Page 12

Ghost

I t was time to tell Drake the damn truth. The question was, how would Drake react? Rage needed to know what was coming for them, and Ghost would take a day to inform them what was happening. He told Carmelle he was going to pay someone a visit, ensured she knew the escape routes, and took off on his Harley.

As he headed to Rage, he passed a biker and glanced over. Without hesitation, Ghost swung his bike around and followed him.

Ghost was chuckling when Manny pulled over and yanked a gun out. Ghost parked up behind him and held his hands up. “Gonna shoot, brother?” Ghost asked.

“In two fuckin’ minds about it!” Manny retorted sharply. “Did you actually take those bullets?”

“Yes, wanna see the scars?” Ghost taunted.

“Yeah.”

Ghost raised his eyebrows and lifted his top slowly.

Manny maintained an impassive face at the round marks near Ghost’s heart. There was one in his gut and another further up in his left shoulder.

“How the fuck did you survive?” Manny demanded.

“I’ll explain that at church. I’ve gathered everything I need to prove who was behind Rage turning dark and why,” Ghost said and watched disbelief hit Manny’s face.

Manny shook his head. “Why you stalking me?”

“Because I saw you speed out of Rage and followed you. No brother rides alone, not for the foreseeable future.”

“What fuckin’ shitstorm are you bringing down upon us?” Manny yelled.

“One that’s been going on since Rage got clean! Shit was happening that none of you realised. I did! I sacrificed my life with Rage to bring this into the open,” Ghost roared back.

Manny had no idea what Ghost had lost, and Ghost had no intention of discussing stuff here. Manny needed to get with the programme.

“Well, I’m heading out. I’m meeting—”

“Inglorious. About Isabelle. I know everything about all of you. Think I wouldn’t keep a tab on my brothers?” Ghost snapped.

“Dunno what the fuck you’ve been up to. Can’t even say I know you anymore. ”

“I never once betrayed Rage the entire time I was gone,” Ghost erupted.

Ghost felt Manny’s words bite deep and draw blood. His pain must have shown as Manny flinched. But Ghost recognised Manny wouldn’t apologise.

Ghost snorted. Manny had always been a stubborn fuck. He wondered what Manny would have done in his place and then shook his head. As Ghost had told Carmelle, wishful thinking meant shit. It was a waste of time and effort.

“Fifteen fuckin’ years, and you were never at cross purposes with us? You were in the truck that nearly took Silvie from us!” Manny yelled, interrupting his thoughts.

Oh no, Manny didn’t get to pull that one. Ghost moved into Manny’s space and growled. “If I had known it was Silvie, I’d have got word to Washington. Never, Manny, never would I have put a woman at risk!” Ghost let his temper show at that accusation.

Manny stepped away at the threat and anger emanating from Ghost. “Fine, but you need to ride to Rage.”

“I need to cover your back. Because no brother should be alone now,” Ghost retorted.

“You can follow, but don’t interfere,” Manny warned, and Ghost nodded.

Ghost clocked that Manny spotted Ghost was wearing his cut. The old emblem and patch were on it, but it meant that Ghost was no longer hiding. He was operating in plain sight, and Ghost saw puzzlement cross Manny’s face.

Yeah, bro, he thought, I’m in the open. Ghost is back.

Fifteen minutes later, Manny pulled into a side clearing that was little known and spotted Inglorious straddling his bike. Inglorious had a gun aimed at the rider behind him, and Manny waved him down.

Ghost watched as Inglorious did a double take and snickered as Inglorious spoke.

“Fuck me!” he said, shocked.

“Drake will no doubt update you later. For now, we have an issue,” Manny announced as he balanced his motorbike between his legs.

“Shit. Whatever,” Inglorious replied with a look at Ghost.

Ghost paid attention as Manny and Inglorious talked about Isabelle, a girl they both felt responsible for. He listened in case it had something to do with Fury. Fury would be searching for any weakness, and Isabelle could be seen as one.

As they wound up, Inglorious turned to Ghost. “That’s gonna be a story I wanna know about,” Inglorious exclaimed with a nod.

“One we all fuckin’ want to hear.” No sooner had the words left Manny’s mouth his phone pinged.

Ghost peered over his shoulder and saw an emergency church had been called. This was his time. Manny replied he’d be forty minutes as they took his leave. He rode off with Ghost on his six. Manny was bringing a gift that Rage MC would either kill or welcome. Ghost wondered if he should open a book.

