Page 19

Ghost

His arm still stung where Spencer had injected the tracker, but now it was part of his body, it vanished as he ghosted. Ghost was careful not to rub the spot because Harris had programmed it to be pressure-sensitive. If he needed help, he’d push on the spot where his tracker was, and the cavalry would come running. Lucky for him, it was a warm night, or running around Marshall butt-ass naked would have been a much chillier proposition, and his dick would have crawled back inside his body for warmth. He couldn’t help but think of that Seinfeld episode when George got out of the pool and was changing when his girlfriend walked in. Turtling indeed.

Ghost followed Jake as he left the station and crossed the street, heading toward the diner. He noted the man’s nervousness, glancing over his shoulder every ten to twenty seconds. As Ghost maneuvered around a shard of broken glass on the sidewalk, he’d have to remember to mention foot protection for future missions if possible.

Few people were on the street since a football game was playing on the high school field. Marshall residents loved their football. It helped to know fewer people would be in the line of fire if anything went down. Ghost easily blended into his surroundings as Jake continued past the diner and took the first alleyway that led behind the hardware store.

Great, he’d be walking through construction landmines. All he needed now was to step on a nail or get a splinter in his foot and leave a trail of blood behind him. He was cautious as he continued down the alleyway, and luckily, he didn’t step on anything sharp enough to break the skin, but by the time he caught up with Jake, he was facing off with the guy from the hardware store, Jackson. This should be interesting.

“What’d you tell them?”

Jackson demanded, his face red.

“Nothing,”

Jake growled, eyes shifting back and forth, likely looking for a possible escape.

“Lift your shirt,”

Jackson ordered.

“What?”

“Lift your shirt. I need to see if you're wearing a wire.”

“Fuck,”

Jake said but did as he was told. “See, nothing.”

“I’ll ask again,”

Jackson said as he pulled out a gun. “What did you tell the cops?”

“Nothing. I swear I didn’t give them your name.”

“Then why are they snooping around?”

“Where?”

“Cross’s house.”

“’Cause you killed him. They found the body.”

“Why did they haul you in?”

“My wallet fell out there. I told you I needed help lifting the body, but you sat in the truck watching me do all the work. It was your idea to dump him out there, saying it’d be safe considering your dad was buying the land. I had nothing to do with this. All I was supposed to do was find the land to buy.”

“My father wants to see you.”

“Why? I didn’t tell them anything. I did what he told me to do. I got rid of the body.”

“Just get in the truck. You can explain it to him yourself.”

Jackson motioned with his gun toward the same truck Ghost had seen when the guy tore out of the parking lot after Cross told him off for shooting at them. As Jake jumped into the truck, Ghost gingerly climbed into the truck bed. They had to get to the top guy, but Jackson wasn’t him. Time to meet the Berry patriarch.

It was much colder riding in the bed of a truck as it flew down the road in the middle of the night, but he had to stay with Jake to get to the head honcho. Ghost couldn’t help but look out into the darkness behind them and wonder where the team was because there wasn’t a light in sight. He had to trust that they were nearby.

He knew Ray and the team would never abandon him, and this thought steeled him for the remainder of the journey. He and his ability could lead them to the person responsible for destroying so many lives—those who thought they were above the law and entitled to steal and kill others without ever answering for their crimes.

Who knows what they had planned for the town of Marshall once they’d seized all the land containing the freshwater spring? Would they charge people for water? Would they allow farmers crops to wither on the stalk and their animals to die of dehydration? What would they make the poor townsfolk do to survive?

People like this reminded Ghost of the bullies he’d been fighting his whole life. They took and took until there was nothing left. Now that Cross was dead, only one family was left to prosper from generations of destruction and theft. They couldn’t be allowed to continue.

The truck began to slow and eventually pulled onto a long driveway that led to a large ranch house set back from the road and surrounded by trees. The truck parked behind the house, and Jackson forced Jake out of the truck and onto the deck, where another man sat waiting. He was sitting back leisurely in a cushioned chair, sucking on a cigar. He resembled a mob boss, someone who belonged in a big city like New York, not the hill country in Texas. Ghost couldn’t help but notice the armed men stationed throughout the area but knew the team would be prepared and ready to take them on.

