Page 146 of Golden Atonement

Making that step, I touched the rough treaded surface on the ground and cried.

I was free.

“Baby?”

Blinking, I found myself huddled on the cold, tiled shower floor while ice-cold water rained down over me. I said nothing when he twisted the shower knob off before wrapping a warm towel around my shivering body.

Staring into his eyes, I whispered, “Promise me, Max.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t look for her. If she’s out there, she’s free. Please let her live her life. She deserves peace.”

He blinked, saying nothing as he slowly nodded his head. “Alright, baby. I won’t look for her. I give you my word.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Reaper

It had been a couple of days since I found my wife sitting in the shower, freezing while the cold spray rained down upon her. Since that night, she hadn’t really said anything about it or what she asked me.

While I intended to keep my promise to her, I couldn’t help but wonder how Remi knew about the missing woman, and with everything going on, I knew it was hitting too close to home for her.

Leaving my office, I headed down the hall toward Phantom’s cave. The woman barely left the damn place since we rebuilt the club. If she wasn’t with Bullseye, she was in her cave, typing away on her damn computers. Therefore, I wasn’t shocked when I knocked then opened the door to find her clicking away as she looked at a black screen with jumbled codes racing past.

Leaning against the door, I shook my head because Phantom never acknowledged me. Woman lived in her own damn world most of the time, only popping out of her cave when needed.

“What are you doing in here?”

Turning, Bullseye flipped on the light next to him. Laying on the sofa in her cave, my brother looked relaxed, almost like he was exactly where he wanted to be.

“How long have you been in here?”

“Long enough for a nap before you interrupted me.”

Tilting my head toward Phantom, I asked, “How long has she been sitting there?”

“Too fucking long,” the man grumbled, sitting up and wiping his hands down his face. “Those stupid fucking files Ghost brought back with him are becoming a nuisance, brother. At this rate, your kid will be born before she unlocks all the files.”

“How many are still left to open?”

“About ninety percent,” Phantom said, turning in her chair to look at me. “Say what you want about James Doherty, but the man knew how to keep shit hidden. We’ve only scratched the surface.”

“Anything worth knowing?”

Sighing, she replied, “No. Everything so far is common knowledge.”

“Anything about the supposed ghost files going out to the underworld?”

Leaning back in her chair, she smirked. “Well, those files are a different story. I found the origin of the release, though I don’t believe they had any knowledge of what they were releasing. It seems when the Soulless Sinners found George Stone’s personal files, there was a worm attached. When Pippen unlocked the files, it activated the worm, releasing everything George Stone had accumulated over the years about everyone.”

“So those ghost files come from the Soulless Sinners?”

“Yeah,” Phantom muttered. “And like I said, I don’t think they knew it. Whoever planted the worm went old-school. Like really old-school, Reaper.”

“Benson Graves?”

“Possibly,” she replied. “He’s definitely old enough, but I don’t think so. There is something about the worm that’s familiar.”

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