◆◆◆

Ghost slipped inside behind Manny and paused. He drew in a deep breath, and even though this was a new clubhouse, it smelt familiar. He noticed hundreds of pictures pinned to a wall and smiled slightly as he passed them.

Ghost was home; this was his blood, his MC, his brothers.

Manny entered church with Ghost on his heels. Ghost saw everyone was present, including the new brothers he’d yet to meet. Manny moved to the side as Ghost straightened his shoulders.

Drake was the first to see him as he faced Manny directly. “About time. Cowboy and Wild have something they…” Drake’s voice faded as a look of sheer disbelief crossed his face.

Apache reacted next as Texas leapt up. One-by-one, the brothers turned to stare at the man who’d entered behind Manny. Ghost almost laughed as Manny stepped to the side, out of the range of everyone’s anger, and held Drake’s eyes. He kept quiet, waiting for Drake to talk.

“So, your shit has ended,” Drake finally stated.

“No, but I have got the proof I’ve been searching for. Those kids gotta speak first before I do,” Ghost replied.

“Don’t you dare think you can walk back in here and issue orders!” Axel bellowed, making everyone jump as he exploded. “Fifteen fuckin’ years. And we only knew you were alive four years ago! Fuck you, brother!” Axel spat.

“You need to listen to those kids. What they are about to tell you is a part of what I’ve been hunting down,” Ghost replied.

And as he expected, boom, the room exploded with Apache leading the way. Ghost was rather surprised at the amount of anger around. Surely, they should have rid themselves of some of it because they’d known he was alive for a while.

“You’ve no fucking right to make demands.” Apache growled.

“Brother…”

“Ain’t no brother of mine. No man I call brother would go dark for eleven years, letting me think he was worm food. And then I find he is alive four years ago because he’s in the car that runs my woman down. Ain’t my brother,” Apache snarled.

“I’ll say this once. And I ain’t saying it again. If I had known the target was Silvie, I’d have put a bullet in his head. I did not recognise her until it was too late,” Ghost said calmly.

Inside, his gut was twisting. He might seem calm, but he was anything but. Ghost understood how his brothers felt and let them have their heads, even if the intensity of their rage surprised him.

“Fuck you! You are only standing there breathing because this is sacred ground. No blood is spilt in church. Outside, fucker, you’re mine. Don’t think you are welcome here!” Apache continued .

Ace reached out and touched his father’s shoulder, and Apache shrugged him off.

“We need to hear what Ghost has to say!” Fish exclaimed, trying to be the voice of reason.

Well, Fish ain’t changed, at least, Ghost noted.

Ghost was watching the hot heads: Axel, Texas, Apache, Ace, Rock and Gunner. All his brothers had tempers, but those six had itchy trigger fingers and would start throwing punches before questions.

“Why? He walked out on us. What do we owe him?” Lowrider demanded.

“He’s a brother,” Ezra said.

“Is he?” Gunner snarled.

“You gonna fling accusations all day or listen to those boys because they have part of my story?” Ghost asked.

“The fuck I am!” Apache yelled and tipped the table. It crashed down onto the floor, and the disrespect made everybody freeze. Anger blazed through Apache’s eyes as he gazed at Ghost.

Ghost held his stare. Apache’s fury stemmed partly from what happened to Silvie and at that moment, Apache wasn’t reasonable. Apache wanted blood, and Ghost was right in front of him.

“Sit down!” Drake said quietly. “All of you.”

Axel and Apache remained standing, but everyone else sat down. Ghost nodded; he expected those two to defy orders.

“You’re not going to listen to this bullshit!” Apache spat, turning on Drake in a fury. Gunner and Rock righted the table again and replaced the gavel .

“We are in church. The rules apply unless you are challenging me. I understand, Apache; I get it. That pain and anger, the hurt and betrayal, I feel it too. Sit the hell down!” Drake ordered in a quiet tone, even more deadly for the control.

Apache slammed into his chair, which Ace had picked up and stared at Ghost.

“Axel!” Drake warned.

Ghost held Axel’s eyes as everyone watched. He felt like Axel was trying to punch through into his brain. The situation grew more uncomfortable.

Axel was a founder. But even he had to obey Drake when ordered. Maybe Ghost should have spoken to Drake alone first, but he’d been so eager to see his brothers properly.