“Jake,”

the man said. “Good to see you’re well.”

The missing part of that sentence was evident—for now.

“Mr. Berry, you gotta believe me, I didn’t tell the cops nothin’. I swear it.”

“You know, Jake, how I grew to be the most powerful man in this county?”

“No, sir.”

“No, I suppose you don’t. It’s too much for your simple mind to understand. It’s by calculating risk.”

“Calculating risk, sir?”

“Yes, risk,”

Joe Berry said as he stood. “Every move I make comes with a certain amount of risk.”

He lifted his fat cigar to his lips and took another drag, allowing the smoke to float up and around his head like tendrils disappearing into the darkness.

“Yes, sir,”

Jake said, looking even more nervous now that Berry had stood.

“I’m forced to judge the risk of buying land, and when that land isn’t for sale, then the risk of taking steps to ensure it comes up for sale.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Cross was a risk, and when he became too much of a risk, he had to be eliminated. So, you can say I’m in the business of risk assessment.”

Berry nodded toward Jackson, and the thug immediately shoved Jake down to his knees.

“Mr. Berry, sir, I swear I didn’t tell them anything about you shooting Cross.”

“What did you tell them?”

Berry demanded.

“Nothin’.”

“I find it hard to believe they set you free for no reason.”

“They didn’t have enough evidence to charge me.”

Ghost worked his way up to the side of the deck for a better look when he heard the first growl. Shit. A dog. He may have been invisible to sight but not to scent, and the dog had a lock on him.

He turned to see a big black Doberman inching his way forward with his nose in the air, trying to identify the new scent. Ghost had a moment of fear until he heard the clank of metal, and he realized the dog was chained to the side of the house. It lunged forward, barking, only to be pulled up short of Ghost by the chain. He swore his life passed before his eyes for a moment, but the Doberman couldn’t get within ten feet of Ghost.

“Shut the fuck up,”

Jackson yelled at the dog, who whined and retreated back into the shadows of the house. “Stupid, good-for-nothing mutt. I’ll use you for target practice if you keep your shit up.”

Ghost felt sorry for the dog. He’d been mistreated for doing what guard dogs normally do: bark at intruders, invisible or not.

“Now, Jake. When I look at you, I have to ask myself what percentage of risk you pose to me and what my plans are for Marshall.”

“Zero, sir. I’m zero threat to you and your takeover of Marshall.”

“If only that were true, Jake. Then I wouldn’t be forced to do what needs to be done.”

Shit, they were going to eliminate Jake.

Jackson raised his gun to the back of Jake’s head. A similar kill shot had been found on Cross’s body.

“This isn’t personal, Jake. It’s business, and it all comes down to risk management.”

“No, no,”

Jake cried.

Berry nodded, and a shot rang out.

Ghost stood stunned for a fraction of a second, then Jackson’s body fell to the ground. Jake looked around, confused, until another round of shots were fired. The team was moving in. Ghost wasn’t worried about being shot accidentally by the team because they were too good at this, but that didn’t count for Berry’s men, who were returning fire.

Ghost crouched down and inched his way back, forgetting about the dog until he felt its cold nose pressed against his back. He froze as bullets flew, and the dog continued to sniff his shoulder.

“Shhh, it’s okay,”

Ghost murmured, hoping to get out of this with all his body parts still attached. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Please don’t bite me.”

He slowly turned and raised his hand to the dog’s nose. When he didn’t immediately attempt to bite at what was essentially still thin air to anyone watching, Ghost felt a bit better.

Carefully, he slid the palm of his hand along the side of the dog’s muzzle and down its neck. With a small whine, the Doberman sat beside Ghost and leaned into him. He wasn’t sure if he was having an out-of-body experience, but he wrapped his arms around the dog, and they both crouched down against the side of the house, trying to avoid stray bullets.

What the hell did he do now?

