Chapter 12
Ghost knocked on Adrienne’s door early the next morning. He’d fought with himself for the last thirty minutes on whether or not he should say good bye to her, but he finally decided it was best if he did. He wasn’t sure what would happen between them once he left Paris, but he’d cherish the time they spent together if things didn’t go any further.
She opened the door a little, the chain still attached. “Myles?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. She closed it a little and removed the chain, opening the door a little wider. “Is something wrong?”
She wore a thin, silk night gown and her hair was pulled into a ponytail, which was a bit frizzy from sleep. Ghost shook his head.
“No, I just wanted to say goodbye,” he said.
“Oh right,” she said. “You’re leaving.”
“Yeah.”
She gestured inside the room. “Would you like to come in? I feel kind of weird standing in the door way in just my nightie,” she said.
“Sure,” he said, walking inside when she stepped aside. She closed the door behind him and wrapped her arms around herself. They stood around in silence for a few moments. He’d wanted to ask her the obvious question they’d eventually need to address, but with everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, he wasn’t sure his psyche could take the rejection. It was almost better to not know than to have a definite answer to muse over on the 13-hour trip back home.
“So Pia has her ticket and everything?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“Uh yeah. Everything’s ready for the three of us to head home.”
“When does your flight leave?”
“In about two hours, but we’re heading to the airport in a few minutes. I just didn’t want to leave without getting a chance to say goodbye.”
“Oh.” She gave him a small smile. “Well, thank you for being here with us and for what you did yesterday. You’re a hero.”
“People tell me that,” he said with a sigh.
“Well, you’re Pia and Josephine’s hero,” she said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “And you’re my hero.”
“Your hero?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Yes. You saved me from my destructive thinking,” she answered.
He looked down at her, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a gentle squeeze. “Then where do we go from here? What happens after this?”
“Whatever we want to happen. I think I’m ready for anything,” she said and smiled.
He smiled back at her, completely surprised at her answer. “But what about your rule?”
“To hell with it,” she said, standing on her tip toes. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, his arms tightening around her. Her warm vanilla scent comforted him as it clouded his senses. When he volunteered to come to Paris, he only thought that he’d only get to know the woman that caught his attention so many months ago. He definitely didn’t expect to have to save his sister and her friend, but he also didn’t expect to be leaving in a relationship. Even though he had to cut his trip short, his time here was well spent.
She slowly pulled away and licked her lips. “As much as I’d like you to stay, I know you have to be at the airport soon. Can you call me when you get back to the States?”
“I would if I had a phone,” he said with a grin.
She giggled. “Oh yeah. Well, I’ll give you my number for you to call me when you do get one,” she said. She let go of him and walked over to the night stand, grabbing the pad and pen resting on it. After scribbling down her number, she ripped the sheet off and handed it to him.
“Thanks,” he said, glancing at it before putting it in his pocket. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay then. Have a safe flight,” she said softly.
He kissed her forehead gently and gave her a small smile. “See you soon,” he said and walked out of her room.
***
“So you know you’re grounded until graduation, right?” Ghost said when he and Josephine walked into their apartment. Josephine sighed as she closed and locked the door behind her.
“Well deserved,” she said.
“Still can’t believe you did that, Jo.”
“I know, it was stupid and I’m sorry,” she said, her hand hanging low.
He gestured toward the couch and they both strolled over to it, leaving their bags by the door. Sitting down next to her, he sighed. “Josephine, you scared the hell out of me, you know that? They almost pronounced you as dead,” Ghost said, his chest tightening as flashbacks of that moment appeared in his mind.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes still low.
“Jo, I keep telling you over and over that all I care about is that you’re safe. Everything I do is to make sure you’re okay. It may seem like I’m overprotective or ruining your life, but I don’t want anything to happen to you. This world is filled with a lot of fucked up people and I won’t always be there to protect you from them. I just…I wish you’d understand that.”
She finally looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I do,” she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “I guess I just never thought those kind of things could happen to me.”
“It can happen to anyone, Jo. No one is too special to be taken, attacked, or even killed,” he said.
She was quiet for a long moment, her eyes fixed at her hands resting on her lap. “I don’t know if I want to go off to school anymore,” she admitted quietly.
Ghost raised an eyebrow. Considering that graduation and going off to college had been the only two things she’d talked about since her senior year started, hearing that she didn’t want to go was a little surprising. Sure, the situation in Paris was enough to shake anyone up, but he didn’t think she’d let it control her future.
“And why not?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Because I’m scared. A guy that made it so easy to trust him had nothing but bad intentions for me. How will I know who I can and can’t trust after that, especially if I don’t know them? And you won’t be there to protect me.”
“Then you’ll need to learn how to protect yourself,” he said, taking one of her hands into his and giving it a gentle squeeze. “There are going to be times when I can’t be there. You’re growing up and one day, you won’t need your big brother fighting all your battles.”