Axel cocked his head. Ghost held his gaze as he let his emotions bleed out.

Everyone looked at Drake, worried. Nine times out of ten, Drake ignored Axel, but not today.

Axel twisted to face Drake.

“Wiped your ass, boy. You don’t command me. I follow you out of respect. But never order me again, or I’ll be forcing a vote. As a founder, I have the damn right. But for your sake, I’ll sit and listen to whatever pigswill is going to leave his lying mouth,” Axel grumbled and metaphorically bent to Drake’s will.

Drake nodded with dignity as Axel took his seat.

“Start talking,” Drake demanded.

“Their story needs to go first,” Ghost suggested, pointing at Cowboy and Wild .

“Don’t push your luck. I said talk,” Drake murmured softly.

“We know what happened to Ellen, thanks to him,” Cowboy blurted, and captured Axel’s attention immediately.

“For fuck’s sake,” Drake muttered.

Ghost stood propped against the wall as Cowboy and Wild explained who had harmed Ellen. How Christian had knocked a kid called Jenkins out, and the boy had vowed retribution. Cowboy told them how Jenkins had joined the Venomous Fangs and pushed Ellen down the stairs for two reasons. One was part of his initiation, and the other was for revenge against Christian.

As their explanation run down, Drake leaned forward. Ghost watched him carefully. Things were about to become difficult.

“We need to inform the allies,” Drake muttered.

“Not yet.”

“What?” Drake blasted Ghost, rising to his feet and leaning on the table.

“Who runs Venomous Fangs?” Ghost asked.

Drake stood up, frowning.

“Wrath, although many haven’t seen the mean bastard. But his word is law,” Drake replied.

“Wrath, Drake,” Ghost said and waited for Drake to catch on.

Everyone looked puzzled.

Manny suddenly sat up straight, capturing everyone’s attention. “Fury!” Manny spat into the silence .

“What?” Axel boomed.

“Wrath means anger, fury, ire. Are you telling me Fury is Wrath?” Manny demanded of Ghost.

“Time to tell you exactly what I’ve been doing for fifteen years. And how Rage was the pawn in a decade-long game of complicated chess. Sheer dumb luck and Drake blocked Wrath’s plans for this MC and its allies. This is a war we might not win, and Wrath is coming for all of us,” Ghost warned.

Ghost began speaking, reminding everyone that Fury had been a founder and as young as Axel when the MC opened. Ghost jolted memories when he mentioned the times that Fury had tried to turn the club dark. Those who remembered nodded their agreement.

“Yeah, Fury wanted easy, fast cash,” Axel agreed.

Ghost noted Axel might be speaking to him, but he hadn’t escaped the big man’s displeasure. Axel’s eyes were burning holes into him.

Ghost told them what he and Anderson had pieced together. That Fury had gathered like-minded assholes in allied clubs, and they had formed a committee called Manticore. Together, they’d started undermining the rightful presidents, and while hidden in the background, they controlled the puppets who took over.

Axel began arguing with him, and Ghost snapped. “And seven MCs all went bad within five years of each other? Good presidents taken out and filth taking over?”

“Co-incidence!” Apache snarled .

“No such fuckin’ thing. One or two clubs going rogue? Yeah. All seven of them? The main MCs in this part of South Dakota? Wake the fuck up,” Ghost shot back with a hint of anger.

“Doesn’t explain why you’ve been dark for fifteen years, asshole!” Apache hit Ghost hard with his pain.

“So, these criminal masterminds took over the clubs,” Drake said with a trace of sarcasm.

Ghost continued and was interrupted when Manticore was mentioned. He sighed. At this rate, he’d be here all day.

“I read this book. It’s by Dan Brown, and they’re called the Illuminati in it!” Apache added with little patience.

“This is really far-fetched,” Axel agreed.

“Except I remember once hearing Fury threaten Bulldog with Manticore’s removal of protection if he didn’t do something,” Fish drawled slowly. His brow was furrowed as he clearly struggled to think back.

“You do?” Drake asked with apparent surprise.

“Yeah, I wasn’t meant to overhear, but when they saw me, they changed the subject. Bulldog was frightened of this Manticore,” Fish replied.

Ghost added, “Bulldog and Fury were standing outside the clubhouse, to the left near the garages, and it was raining. Fury wore a brown tee and—”

“Bulldog had a bandage above his eyebrow. He claimed he’d taken a blow in a fight,” Fish said.

