GHOST: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Evil Dead MC Series Book 5)

by Nicole James

  Jessie couldn’t help the feeling that crept up her spine and told her the exact opposite.

  Ghost led her inside his clubhouse, and Jessie forgot all about Ashley as her eyes moved around the place. There were flags, pictures and club memorabilia all over the walls, even hanging from the ceiling. The place was crowded with the returning brothers, and Ghost shouldered his way through the leather-clad men, leading her to a bar against the back wall.

  He jockeyed a position and leaned on his elbows, calling to a short woman behind the bar serving up drinks. She was petite, with white-blonde hair in a cute little super-short, spikey cut. It accented her long slender neck and big slanted green eyes.

  “Hey, Tink. Be a sweetheart and grab me a couple bottles.”

  The woman turned, her face lighting up as she saw him. “Sure thing, Ghost. Welcome home!”

  “Good to be back, darlin’.”

  A moment later she set two ice-cold bottles of beer in front of them. Her eyes briefly touching on Jessie as she gave her a slight nod.

  “Seen Hammer, yet?” Ghost asked her with a grin.

  She rolled her eyes. “No, and don’t start, Ghost. I was in a good mood.”

  Ghost chuckled, putting the bottle to his mouth and taking a long drink.

  The girl was soon called away to serve up the crowd, and Ghost twisted, leaning against the bar to face Jessie.

  “Tink?” she asked.

  “Short for Tinker Bell.” He shrugged. “I think the nickname is self-explanatory.”

  Jessie’s eyes moved back to the pretty, petite woman. She supposed it did at that.

  “Why did you ask her about Hammer?”

  He eyed her, his smile fading slightly. “Why? Jealous you might have some competition for your new boyfriend?”

  “Stop teasing me. You know that was all just fun.”

  “Um hmm. It better be.”

  “So, what’s the deal with them? She his ol’ lady?”

  Ghost snorted. “Not hardly. But it ain’t from lack of tryin’ on his part. She won’t have anything to do with him, though.”

  “Why’s that?”

  He shrugged, grinning. “Cause she’s a smart girl. Hell, I don’t know, why don’t you ask her?”

  Her chin came up. “Maybe I will.”

  “Oh, Lord.” He rolled his eyes.

  “So, tell me more about this Ashley chick.”

  Ghost took a hit off his beer bottle, his eyes on her. “Told you, nothin’ to tell.”

  “She said she missed you. That’s not nothing, Ghost.”

  He shook his head. “Drop it, Jess. She’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  “Good. Then we can stop talking about her.”

  Jessie rolled her eyes. If only it were that easy. Is that really how men thought women’s minds worked? Nope. Not even a little.

  One of his brothers walked up and leaned into Ghost’s ear, telling him something she couldn’t hear. He listened intently, their eyes connecting as the man pulled back. Ghost nodded, and the guy glanced to her before walking away.

  When he was gone, Jess asked, “What was that about?”

  Ghost looked at her and shook his head. “You don’t get to question everything, Jess. Not anything that has to do with the club. Understand?”

  “Fine. Whatever.”

  It was Ghost’s turn to roll his eyes. “There’s that word again.”

  “Well, what do you want me to say? It’s not fine? Is that what you want to hear?”

  “Just shut up and let’s go.”

  “Fine,” she bit out just to be antagonistic.

  Of course it didn’t work with Ghost. He just huffed out a laugh and led her out the door.

  “Where are we going?”

  “My place. You’re tired, right?”

  She nodded. “Where’s your place? I thought maybe you stayed here.”

  “At the clubhouse? Hell no. I’d never get any sleep. I got a place over near the airport.”

  At that, she frowned. “The airport?”

  “Yeah, the airport, Jess. Why?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  They mounted up and pulled out.

  Twenty minutes later, true to his word, Ghost rolled down some backstreets near the airport. They were over on the southeast side, off to the side of the end of one of the runways. He turned down an old driveway that was overgrown with shrubbery. It looked like at one time it had been the entrance to some type of restaurant, judging by the signs that were now partially grown over with vines.

  It was back in an area that obviously got very little traffic; in fact it was the last place on the dead end. The drive in was maybe a hundred yards in from the turn off. It opened to what once must have been the parking lot, but grass and vegetation were now starting to break through. The place looked like it could have been the setting for a scene from a zombie or apocalypse movie. That’s how abandoned and deserted it felt.

  Ghost pulled to a stop in front of the doors and they both climbed off. Pulling her helmet off, Jessie got her first up close look at the building that was glooming in the dark of night.

  It looked like an old French farmhouse from the turn of the century with white stonewalls and turret towers with shingled conical tops.

  She noticed an old WWII era jeep parked in the overgrown grass at the front like some kind of weird statue.

  “What is this place?”

  Ghost paused beside her, one booted foot up on the curb, and he tipped his head back, admiring the place with her. “It used to be a themed restaurant. It was designed as a replica of a 1917 French farmhouse. It was called Flying Aces for the fighter pilots that flew in WWI and WWII. It was filled with tons of military and aviation memorabilia. Some of it was left behind.”

