Page 10

Ghost

Everything ached. His back, legs, hips, arms, hell, even his eyeballs hurt. His ears rang incessantly, giving him a headache. Ghost couldn’t contain a pained groan as he turned over on the bare mattress lying on the floor of his cell. He could use some healing from Mrs. Greer right about now. Damn, I hurt. He attempted to pull his left arm closer to his side only to be met with more pain as his wrist slammed back onto the concrete floor, as the chain he was attached to held him in place.

“Fuck,”

he groaned.

There’d be no ghosting for him. Sure, he could get naked and blend into his background so his captors would think he’d escaped, but how the hell was he supposed to sneak out if he was chained to the floor? Would he be able to even walk? Considering the pain radiating up his legs, Ghost doubted he’d get far.

Next problem: who the hell had kidnapped him? The Noah Group or the Berry family? It was sad he now had a list of persons willing to run him down and chain him to the floor.

Lucky me. The situation that keeps giving.

Ghost began to notice strange things around his cell, and as the pain-filled fog cleared, he realized he wasn’t actually in a cell. The metal bars he’d first seen when he’d regained consciousness were in the top half of a sliding door of a stall. Was he in a barn? Who dropped someone off in a damned barn?

Bales of straw were stacked against the opposite wall. Tack and harnesses hung on hooks and he could hear hooves stomping in what he assumed was a stall on the other side of the wall from him. Could he be on the Berry farm? Did they have horses?

Ghost didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but all the signs pointed toward the Berry family. He couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been unconscious but couldn’t see outside to know if it was day or night. The moment he attempted to straighten his right leg, Ghost had to fight back the cry of pain to not alert his captors that he was awake. Carefully, he pushed himself up using his right arm as best he could to get a look at the damage.

Ghost wished he hadn’t. Seeing the leg of his jeans covered in blood made his stomach turn, and he fought not to throw up all over himself. He was missing his right shoe, and his white sock was now red. He wouldn’t be walking anywhere even if he could ghost. Taking stock of his injuries made him conclude that he needed a doctor, but Ghost doubted there’d be one on the way anytime soon. Maybe they do want me dead.

His right leg was definitely broken, his left arm was, at minimum, sprained, and he likely had a concussion. His rib cage hurt on his left side, and he felt bruised from head to toe. Ghost lowered himself back down and lay flat on the thin mattress, desperate for any relief from the pain but finding none. How did people push the pain away? Meditation? Strength? Pure grit? Unfortunately, he was in short supply of any of those right now.

The team had told him he was in danger, but had he listened? No. Now he was bruised and bleeding, chained to the floor in a fucking barn. As it usually did, his mind drifted to Ray, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the man knew he was missing.

“I see you’re awake.”

Ghost was surprised he hadn’t heard the guy coming, but ringing in his ears was no doubt the reason. He’d expected to see the vet or that Jackson guy from the hardware store, but the man in front of him was neither.

“Who the hell are you?”

Ghost asked, his voice cracking with the pain in his jaw.

“Still got some fight in you, I see. Good, it will make breaking you much more interesting. My name’s Edward, and we’ve been hunting for you for some time now. It was very thoughtful of you to make yourself so easy to acquire.”

“Funny, I met you, and I already know you’re an asshole,”

Ghost growled.

“You’ll learn soon enough to be respectful to your owner.”

“Owner?”

“Yes. We created you. Therefore, we own you. It’s a simple concept, even for you. Get some rest; your training will begin tomorrow.”

So, it was the Noah Group, not the Berry family.

“If I live that long. I’m afraid your goons got a bit carried away in capturing me.”

“Don’t worry, there’s no internal bleeding, we’ve checked. A few broken bones are minor in the grand scheme of things. I’ll send someone in to bandage you up.”

Edward chuckled before walking out.

“Asshole.”

The asshole laughed even louder from down the hall. Ghost lay back, exhaustion covering him like a scratchy horse blanket. I just need to rest a bit. Then I’ll figure things out…

The next time Ghost woke, a young woman was kneeling over him with scissors.

“Back off,”

Ghost growled as he tried to push himself back against the wall, pain making him groan.

“Easy, you’ll hurt yourself further,”

she said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’ve come to clean and bandage your injuries.”

Ghost took a closer look at the woman. She had oddly colored eyes, more purple than blue, and wore a thick metal collar around her neck.

“You’re one of us,”

Ghost stated, knowing the truth immediately.

She nodded but remained silent. Ghost didn’t pull away when she reached for the bottom hem of his jeans this time. Carefully, she cut his jeans up to his knee, revealing his mutilated right leg. The bone hadn’t broken through his skin, but the wounds and lump bulging out the side of his calf were evidence enough of the break.

“I’m sorry, this’ll hurt, but I must clean the wounds and attempt to set the leg.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“I was a nurse before I was taken, but I’m capable of performing what is necessary.”

“Okay.”

Ghost watched as she removed bandages, a splint, and antiseptic from her bag.

“I don’t have anything to give you for the pain. I’m sorry,” she said.

“None of this is your fault,”

Ghost said. “What’s your name?”

“Rose.”