Ghost agreed and continued.

He explained how Bulldog was Fury’s puppet in Rage, and he did nothing without Fury’s approval. When he mentioned the original plan of merging the MCs, scowls met him. Ghost pushed on even though his brothers kept trying to interrupt. They needed to know everything. Right now, he was pondering his own sanity.

When he recounted his own death, his brothers sat up sharply. At the mention of Anderson and the FBI, disbelief crossed their faces. Ghost informed them how Anderson had got him to go undercover and how he began working for Toxic to find a way in.

He explained the challenges he faced in researching Romeo and gaining access to him. Ghost described how Anderson had discovered Romeo had connections with the Venomous Fangs.

When he came to Carmelle, Ghost paused. How he phrased this would affect Drake. He asked if Drake remembered Miranda and was relieved when Drake answered yeah. This next bit was going to set Drake off.

As soon as he said that Miranda was Fury’s daughter, he had everyone’s undivided attention.

“Miranda got pregnant by Arrow, and when Fury discovered that, he took her,” Ghost announced carefully.

“What?” Drake gritted out.

“She gave birth to a baby girl. And the poor woman died in childbirth, but the kid, Carmelle, survived. Fury was outraged that another female had been born and threw her away, too. But did the same as Miranda. He kept tabs on his granddaughter, your sister, all her life. ”

Drake was shaking his head. “You’re lying!” Drake accused.

Ghost explained about Carmelle, Beau, and the girls, and what had happened to them. Denial was written all over Drake’s face as Ghost spelt out what Fury had made her suffer.

“This is bullshit!” Drake exploded.

Ghost rose, walked towards Drake, and placed an envelope he’d been carrying in his cut in front of him. It was folded in half, and Drake stared at it like it would blow up.

Anderson had got this done for him because Ghost had known Drake would need proof. In a soft voice, Ghost explained the contents.

“Inside is a DNA comparison to you. It proves you are siblings. And Carmelle’s DNA match to Fury. That one is more recent. Fury had Santos holding her and her children hostage, knowing you’d do anything for family. As part of Romeo’s inner circle, I discovered her identity. When Artemis took Santos, I got Carmelle and the girls out. That paperwork was in Santos’s desk, which is how I could put shit together. Once I found that, I knew I had to get them free. Returning without your sister and nieces was not an option,” Ghost said.

“Where is she?” Drake questioned with a stunned look on his face.

“Safe. Anderson and I made sure of that. You can meet them when I call my brother.”

“I’ve a sister? Nieces? Holy shit,” Drake asked again .

“Yeah. It was those DNA results that put me on Fury’s path, and once I had him in my line of sight, everything else became clear,” Ghost replied.

“Continue with your story,” Axel boomed.

Ghost complied. He went on to detail how Fury had grown the Fangs and what he believed was coming.

“Why are they here?” Axel demanded with a sideways glance at Drake. Drake was pale but paying attention.

“Because, brother, Fury started this club. He was a founder. But despite that title, Fury didn’t have the pull to gain prez and knew it. So, he set Bulldog up to win and then, when it blew up, Manticore withdrew and looked for somewhere they could control. Drake, none of those chapters have less than forty men in them. Many have over fifty. Fury and Manticore have assembled a fuckin’ army to take Rage, Hellfire, Unwanted Bastards, etc, back. You are the MCs that slipped through their fingers, and now they’re coming for you,” Ghost said urgently.

“When?” Drake asked.

“Not yet. We’ve got time to call allies and reinforce ourselves.”

“How much time, Ghost?” Drake demanded.

“I don’t fuckin’ know! Manticore wants everything. The businesses, the money, the land, the women. They want to strip all of you from Rage and take over,” Ghost replied.

“Then there’ll be no club!” Axel yelled.

“They’ll bury you all and move their own men straight in. And they will claim the old ladies and princesses as whores. Legacies will be shot and killed alongside you. That’s what Venomous Fangs does. Even a baby Legacy will end up with a bullet in him. They will remove every single piece of blood loyal to Rage and the others. And then break the women. They’ve done it before in Miami. They’ll not hesitate here. RCPD will have open warfare on the streets.

“Venomous Fangs will take out decent cops, and finally, those left will either work for them or die. Those are the only options. RCPD won’t have backup. Venomous Fangs will come for Washington, Hawthorne’s, The Juno Group. And while you are all hopping around covering your asses, you’re off balance and not working together. We’ve got time to gather everyone in. To create a plan. It’s why I broke cover. I knew this a month ago but couldn’t leave Carmelle and the girls there.

