Page 20 of Ghost's Revenge
"This is good," I say, and immediately feel stupid for stating the obvious.
"My grandmother's recipe. She always said the secret was low heat and patience." Debbie takes a bite of her own food, then looks at me thoughtfully. "Can I ask you something else?"
"Shoot."
"Why do they call you Ghost?"
Of all the things she could have asked, about the club, about the Vultures MC, about what happens next, she picks the one thing I never want to explain to anyone, especially not to her.
"It's just a nickname," I say, hoping she'll let it drop.
She raises an eyebrow. "I just watched you take apart a man who outweighs me by eighty pounds without breaking a sweat. I think I've earned the right to know why your friends call you Ghost."
She has a point, but that doesn't make it easier to explain. The eggs suddenly taste like sawdust in my mouth.
"In the military," I say finally, staring down at my plate instead of meeting her eyes, "I was good at... moving without being seen. Getting in and out of places without anyone knowing I was there. My squad started calling me Ghost because I could disappear and reappear without a sound."
"Stealth operations?"
"Among other things." I take another bite, buying time I don't really have. "The name stuck when I joined the MC. Old habits die hard, I guess."
I wait for her to recoil, to put together what that really means. That I spent years sneaking up on people and killing them before they knew I was there. That I'm the kind of man governments send when they need someone to disappear permanently and quietly.
Instead, she just nods thoughtfully. "Makes sense. You do move very quietly for someone your size."
That's it. No horror, no questions about how many people I've killed or what it feels like to take a life. Just simple acceptance, like she's filing the information away for future reference.
Sunlight streams through the small kitchen windows, catching in her dark hair and turning it to burnished mahogany. She's beautiful like this, relaxed and unguarded, eating breakfast in her pajamas like it's the most natural thing in the world. Like having a conversation with a man called Ghost while her ex-husband's blood is probably still drying on the front porch is just another Tuesday morning.
"Mom!" Tyler's voice echoes down the hallway, followed by the sound of small feet running on hardwood. "Mom, where are you?"
He bursts into the kitchen with Sarah close behind, his hair sticking up in every direction and his Spider-Man pajamas wrinkled from sleep. When he sees me sitting at the table, his face lights up like Christmas morning.
"Derek! Are we gonna play baseball again today?"
Before I can answer, he launches himself at Debbie, wrapping his small arms around her waist in a hug that nearly knocks her off her chair. She laughs and ruffles his hair, pressing a kiss to the top of his head with the kind of automatic affection that makes my chest tight.
"Good morning to you too, baby. Did you sleep okay?"
"Uh-huh. But there were sirens and stuff. Was that the police?"
I see Debbie's face tighten slightly, see her glance at Sarah in a way that asks for help without words.
"Just some grown-up stuff that's all taken care of now," Sarah says smoothly. "Nothing for you to worry about. How about we get you some breakfast?"
"Can I eat with Derek?"
"Derek was just finishing up," Debbie says. "He probably needs to get going."
She's giving me an out, a graceful way to leave before this gets more complicated. I should take it. Should finish my eggs and thank her for the meal and get back to my normal routine of watching from a distance.
But before I can open my mouth to agree, Sarah speaks up.
"Actually, I was thinking Tyler might enjoy a trip to the park this morning. Get some fresh air, burn off some energy." She looks between Debbie and me with the kind of knowing expression that makes me wonder what she sees that I don't. "You two look like you could use some time to talk without little ears listening."
"That would be lovely," Debbie says, and I nearly choke on my coffee.
Lovely? She wants more time alone with me? After what she just saw me do?
