Page 108 of Ghost

Ghost

Luna never responded tomy last text message, and it’s my first clue that something is wrong.

She’s a light sleeper, and she keeps the volume for her notifications turned up so it will wake her if I message her in the middle of the night. I’ve told her she doesn’t need to do that, while at the same time, I love that she doesn’t want to miss talking to me when she can. She likes knowing where I am as much as I like keeping tabs on her.

But tonight, I didn’t get a response. My message from thirty minutes ago is unread, and I get a bad feeling.

The prospects open the gate to the compound, and I roll up beside Steel.

“Everything good here tonight?” I ask.

“Uneventful.” Ricky shrugs. “Everything okay at the hospital? She left right when you asked.”

“Who left?”

“Luna?” The prospect answers, digging for his phone.

“What are you talking about?” I snap as my stomach plummets.

The prospect skims through his phone while Steel looks between us.

“Something wrong?” Steel asks.

“We’re about to find out.”

“Here.” The prospect reaches his phone out to me. “You texted that Luna’s mom was just admitted, and she needed to get to her right away. You were meeting her there?”

It’s more a question than an answer, and every word fogs my head because I sure as fuck didn’t say that.

“Luna doesn’t know her mom.” My teeth grind, and I grab his phone out of his hand.

I read the message, and I know immediately from the tone of the text that Luna was the one who sent it, even if she masked the sender to make it appear like it came from my phone. I abbreviate all my texts, and she spells everything out. And then there’s the fact that she was nice.

When I give an order, I don’t care how it’s received. It’s a prospect’s job to do what’s expected without questioning me.

I look up at Ricky. “You let Luna leave the compound alone?”

“You said—”

“I didn’t send you this fucking text.” I shove the phone back into his hand. “And you should know better than to let someone leave alone when we’re in the middle of a fucking war.”

It takes everything in me not to blow his fucking head off. That’s a problem for later. Revving my engine, I start toward the clubhouse.

Luna grew up in foster care, never knowing her mom. The text is a bold-faced lie, which means I need to figure out where she really went.

Behind me, I hear Steel and Legacy’s bikes following me down the long drive that leads to the clubhouse. I cut my engine when I get there and hop off, storming through the front door.

But Legacy is right behind me.

“Ghost.” He jogs to catch up, grabbing my shoulder. “She wouldn’t have just bailed, brother.”

“I know.” I shrug him off, continuing down the hall to my office. “I’m not pissed because I think she’d just fucking leave.”

She wouldn’t.

She can’t.

I won’t survive it.