Page 16 of A Witchy Spell Ride (31 Days of Trick or Treat, Bikers and Mobsters #15)

Chapter Twelve

Selene

By the time the shop emptied out, and the tension finally stopped pressing against the walls like a held breath, I felt wrung out.

Like I’d told too much.

And still not enough.

Briar and Ghost stayed behind while the others cleared out, Reaper reluctantly, Cross distracted by a call, Bones promising to “check the back alleys” like he was just hoping for a fight.

Ghost stood near the front door, arms folded, jaw tight.

I didn’t need to look at him to know he was watching me.

He always did.

Briar sat on the edge of the counter, swinging her legs like a kid trying to ignore the fact she was loaded for bear beneath that cropped hoodie and glitter lip gloss.

“I still think you should’ve told me sooner,” she said softly.

I didn’t answer.

She hopped down and pulled something from her pocket, one of her little charm bags, black velvet, stitched in gold thread.

“For protection,” she said. “It’s nothing fancy. Just something to remind you that you’re not walking through this alone.”

I took it. Held it. Closed my fingers around it like it might stop the shaking in my chest. Then I sat on the stool behind the counter and finally spoke.

“The psychic told me this wasn’t random.”

Briar’s head tilted. “What do you mean?”

“She said love and danger would wear the same face. And that someone close… isn’t who they seem.”

That made the air feel heavy again.

Ghost turned around. “Close how?”

“I don’t know. But she wasn’t just talking about proximity.”

Briar nodded slowly. “You think it’s someone in the club.”

“I don’t want to.”

“But?”

“But I don’t know,” I whispered. “And that’s the worst part.”

Ghost stepped closer, slower than usual, like I was made of glass.

“You think it’s Banks?”

“No,” I said quickly.

His brow lifted.

“I’ve seen the way he looks at me,” I admitted. “It’s… intense. But not like that. It’s unspoken. Embarrassing. Maybe pathetic. But not dangerous.”

Ghost nodded, slowly.

“He’s in love with you,” Briar said.

I flinched. “Maybe. But he’d never act on it. He wouldn’t have the nerve.”

“Sometimes it’s the ones who don’t show their teeth you gotta watch,” she muttered.

“Not him,” I said again. “I think he’d rather die than scare me.”

Ghost was quiet for a beat. “So, who?”

I hesitated.

“There was someone,” I said, voice soft. “A few months back. One date.”

Briar perked up immediately. “A what now?”

I shot her a look. “It was nothing. Just coffee. A guy who came into the shop a few times. Polite. Clean. Normal.”

Ghost moved closer again, tension rolling off him in low, silent waves. “Name?”

“Adam,” I said. “He said he worked freelance tech support. Lived uptown.”

“Phone number?”

“Deleted it.”

“Last name?”

“I never got one.”

Ghost swore under his breath.

I rubbed my hands over my face. “It was one date. He talked a lot about fate. About… energy. I thought he was just new age cringe.”

“And then?”

“I never texted him back. Ghosted him.”

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

Briar muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “fucking men.”

Ghost paced once, then stopped. “Describe him.”

“White. Late twenties. Skinny. Kinda forgettable. But his eyes… they were weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Too much,” I said. “Like he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking through me. Like he already knew what he wanted me to be.”

Briar cursed.

Ghost was already pulling his burner out, typing something fast.

“Do you think it’s him?” I asked.

“I think I need to know who the hell this guy is,” he said. “Because anyone who thinks they’re the answer to your life doesn’t need to be breathing near it.”

I swallowed hard. That echo from the note came back like static: I’m not the danger. I’m the answer. Yeah. It felt like him now. Too much. Too soon. Too intense. One coffee and he was already calling me his twin flame.

I thought it was annoying. I didn’t think it was a warning. Until now.

Ghost looked up. “From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone.”

“Ghost—”

“I’m not asking.”

Briar gave me a look that said just let him, and I sat back. Tired. Scared. And finally starting to realize… This wasn’t the beginning of something anymore. It was the middle. And whoever he was? He thought we were already halfway to the end.