She looked up at him with wet eyes. “Well, then will you teach me? How to protect myself?”
He gave her a small smile and nodded. “Of course. I want you to go off to school and do great things. You’re capable of so much and I don’t want you to let some insignificant bastard ruin the vision you’ve set for yourself,” he said.
She moved over closer to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck in a hug. “I love you,” she murmured. He gently put his arms around her, careful not to aggravate her cracked ribs.
“I love you too, little sis,” he said. “We’re all we got.”
She pulled away and met his gaze a hint of a smile on her lips. “I heard that when you said that to me,” she admitted. “I think that’s when I started to come back. After everything we’d been through with mom and her…addiction, I didn’t want to be the only person you had left to disappoint you by leaving you.” She looked down at her hands. “You don’t deserve that.”
“We all make mistakes and luckily you’re still here, so let’s not dwell on it,” he said and glanced at the clock. “Why don’t you get take your dose of medicine and lay down for a while and I’ll make dinner?”
She nodded with a sigh and slowly stood to her feet, taking small steps to retrieve her rolling suitcase and moving in the direction of the hall. She stopped suddenly and turned around. “You know, I’d still be okay even if mom doesn’t come to graduation. Knowing that I’ll have you there and that you’ll be proud of me will be enough,” she said.
A mixture of relief and sadness washed over him as he looked at his little sister. It was mere days ago when the smallest mention of their mom and whether or not she’d show up would be enough to put her in a bad mood. But then again, near death experiences can cause anyone to reevaluate things in their life.
“Well, I’ll be there with bells on and will also be ready to give you the boot to college,” he joked with a smile. She rolled her eyes and giggled.
“Don’t be so eager to get rid of me. You’ll miss me when I’m not here.”
“I’m sure Adrienne will keep me occupied,” he replied with a smirk. Her eyes widened a bit.
“You’re…dating?” she asked.
Ghost shrugged and stood to his feet. “More like taking it a day at a time right now, but she’s willing,” he said, gauging her reaction and bracing for the teasing he knew he was in for. Instead, she just gave him a small smile and a nod and turned to head to her bedroom.
“What? No teasing tonight?” he called behind her. She turned slightly and shook her head.
“No,” she said. “She’ll be good for you. I think you’ll actually help each other.”
He folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Help each other how?”
She sighed playfully and threw her hand up in the air. “I swear I have to spell everything out for you and you’re supposed to be the big brother,” she said with a smirk when met with Ghost’s faux glare. “But you’ve both been through pain and were essentially afraid to love. You with mom, and her with her…who did you say he was again?”
“Her fiancé.”
“Right. I think you’ll both give each other the love you’re separately looking for. Besides, someone has to take care of you. You didn’t know much about cooking anything besides frozen pizzas and Hot Pockets before I got here,” she said and moved down the hall.
“Hey, I’m offended!” he called out to her. “At least you didn’t starve!”
“Yeah, yeah,” she called back before closing her bedroom door. Ghost sighed and ran his hand over his head. Josephine’s words played in his head as he made his way into the kitchen. Maybe she was right. Perhaps the fact that they shared pain over losing someone was what drew him to her in the first place. Although his mother was still living, he’d lost her long ago when she succumbed to her addiction and he was yet to get her back, no matter how hard he tried to fight for her. She didn’t show up for his graduation either, and he was one of the few cadets that had no family supporting him when he made it out of basic training. Aside from his sister, the only family he had was his SEAL team, but neither them or Josephine could fill the hole his mother left behind when she essentially chose pills over her children.
A sound coming from his front door immediately snapped him out of his painful memories. The sound of the door handle jiggling put his senses on high alert. No one knew he was home yet, not even his team. He quickly crossed into the dining area and retrieve the Beretta strapped under the bottom of a bookcase and slid against the wall. Voices congregated outside the dining area window as the jiggling on the doorknob continued.
“He’s not supposed to be here,” someone said.
“Get the key from under the mat, dumbass. We’re not trying to look suspicious,” someone else quipped just as another voice exclaimed, “Ouch!”
Ghost glanced in the direction of Josephine’s room, praying that she didn’t come out in the next few minutes for any reason. The lock clicked on the door, signaling it was unlocked and the door slowly opened.
Ghost pointed his weapon at the door. “Take another step and I’ll—” He lowered his weapon and shook his head. Savage, Joker, and Diablo lowered their weapons when they laid eyes on him. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Joker asked, looking around.
“What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
“What he means is what are you doing here now? I thought you were going to be in Paris for another two days,” Savage said, tucking his gun into the holster on his waist.
“What’s going on out here?” Josephine asked with a yawn, her eyes settling on the men and their weapons. Her eyes grew wide and she crumbled to the floor, her breaths rapid as she slid up against the wall and pulled her knees to her chest. “No…no…no…he’s going to come back…”
“Shit,” Ghost muttered, placing the gun on the dining table and quickly moving over to his sister. “Jojo, look at me.”
