37. Rafe

Rafe

T he cop pushes me hard, and I slam into a giant with closely cropped hair. He gives me a horrified glance and shoves me off him, but he's quickly distracted by a woman who lets out a howling sob.

"Rafe?"

I twist in the crowd and find Dane.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know," Dane says and elbows his way to me.

I try to get a look around, but it's dark, and the lights are still dancing. A moment later, the lights cut off completely. There is a large cry from people, men and women alike. The sobs get louder, and then the lights come on, bright and clear. The filthy walls of the Red Shard are exposed again, calming the distraught clientèle.

My gaze gets caught on a man who has blood droplets all over his forehead. He's just standing there sobbing. He looks broken. I wonder how many years it will take to forget tonight. More than ten? More than a hundred?

Jax.

I search the crowd, but she's not here.

"Dane," I say in warning.

"I know, I see it."

Dane sounds close to panic. Close to losing his shit. I want to do something to reassure him, but my hands are shaking. I see Titan standing up there in my mind's eye, lifting the gun, and push the memory away violently.

I turn back and force my way to the edge of the crowd. A cop scowls at me.

"My friend is missing."

"I don't care. Go over there and wait with everyone else."

"You don't understand, my…" I look around. Where the fuck are River and Mason? Are they with her? Hope lifts in my chest, but it crashes down again when I remember what she told us. It's outlandish. It's impossible. It's terrifying.

I see ghosts. I believe in ghosts.

Was what she was suggesting so outrageous? And if she's right, what does he want? Her or more death? What is his end goal here? No, that's not the important part. The real question is who the fuck is he? Are we dealing with a copycat with a ghost or Louis? I know she was being sarcastic, but could Louis have reincarnated?

I'm in over my head. I came out here to find my brother and discovered a woman who turned my entire world upside down.

Dane snarls at the cop, and I get a look at a woman who walks past. She is all hard edges, short and aggressive.

"Detective Descario?" I call out.

She whips her head around and narrows her eyes on me. I smile slightly as she approaches, hoping to ease the fury in her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Rafael."

"Ah, you're friends with Jackie."

I wince, wanting to protest her using Jax's real name. "She was here with us. We were together when Titan did his thing, but we got separated."

"Ah, yes, well, you'll be happy to know that Miss Harmon," she says this loud enough that several people whip their heads around, paying attention to the conversation. I narrow my eyes, but she just ignores me. "I mean, Jax Blackwell, is currently AWOL again. She's fled the scene of the crime. Again. So, if you catch up with your friend, you bring her ass down to the department because if I catch her, I'm using any means necessary."

My blood runs cold as the detective turns and vanishes.

"Might have been better to not have said anything," Dane murmurs.

I close my eyes, and when I open them, I see something on the other side of the room that makes me feel sick.

"Dane," I hiss and nudge his arm.

He lifts his head, and the two of us look at a sobbing black shape that rushes people in the crowd. It doesn't seem to realise it's dead or that no one can see it.

"Avert your eyes, Rafe," Dane whispers.

I look away. The last thing we need is anymore ghosts hanging around- "Wait!" I lunge at Dane, gripping his shirt. "Gideon. He can help her."

"He can't help her in the light," he shouts back.

I point at the ghost running at people. "He can. He can if he tries!"

Dane's eyes widen. "How do we get him here?"

I shake my head, at a loss. "Call him?" I'm shoved violently into Dane as a couple of people rush into the crowd at our back.

"We're going to need more than that. We don't know if he goes somewhere else or he's with her or he's crossed to another realm."

I wince. "We have to try."

"We don't know his name," Dane says reluctantly.

"Just try, Dane," I growl.

I close my eyes and picture the ghost in my mind. I imagine his large shape, the muscles, and the calm he exhibits. Memories are the river of life, and memories of them together go through my mind, and at the last moment, I picture green eyes. A hand clasps my jaw. With a startled cry, I wrench my eyes open, and I'm staring into those same green orbs and that shadow face that were in my mind.

"Help her," I whisper.

Dane is staring, his eyes wide. "It worked. Holy shit. It worked."

Gideon looks around. His gaze lands on Titan, and I get a sense of helpless rage. He lets my jaw go and steps back, looking around wildly.

"Help her, Gideon," I say again. Louder, more demanding. "You're the only one who can."

He looks at me, our eyes meet, and then he vanishes.

Dane grips my shoulder. "Come on, I have an idea." He leads me through the crowd until we get to the staircase. Our movements are slow, hampered by people who can't function, who can barely think, and those who are so shocked they aren't thinking at all.

Dane pushes on the door and comes up across Astaire. The bouncer turns and looks down at us with a frown.

"Jax is missing, and the cops aren't looking," Dane whispers.

Astaire heaves a sob and wipes his eyes. "I know the boss was bad, but he was good to me, and I could feed my family because of him, never asked anything of me that wasn't honest. But Jax, she's good in her heart and always looks bad. Go! Be quick. Find her."

We pass through the gap in the doorway and sprint across the road. The police have arrived in force, blue and red flashing lights illuminate the shard. Someone should have seen us, but by some miracle, no one calls out, so we keep going.

"Where should we go?" I call out to Dane.

He stops jogging and looks around. For the first time in forever, he looks helpless and like the kid we found.

"I don't know. Maybe we split up?"

I feel something cold touch my hand and look down. A flicker of black light, and I smell smoke.

"I know where we need to go," I say quickly.

I follow the smell of smoke, ignoring Danes' whispered protests until we get to the park. I jump the fence and head deep inside until we get to the playground.

The smell of smoke intensifies. All around us are wisps of colour, rainbow halos, and black smoke. I have never seen anything like this. I slow to a stop, watching the ghosts of Hurricane writhe in their unease.

"What is going on here?" Dane asks.

I press my hand to my chest, and I find myself staring at a woman who looks vaguely like Jax.

"You can't leave. You have to stay. It's out of order."

Her words make no sense, but when Dane flies backwards and cracks his head on the playground, I cry out. I try to move, but I can't. It's like my body has turned to stone.

"You have to not be with her, not until it's time," the woman whispers gently. Then she extends her arm, throwing me harshly.

"WAKE UP!" she screams. "WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP."

I hear the words when my head cracks into the metal pole. I hear the words in my mind as the world goes black.

My last thought is of Jax and how sorry I am that I've failed her. I wonder if she will come and haunt me as a ghost.