“Yeah?” said the guard. He faked a punch and instead threw a low, hard kick at Ghost’s thigh. Ghost fell against the trunk of the town car with an angry growl.
“Oh, now I’m not going to even feel bad about this, you fucking jagweed,” said Ghost.
In one fluid motion, he pulled out one of the many knives he carried on his person and swiped it toward the guard. Bridget was actually impressed by the beauty of the maneuver. The razor-sharp knife cut right through the guard’s unbuttoned suit jacket. Ghost stabbed the handle of the knife hard into the thin steel of the town car trunk. The blade stuck and the handle vibrated back and forth.
Now the security guard couldn’t dodge as Ghost reared back and threw a right hook straight into his jaw. He tried to dodge, but the knife stuck in his jacket kept him static, and he took the punch without so much as a forearm raised to block it. The guard growled and shook the punch off, and threw his huge right fist into Ghost’s side. The sound of the connection made Bridget groan and clutch at her own stomach.
Ghost doubled over for just a split second before he made a roaring noise and started pummeling the guard with punches until the man was on his knees, a huge gash ripping through his jacket as he fell. He wobbled there on his knees as his face puffed and bled.
Suddenly Bridget was aware of their audience, and the sound of distant sirens racing closer. “Ghost!” She yelled. “Time to go!”
It took both hands for Ghost to yank his knife out of the trunk of the town car, but he did it after only two pulls. The guard’s jacket fluttered to his sides as blood dripped down his face and clothes.
“Nice to meet you!” Ghost shouted back at the guard as he ran after Bridget.
None of the curious bystanders dared to stand in Ghost’s way as they bee-lined around the parked cars and jumped into Bridget’s. She yanked the ignition to life and sped away from the parking lot before they got eyes on a single police car.
~ FIFTEEN ~
Ghost
Ghost picked at the scabs already building on his knuckles and sighed. The two men standing above him, literally looking down at him as they berated him like a child, were not amused.
“You’re a lucky little shit,” said the sheriff. “Stephen Cary could buy this town twice over if he was so inclined, and you beat the hell out of one of his very expensive security detail.”
“I did the guy a favor. He’s obviously over-paying for the services, if that’s all it took to beat that fool.”
“Christ, Ghost,” said Henry Oliver, standing next to the sheriff and shaking his head.
“What?” said Ghost with a faux-innocent shrug. “Look, I can’t expect you guys to understand, because you clearly don’t care about what goes into your bodies like I do.” He gestured tenderly to the big beer bellies that both men had been cultivating over the past few years. “But when you just want to clear the rotten chi out of your day and some jagweed in a suit takes the last asparagus water from the shelf, well… a man’s got his limits.”
“You committed an assault in full view of the public,” said Henry, exasperated.
“C’mon, you said nobody identified me!” said Ghost to the sheriff.
“Not by name, you lucky little shit,” he said again. “But it only took one of those parking lot cell phone recordings for me to recognize your bald head and big mouth.”
“We’ve done worse in this town,” said Ghost. “You guys are making this a way bigger deal than it is.”
Really, Ghost knew it was a big deal, but he was going to do any and everything to deflect pressure off Bridget and her plans to help Toby. So far, neither the sheriff nor Henry had mentioned a single word about anybody remembering a woman involved in the altercation. But they all had plenty to say about the ripped dude with the shaved head who took down the bigger man in the suit right in front of the natural foods store. As long as everyone was focused on Ghost, they wouldn’t be looking for her.
“I don’t think you get how loud and boisterous the rich can be when they don’t want to deal with something,” said the sheriff, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. “And you started a gladiator match right in the middle of their little enclave.”
“Those housewives probably went home and boned the shit out of their husbands after watching such a masculine display of power. They should be thanking me.”
The sheriff and Henry fell silent and looked at each other with heavy glances. Ghost could read their silent conversation like they were playing a recording of it for him. They knew he was full of shit about why he started the fight, but neither of them had any idea what the real reason was. They wanted to challenge him; they just didn’t have the proof to do it.
Not only was Ghost not giving them anything they wanted, he was also learning some interesting things himself. Like the fact that neither Stephen Cary, nor his jagweed of a bodyguard, were going to press charges against Ghost for the attack. Considering all the eyewitnesses, video, and the power of money in the legal system, there were only a few explanations as to why Cary would not bother pursuing such a slam dunk of a vengeance quest.
The most likely one—and the one Ghost knew in his gut was right—was that Cary was, indeed, beating the fuck out of his family, and when his bodyguard and housekeeper told him about the earlier parts of the confrontation with Bridget, Cary knew what had really started the fight. Pressing charges on Ghost could potentially expose him to an investigation that he couldn’t control, and ruin the fucked-up little kingdom of terror he had built for his family. So, instead, he was letting it all blow away in the wind.
