Page 14

CHAPTER 13

GHOST

I was her first, and I should’ve been her last, her only.

Two weeks later…

“Figured I’d find you here.”

I lift my beer to my lips and down what remains in the bottle before signaling to the bartender for another. It doesn’t surprise me that Poker tracked me down. Ballinger’s is the only place a brother goes when he wants to drink but not party. And I definitely don’t feel like a fucking party.

“Here I am,” I confirm.

“What can I get ya?” Meri, the bartender, asks him as she sets a fresh bottle in front of me.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Poker replies. “And two shots of Jack.”

“Comin’ right up.”

“Why aren’t you at the clubhouse?” I ask. “Figured you’d be all over Kitty tonight.”

“She was hooking up with Screamer when I left,” he says, annoyance coloring the words. “Bitch is about to find out how good she has it with me.”

I chuckle. “Keep talking about her like that, and it’s no wonder she’s fucking him instead of you.”

“You’re one to talk,” he snaps, but there’s no heat in his tone. “You haven’t fucked a club whore in, what? Weeks?”

I don’t bother correcting him. It’s been much longer than weeks. I push that depressing thought away because it also serves as a reminder that it’s been two weeks since I was inside Ember, and thinking about that hardens my cock to a painful degree.

“Do you really think Limitless Throttle has nothing to do with the wave of drugs hitting the streets?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.

He shrugs. “Crow seems to believe it, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Yeah, I guess. But who the fuck else could it be?”

Poker snorts. “Seriously? How about anyone with a grudge against the club? Not exactly a small list.”

“No, definitely not fucking small. But we’ve taken out five low level dealers, and none of them talked,” I remind him. “The Nightmare Room is meant to provoke death-bed-like confessions, and it’s not. We’re not. What could possibly be scarier than a Soulless King torturing you in that space?”

He rests his elbows on the bar, thoughtfully staring at nothing. “We’re missing something.”

“No shit. But what?”

“If I knew, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he gripes.

“True.”

“Enough about that crap. How’s your mom doing? The new nurse is working out?”

I turn to face him, stare at him for a moment to determine if he knows more than I’ve told him. There’s nothing in his gaze but genuine curiosity.

“Mom’s okay. She seems to like the nurse, thank fuck.”

And that’s the truth. Sure, they have their moments where Mom recognizes her as the girl from my past, but mostly she only remembers tidbits from before our breakup. I don’t know which is worse… Mom planning a wedding that will never happen or her hating Ember.

“That’s good,” Poker states. “Hey, maybe you could introduce me to this nurse of hers.” He bobs his eyebrows. “As long as Kitty’s otherwise engaged, I wouldn’t mind a little tender love and care from someone else.”

My hackles rise, and I grab him by his cut, hauling him off the stool. “You fucking touch her, and I’ll kill you,” I snarl.

Poker’s eyes widen with shock, and he holds his hands up. “Whoa, brother, chill the fuck out.”

“Ember is off-limits, got it?”

“Ember, huh?” He grins. “I bet she’s fire in the sack.”

I lean forward and practically hit his nose with mine. “Are you really this stupid?” I growl, rage burning me from the inside out.

Logically, I know I’m overreacting. I have no claim on Ember and certainly no right to act like this when that’s the case. But the thought of another man, a brother , touching her makes me want to burn the world to the ground.

“Get it? Ember… fire?” he snickers.

I shove him away, and if it weren’t for his quick reflexes, he’d be on his ass. “Jesus, I’m just kidding. What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” I snap. “But she’s off-limits.”

“Yeah, I get it. But why?” He holds my stare, and I know the moment realization dawns because his brows shoot up. “Oh, it’s like that, is it?”

“It’s not like anything.”

“And I’m Mother Teresa,” he deadpans.

That statement does the trick and snaps me out of my fury. I return to my stool and lift my beer. It’s warm now, but I don’t care.

“So, what’s up?” he prods. “This Ember chick mean something to you?”

A grunt is my only response.

“Okay, fine. Don’t tell me. But get your shit together or I won’t be the only one asking questions.”

He downs the remainder of his drink and both forgotten shots before tossing a twenty on the bar and heading for the door. Now that I’m alone again, I let my mind wander.

He’s right, of course. I do need to get my shit together. If for no other reason than I have no business feeling possessive of a woman who doesn’t want me. She didn’t back then, and she doesn’t now.

The problem is, I don’t know how to feel about that. I thought I was over her. Hell, she and I both moved on with our lives as soon as I moved away from Marble Falls. I wasn’t celibate that whole time, and I’m sure she wasn’t either.

At the thought, my fists clench. I was her first, and I should’ve been her last, her only. But life had other plans… She had other plans.

“Gimme another beer,” I demand when Meri steps in front of me. She narrows her eyes, and I force a smile. “Please.”

“That’s better,” she says. “Geez, just because you’re a badass doesn’t mean you get to be an asshole.”

Is she flirting? I feel like she’s flirting.

“You’re right,” I say, uncomfortable with my line of thought. “Sorry.”

“No problem.”

I spend the rest of the night getting drunk and arguing with myself about women and whether or not I need them in my life, whether or not there’s a certain one that I want in my life.

When Meri announces last call, I’m beyond any ability to get myself home, let alone stand up.

“I’m gonna call one of your brothers to come get you,” she says.

“I’m ‘kay,” I slur. “I can ‘rive.”

She laughs at me. “No, you can’t. Hand over your keys.”

“No.”

Without missing a beat, she walks around the bar and reaches into my pocket to grab said keys. “You’re so damn toasted, you didn’t even try to fight me off.”

“So?”

“So, I’m calling someone to come get you. If there’s someone you’d rather I make that call to than one of your brothers, I suggest you tell me now.”

She reaches into my pocket again and grabs my cell. I try to get to my feet, and my head swims.

“Fuck,” I mumble.

“Yeah, fuck,” she mocks. I watch helplessly as she scrolls through my contacts.

Her gaze shifts to mine for a second before she grins wickedly and taps the screen and holds the cell to her ear. I have no idea what her grin means, but I find out the moment she opens her mouth. “Hi, is this Ember?”

Double fuck.