Page 19

Ghost

M y club brothers scatter in every direction following our meeting, looking for Carnage and the rest of our old crew.

Siege has told them to track him down at any cost, but we have no idea where to start.

Word on the street back then was they mostly fled from Las Salinas.

Siege and the rest of the club officers tried to track them down for a while but finally gave up when they couldn’t find any trace of them in our immediate vicinity.

They thought at the time that they’d joined another MC and were laying low.

Siege never imagined in a million years they had just given up the MC lifestyle full stop.

Heather reports that she met him in the Twin Peaks area, three counties over from Las Salinas.

Siege, Rigs, and Tank are going to check it out.

We sent brothers in five different directions.

If they even get a whiff of him, they’ll let me know and I’ll join them.

Right now, my job is to protect Heather.

She’s pregnant and needs an element of normality in her life. I plan to give it to her.

A soft voice interrupts my internal thoughts on the way back to my house.

Heather’s voice sounds unsure. “Are you sure it’s okay to go back to your place?

He managed to slip onto the property to attach the device.

Since he knows I’ve been living with you, won’t that be the first place he comes looking for me, now that we destroyed his tracking device? ”

“Zen’s checked it out. Going by the serial number and registration details, it was bought around three years ago, and it looks like it’s been in situ since then,” I say.

“But why have I only found out now?”

I shrug. “Maybe Carnage installed it so he could track you if he needed to and either forgot about it as the months rolled on or decided to give you a chance to get settled in Las Salinas before he turned it on?”

“Right,” she says thoughtfully. “There was always a chance my phone would pick it up when he activated it, right?”

I nod. “Yeah, that’s why it makes sense that he waited a couple of months to activate it.”

I watch her out of the corner of my eye as I drive. She relaxes back into her seat and releases the seat belt across her chest that she’d had a death grip on since we left the clubhouse.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am that he’s probably not been on your property. But now that he’s pinged it, I worry he won’t be able to resist showing up, thinking the element of surprise will give him the advantage or something like that,” Heather says.

I give her a feral grin. “I hope the stupid fucker miscalculates that badly. My house is practically a fuckin’ fort. I’ve got enough weapons in my basement to defend a small nation.” Trying not to look smug, I add, “And I’ve had sniper training.”

Her head slowly turns to look at me, her expression morphing into one of surprised awe. “Oh, I see. Every time I think I know you, I find out more interesting stuff.”

I tell her, “Yeah, I’m all kinds of interesting.”

She gives me a smile. “I knew that already.” Hesitating again, she lowers her voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt protecting me. I’d feel terrible if something bad happened to you.”

“Don’t worry about me. If you want to worry about someone, worry about Carnage’s crazy ass. If he’s stupid enough to show up at my house, I’ll make him regret every single shitty thing he ever did to you.”

“Trust me,” Heather shoots back. “You don’t have that kind of time.”

Hearing that makes my blood boil. “I’m sorry he hurt you, but you need to know that when you’re with me, you’re safe.”

“I feel like we should take turns standing watch or something.”

This woman is tearing my heart out. “I have perimeter security alarms. Plus, we will have four prospects on site tonight. Trust me to take care of you until my club can hunt this fucker down.”

She sighs, and her shoulders finally relax the rest of the way. “Okay, I’ll try not to be scared. Truth be told, I’m tired of being scared and always looking over my shoulder. It’s mentally exhausting.”

When we get to my house, I can see the prospects patrolling all four sides of my house. Patch and Evan come running up to me as we get out of my vehicle. I roll my eyes at Patch and ask, “What in the hell are you doing out here patrolling my house? Don’t you have patients to see or something?”

He grins, and it’s both big and genuine. “Nope. It’s my day off. Plus, I have another doctor in my practice to cover nighttime emergencies. Now that I finally have a life, I don’t want to waste all my time working.”

Heather smiles at him. “Nice to see you again, Dr. Patch.”

“You too, Heather. Are you feeling better?”

She perks up, and her hand goes to her stomach. “Yeah, the meds you gave me made the nausea go away almost completely. I’ve been eating and drinking okay.”

“Attagirl. Glad the meds worked out for you. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

I put my arm around her and say, “Let’s get inside so they can get back to their assignment.

” Turning to the prospects, I remind them, “There is water, soda, and juice in the mini fridge in the detached garage, as well as a coffee pot. Help yourself to whatever snacks you find there as well. I’ll make you all breakfast in the morning. ”

Evan does an about-face and heads in that direction. We say our goodbyes to Patch and slip into the house. I immediately give my house a walk-through, checking to make sure all the deadbolts are locked on all the doors, and each window is shut.

I head down to the basement and load up several weapons and lay them neatly across a long table. Heather watches me pick up two rifles and carry them upstairs. She’s been quietly following me around, I guess to get a feeling for my security setup. She watches everything I do with big eyes.

I can see the guilt gnawing at her. This woman is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She’s facing an adversary that she can’t hope to protect herself from but is worried that she’s somehow dragging the club into something they might not be able to handle.

But she’s wrong. Protecting her is not a burden. It’s a duty and a fuckin’ privilege.

I put the rifles beside my bed and sit on the comfortable mattress with her in my lap.

“Are you aware that we do this all the time?”

Gazing up at me, her expression turns embarrassed. “What, fight off crazy, unhinged men?”

