Page 45 of Ghost Among Lies

I paused at the hesitation in Nyx's tone. "Yeah?"

"Hawk mentioned there was an email for your eyes only." The seriousness threw me for a loop.

"And you didn't look at it?" Nyx was a nosy Nancy. A cryptic message like that would grab her attention better than a red flag being waved in front of a bull.

"Not this time." With that, Nyx slipped out of the room and left me alone.

I worked up the courage to open the email. And nearly stopped breathing at the contents. Six little words stared back at me but they held a powerful meaning.

In case you want to know.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

HAYES

Sloane walked into the kitchen in a daze. I was out of the chair and by her side in a flash. The pull to solve whatever problem strong as ever.

"Sunshine, everything okay?"

Her answer was to hand me a tablet as she dropped her ass into a chair. I tapped on the screen and found an email waiting with only one sentence.

In case you want to know.

"In case who wants to know?"

The email address itself wasn't familiar, but the sequence of numbers and letters certainly was. The email came from Hawk. I was sure of it.

"Me," she croaked. "In case I want to know about the baby."

I slumped down into the chair next to her with a heavy heart. I loved Sloane. There was no doubt in my mind she was it for me. My other half. And I would do anything for her. Or at least I thought I would. Right now, that was being tested though. Could I see the evidence of what happened to her if that was what she chose?

I didn't know.

"Do you?" I cleared my throat. "Want to know about the baby?"

I held my breath. I was in no position to sway her either way. This had to be her decision.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I thought I didn't, but after what we learned, I'm afraid I should. For my peace of mind at least. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something bad was happening to the child, and I turned a blind eye."

"What do you mean?"

"I turned my baby over to an organization that values money and prestige over human life. I wanted so badly to believe whoever adopted them, would give them a better life. One I couldn't because of what happened, but what if that's not the case. What if I unknowingly turned them over to monsters."

Sloane was spiraling. It was easy enough to recognize because the same used to happen when she worried her parents would discover our relationship.

I grabbed her hands and did my best to ground her. To bring her back to this moment rather than the place her mind was sending her. "Deep breath, Sunshine. Deep breath."

I pushed my own feelings aside and focused on her. It wasn't hard for me to do. She had always been the center of my universe.

With each audible breath I took, I encouraged her to follow my lead.

After a few minutes, she was matching my inhale and exhale without me having to tell her to do so.

"Better?"

She nodded.

I pushed down my own feelings and said, "If you truly feel it would help you knowing what happened to the baby, then I will be with you every step of the way."