My mind raced back to that day. He was right. I did see two planes. But when I saw her being loaded into the other, I ran to get her. Paying no attention to the other. We all did. “What are you saying?”
I didn’t want to believe him, but he looked to be telling me the truth. Hope was a fickle bitch. She could give it quickly, then crush you with reality. I couldn’t go through all that pain again. It was too immense. I needed to stay logical until everything was verified. If this was some wild goose chase, I didn’t know what I would do. But what if it wasn’t? What if she was alive? And just like that…hope seeped in and took hold.
“I’m saying we need to get moving. She was spotted just south of Salem, Oregon, in a small town called Salvation. Bullseye has a team there, and they are keeping an eye on everything, but he can’t get to her because he also spotted Layla. Both girls are there, man. We can get them both back, but he needs our help. Both teams. I’ve already sent part of my team ahead. Half of yours is with Bullseye already. The other half I sent to Flordia. We need to go, now.”
“Where’s Shadow?”
“He left already when he found out.”
“Grimm?”
Reaper didn’t say anything as he just slightly shook his head. He was hiding something from me. I could tell. He wouldn’t look me in the eyes. It was something terrible, and he didn’t know how to say what needed to be said.
“Fine, keep your secret for now,” I stated before marching out of church. Running for my room, I grabbed my cut and slipped on my boots. Racing back downstairs, I was stopped by a smile I hadn’t seen in months. Her sweet face looked up at me. Her eyes, so much like mine, saw too much, yet she stayed rooted in her spot. Walking over to her, I knelt before her as she looked down at her shoes. What could I say to her? She was only four years old.
“Angel, I’m so sorry I haven’t been around.”
“Daddy, better now?”
“I’m going to be. Will you help me?”
She looked up at me and smiled, and wrapped her little arms around me as she said, “I can help.” Hugging my daughter was like a balm to my soul. Regardless of what happened today, my daughter needed me, and I would be there for her.
No more hiding.
It was time to move on.
Live for her.
“Ghost, let’s go!” Reaper shouted. Picking my daughter up, I carried her with me as I followed Reaper outside and suddenly stopped, closing my eyes.
Fuck, the sun was bright today.
“You okay, daddy?” my daughter asked.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been outside, Angel.”
“Here, Ghost.”
Turning, I saw Remi walk up to me, with a pair of sunglasses in her hands. “I found these a while ago. Max told me they were yours.”
Taking them from her, I nodded. “Thank you.”
She smiled and turned to Reaper, giving him a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. Reaching for Becca, Remi took her from me and held her close. Leaning over, I kissed my daughter on her cheek. “You be good for Aunt Remi. I will be back soon. I promise.”
“Okay, daddy. I love you.”
“I love you too, Angel.”
Getting on my bike, I looked at my daughter, who smiled and waved at me. Reaper shouted to Shamrock, who never left Remi’s side, “Not a hair out of place on either of them, Sham!”
“Got it, boss!”
Soon we were on the road.
It had been so long since I last rode my bike, and yet I could still feel her body pressed up against mine as her fingers gently rubbed my stomach. She loved being on the back of my bike, and God help me, I loved having her there.
I tried to enjoy the feeling of being back on my bike, but my thoughts never left that damn picture. I didn’t understand it. How could I have missed it? The plane was right there. I saw it with my own eyes, yet I ran past it to the other. Could it have been a decoy like Phantom suggested? Could I have been so blinded by my need to get to her? Did I overlook a crucial point of that day? The other fucking plane? Was she on that plane all along? Did she witness the other plane exploding? Did she give up hope?