Page 47 of Jester

“Yes.”

“But she doesn’t remember,” Ghost adds. “Not you or the perverted assholes or anything from Texas.”

The cheerleader stares at us, wearing a shell-shocked expression. Thorn inches closer and breaks the awkward silence.

“Giselle hit her head,” he tells the woman who turns her gaze to him. “Before she could get help, men from Texas attacked her. She killed them, but in the struggle, she ended up with amnesia.”

“We never want her to remember,” Ghost mutters, getting hostile.

Thorn flashes a frown at his friend who glares right back. I ignore their male crap and focus on the woman as the RVs fill up with people.

“You’re Celine, right?”

“Yes,” she says and tugs at her new shirt before adding, “Giselle is my sister. My father said she was alive, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Well, she’s alive,” I say and yank out my phone. After a little searching, I find a picture of a pregnant Giselle standing with Apex and Amelia. “She’s had her baby. The little girl is adopted. The guy is Apex. They live next door to Ghost and me.”

Celine stares at the picture and then frowns at Ghost. I doubt she can wrap her head around what I’m saying, let alone imagine the Sanctuary’s setup. I had my own issues trying to figure out how things worked with the Born Villains Motorcycle Club.

“Giselle doesn’t know about you,” I explain, “but she understands how she left people behind. I know she’ll be excited to meet you.”

Celine blinks back tears. “She doesn’t remember anything about me?”

“Not in her head, but she feels like someone is missing.”

Wiping the tears streaking down her cheeks, the woman nods. “She has a life.”

“So will you once we get to where we’re going. Life at the Sanctuary will wrap around you until you feel like it’s where you’ve always been.”

I can see how Celine is conflicted. She’s been thinking Giselle was dead. In reality, her sister’s been falling in love and making a family.

“We should get going,” Thorn tells Celine and gestures toward the RVs.

Rather than budge, Celine looks at me and asks, “Did you kill my father?”

“No, he did,” I reply and gesture at Ghost.

Her blue-eyed gaze finds him as she exhales deeply. “Thank you.”

Ghost shrugs, uncomfortable with the focus on him. He wants to be a grouch. We’re not home yet. He worries something will happen to me. The man can’t shake his pessimism. So being nice to this woman is asking too much.

“Everything will make sense soon,” I promise Celine. “You’re free. You don’t even have to wear your pigtails if you don’t want.”

The woman reaches for her hair, hesitates as her gaze scans for anyone who might complain, and finally tugs her hair free.

Ghost, Thorn, and I follow as Celine shuffles toward the RVs. I notice how everyone seems to be pairing off into groups. Celine doesn’t seem to know where to go.

“I can show you more pictures if you want,” I suggest and gesture for her to follow me to the last RV.

Ghost doesn’t really want to share my attention. However, Celine reminds me of Giselle who I’ve grown close to since we’re neighbors and our men are pals.

After Celine brushes her hair before tying it in a simple bun, the four of us shove ourselves into the back of the RV. We mostly look at pictures of Giselle, Apex, and their girls. I also show Celine photos of the Sanctuary, trying to give her a sense of where we’re going.

“I only moved to the compound a few months after Giselle,” I explain to Celine who seems to be more depressed the longer we talk. “It’s overwhelming. Don’t even try to remember everyone’s name for a while.”

“Does Giselle know everyone’s name?”

“She still gets Tank and Buzzsaw mixed up,” Ghost mutters next to me. “She also calls three different old ladies by the name ‘Sweet Buns.’ So no, she doesn’t know everyone’s name.”

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