks. He lied right to our faces, and he did it knowing that his sister and mother were in danger. Rooks had never been a saint. Hell, he’d pulled some shady stuff back when we were kids, but nothing that would ever put anyone in harm’s way, especially his own family.
There had to be a hell of a good reason for him to lie about his involvement, and I had every intention of finding out what it was—even if it meant beating the hell out of him again. It wasn’t like the smug asshole didn’t have it coming.
It was a thought that was weighing on my mind as I headed back to the family room to check on Tallie and Ford. They’d been off on their own for over an hour, and I figured they were ready to get back to the house. But when I walked in, I saw that I was wrong. They were doing just fine.
Tallie was sitting on the sofa with Bridgett, one of the hang arounds, and Casey, Ghost’s ol’ lady. They were all laughing and carrying on about something or another. Ford was playing some video game with Casey’s son, Toby, and from the sounds of it, they were having a blast. I couldn’t deny that the sight of them all together got to me in a way I didn’t expect.
I leaned against the doorway, letting myself take it all in. Tallie looked happy, really happy, and she was here, in my world, in my space. She and Ford looked like they belonged here just as much as I did. I couldn’t believe it.
She and Ford had only been here a few hours, and they were already starting to settle in. For so long, I’d tried to imagine what it would’ve been like if things had gone differently. Now, I wasn’t just imagining it. I was watching it unfold right in front of me. And damn if it didn’t make me want to hold onto both of them with everything I had.
I was so caught up watching them that I didn’t notice that Ghost had walked up and was standing next to me until he leaned in and whispered, “That her?”
I didn’t have to ask what he meant. I knew. He was talking about the girl I’d spent countless nights rambling about when we were deployed. He’d heard all the stories, good and bad, and he knew that she was the one. She’d been the one even when I was too damn angry to even say her name.
"Yeah.” My chest tightened. "That’s her."
Ghost let out a low chuckle as he crossed his arms and took a good look at Tallie and Ford. It was like he was seeing a piece of my past finally make sense. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Yeah.”
“I gotta tell ya. I wasn’t so sure this day would ever come.”
“If her folks had a say, it wouldn’t have.” I shook my head. “Went so far as to tell her I was dead and buried.”
“No shit?”
“Yeah. It’s been a tough pill to swallow.”
“You two going to make a go of it, or is it too much?”
“It’s a lot, but it’d take a hell of a lot more to make me walk away from her and my son.”
“So, he is yours?”
“He is.”
“Don’t know why I even asked. Hell, he looks just like ya. Even has the same bad hair.”
“Hey, now. Don’t be hatin’ on my hair. Not everybody can pull off the whole Goldilocks thing.”
“It takes a special kind of badass for this kind of hair.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
Tallie laughed at something Bridgett said, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was so damn beautiful. Ghost chuckled as he said, “You’d think they’d known each other forever.”
“You really would.” I was still watching them as I said, “It’s good to see your girl doing so well.”