Her eyes glazed over as she rocked back and forth, mumbling to herself incoherently as she trembled. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “You’re safe now, Jo. No one’s coming back.”
“He’s going to come back to take me—”
“He’s dead now and I’ll kill any son of a bitch that tries to again,” he promised in a whisper. “It’s just the guys; you’re safe.”
Still trembling, she peeked over his shoulder at the confused men still standing in the living room. “Guys?”
“It’s just us, Jojo,” Joker said, removing his weapons from his persons and placing them on the floor. Savage and Diablo followed suite before the three of them slowly crossed the living room and formed a huddle around her and Ghost.
She looked at all of them with wet eyes, recognition finally settling in her features as she realized they weren’t a threat. The men looked to Ghost in confusion, but he only shook his head.
“See? You’re safe. We’re all here,” Ghost murmured, rubbing her back. She slowly pulled away and looked around with a sniffle.
“I want to go back to bed now,” she said, barely above a whisper. Ghost helped her off the floor and walked her back to her room, helping her get settled back in bed.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he murmured, pulling her blanket over her as she still trembled. “You’re safe here.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Shh,” he coaxed, squatting down next to her bed. “Don’t be sorry. You’ve been through a lot. Get some rest and we’ll talk about it later, okay?”
She nodded and closed her eyes, causing Ghost’s heart to break. He couldn’t begin to understand the fear she felt after going through something like that. He remembered seeing that same fear in the eyes of some of the people he’d rescued in his years in the military, but it struck a different cord when that fear harbored in the eyes of his flesh and blood.
He softly closed the door with a sigh, nearly running into Savage, Diablo, and Joker when he turned around.
“What the hell was that about?” Diablo whispered as they followed him down the hall and back into the living room.
“Did something happen in Paris?” Savage asked, concern etched on his face. Ghost flopped down on the couch and ran a tired hand down his face.
“Yeah, something did,” he said. “Josephine and her friend were snatched up by a sex trafficker.”
“Shit,” Joker said, shaking his head. “How the hell did that happen?”
Ghost recounted the details of the event, telling them from the moment she was taken, meeting Léon, and tracking Josephine down and finding her. His chest tightened when he told him about how he almost lost her.
“So yeah, we came home early so she could heal and her friend’s parents wanted her home, too,” he said when he finished.
“Damn,” Joker said. “Sounds like you should change your call sign to Bond.”
Ghost chuckled, but he didn’t necessarily feel the humor in it. He’d spent the whole thirteen-hour trip torturing himself on what he could’ve done differently to prevent that from happening. In reality, he knew deep down inside that he couldn’t save her from everything, but it never stopped him from trying. He wanted to blame himself for paying too much attention to Adrienne, but that wouldn’t necessarily be fair to him either. He’d spent so much time taking care of other people that he didn’t have much time to think about himself and what he wanted. But the moment he found someone he wanted and took his attention off everything else, even for a few minutes, it nearly cost him his sister’s life.
“Stop it,” he heard his leader say. Ghost looked up at Savage. “I see your brain going a mile a minute. You did everything you were supposed to do.”
“Yeah,” Ghost muttered.
“And I’m not trying to be an asshole, man, but nothing you could’ve done would’ve prevented that,” Diablo said. “When teenagers want to sneak and do something, they’ll do it whether or not you’re watching them.”
“True that,” Joker said with a nod. “Remember how we used to be when we were teens and had a curfew?”
Ghost sighed and nodded. “I know, but it—“
“Seriously, Ghost. You saved those girls’ life no matter how you look at it. You should be proud,” Savage said, sitting next to him.
“Adrienne said the same thing,” he murmured, instantly sitting up at the sound of her name. “I need someone’s phone.”
“For what? And who is Adrienne? The sexy French teacher you fantasize about?” Joker teased. Ghost glared at him.
“I need to call her to let her know we made it back. Lost my phone in the rescue,” he said with a smirk. Joker nodded and pulled his phone from his vest.
“Fair enough, brother,” he said, handing him the device. Ghost stood and strolled toward the kitchen, pulling the hotel stationary paper from his pocket with her number on it and dialed.
He paced the floor as he waited for her to pick up, slightly disappointed when her voicemail greeted him instead. The sound of her voice caressed his soul and soothed his frayed nerves. He could still smell her strawberry coconut shampoo from when he was close to her hours ago. Thoughts of her soft lips against his filled his mind, making him long for her. He couldn’t wait until she got back to America.
At the sound of the beep, he left her a message letting her know they’d made it back home and hung up. Dread filled him as he leaned against his kitchen counter with a single question on his mind. She was adamant about not wanting to date anyone like him when they’d first arrived to Paris, but seemed to have changed her mind before he left. When all the emotions from the kidnapping wore off, would she still want him?