The Ghost (Ghost #1)

Chapter 49

There will be a whole series about Tank and his friends once the Ghost is over.

John (Tank)

Kevin, Brandon, Michael and I wait in front of the local high school for Lia. After what happened on Friday, I decided to check up on her. The guys, hearing about it, made a decision to join me.

I'm leaning against my car, with Brandon beside me, and Kevin and Michael trudging around, checking out the area. I can tell that out of all four of us, Don was the one who got shaken up the most. When we were still in the army, his team had dealt with a group of sex traffickers that went after underage girls. He's seen a lot of sick shit like that. Thankfully, Lia is not weak and can protect herself.

I was genuinely surprised at how her boyfriend, Blake, knew something was not right. That boy's got great intuition.

"Why is she not out yet? The classes have finished almost 2 hours ago." Kevin implores, lighting up his cigarette, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Don't know. Let's just wait a little more."

"Are you sure she's even here? After that, I wouldn't be surprised if she skipped." Michael adds, leaning against my car. We all drove here together in my SUV, even though guys insisted they wanted to ride their bikes. I had to talk them out of it, since I'm not sure it would look good if a bunch of bikers showed up in front of a high school.

"There she is." Don points at the school's door. Lia and Blake are walking out of the building hand-in-hand, with the guys we met on Friday behind them.

I watch amused as Lia yawns, covering her mouth with the sleeve of the oversized hoodie she's wearing. It is definitely not hers. The guys laugh at her.

"She looks so different." Kevin exclaims quietly, since the kids have not noticed us yet. I agree with him, she looks like a completely different person. She's wearing that huge black hoodie, which I'm guessing belongs to Blake, considering the size of it, ripped jeans and black sneakers. Her hair is let loose, framing her cute face as it falls down to her waist in waves.

"I thought she was hot on Friday, but today she's fucking adorable." I just nod at Michael, completely agreeing with him.

Lia yawns again before rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm like a small girl and Blake pulls her to him, leaving a kiss on the top of her head. Those two are actually cute together, it's quite nice to watch.

Lia looks in our direction and as if a lighting struck her, her back goes ramrod straight as she storms towards us with a murderous expression. What the hell?

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" She yells out, as she's stopped halfway by Blake's arms around her. The other guys don't interfere, but I'm fucking confused. Why is she angry we're here? "Oh, hi John!" She cheerfully grins at me before turning her attention to whoever she was yelling at, her friendly disposition disappearing from her face in a split second.

I turn my head around, only to be met with a middle-aged couple, looking at Lia and Blake coldly. Who are they? The man's face is swollen and his jaw is heavily bruised.

"Get the fuck out of here or I'll break your face again!" Blake shouts at the two and I get the hint that these people are not wanted here. But I don't say anything, neither do my brothers. It's not our place to intervene, but we will if we have to. We stay by my car, with our arms crossed. One sign from Lia or Blake, and we're in. That girl earned my respect and I will not let anyone hurt her.

"Lia, why don't we take this somewhere else? There are too many eyes here." The blonde woman says, her tone final. But Lia just laughs menacingly, giving her a cold glare.