Page 3 of Ghost

“Moral support?” I joke.

“It’d be a cold day in hell.” Steel shakes his head, chuckling. “Well, if you figure it out, let me know. I don’t like how easy it was to take the Merciless Skulls down, especially when their allies were right here to help them.”

“Me either.”

While it’s always a win when we can limit the amount of blood spilled, the Merciless Skulls barely put up a fight, and that hasn’t been sitting well with me.

Victor and his Road Rebels are celebrating taking back over the territory, but something feels off.

“I’ll be back.”

Steel nods, going back to whatever he’s working on as I walk away.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I check on the little hacker. She’s still making her way through my backup server and keeping herself busy. If she’s figured out it’s a front, she’s not showing any indication of it, which gives me time.

I hop on my bike and take the short ride to the coffee shop, parking a block away so the sound of a motorcycle doesn’t make anyone scatter if the little hacker has bodyguards. The second a Merciless Skull or Iron Sinnerhears me rolling up, they’ll get suspicious, and I’ve already made a mistake coming here alone. The last thing I need is more trouble.

I’m careful as I circle the coffee shop. While her laptop camera had a clear view of her, it showed nothing but windows in the background. There was no view of her table or who might be sitting with her.

Walking into the coffee shop, I spot the hacker immediately. She’s sitting by herself at the far side of the shop. Sunbeams shine through the window behind her, drawing out the blonde underneath the purple.

If she is working for the Merciless Skulls, then for the first time in my life, I’m jealous of them. There’s something about this girl that is fucking fascinating, and it doesn’t make sense for someone with her level of talent to be answering to anyone from our rival club.

Everything about her is captivating, and it isn’t just that she’s beautiful—which she is. It’s those eyes of hers—working as she tries to hack my system. It’s her mind turning over as she sneaks quietly into my territory.

She’s in my maze, and I’m tempted to watch her fight her way out forever because now that I have her, I don’t want to let her go.

Glancing at my phone, I watch her movements on the screen. She’s trying to break open another file. There’s nothing in there, but I hit a key to shut her out just to see how she’ll react now that I have her right in front of me.

She doesn’t so much as flinch at the dead end. Instead, she rolls her shoulders back and continues typing in a new string of code that sends her in a different direction.The smallest smirk climbs up in the corner of her mouth, and it’s so gentle I can’t stop staring at her.

I’m winning this cyber sparring match, but she’s amused, having fun toying with me.

“What can I get you?” A bubbly redhead from behind the counter stops at the register.

Her smile is hesitant as she glances from my tattoos to my cut.

I’m used to it. People see the demons inked into my arms or the bike I’m riding and assume I’m trouble.

Depending on who they are, they might be right.

“Coffee. Black.” I slide a twenty-dollar bill onto the counter, and her smile finally relaxes when I refuse the change, motioning to the tip jar instead.

“Your name?” She holds a marker to the empty cup.

“Ghost.”

Her eyebrows pinch like she’s trying to figure out if I’m messing with her or not as she scribbles it down. “Give me just a minute.”

I cross to the pick-up counter, which is next to where the purple-haired girl is still typing away.

From this angle, I get a better view of her screen. Her small fingers dance over the keys as she gnaws at her lower lip. Attempt after attempt, she tries to break through and can’t. It’s an endless web with nothing at the end but my amusement.

She’s good, but I’m better.

Which is why I was given my position with the club when I patched in at eighteen. Before that, I helped with fake IDs and surveillance, and as the years went on, Ihelped with more delicate things. Computers make more sense to me than people. There’s no emotion, just mechanics. I understand the parts and how to manipulate them.

Leaning against the counter, I pretend to stare at my phone while I keep an eye on the purple-haired girl and wait for my coffee.