Page 58 of Ghost

While I understood why they kept it and even agreed with it, I had reservations about using her full name in public.

Mostly I used a pet name. Sweetie, Baby, Peanut. In the safety of our hotels and in the car while we drove, I used her name, often switching between Danika and Dani. It was important for her to hear her name being said with love.

The truth was, we spent little time outside the hotels and the car. Not until I was sure we weren’t being followed.

And I wasn’t sure.

Not yet.

Every time we climbed into the car, I felt like I was being watched. My eyes ping-ponged between the road in front of me and the road behind me. Always on the lookout for a familiar car. One I had seen more than once. One that could be following us.

It could be paranoia. As a psychologist, I knew better than most how strong the power of suggestion was and how it could fool the mind into believing things that weren’t real.

But when it came to Dani’s safety, I wasn’t taking any chances. I refused to consider that everything was fine and dandy.

Not yet anyway.

When we left Oklahoma City, I had no particular destination in mind. Only that I was heading west. Far from my brother’s club. Dani was too young, too innocent to expose her to the things she would see at the clubhouse. It made no sense why Dante would ask me to bring her there.

After the first three days of travel, Dani and I found ourselves close to the border of New Mexico. That was when I found the next note. Whoever was leaving them had been following us. And this time the note bordered on threatening.

The Texas sun beat down on us as I carried Dani on my hip. We had packed up our things and loaded them into the car this morning with the idea of moving on again. I figured we would just keep going until we found a place that felt like home.

We stopped at a park after breakfast so Dani could burn off some energy. She had really blossomed in the weeks since Dante had left, and my chest tightened as I thought about everything he was missing.

Dani had been quickly picking up words. It wouldn’t be long before she started putting them together in small sentences.

The sun was getting warm, and the dry air in Texas was unlike anything I had experienced before. I made sure Dani had a water bottle available at all times to keep her throat from getting scratchy.

She held my hand as we walked back to the car. Dani was asserting herself more and more and had decided she didn’t want to be carried all the time. I missed having her in my arms, but she was still so tiny that she got tired easily and frequently asked to be picked up.

The glint of the sun on the windshield caught my eye, and I noticed the paper immediately. I stopped in my tracks, looking around frantically as I lifted Dani into my arms. Nothing seemed out of place. No one at the park paid us any mind. There were no eyes focused on the mother and child that were leaving.

But someone had seen us.

Someone had been here.

Slowly, I walked toward my car. Holding Dani tight, I stepped up to the hood and viewed the piece of paper tucked under the windshield wiper so it wouldn’t blow away.

My hand reached out to take the note, but before I touched it, I pulled it back. My heart beat feverishly in my chest. Maybe I was being silly. It had been two days since we left our home. This could just be a simple note saying someone dinged the car.

I walked around the perimeter, inspecting the vehicle’s side, tires, and windows, praying for some damage. There was nothing. I set Dani in her seat, securing the buckle and locking the doors with the key clasped tightly in my hand. Grabbing the note, I ignored it until I was locked inside the car with Dani.

I turned on the engine, letting it idle for the briefest moment. Allowing the cool air to wash over us. My hands trembled as I unfolded the note and read the words that caused the blood to drain from my face.

Looking up in the rearview mirror, I locked eyes on Dani, who was safe inside her seat. She peered through the window, oblivious to the fear coursing through my body.

Someone was following us. I looked back at the note. The words didn’t make sense.

It’s all your fault.

I turned in my seat, needing to have eyes directly on Dani again. Though, her reflection in the mirror was not enough to calm my fear that she was in danger. This had to be about her. Someone knew who she was. Knew where she was. Whatever Danny and Dante were trying to protect her from was closing in.

I had no way of contacting either of them. Of course, I could call the Soulless Sinners in New York, but would they believe Dante had left his daughter with me? And what about the Golden Skulls? I was closer to them, geographically. But the stories I’d heard about their president led me to believe he would shoot first and ask questions later.

Regardless of my own safety, neither club was a valid option for Dani. Not without her fathers. There was only one other person I knew who had the capability to help me. Someone that would protect Dani with his life, the way he protected me.

I closed my eyes and tried to stave off the tears. I didn’t have a choice. My only option left was my brother and the Silver Shadows MC.

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