Page 23 of Ghost

Soul grins at Steel, always amused by a challenge. “Already forgetting our wagers with the ladies, Prez? I seem to remember winning a few over you. And with you shacked up and off the market, I’m having to do double time just to keep ’em busy.”

“Finding a woman willing to fuck you and finding a woman willing to love you are two different things.” Steel drops into his seat at the head of the table.

I never thought I’d see the day Jameson Steel would be saying shit like that. He used to be as bad as Soul, wanting nothing to do with putting a property patch on a woman’s back. Now, all it takes is one mention of Tempe or Austin to change his mood.

Steel pats his pocket out of habit, but he doesn’t carry cigarettes on him anymore, so he frowns in disappointment.

“You’re outnumbered on this, Prez.” Chaos snatches one of Soul’s cigarettes as he drops into his seat. “Spend five months in prison, wondering if you’ll ever get out, and you’ll think a little differently about all these freedoms. Free to go where I want. Free to fuck who I want. No one’s locking me down.”

Soul chuckles, and they bump knuckles across the table. Steel shakes his head, not bothering to argue. While Legacy and Havoc might eventually get past their shit and put a property patch on some woman someday, Soul and Chaos are like me.

Damaged beyond recognition and better off alone.

“All right, let’s get to business.” Steel looks at me. “Where are we with the Iron Sinners? Have you figured out which of the Merciless Skulls patched over when we took out their club?”

“I’ve found a couple who moved to Vegas when everything happened but not whoever we’re looking for.”

“How do you know?”

“The person who hired Luna wrote the code to the virus in that flash drive, which means they know what the fuck they’re doing. Anyone I’ve tied to both clubs so far doesn’t fit the profile.”

“If they were so good, why’d they use her to do their dirty work?”

“Distance, maybe?”

Soul chuckles. “Or as a distraction. Pretty faces and all.”

“Possibly.” My jaw clenches because I don’t like thinking of Luna as just a pretty face. “But either way, I don’t think they planned shit to go down like it did; otherwise, they wouldn’t be trying to get her back.”

“If that’s the case, why not do it sooner?” Havoc asks. “She’s been here for over a year, but they’re just now making demands?”

“What are you implying?”

Havoc doesn’t immediately answer, and he doesn’t need to. I know what he’s trying to say. That Luna’s been here for over a year with access to the club, operating with our trust. We’ve seen it before with Reyes hiding in our ranks. She wouldn’t be the first person to double-cross us.

“Just asking a question.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“For all we know, they didn’t know she was here until they got access to our payroll records,” I counter as pressure settles between my temples. “She’s clear. I made sure of it.”

Soul smirks. “I’m sure you did.”

Chaos reaches across the table again, and they bump fists.

“Focus.” Steel shakes his head, looking at Havoc. “No one leaves the compound without a guard. Even us. We move in pairs at a minimum. For all we know, they’re using Luna as just another distraction so they can keep us busy while they go after something else.”

“You got it, Prez.” Havoc nods.

“Ghost, I want to know the second you figure out who’s pulling the strings. I’m not waiting around again. When they took Tempe and Austin, they declared war. This isn’t over until we burn the Iron Sinners infrastructure to the ground. They know too much, which means there’s a leak somewhere.”

“I’ll comb back through the security footage the night of the attack and run facial recognition against the Merciless Skulls roster. See if anything pops.”

“Sounds good.” Steel’s jaw clenches. “And keep looking for Reyes while you’re at it. The second I get my hands on that traitor, he’s paying for all of this.”

Reyes pretended to prospect the club so he could plant the flash drive he used to hack our network, so I don’t blame Steel for wanting vengeance.

“And one more thing.” Steel glances over at Havoc. “We’re throwing a party tonight, so I want security doubled at the perimeter.”

“’Bout fucking time.” Chaos pounds the table, and Soul grins, nodding in agreement.