Ghost braced as she reached for his leg. His scream was the last thing he heard until he regained consciousness. Rose was finishing bandaging the cut on his left arm.

“You passed out from the pain. That was best. Your leg is set, but it’ll take months to heal properly. I’ve cleaned your other injuries and bandaged what I could. Are there any other wounds that worry you?”

“My ribs are killing me,”

he answered honestly.

“They’re bruised but not broken. They’ll heal in time.”

“How do you know?”

Ghost hadn’t seen an X-ray machine kicking around.

She took a few seconds before answering as if deciding how much to reveal. Ghost understood that more than most. “I can see inside people to find any injuries and illness, but I can’t heal them.”

“I imagine that made you a great nurse.”

Being able to diagnose the problem with one hundred percent accuracy was handy.

“Yes, I enjoyed helping people,”

Rose said, her eyes tearing up momentarily before she blinked the tears away.

“That collar controls you?”

Ghost guessed, remembering the wristbands used on him the last time he’d been taken. He was getting damned tired of being kidnapped by these fuckers.

Rose lightly touched the metal around her throat and nodded.

“How long have you been Edward’s prisoner?”

“Nine months.”

“Someone has to be looking for you.”

“I don’t have any friends or family. I was afraid to get close to anyone.”

“I understand. My friends’ll come for me. We’ll get out of here. I promise.”

“They brought you in on a plane. You’re not in the same place they took you from.”

“It won’t matter. They’ll come.”

***

Ray

Ray was instantly on the move when they landed, leaving Rocko to keep up. Ghost had been missing for over twelve hours. There was no time to waste. They found Brick and the team waiting for them when they arrived.

“Let’s move out,”

Brick said as he jumped into one of the SUVs. “Ray, Rocko, you’ re with me.”

Ray respected the team leader for not wasting any time. When he hopped into the back, Conor was in the passenger’s seat, looking ready to grill Rocko at the slightest provocation. It didn’t appear anyone was ready to forgive the idiot for his drunken entrance that’d facilitated all this bullshit.

“We have anything?”

Ray asked.

“Nothing,”

Brick answered from the driver’s seat. “It’s as if he disappeared into thin air. We’ll start where we found Ghost’s shoe and blood.”

Ray couldn’t contain his growl at the thought of Ghost’s blood. How badly had he been hurt? Did whoever took him give him medical care, or was he lying somewhere suffering in pain? He’d end anyone who got in his way of finding and freeing Ghost.

“We’re coming up to the scene,”

Brick said, and Ray noticed Fletcher, Harris, and Shaw parked on the side of the road ahead.

“You better be as good as you say, Rocko, or friend of Ray’s or not, Ghost’s abduction is on you,”

Conor said, pulling no punches.

“I know. I honestly didn’t know about him when I entered Ray’s room, but I was still out of line, getting drunk and doing what I did. I promise to do everything in my power to find him.”

Rocko looked gutted, but it made no difference to Ray. Nothing did until Ghost was found.

They pulled over and got out of the truck. Ray wasted no time and descended into the ditch. He saw Ghost’s right shoe lying on the ground and several dried bloodstains. Time was of the essence, and Ray turned to Rocko.

“Do what you do and make it quick. Ghost could be gravely injured; that’s quite a lot of blood there.”

“Mrs. Greer will be joining us in case Ghost needs to be healed quickly, depending on how grave his condition is,”

Brick said.

Two more vehicles pulled up. Elias and a deputy in his cruiser, and Gunner, Gator, and Stryker in the second vehicle with Mrs. Greer. Jason and Spencer were waiting with the airplane in case they needed to use it if Ghost was taken far.

Rocko moved closer to the bloodstains and knelt on one knee while concentrating on the location. The team watched as he touched the spot with his fingertips and closed his eyes. Ray wasn’t sure how long they stood in silence, but suddenly Rocko’s eyes opened wide, and he looked out across the pasture land.

“I’ve got him. We’re going to need the plane,”

Rocko said.

Brick got on the phone as Conor took over driving duties, and their caravan of trucks moved out.

“Did you bring any gear?”

Ray asked. He didn’t want to stop to pick anything up.

“We’re loaded for any eventuality,”

Brick said before speaking into the phone. “Spencer, we’re on our way.”

A few moments later, Brick looked back at Rocko. “Where are we headed?”

“Arkansas,”

Rocko said.

“Can you be more specific?”

“No, not at the moment. The closer we get to the state border, the better idea I’ll have of the direction we’ll need to go.”

“You’re sure it’s Arkansas?”

“Certain,”

Rocko answered, meeting Brick eye to eye.

Brick nodded and continued talking to Spencer. “Arkansas. We’ll know more as we go.”

“This isn’t the time to second-guess,” Ray said.

“I never do,”

Rocko confirmed. “Your man is in Arkansas, and as we get closer, I’ll be able to narrow down the location.”

“Good. We need to find him quickly.”

Who knows what’s happening to him right now, Brick thought.

“Will we be able to get the local authorities’ assistance?”

Rocko asked.

“Leave that to Brick. It won’t be a problem,”

Conor said.

Rays nerves remained on edge as their truck ate up the miles of the Texas Hill country.

We’re coming for you. Just hold on, baby.