“Yeah, most of the old ladies came seeking protection, and we give it every single time.”

“Brittany didn’t,” she shoots back.

“Wanna bet? She had a deranged religious cult leader on her tail. Tusk went all the way to Alaska to rescue her.”

“Oh wow, I remember her saying she was traumatized. I never thought I would be from something like that.”

“Carnage is a tough guy when it comes to beating up women. When it comes to mixing it up with men, not so much. I heard from my club brothers that when he used to be in the Legion back in the day, he targeted young prospects and relied on manipulation to do his dirty work. That sounds like someone that could take me in a fair fight?”

“No. You could definitely take him in a fair fight. The problem with Jerry Masters is that he hardly ever fights fair.”

Fisting my hand in her hair, I tug her head back to look into her eyes. “Then, I’ll just have to outsmart him. Do you think I can manage that?”

She nods slightly, and then her eyes drop down to my lips.

That’s all it takes for me to kiss her, fast and hard.

She melts under my touch, making my cock jump to attention.

I can tell the moment she realizes I am hard because she makes herself comfortable on it.

Her gentle movements make me ache to be inside her.

I pull back and rest my forehead against hers. “Just do what I say and let me protect you from whatever he throws our way.”

Her mouth tightens, and a stubborn little crease shows up between her brows. It would be cute if it wasn’t evidence that she didn’t like what I was telling her. “I can also protect myself. I don’t need to sit on the sidelines and let you take all the risk.”

“There’s only one problem with that.”

Her chin tips up stubbornly, and she snaps, “There’s no problem. I’m not made of glass. I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life.”

My hand comes up to rest against her belly. “Yeah, there is. The problem is, it’s not just your life that you’re risking this time.”

Her head lowers to watch my hand slowly rub her flat stomach. We both know what’s in there, something innocent that needs to be protected at all costs. “Now isn’t the time to risk yourself or your unborn baby. Let me be the protector I was born to be, darlin’.”

She lowers her head again, looking all kinds of sweet and submissive. Although I know Heather is not submissive by nature, in this moment her surrender makes me feel things. My grip on her tightens slightly without me meaning to.

She murmurs, “Alright, we’ll do it your way.”

“I moved you into the house so you would be safe,” I tell her. “You don’t have to like it or me taking control. You don’t even have to say thank you. You and your baby just have to stay safe, no matter what comes.”

Her eyes lift to mine, and I add, “I need that more than I have words to say.”

“I know I need help protecting myself and my baby. I just want you to know that I’m not weak.”

“I know that,” I say, my voice softening a bit. “I’m not treating you like you’re weak. I’m treating you like you’re worth protecting. There’s a difference.”

For a few seconds, she just stares at me. Her mouth is parted slightly, and then her gaze grows warm. Eventually, she nods. “Okay, I get what you’re saying, and I appreciate that you’re risking yourself for me.”

I reach up and cup the side of her face with one hand.

“I wish I could let you get away with thinking that I’m making some kind of sacrifice for you.

But the truth of the matter is, I don’t think Carnage poses much danger to me, not physically anyway.

I can hold my own with him. But you need to know our club has been after him for a long time.

He was partially responsible for Claw’s murder.

Siege and Rider were in the military when Butch and Carnage killed Siege’s father.

Me and my club would have protected you either way, but that bastard has more to answer for than abusing you. ”

She looks at me with big eyes. “I hope you know that I didn’t know anything about him being in an MC. He always talked shit about bikers. If I’d known he was responsible for a man’s death, I wouldn’t have given him the time of day.”

I glance away, trying to organize my thoughts. “I can’t imagine how Carnage managed to get a woman like you in the first place.”

“He was good at acting normal. I never thought he was a smooth talker, but he seemed kind and considerate when we first met. There were a few bumps prior to me moving in with him, but nothing that marked him out as potentially abusive.”

“That fucker is evil through and through,” I grit out, pulling her closer.

She sighs. “Yeah, I figured that out too late. We’d been living together for about six months before he started getting belligerent. It was annoying, and I started rethinking my relationship with him. But then he talked to me about how his mother abused him and said he’d get himself into therapy.”

“And you felt sorry for him, right?”

“Well, yes. I tend to have empathy for people who’ve experienced trauma.”

“Being through trauma doesn’t give you the right to take it out on other people,” I tell her firmly.

“I know that. I truly do. By the time things escalated to physical abuse, I knew I needed to get out. Only by then, he’d sabotaged most of my friendships, and the few remaining were afraid that helping me would piss him off to the point that he’d turn on them.”

“Didn’t you have any family you could turn to?”

“Just my parents and grandmother. They all live together because my grandmother can no longer live on her own. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was run to them and take a chance on him following me. He would have torn them up just to get to me, and I couldn’t take a chance like that.”

“I’m sorry. Men like Carnage prey on women with limited support.”

“If I’m being honest, I wish that I’d never met him.”

I pull her closer and kiss her forehead. “I wish you hadn’t met him either, sweetheart.”

When she leans her head against my chest, I can feel her tremble slightly. She’s scared, and I don’t blame her. It’s fuckin’ heart-wrenching to see such a strong woman brought low by an asshole like Carnage. I’m not letting her carry this burden alone, not tonight, not ever.