AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I chuckled. “I’m your only nephew.” Tension slithered through my neck and shoulders as I prepared to tell him who I saw. Sitting up, I inhaled deeply and tried to clear my mind of the onslaught of emotions that slammed into my chest.
His silence told me he was listening.
“I think I need your help. You and the MC can find out anything. I mean, hell, you found me.”
“It took too damned long, Jag. The situation shouldn’t have gone down like that.”
I swallowed over the lump in my throat, unwilling to dive deep into my dark past. “It was better than never.”
My uncle blew out a heavy sigh, the weight of the conversation thick with pain and anger. He had no idea how grateful I was for him. I owed him my life.
“It pays when you have your hands in a lot of activities.” Gunner’s dark chuckle filled the line, and I appreciated him making light of it. We had to. He was a big part of my life, but even he wasn’t aware of all my secrets.
Together with his MC, they had their share of illegal dealings, but we never discussed it over the phone. Half the crap they did, I didn’t know anything about since I hadn’t ever pledged. My focus was on football. Plus, even though I wasn’t close to my mom, I didn’t want to give her a heart attack if I joined.
“The fire . . .”
He released a low whistle. “We’re going there?”
“Yeah. I fucked a chick tonight . . . she was wearing a blindfold so I couldn’t see her face, but when we were finished, I lifted it.” I scrubbed my cheeks with my hands, her image flickering through my mind. “Her name is Phoebe, but she’s the fucking spitting image of . . .” Tears pricked my eyes. It had only been four years since I lost her. “Ariana.”
I could hear rustling in the background, and I imagined Gunner was moving items around on his desk.
“Just like her? I mean, how well did you see her face, Jag? The past can wreak hell on us.”
“I know. At first, I thought that’s all it was and that the chick looks a lot like her, so I dug around and learned her name is Phoebe Jenkins. But it’s not settling well in my gut. I’ve got a weird feeling.”
“Jag, grief is a powerful bitch. You watched your home burn to the fucking ground.”
“I know, but there wasn’t a body.” My nostrils flared as I struggled to sift through the pain of that night. It had fucking gutted me, ripped me to shreds, then kicked my ass straight to hell.
“That’s because the house burned and everything in it turned to ash.”
“I fucking know! I was there, goddammit.” I choked on my words, my hands balling into fists.
“What information do you have on her?” Gunner’s voice was even and calm. He knew how to handle me when I was about to blow my fucking mind.
“Her name and the fact that she attends Whitmore. I haven’t seen her on campus, but it’s a big school.”
“I’ll have Cupcake hack into the school’s system and see what we can find. But first, Jag, you need to see her again and look her dead in the eye. If you have any doubt it’s not Ari, then I need to know before I go snooping. You’re already fucked up in the head, and this ghost could ruin you. Can’t have that. No pussy is worth torturing yourself over.”
“Ari was worth it, Gunner. Ari was.”
A heavy silence filled the line.
“I’ve got you, man. Call me when you see her again. Any other info would help, too. I gotta go, kid.”
“Wait. Do you have an update on the other situation?”
“I wish I did but we’re all working on it. We’ve got your back, Jag.”
A dangerous cocktail of disappointment, anxiety, and fear needled my skin. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you soon.” I disconnected the call, my chest heaving with the agony of revisiting that night. It had been the best day of my life, then it had all ended in a blink of an eye. I threw my head back and roared, cursing the heavens while my body trembled with raw energy and buried emotion.
There was no way I could sleep. I had to find out who Phoebe really was, which meant I had to get my crap together and strategize what to do.
ChapterNine
Phoebe