***

Ray

Ray watched the dot on the screen, making sure Ghost was out of the way in every shot. If he was right, Ghost and the dog were crouching together at the far side of the house, staying out of the way. He didn’t want his lover to get caught in the crossfire.

“I’ve got two coming at two o’clock,”

Gunner announced over the comms from his position in a large oak tree across the clearing.

Ray turned to see two of Berry’s thugs coming around the house, rifles ready. The moment they took aim at Brick and Stryker, who were making their way behind Jackson’s truck, Ray and the rest of the team took them out.

Berry had retreated into his house, leaving his goons to fight his battle. Unfortunately, he’d dragged Jake inside with him. Gunner had managed to take Jackson out before he executed Jake, but the man was still in danger. He may have been scum, but he didn’t deserve to die.

“Ghost is good. We need to get inside before Berry kills Jake,”

Ray said into the comms.

“I may not like the man, but agreed,”

Brick confirmed. “Move in on the house.”

Using the trees as cover, Ray, Fletcher, Elias, and his deputies moved in from the east, while Brick, Stryker, Shaw, and Gator came from the west. They took out adversaries as they went, and soon, the gunfire died down around the exterior.

“Move in,”

Brick ordered.

Ray followed Fletcher to the garden doors and watched as the big redhead peeked inside.

“Clear,”

he announced. “Breaching interior.”

Fletcher turned the knob and slowly opened the door. When nothing happened, they quickly moved inside, taking up positions around what was the kitchen. It was empty.

“Coming in the front,”

Stryker reported.

Elias motioned with his hand for Ray to start making his way down the hall as they covered him. He did it without question. That was what being part of a team meant. You trusted them with your life, and they trusted you with theirs. Inch by inch, they made their way across the house, clearing room after room, eventually joining up with the other half of the team.

They tried the handle of the closed double doors at the far side of the house. They were locked. Brick nodded, and Fletcher stepped up quickly, kicking the door open with the sole of his boot and taking one off the hinges. They moved as a unit and fanned out into the room.

Berry stood with his back against the wall, using Jake as a human shield.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill him,”

Berry yelled, ramming the barrel of his gun into the side of Jake’s head.

Brick moved forward with his rifle pointed directly at Berry.

“You know there’s no way out for you. Let him go,”

he ordered.

“No. If you don’t stay out of my way, I’ll end this asshole,”

Berry warned as he inched his way toward the open back door. “It won’t matter to me whether I go down for another death. Add it to the list.”

“Crazy fucker,”

Stryker growled.

“I don’t have a shot,”

Gunner announced over the comms.

Jake looked ready to pass out as the standoff continued. The team matched Berry’s every move closer to the door.

“You won’t get away,” Ray said.

“Fuck you,”

Berry growled. “I can be soaking up the sun in some tropical oasis without extradition back to the States before sunrise.”

Ray wanted to wipe the smirk off the bastard's face, but there was no way to get to him without risking Jake.

The tracker on their wrist pinged as the growls started. The Doberman came inching in through the open doorway, baring his sharp teeth.

“Finally, I get some use out of this dumb dog,”

Berry chuckled before ordering. “Attack those fuckers.”

“I don’t think so,”

Ghost appeared, holding the dog’s collar. “Get him, boy.”

“What the fuck?”

Berry yelled.

The dog charged, but it wasn’t at the team. Instead, it lunged forward and latched onto Berry’s arm. He let go of Jake in the ensuing scuffle to get the dog off him. A shot rang out, and the dog yelped before falling. Berry raised his gun at Ghost.

The team let loose, sending Berry flying back as bullets tore into his body. When the smoke cleared, Ghost held the dog in his arms on the floor.

“We have to help him,” he said.

Ray rushed over to have a look at the dog’s wounds. There was one bullet wound to its right haunch. Fletcher came forward with bandages and began wrapping the wound.

“He’ll be okay, Ghost,” Ray said.

“Promise?”

“Promise. It looks like it’s strictly a muscle injury, with no organs or internal bleeding. He’ll walk with a limp, but that should be about all.”

“He’s a hero,”

Ghost said.

Ray looked at his lover and cupped the side of his face. “You’re a hero, babe.”