Chapter Fifteen
“Chloe?” Sy swept forward, her arms outstretched, and I fell into them to give her a quick hug before stepping back. She looked like hell. Her usually sleek hair stood out in every direction, and there were dark smudges under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in days.
Had she really been that concerned about me?
“I’ve been so worried about you,” she gushed. Looping her arm through mine, she pulled me further into the room, barely sparing a glance behind her at Duke, who was staring at her with his mouth open. “You can stay there,” she said tartly. “I don’t have bikers in my house.”
I swallowed hard. As far as I knew, this was Duke's place, and she was just renting from him. But she didn’t seem to care.
“This is my place,” he pointed out, but there was nothing angry in his tone. If anything, he seemed to be trying not to laugh.
“And I have a tenancy agreement and rent.” She arched an eyebrow at him and his lips quirked upwards as his eyes travelled down her body. “You’re such a bitch, Sy,” he said, with a shake of his head and a widening grin.
Tossing her hair behind her, she dragged me forward, but instead of pulling me into the kitchen or lounge, she pulled me into her room and kicked the door shut behind her.
“They said someone shot at you.” She didn’t bother to make small talk first. But then, that was Sy all over. I had only been her roommate for a few days and she was already treating me like we had been friends for years.
“Who said?”
“The Sons.” Her eyes darted to the door.
“Everyone is talking about it.” She patted the bed next to her, and reluctantly, I sat down.
“What kind of trouble have you got yourself into Chloe? A nice girl like you shouldn’t be hanging around with bikers and getting shot at!
” She threw up a hand to silence me when I opened my mouth to speak.
“I know you think Pocket is different.” Her eyes swept across my throat and I clutched my coat around it too late.
Laughing, she shook her head. “I’m too late to warn you off, aren’t I? Just don’t get too serious too quickly. The Sons will—”
“This has nothing to do with Pocket. He saved me.” Tears stung my eyes. I hadn’t even thought about my employers. I hadn’t asked about them. What kind of person did that make me? I had been too busy being happy to even think about them. But I couldn’t help but think about them now.
Someone was trying to hurt me, and Keith at least had got in their way. What about Tilly and George? Sooner or later, the person who wanted me would find me, and if I was with Pocket, they would hurt him as well. Hell, they had almost killed him a few days earlier.
“Look.” Reaching down, Sy bent down and pulled a small box from under her bed, placing it on her lap. “These have been arriving since you moved in,” she said, staring down at it as she pulled the top loose.
I looked at the things in the box. Handwritten letters, little cards and flowers and… My hand shook as I reached for something gold that was tied with a pink ribbon.
“Is that hair?” My hand and voice shook. I didn’t want to touch it although I had reached for it.
“Yeah, silky blonde hair.” Sy turned to me. “I think this was for you. I think all of it was.”
Closing my eyes, I counted to ten. And then did it again when it did nothing to calm my nerves. If he had found me here, then Sy’s life was in danger.
She must have seen something on my face, because she sighed. “Tell me what the Sons have gotten you into, Chloe.”
I had never told another soul in my life. There were only three people who knew. Me and Ghost knew everything, and Chance knew a little, but I had never told my story to anyone else.
I needed to, though. Sy needed to be aware of what kind of danger she was in. It was the only way she would have any chance of keeping herself safe. Tears fell from my eyes and I bit back a sob.
“Oh, sweet girl. Just tell me. I’ll get you away from Ghost or Pocket or whoever else is getting you shot at and sent hair in the post.” She hugged me.
For a few minutes, I let her just hold me and then I took a deep breath. “It’s not the Sons. Pocket has been great. I think he really cares about me.”
She looked unconvinced, but didn’t say anything. I was glad for that because I didn’t want to have to fight her on something I was hoping was true.
“And Ghost has always looked after me. Always. I didn’t know how much until — well, l need to tell you everything; it’s a long story. And it’s not a nice story.”
Sy sat there and stared at me. “You can tell me, Chloe. We all have secrets and a horror story to tell.”
“Do you?” I already knew she did.
“Oh yes, and maybe one day I’ll tell you, but today you get to tell me yours. Maybe together we can work out what you need to do. Maybe I can help you.”
She was sweet for saying that, but I already knew that she wouldn’t be able to help me. No one could. All I could hope was that she would be able to help herself. I had brought danger to her doorstep, and I hated that. Sy had been so nice to me.
Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth and told her everything. Every detail I knew. And the entire time, Sy’s eyes became wider and wider.
“So there you are,” I said finally. My shoulders slumped in defeat. I had thought it might make me feel lighter telling someone my secret, but it still weighed me down. And God, it was heavy.
“Well,” Sy’s voice was as heavy as I felt. “That settles it. The deliveries were for you then, and we don’t have a run-of-the-mill stalker.” She tried to lighten her voice and failed. “This is a really shitty situation, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Welcome to my life. But I am sorry I dragged you into this. I didn’t mean to. I think Ghost wanted me gone within a day or two, but with his illness, it just didn’t happen. But I’m not going to stay. I can stay with Pocket until I can move and—”
“Have you told him all of this?”
I shook my head.
“You probably should. I’m sure he will understand and—”
A knock sounded on the door. A hard rap of knuckles on wood and Duke's voice called out from the other side.
Crossing the room, Sy flung open the door and froze.
“Ghost.” Rushing past her, I threw my arms around the older man before pressing my lips to his cheek. “You should be in bed resting.”
I didn’t want to say he looked a mess, but he did. He looked weaker than he had done before.
“I need to…” He coughed, and it was the most awful wet sound I had ever heard.
“These are two of my friends.” Shaking, he stepped back, and I came face to face with a couple.
Both of them were beautiful. The man, tall and dark-haired, and the woman, with curly blonde hair and curves, were officially the most stunning couple I had ever seen.
And power poured from them. Whoever they were, they were powerful.
“This is Gio and his wife, Keeley.” Ghost said.
I tried to smile, but it froze on my face. Neither of them were looking at me. They were staring at Sy and she was staring at them right back, like she had seen a ghost.
One look and it was clear that they already knew each other.
“Syl—“ the girl began to say but was interrupted when Sy moved forward with her arm outstretched. “Hi, I’m Sy. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
The woman — Keeley — looked taken aback for a second and then shook herself. Tucking her arm into the crook of her husband’s, she nodded.
“You as well,” she said, a confused look on her face passing swiftly when she turned her attention to me. “Shall we go somewhere to talk things over?” she asked, and I nodded. I didn’t know what these two beautiful people could do to help me, but I was curious to find out.
Just like I was curious to find out how they knew Sy and why they were pretending they didn’t.