“Why are they after you, Jessie?” He watched her swallow. Not a good sign, at least not if he expected to hear the truth come out of her mouth.
“I heard some things I wasn’t supposed to hear.”
His chin lifted. “What things? And why the hell are you in Sturgis of all places?”
“It’s a long story.”
Ghost looked at the ceiling as another boom of thunder shook the building. “Yeah, well it seems we’re gonna be here awhile, so we’ve got time.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“How about you start at the last time I saw you.”
“You mean at the cemetery? At Tommy’s grave?”
Ghost nodded, studying the woman before him now. She was no longer a girl. No longer a bratty little child getting into trouble, no longer even the teenage girl she’d been the last time he’d laid eyes on her. Now she was a grown woman, and the trouble she was in now was so much bigger.
“Tell me, Jessie.”
“I’m in a bit of trouble, Ghost.”
“No shit. Explain it to me.”
She swallowed, dropping her eyes. “I’ve been in Seattle.”
His brows shot up. “Seattle? Doing what?”
“I followed Kyle out there.”
Kyle, the asshole. That’s how Ghost thought of him anyway. He was the punk who’d been at the cemetery that day, the son-of-a-bitch that talked her into dropping out of school. He was also the jerk who, Ghost knew, did not give one fuck about Jessie.
“You remember Kyle?” she whispered.
“Yeah. I remember Kyle,” he bit out. “What the fuck’s in Seattle?”
“He’s a musician, Ghost. I told you that.”
Yeah, she’d told him that. She’d called him a couple of times over the years. He always tried to talk her into dumping the asshole and coming home. But she never had, at least not until now. “So he’s a musician, what of it?”
“He said Seattle was the place to be. They have an amazing music scene there.”
“Right. So you dropped out of school and followed him all over the fucking country?” Ghost couldn’t help but think Kyle was a bum that wanted to play music while he dragged Jessie along to support them both. “Let me guess. You worked and he played music.”
She looked at him with wide guilty eyes.
“Right. Don’t bother denying it. You finally wake up and figure out he was using you?”
She rolled her eyes and grudgingly admitted, “Sort of.”
“And you thought you’d try Sturgis?” He let out a huff that was half disbelief, half sarcasm.
“Not exactly.”
“Then what, exactly?”
“I knew you’d be here.”
That threw him. Ghost frowned. “Say what?”