  “Left behind?”

  “The place never really took off, and the owner died of a heart attack. It sat empty for years. His widow finally put it up for sale for what was owed in back taxes. I happened to have an in with someone in the family, and she sold it to me.”

  “No other restaurant company wanted it?”

  “Naw. The location was great for the idea…letting customers look out over the airport, watch planes land, but the neighborhoods you have to drive through to get here are not the best, and it kept a lot of people away. It was a cool idea, though. You want to see inside?”

  “Yes, but, you bought this place? You own it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “But, why?”

  He shrugged. “At first I just thought it would be a cool place to live. I got it dirt-cheap. But times have changed, and the neighborhoods around here aren’t as bad as they once were. I think it might just make it as a nightclub now or maybe an event location.” He shrugged again. “Just a dream, really. Come on, I’ll show you the inside.”

  He led her through big massive double wooden doors. They entered an area she supposed was once the hostess station. The walls were stone, made to look like plaster with areas showing the exposed stone beneath. He led her up a set of winding stairs; only they were made to look as if they were lines with sandbags, like it was a bomb shelter or something. When they got to the top, there was a set of coat hooks on the wall with old vintage WWII bomber jackets hanging on them, and aviator caps and goggles. To the left was a bar with a large mirror backing it and shelving with more memorabilia. To the right was what must have been the dining room with a bank of plate glass windows that overlooked the most amazing view of the airport in the distance. She could see the runway landing lights and the control tower off in the distance.

  The ceiling had big exposed beams, and there was a huge stone fireplace anchoring the other side of the room. In between, where she supposed all the tables had once been was now some living room furniture.

  “So…you live here?”

  “Yup. Come on, I’ll show you the rest.” He walked her through the room to a doorway on the other side. It must have been a smalle
r private room or event room. It also had huge windows overlooking the view, and he’d turned it into a bedroom with a big bed facing that view.

  “Oh my God!”

  He grinned. “Like it?”

  “It’s amazing. You wake up to that view every morning?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She frowned. “But what about the noise from the airplanes landing and taking off?”

  He shrugged. “You’d think they’d be a problem, but they sound proofed the place pretty good. Come on, I want to show you my favorite part of the whole place.”

  He led her back toward the bar, paused to go behind it long enough to grab two bottles of beer from a cooler and then led her down another staircase. This one led down to an outdoor courtyard setup to look like a bombed out section of the building with the roof missing and just the rafters and big exposed beams still standing. There was a big stone floor and another stone fireplace on the other end. It opened to the side facing the airport.

  “Pretty cool, huh?”

  “It feels like I’m in some bombed-out ruins from WWI or II. It’s amazing. God, you could have some awesome parties and events in a place like this. I can just imagine the place cleaned up and with strings of lights…”

  He took her hand. “Well, there’s still a lot of work to do before I start planning any parties here.” He led her out toward the side that faced the airport. There was a large stone terrace with a circular stone fire pit and some Adirondack chairs sitting around it.

  They both sat, and he handed her a bottle. The night air was the perfect temperature, warm but with a cool breeze blowing. She could smell honeysuckle blooming nearby, but couldn’t see it in the dark.

  The lights of the runway flickered in the distance.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet night. A plane came in on it’s final approach in the distance, and they both watched it land and taxy toward the terminal.

  She felt Ghost turn his head toward her and could feel him studying her for a long moment out of the corner of her eye until finally he spoke.

  “Tell me why you ran away.”

  She noticed it wasn’t really a question. She turned and looked at him, his eyes were clear, intent and brooked no nonsense. He wanted an answer, a serious one, not some flippant joke. She took a sip of beer, her eyes going back to the lights of the airport.

  “Everything just sort of fell apart.”

  “I want to know all of it, Jess.”

  She rolled her head on the back of the seat, her eyes meeting his. “Robert died.”

  He nodded. “Before that. Something happened before that, didn’t it?”

  She looked away, unable to continue to meet his probing stare. Yes, something had happened before that. Ghost had removed himself from her life. She swallowed, unsure she’d be able to admit the effect that had had on her.

  “Tell me.” His voice was low, deep, but it was also insistent.

  She set her bottle down on the stone and rubbed her arms. “It’s getting kind of chilly out here.”

  “Jess—”

  He was on to her stalling tactic. It wasn’t chilly out here, and he saw through her lie.

  She turned on him, her voice sharp. “You were gone. Is that what you wanted to hear? You left. And then Robert left.”

  He looked a little stunned, and she suddenly felt a little sick to her stomach, but she kept going, knowing she needed to get it all out or she never would.

  “I started hanging with the wrong people.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you did. But what I don’t understand is why.”

  She shrugged again.

  “Jess, talk to me.”

  She stood, walking a few feet, hugging herself. With her back to him, she admitted quietly, “It broke my heart when you stopped coming around. It was like you cut me out of your life.”

  It was quiet for a long moment, the silence only broken when she heard his chair creak and felt him come up behind her. And then his arms were around her as he pulled her back against him. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, and then his lips were at her ear.

