Page 24

CHAPTER 23

GHOST

Fingers crossed.

“See you later.”

I kiss Ember on the cheek before leaving to head back to the clubhouse. Anna needed to get to work at the clinic, so Em was needed with my mom.

“I won’t be late,” I promise.

Listen to me, sounding all domestic. We agreed not to define what’s between us, and here I am, talking to her as if she’s my old lady.

She should’ve been. She still will be.

I return to the clubhouse just in time for church to start. As soon as I take my seat, Crow calls the meeting to order.

“Okay, brothers,” he begins. “As you all know, we’ve got the name of the prick killing our people and stealing our brand. I wanna take him down as quickly as possible so this shit stops.” He nods at Tracer. “Give them whatever you were able to dig up.”

“Miguel Cruz is from Sinaloa, Mexico,” Tracer informs. “Thirty-one, unmarried, and from what I can gather, unattached. I’ve found several things indicating that he may have children by three different women, but I haven’t been able to corroborate with birth certificates. He doesn’t pay child support or anything like that, at least not that’s on public record.” Tracer glances at his laptop, the only electronic permitted in church, other than Crow’s cell. “He’s been arrested numerous times for drug offenses but never served any time. He’s got a cousin in the cartel so I’m sure that’s how he manages to get off. Based on all reports I’ve been able to find, he’s moved up to Texas from Sinaloa to cultivate his own drug operation. Looks like he’s trying to impress the cartel, garner more favor from them.”

“In other words, he’s a dangerous man who wants to make a name for himself among even more dangerous men,” I say dryly. I wish I was surprised, but the drug business never changes no matter what side you’re on.

“Exactly.”

“This fucker’s gotta go,” Fudge barks. “No way can he make a name for himself here.”

“Certainly not a good one,” Screamer agrees.

“Which is why we’re here,” Crow snaps. “We’ve gotta get this guy out of our fucking territory. Shit, I’d be happier if he was dead, but I’ll settle for gone if I have to.”

“Any idea where he’s hiding himself?” Python asks Tracer.

“Sort of. I can’t find an address, but I used facial recognition to go through all known security cameras in Marble Falls and he popped up on a video feed near the bank on Main Street.”

“Has he been there more than once?” Journey asks.

“Every Monday morning at ten,” Tracer confirms.

“If we follow him from there, we should be able to track him back to his hidey-hole,” I say. “We can take him out there.”

Crow shakes his head. “We need to get info out of him first. The way I see it, we’ve got two options. One is that we follow him home from the bank and snatch him up to bring him to the Nightmare Room.”

“I like that option,” Stunner says, a sinister grin on his face.

“I agree,” Fudge adds. “But we don’t know who or what he’s got at his place. We could be walking into a death trap.”

“What’s option two?” I ask, wanting to get every possible angle out on the table to analyze. They all already know about the note, so I don’t bother mentioning it again. But it’s what’s driving me, driving my desperation to stop Cruz no matter what. He scared Em, and I can’t let that slide.

“Rather than follow him anywhere, we pick up one of his lackeys and have them deliver a message to meet us at a place of our choosing, a place we can control, and grill him there.”

“As much as I want Cruz to bleed,” Tracer says. “I think option two is the best. There’s nothing saying we can’t still take him out, but this gives all of us the best chance at survival.”

“I second that,” Fudge says.

“Me too,” Python adds.

“Agreed,” Journey states.

“Okay, I get it,” Crow says with a chuckle. “All in favor of option two, thump twice.”

Each of us pounds the table two times in quick succession. For the rest of the afternoon, we strategize. It won’t be hard to locate another of Cruz’s dealers… Unfortunately, they’re everywhere. And if there’s anything a Soulless King can do, it's to force a person to do what we want them to do.

By the time church ends, I’m more than ready to return to my mom’s house. But I have some things to do first.

Now that I’m staying at the house, Ember and I haven’t talked about how she wants to handle her days off. If it were my call to make, all of her free time would be spent with me. I want to get to know her, the woman she is now. I want to learn what makes her tick, what makes her smile, what makes her cry, and what scares her.

In order to do that, we’re going to need time together without Mom. Which is why I plan on surprising Ember tonight with a date of sorts. In order to accomplish it, I have errands to run and supplies to buy. I know it’ll be worth it in the end, and I hope like hell she agrees.

Fingers crossed.