Ghost knew for absolute certain that Bridget was right in her concerns about Toby. Not that he’d really doubted her before, of course. But having Cary’s unconscious confirmation turned Ghost’s focus into something far more solid and workable.
He felt bad about being such a combative dick to Henry when all the guy was doing was trying to keep Ghost out of trouble, but he didn’t have a choice. He hadn’t worn his cut during the fight, so the MC’s involvement was minimal. None of those rich fucks recognized him enough to connect him with the Black Dogs. He was just some random dirt bag who wasn’t even going to get charged for it. The stakes would be far worse if he gave in and told them about Toby and Bridget now, before they worked out how to best help the kid. Ghost just hoped Henry would understand and forgive him when all was said and done; but for now, he had to leave him in the dark. He promised Bridget he would follow her lead and he intended to keep that promise to the end.
“Ghost,” said Henry, folding his arms. He was trying to gather patience. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten up your ass lately, but it seems like every time I turn around, you’re causing problems for this club.”
Ghost rolled his eyes. “Great, here we go. Sitting down for a heart-to-heart with my two dads. Can you stop fucking talking to me like I’m a child?”
“Can you stop acting like one?”
Ghost rose to his feet. “I act like a child? Why, because I refuse to swagger around like the rest of these idiots and pretend that life isn’t one big fucking joke?”
“Ghost, did it ever fucking occur to you that maybe some people don’t agree with you?” said Henry. “And that it’s exhausting to keep cleaning up the messes your big mouth makes?”
“No one asked you to clean up shit,” said Ghost. “And this club agrees with me goddamn fine when there’s some dangerous warehouse full of Yakuza to infiltrate, or when your own daughter’s been snatched by some lowlifes and needs rescuing. No one seemed to give a shit about my sense of humor then.”
Henry fell silent. To Ghost, it was as good as an admission that he was right.
“The fucker isn’t pressing charges. This is done. Let’s move the fuck on.” He looked from Henry to the sheriff and back again.
“And you’re not going to tell me what’s really going on, the real reason you started that fight?” said Henry with a raised eyebrow. “You’re going to stand here and cut out your MC brothers f
rom whatever it is you’re doing on your off time?”
His words stung a little. Ghost said, “It’s not like that. But I don’t call in weapons I don’t have use for. That’s just wasteful.”
“So something is going on.”
“Something is going on, yes. It’s not your problem.”
Henry studied his face for a moment before he finally took a big, deep breath and shook his head. “You’re a bit of a lightning rod, kid, you know that?”
“Hey, this isn’t my fault. And neither is the Lucero shit. Force majeure.”
“Well, you’re the first member in fifteen years to cause us to have to call a tribunal, so fault or not, you’re going down in the history books.”
“What’s so important about this tribunal bullshit?” Ghost put his hands on his hips.
Before he continued, Henry excused himself to walk the sheriff back out to his car. Ghost just gave the cop a sarcastic wave as he left. Henry returned and poured them both a whiskey before he came back to the table.
“To Tommy,” said Ghost.
“To Tommy.” Glasses clinked and they drank.
Henry wiped his mouth and said, “It’s hard getting multiple charters together, and harder still to get a group of men who want to live outside the law to gather together and enforce laws. But, it’s going to be done. Per the bylaws, we’ve called the nearest six charters to gather here. They should arrive in the next few days.”
“This place is gonna be bumping,” said Ghost.
“It’s not a party,” said Henry with a serious face. “We’re going to have to treat this much like a trial. Lucero and the Eagleton men are going to try and discredit you. You should be ready for it.”
“I’ve never been less afraid of anyone in my life than I am of Lucero.”
“Whoever gets the blame in this outcome is going to suffer consequences. Not just the monetary hits against the club for the hospital bills, but someone’s going to have to pay with his reputation.”
“Yeah, Lucero. It’s his fuck up.”
“It might not turn out that way, Ghost. Are you ready for that?”
Ghost fell silent. He knew what Henry was trying to do, and he felt insulted. He joked all the time, but it wasn’t like he didn’t think about serious shit. In fact, he thought about darker, more fucked up stuff than any of them ever realized. And he had damn well thought about what might happen if this didn’t turn out how he planned.
“I’m not lying,” said Ghost. “I’m not making anything up about what I saw with Lucero. I stand by it. Even if this fancy tribunal doesn’t swing my way, I have my integrity regardless. Or are you telling me that’s in question, now, too?”
Henry looked at his whiskey glass and Ghost almost thought there was something like shame on his face. “Not as far as I’m concerned,” he said after a silent moment. “You’ve been a dependable brother, Ghost. I get that you’re a different breed. I’ve met men like you before. A lot of men like you stumbled out of the jungles of Vietnam.”
Ghost actually felt his heart seize up. He didn’t reply.