  “Never meant to do that, brat. Never meant to hurt you like that. Never.”

  Oh, God. She’d breakdown if he kept up this sweet. She could handle an argument easier than she could handle sweet from him. “Ghost, don’t.”

  “You didn’t understand why I left, did you?”

  She shook her head.

  He tightened his arms. “I thought I was doing what was best for you. You had a bright future, Jess, college, everything. I would have sidetracked all of that. I couldn’t do that.”

  “I needed you,” she admitted in a whisper.

  She felt him dip his head to her shoulder, pressing a kiss to the curve of her neck. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t come around you then. Not with how things were between us.”

  “I thought things were good between us.”

  “Jess, you know what I mean. I gotta spell it out? You were growing up, and I was taking notice in a way I shouldn’t have.”

  She shook her head. “It hurt, Ghost. You just cutting me out like that.”

  He exhaled deeply and his tone hardened “What do you want me to say? The things I was starting to feel, the things I was starting to want…” he broke off releasing her and stepping away.

  She turned to him.

  “Say it. I need you to say it.”

  He whirled back on her. “I wanted you. But I couldn’t have you, Jess. You know that. Me leaving was the best thing I could do for you.”

  “Doesn’t feel like it turned out that way.”

  He slammed a fist into his chest. “And that’s my fault? You runnin’ off with that loser—that’s my fault?”

  She looked down.

  “You were supposed to go to college, Jess. You were smart. You could have done anything. Hell, you had you’re whole life ahead of you.” He paused, running his hand through his hair. “And what do you do? Run off with that little fucker to God knows where.”

  “Stop!”

  “No, Jess. You fucked up. You! Don’t try and put that on me.”

  She turned away, brushing away the sudden tears that burned her eyes. She had fucked up. Everything. Every word he said was true. But he just didn’t understand. She’d been in such a dark place then.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t ask you about this shit to start a fight.”

  “Then why did you ask?”

  “Tryin’ to understand, I guess.”

  “Understand what?”

  “Why you went off with that guy. Hell, if you were going to throw it all away, you could’ve done that with me.”

  She turned her head to the side, just far enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. “You were jealous?”

  She saw him stiffen.

  “Was he better for you than I would have been?” he growled.

  She swallowed. No, he wasn’t even in the same league. He’d been okay to her at first, but things had soon gone downhill. And she’d stayed with him because she’d been ashamed to admit she’d made a mistake, that she’d fucked up. Pride had made her stick with him longer than she should have. Way longer. And then, when it’d turned physical, she’d been even more ashamed. She’d left with no plans, no possessions, just the clothes on her back. She was even more embarrassed that she’d allowed it to escalate that far. And when she’s reached that final straw, and she knew she’d had nowhere else to turn, she went looking for the one man that made her feel safe.

  “Was he, Jess?”

  She shook her head, replying quietly, “You know he wasn’t.”

  “You left Seattle with no car, no bags, barely any money. What happened?”

  She shook her head again. “Nothing. I’d just had enough.”

  “What aren’t you tellin’ me, Jess?”

  “Stop, Ghost, please.”

  “He hurt you?”

  Yes, badly. But she couldn’t tell Ghost that. He’d go off the deep end. S
o, instead she shook her head.

  “Jess, tell me. Say the word and I’m on my bike headed to fucking Seattle to beat that motherfucker’s ass.”

  She couldn’t have that. She didn’t want Ghost to get involved in that, to commit a felony for her. And the last thing she wanted was to ever have anything to do with Kyle again. So she pasted on a bright smile and turned to face Ghost.

  “Gonna play the big bad brother part, huh?”

  “If that’s what you need me to do, brat. Absolutely.”

  She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Not necessary. No ass beating required. I promise.”

  His eyes searched hers, and she was sure he could read the lies on her face.

  “Someday you’re gonna tell me all of it. That’s a promise.”

  She went to him, pressing her head into his chest, her arms hugging him tight. “Not tonight, Ghost. Please.”

  His arms closed around her, and his lips brushed her forehead.

  “Okay, brat. Not tonight.”

  She held him, her eyes closed, breathing in his scent, soaking up his warmth. She felt safe from all of it. Kyle, and the Death Heads. And she felt what little energy she had drain right out of her.

  He held her a few moments longer, somehow sensing she needed it. Then his hold loosened.

  “Come on, brat. Let’s get you to bed.

  He took her inside and set her up in his bed, taking the couch for himself.

  This time, she didn’t try to persuade him to join her, the wounds of his rejection still smarting. But that didn’t make the long night spent alone in his big bed any easier, especially when she was surrounded by the scent of him lingering on his sheets. She curled up, inhaling deeply from the fistful she pulled to her face and fell asleep, wishing things were different.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Ghost woke to the smell of bacon. He frowned, pushing the throw blanket off him and glancing around, finding it strange to be waking on his couch for a split second before it all came rushing back.

  Jessie was in his bed. Only she wasn’t. She apparently was making bacon.

  He walked into the tiny room around the corner behind the bar that he’d converted into his kitchen, leaving the industrial kitchen alone for now until he decided what to do with the place.