Ride the Lightning - Aimee Nicole Walker Page 0,83
looked up at him. “I just showed up here one day and said, ‘Daddy, I forgive you.’ My spirit felt so much lighter afterward, and I’m a better person for it.”
Jonah stared at the tombstone until his eyes watered, allowing himself to remember the good parts of Oscar St. John. He remembered Granny giggling girlishly when Oscar snagged a bundle of wildflowers from the lake when he went fishing. Jonah recalled the compassion he’d shown to the homeless man. Then there was the time Oscar went with him to the recruitment office to enlist in the army. Flawed. Imperfect. Human.
Jonah placed his hand on top of the cool marble. “I forgive you, Pop.”
“Feel better?” Ellie asked.
Jonah nodded. He couldn’t deny his soul felt lighter, but the thunder inside him still rumbled softly.
“Good,” Ellie said. “Now you need to forgive yourself, Jonah.”
Felix’s old Woody Wagon was parked in his driveway when they returned. Ellie had a meeting with the mayor, so she didn’t stay to say hello or bust Felix’s chops.
From the porch, he heard Felix’s and Rocky’s voices followed by Marla’s throaty laughter. Jonah entered his house and found Marla sitting in Rocky’s lap, running her fingers through his blond hair.
“You sure are a pretty one,” Marla told him. “Ruggedly handsome looks and a devil-may-care gleam in your light blue eyes.” She ran a fingertip over the PI’s scruffy jawline. “Tell Mama, has someone already claimed your heart?”
“Someone has already claimed yours, Mama,” Jonah said, snagging their attention.
Rocky and Felix looked over at him, but Marla dismissed Jonah with a graceful wave. “Ignore him, Blue Eyes.”
Rocky smiled up at her. “I think maybe I’ve been waiting for you.”
Marla kissed his cheek, then stood up so she could kiss Felix’s cheek too. “You boys behave today and don’t let Jonah do too much. He’s only allowed to look at computers, phones, or other electronic devices for thirty minutes at a time.”
“Yes, Mama,” Jonah said.
Marla presented her cheek for Jonah to kiss before exiting the house in a swish of plum fabric and leaving behind a cloud of Chanel.
The room was duller without her in it. Jonah absently rubbed a hand over his chest as if it could somehow make the pang in his heart go away.
“Wow,” Felix said, grabbing his attention. “Jonah looks so much better today, doesn’t he, Major?”
Rocky glared at Felix. “Don’t start with me, or I’ll eat your favorite donut and spit in your coffee when you’re not looking.”
“Don’t the two of you have something better to do on a Friday morning than babysit me?” Jonah asked as he looked inside the bakery bag of donuts. “Do I spy caramel icing and bacon crumbles?”
“Nothing but the best for you, big guy,” Felix said, pushing a drink carrier toward him. “Here’s your caramel syrup, milk, and sugar with a splash of coffee. It should still be warm.”
“You guys are the best,” Jonah said before taking a massive bite of his donut. God, he loved the combination of sweet and salty things.
“You feel up to working a little?” Felix asked.
“God, yes,” Jonah replied.
“Are you answering Felix’s question, or are you having a foodgasm over the donut?” Rocky asked.
“Both,” Jonah said, sitting in the chair across from them. “What’s on your mind?”
Rocky and Felix exchanged a quick glance, and it made him nervous. He knew he wouldn’t like what they were about to tell him.
“I figured out how your attacker knew to find you at the bar and storage facility even though you didn’t tell anyone where you were going,” Rocky said, glaring to show his displeasure about the last part.
“The goon didn’t follow me on both occasions?”
“How would he have known when and where to start?” Felix asked. “You didn’t broadcast your intention to go to The Dive Bar to anyone outside our inner circle.”
“And besides, I drove for most of the day. We only split up after I got the call from Pete. So, it’s possible someone staked out your house on the off chance you might investigate the case on your own while under suspension. They could’ve followed us around all day long and continued to tail you after we split up, or—”
“They put a tracking device on my car,” Jonah said.
Rocky and Felix nodded.
“Your office is also bugged,” Felix said.
“But your house is clean and so is Avery’s car,” Rocky added.
“Fuck.” Jonah set the rest of his uneaten donut on the table. “How do you know about my office and Avery’s car?”