Page 18 of Ghost’s Obsession (Savage Legion MC #14)

“Siege tagged him with that club name because all the women in his life ghost him.”

I choke on the sip I’m swallowing.

“What? Why? That doesn’t even begin to make sense. Ghost is handsome, smart, protective, and just about the kindest man I’ve ever met. Why would any woman ghost him?”

Brittany smiles, a little proud. “I have no idea. Neither does Tusk. We think he just might be picking the wrong kind of women. You know the ones who are in it for having sex with a hot biker but deep down inside think bikers are beneath them.”

I thump my glass down on the bar. “That’s about the shittiest thing I’ve ever heard. I’d like to give them a piece of my mind.”

“Ghost did well by choosing you,” she says simply. “You seem like the kind of woman with your head screwed on straight. Ghost’s been waiting a long time for a little happiness. I hope you can give him that.”

I tell her shyly, ”We’re not together.”

“Bullshit,” Brittany says taking a mouthful of her drink.

“I really do like him,” I admit.

“And it’s clear he feels the same,” Brittany adds.

I ponder that for a moment. I know what he said earlier, but it’s still too soon to even be thinking we could be together. “He’s a good man.”

“Then you’ve already learned more than all the club girls running around this clubhouse. And that’s that it’s not about how long you’ve been around or how wild you are at parties. It’s about who you are when nobody’s looking. It’s about trust, loyalty, heart. That’s what true love is about.”

She taps her chest lightly, over her property patch. “Tusk didn’t pick me because I was the most fun at the bar. He picked me because he knew, when shit hit the fan, I’d have his back. I was after his heart, not his attention, not his wallet, not his bed. I wanted him.”

Brittany gives me a moment, then shrugs lightly.

“I’m the only club girl in Savage Legion history who ever got picked,” she adds. “One. Out of God knows how many.”

I blink at her, stunned by that little nugget of information. I would have thought dozens of club girls had settled down with brothers over the years. “Seriously? You’re the only one?”

“Yeah, just little ole me,” she says, grinning.

“What did you do differently from the rest?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. “You must be nicer and more respectful. Am I right?”

She snorts a laugh, running her fingers through her long blonde hair. “Not even close. I was high drama in my time. Thought it was my job to be entertaining, so I fought with the other club girls, chased after the brothers, and made a real nuisance of myself.”

I find myself shaking my head in disbelief. Before I could take another guess at how she did it, she explained.

“I was desperate for attention. Chasing after men and looking for validation. Then one night Tusk came into my life and the chasing stopped. I’d found my ride or die.”

I take another sip of my drink, thinking over her words. I’m not sure I believe she had nothing to do with getting picked, like she says, because Brittany doesn’t seem like the kind of woman to sit back and let life happen to her, but I am enjoying hearing her perspective.

“And it makes girls like Chastity real twitchy when a new face shows up and gets treated different.”

I frown. “I’m not trying to get chosen by Ghost. In my world people don’t get chosen. They meet someone special and fall in mutually. This whole idea of hanging around, passively waiting to be chosen doesn’t sit right with me.”

“I know what you mean,” she says easily.

“I felt the same way. Trust me these club girls are not just passively waiting to be chosen as someone’s old lady.

They’re lying, scheming, and using every trick they know to get noticed and become favored by one of the brothers.

It’s their golden ticket to a better life. ”

I stare at her, trying to figure out how bad their lives are that marrying a biker is their dream come true.

I don’t say that because it would be rude.

From what I know about Ghost, he works in the club’s garage.

I wouldn’t look down on being a mechanic because it’s good, honest work.

He’s clearly got a nice life but he’s not on the fast track to becoming a millionaire soon.

I mumble, “I don’t care about getting a golden ticket to a better life. I just want to start at ground zero and build a better life together with Ghost if that’s what we want.”

Brittany’s face lights up and she grins wider. “You’re different, Heather. You just don’t know it yet. Ghost was lucky to find you.”

I take another sip of my drink, thinking that I could really find love and belong here with Ghost and his club.

Maybe that’s the real golden ticket about being a brother, the built-in found family.

Glancing around, I realize that’s exactly what she meant.

With the exception of that one bitchy club girl, everyone’s been extremely nice to me.

Any initial wariness or fear I had of Ghost and the other brothers is long gone.

Now, I see them for what they are, a bunch of men who love to ride the open road, socialize, and protect their women.

I don’t have one single complaint about the Savage Legion MC or the brothers.

Brittany gets called away by her man a few minutes later. Tusk waves her over, grinning like he can’t wait to spend time with her again. He’s so sappy, it’s cute. And Brittany is eating it up.

I sit there for a while after she’s gone, nursing the last of my cranberry juice, watching the room.

The brothers move through the space like a current, bumping shoulders, and tossing barbs at one another that are really inside jokes.

But underneath the surface, everything’s serious, focused, and they’re gearing up for something, and I know exactly what it is.

Finding my ex, the one they call Carnage.

They’re working their asses off while the woman they hardly know sits on her ass and sips cranberry juice.

I get emotional thinking that they are planning to put themselves in harm’s way because of me.

I feel guilty about that. If one of them gets hurt or killed, I don’t know how I’d handle that.

Knowing I’m the cause would suck. I’m nothing but a burden to these men.

But there’s something else flaring up in my chest too.

That something feels a lot like… hope. Because Ghost and his club brothers didn’t shove me aside when things got messy.

He didn’t tell me to run or leave me to fend for myself.

Ghost pulled me closer, listened to me, and protected me.

He brought me here and got his club brothers involved.

I’m not stupid. I know Jerry—or Carnage as everyone here calls him—isn’t going to give up just because Ghost found his tracking device.

If he’s as bad as they say he is, and half as possessive as I remember him being, he’ll come for me.

And when he does, it’s going to turn into a fight that none of them will be able to back down from.

If Carnage backs down, it’ll mean he was defeated.

If there is one thing my ex will not accept, it’s losing a fight.

I plan to do everything within my power to make sure the Savage Legion wins, because I can’t even contemplate a future where Ghost or his club brothers end up injured or dead because of me.

It’s a miracle that I bumped into these men. For the first time in a long time, I’m not standing alone in the fire. I’ve got Ghost on my side, and he’s got a whole army at his back. Every one of them is braver and more loyal than Carnage and his friends.

Maybe I don’t know the rules of club life yet. And for sure, I’m still learning where I fit. But one thing’s clear, I’m not a runner anymore, I’ve found the place where I belong.