“You’d give your life for them, which is all Fury needs. With you dead, Rage would be on the back foot, Chance too. They would swoop in and takeover. With Carmelle and the kids safe, you got one over on Fury. You know Venomous Fangs’ rep, don’t under-estimate it,” Ghost warned. He really hoped they’d listen to him.

Everyone began arguing, and Ghost felt the hope that the club would act begin to fade. He didn’t understand how else to get the urgency across.

“That’s one hell of a tale. We need to think. Wait next door,” Drake ordered.

Ghost stared at him aghast .

“You need to think?”

“What the fuck did you believe would happen? That you’d walk in here, spew some story, and we’d leap at it and rise to arms. Rage ain’t one-percenter no more. We’re clean. Rage will fight to the last man, but I gotta fuckin’ think! You dumped this shit on our lap. No warning, no hints or tips. And I’ve got family that you knew about!” Drake roared, his temper catching. He rose to his feet.

“I brought you the truth!” Ghost yelled.

“You gave me your truth! Not mine or the clubs. Yours. I do not blindly believe some asshole who’s been dark for fifteen years. We do not act like one-percenters where we don’t give a shit if innocents are caught up in the crossfire. We care. Rage looks after its community. If we got a group of whack jobs heading here, we gotta mobilise Rage. I won’t allow innocent people to be shot because some prick wants my club. You hear me? I need to fuckin’ think!” Drake roared.

They continued arguing, and Ghost finally snapped. “How the fuck do I prove this is true and get you to act?” Ghost demanded.

“By giving me a few days, asshole! It’s time for you to leave. This church ain’t yours, Ghost. This is ours.”

Ghost recoiled. He rose to his feet and drew himself up.

“For fifteen years, I bled, hid, lied, and sacrificed so I could find out who was gunning for my club. Fifteen fuckin’ years of being lonely, handling this weight on my shoulders alone . You want time? Look at what I lost. Being on the outside looking in, missing women being claimed, prospects becoming brothers, I missed everything. The vote to rebuild the compound, your kids being born. I sacrificed, Drake! ”

“Whose choice was it to go it alone, Ghost? Because any brother here would have stepped up without question and been liaison. We could even have maybe helped you end this quicker. Don’t stand there telling us your sacrifice. What about our mourning? Our grief? The guilt we suffered when we realised you were gone. We fuckin’ sacrificed, too!” Apache yelled once more, leaping to his feet.

“You had spies! Jacked, Gid!” Ghost shot back.

“Where were you when the truth escaped concerning Ace? When that cunt of an ex of mine tried to rip my family apart? And when Silvie was run over? Oh, right, sat in the car that nearly killed her. When they came for her again, you were present in the woods. You could have come forward then. Reached out. You didn’t. Left us all fuckin’ wondering if you had a knife in our backs. And when Silvie birthed our kids and was crippled. Where were you, brother , walking that road with me?” Apache spat.

Ghost reeled at the pain and anger in Apache’s tone. He had expected fury at him being hidden. Shit, he’d anticipated hurt, but the level Apache and the others displayed was almost torture for him to witness.

“Where was I? I was crawling to Santos with my ass bent over to get close to finding out who pulled the strings. I was licking his shoes to save Drake’s sister. That is where I fuckin’ was,” Ghost fired. He was hurting, too.

“But you didn’t have to be alone, Ghost! And that’s what I can’t forgive, brother. An entire club at your back. Could’ve reached out and contacted one of us. You didn’t. You just let us think we lost you and then forced us to wonder which side you were on,” Apache snapped.

“Enough! Go. If you’re really back, leave your phone number and wait for us. If not, walk now and don’t look back again!” Ace stated, standing and clapping his irate father on his shoulder.

Apache shrugged Ace’s hand off, but Ace replaced it and gripped him even more firmly.

“We’ll be in contact,” Drake mumbled dully.

Ghost looked around the room. Nobody met his eyes apart from Manny. Manny held his gaze steadily before inclining his head towards the door.

Ghost dropped a card on the table with his real phone number on and shrugged.

“See ya. But whether you bring me back in, Venomous Fangs have been seen here, and your boys have witnessed them.” Ghost said as his parting shot and left.