Page 13 of Nightstalker

“Morning, Jas,” he greeted as he looked up at me.

He looked wary, like he was unsure what my mood would be. Good, the asshole should be worried!

“Is it?” I asked as I sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

“Impatient as ever.”

“Well let’s see Z, I have been trying to remember what happened back in Russia for the last two fucking years! Two fucking years! You know I have nightmares, you know I cannot remember everything that happened, YOU KNOW what it has done to me! Two God damn years, I think that is the very definition of patient!” I jumped right in.

“Jasmin, all I want to do is protect you, that is all I have ever wanted to do is protect you.”

“Fuck your protection Z. You are the only person in this world I fully trust. The only person I have told about my nightmares, you Zane, just you. And now I find out you have lied to me, you have been lying to me for two fucking years.”

“I have never God damn lied to you! I have never told you one untruth.”

I thought my head was about to pop off and explode. I was reaching thermonuclear levels here and Zane was acting like a fucking Politician.

“Untruths, let’s talk about untruths! Omitting facts is a lie! We will start with something easy, something I have waited damn near six years for you to tell me on your own. Let’s talk about your brother.

Zane looked like I hit him with a two by four his face went white and his eyes grew wide. It’s nice to know I can keep him on his toes.

“What…how?”

“Is it important how? Now what I am really interested in, friend, is why you felt the need to hide it from me?” I continued to question him.

“What about my brother, why is he important?”

“I don’t know, Zane, that is what I am asking. Why all the secrecy? Why is it so important to keep ‘Ghost’ hidden away?”

Before Zane could answer Lincoln was standing in the doorway, he too looked like someone had knocked the wind out of him. Had Zane lied to him too?

“Jasmin lets…” Zane was trying to backpedal.

“Oh fuck no you don’t, we are finishing this now!”

I was done waiting, I wanted answers. Zane shot a look over at Lincoln. Lincoln’s eyes looked like they were pleading with Zane. What in the hell was going on?

I got to my feet to pace, I was missing something here. When I got my work up on Zane it said he had a younger brother. His mother had remarried after Zane’s father was killed in action while his mother was still pregnant with him.

His mother, Janis Parker, and her new husband had a son. The son’s name was retracted. Wait, Janis Parker. Parker…Holy mother fuck!

“Janis Parker.” I let the name hang in the air.

Both men moved at the same time coming towards me. I quickly shot my arms in front of me to stop them.

“Lincoln Parker is Ghost, your brother,” I said as I looked at Zane. It was a statement not a question.

My head was pounding; I was getting one of those headaches. I felt like I was going to pass out, all of the blood was rushing out of my head. Ghost, I know that name. I felt like I should know why. The answer was just in the outskirts of my memory, just out of my reach. I started to sway, fuck I need to sit down. What was wrong with me, everything was going black and I was hot. I felt myself starting to fall. Then nothing.

***

I could hear a faint sound like a whisper, a faraway breeze saying, “Sweet Jasmin wakeup baby, you’re safe. I got you, it’s okay now.”

I felt warm and safe. I never wanted to leave this place.

I slowly started to come awake. My head was on something hard and a hand was near my face, brushing my hair away from my eyes. I cracked my eyes open and found Lincoln inches from my face. I was taken aback by the look on his face; no man had ever looked at me like that before. I could not place the emotion and it was gone before I could study it further. It was like I had been here before, this exact place in these arms. I came fully awake and realization hit I was sitting on Linc’s lap. How in the ever loving hell did I get here?

“What happened?” I asked him.