“You’re not like any of the boys here. They all had rough times, but not like you did. They haven’t seen the things you’ve seen… haven’t had to fight the same demons you’ve fought. I know why you joke all the time. And sometimes it breaks me to think about it.”
Ghost was completely disarmed in that moment. He could only stare at Henry with unsure eyes.
“The trouble is that we’re not at war anymore, at least not often,” said Henry. “And people who haven’t seen the dark aren’t going to understand that you’re fighting it. Men like us, we don’t just protect civilization from the monsters themselves; we protect them from the myths of the monsters by being stronger than them. And humor is one way to be stronger than them.”
Ghost averted his gaze and said, “So you’re saying… I have to change this in order to do my job? That I have to fix the myth I’m writing?”
“No,” said Henry. “You are who you are and we’re lucky to have you. But you have to learn to use different tools when the ones you have aren’t getting the job done. Right now, you need a group of men who don’t know you from Adam to believe you over Lucero, and if they don’t, it could cost you and this club a great deal of hurt. Do you really think going in with your wit is going to get the job done? Are you sure everyone’s going to understand you like I do?”
Ghost didn’t reply. He had no answer.
“Think about it,” said Henry. He rose and took Ghost’s empty whiskey glass with him. “This isn’t me condemning you, son. Every platoon needs someone like you. Men like you keep the quiet demons at bay, the ones that chew on your bravery and strength when you’re not looking. I just don’t want to see you tie a noose around your own neck, that’s all. I want you around my club for a good long time.”
Henry left Ghost there with the echo of his words.
~ SIXTEEN ~
Bridget
Bridget basically pounced on Ghost the second he showed up to her house, but not in the way he was wishing for.
“We’ve got an in!” she said to him excitedly when she met him at the door.
“Nice!” he wrapped her in a hug. “An in to what?”
“To help Toby.”
Ghost’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Bridget opened her right fist and presented him with a small, crumpled piece of paper. As Ghost took it and read it, Bridget explained. “I found this in my bag this morning when I started taking out all my work to grade. Someone sneaked it in there when I wasn’t looking.”
Ghost frowned, reading aloud. “I got your messages. I can’t run. Please help.”
“It’s Miranda Cary. It’s Toby’s mom.”
Ghost looked stunned. He read and re-read the note. “What the fuck? How did you know?”
Adrenaline charging through her veins, Bridget couldn’t help but pace the foyer. “I noticed Toby’s anxiety months ago, and I kept trying to contact the Cary family about it, but I couldn’t ever get a hold of anyone. I figured it was something medical they didn’t want to talk about and almost had just become used to it until that silent phone call the other week, which put all this in motion.” She pointed at the note. “Someone had to hear those messages I sent, even if they didn’t reply. It’s likely that someone told Toby to hide and call me that night, even if he didn’t know what to do about it once he did call me. If Miranda thought I suspected something was wrong, wouldn’t it make sense that I would be the one she would have Toby call?”
“Of course,” said Ghost.
“She knows I suspect something’s wrong with Toby. And I’d bet Cary’s entire fortune that the housekeeper and the bodyguard told him all about what happened at the grocery store—including what I was asking about. If Miranda Cary heard some woman confronted her housekeeper about domestic abuse, it’s not a far leap for her to realize it was me, especially after the phone call.”
“It’s not a far leap at all, baby,” he agreed. “We’ve dealt with a lot of abusive fucks around the MC over the years, and they most certainly make it difficult for their victims to find help. You might be the only person who’s shown any sign that she knows something is wrong.”
The thought made Bridget feel nauseous. “That poor woman. She must feel so alone.”
“I can’t believe she wants to run,” said Ghost, reading the note again. “It’s so hard to get them to leave most of the time.”
“I was surprised, too. But if I thought someone could help get my kid out of that nightmare, I’d try anything, too. She must have had Toby slip this into my bag, just like she tried to have him reach out with the phone call. It’s sure as hell not a kid’s handwriting.”
“Agreed. So let’s spring her out of it.”
Bridget smiled and kissed him. “You read my mind. Let’s go tonight.”
Ghost laughed, but stopped when he saw she was serious. “Oh. Baby, that’s not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
> “What, just the two of us, marching up to Cary’s house? ‘Hey, we have this note from your wife, so get out of our way!’ ” He made a silly noise and a thumbs-down. “Like, I’m super glad you have so much faith in my martial prowess, don’t get me wrong.”
Bridget wilted. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“Your gusto is sexy as fuck, you know that. But we need tactical, Bridget. Cary’s not going to let two of his most prized possessions just walk out the front door with us.” Ghost paused, and swallowed uncomfortably. “And if we make a run and fail, and Cary finds out about it, well… we won’t be the ones to suffer for it.”
Vindication: A Motorcycle Club Romance Page 14
