“Talk to me,” I answer the phone.
“It’s not good brother,” Tic says. What information he’s been able to get has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “Get back here now, I’ll call a meeting in the next hour.”
Johnny Valdez is a dead man walking…I just wish Kori’s dad and Bristol’s were still breathing. I’d love to give them a beat down for what they’ve put their daughters through—both in the past and in the present.
Let the games begin.
Chapter 20
Ghost
Heading into our room I prepare myself for a battle, a battle I’m not looking forward to. I know this won’t be an easy conversation, her father and Cordozo have struck again. I just hope my girl can handle the shit I’m about to tell her. Johnny Valdez, we don’t know much about him yet, but I plan to find out as much as I can and take this motherfucker to ground. His days of breathing are few and far between, he’s about to learn why I’ve earned the title of enforcer. It’s not just because I have a mean streak a mile long either, it’s because I take care of business with no remorse. And when it comes to him, he not only threatens my brothers and family, he’s a huge threat to my girl. My sweet cheeks. My world. Nobody threatens my girl and breathes to talk about it.
Taking a deep breath, I open the door and see my girl sitting on the floor Indian style and she doesn’t look happy when she looks up at me. “I brought you some food,” I tell her as if it isn’t obvious what I’m holding in my hands.
“I’m so pissed off Brady, I don’t know if I could eat anything right now.”
“I know baby, and I’m sorry you’re being put through this, but there’s a reason why.”
“Care to share what that reason is, or am I supposed to not know what’s going on in my own life? I get that you guys are protective and all, but don’t you think this is a little extreme?”
“No baby, if anything I wish we could do more than just have a man on you at all times. This is some serious shit, and it’s all thanks to yours and Kori’s dads.”
“Oh no, what did they do?” she asks me and it sounds like she’s out of breath. She’s petrified and I don’t like it one bit.
“Have you ever heard the name Johnny Valdez?” I watch as the color drains from her face, she jumps up and runs to the bathroom with me on her heels. She rushes to the toilet and empties her stomach’s contents. What the fuck has her so freaked out, what has this son of a bitch done to my girl? I kneel down next to her, and pull her hair back in one of my hands, getting it out of her way so she doesn’t dirty her beautiful locks. When she’s done, she sits back on her legs and hangs her head down, I go over to the cabinet and get a wash cloth and wet it down, then proceed to clean up her beautiful face. A face so full of fear I want to put my hands through the wall, but knowing that will scare her I refrain from freaking her out further.
“Talk to me?”
“He’s one of the guys who met with my dad about purchasing me. I don’t know what exactly he wanted me for, but then my dad struck a deal with Cordozo to exchange me and Lil’ bit instead. What does he want Brady?”
I can’t hide this from her so I tell her the truth, “You, he wants you.” She reaches over the toilet and starts vomiting again, this guy really made an impression on her, and not a good one from her reaction. “It’s going to be alright, I won’t let him anywhere near you. I swear it on my life.”
“I know, I’m scared. Is the club in danger because of me? I couldn’t take it if anything happened to any of you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to any of us…I swear to you we will end this. I just need to keep you safe and out of sight for a little longer. I need you to trust me, trust us and do as we say.”
“I can do that, as long as you promise me everyone will be safe.”
“Don’t worry about us sweet cheeks, we know what we’re doing. Alright?”
“Okay Brady.”
“Now let’s get you something to eat.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Do it for me, please.”
“I’ll try, for you.”
Once we make our way back to the bedroom I get her settled on the bed and hand her the plate. She chicken pecks at it, but at least she’s trying. I can’t fault her for that, I just wish this nightmare would go away for her. The sooner the better is my preference.
Just as I settle back on the bed to spend some time with my girl, there’s a knock on the door. I get up to go answer and see Levi standing there.
“What’s up?” I ask him.
“Wasp has called a meeting. Need you there, Brother.”
“Be there in a few,” I tell him as I shut the door. I’m not trying to be rude, just need to get a kiss from my girl and make sure she’s alright before I leave her.
I walk over to her and bend over and give her a brief kiss on her lips. “I need to go, are you going to be okay?”
“Yes Brady, I’m fine. Go, and tell everyone I’m sorry for this mess.”
“There’s absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You’ve done nothing wrong. None of us feel that way, and I need you to get that thought out of your head.”
“Yes sir,” she says as she salutes me.
“Smart ass.”
“You know it and you love it.”
“That I do, be back as soon as I can…promise.”
Chapter 21
Ghost
Walking into our meeting room a feeling of foreboding comes over me. I know that whatever is going to be shared today will be leading us into a war. I don’t know why, but I can feel it deep down in my bones. I take my seat at the table and silently await what is to come, I’m trying not to get lost in my thoughts of revenge just yet. I need to hear everything and have my cards laid out on the table before me before I react. I hope I can keep my temper in check so I don’t get handed my ass by Wasp and Tic.
As everyone takes their seats, my anxiety hits me at an all-time high. I’m not nor have I ever been good at patience. Waitin’ for the hat to fall isn’t my strong suit. Usually, before a serious meeting, I’m in the loop ahead of time. Seein’ how this is about my Ol’ lady, I’ve been kept in the dark…something I’m not used to and don’t like. I’m known to be unpredictable when angered to the point of blacking out, that doesn’t make this situation I’m in feel good. The unknown has me angry, bereft and ready to take out any threat.
How can I be in charge of myself if I don’t know what I’m in for, and by the look on the faces of those who are in the know, this is some information that may set me up on a course that there’s no coming back from. Wasp bangs his hand on the table to get everyone’s attention. As ready as I can be for what may come, I turn to face our President to give him the respect he deserves and has earned. Wasp starts the meeting off by saying, “We aren’t going to go over financials or any other club business today other than what we’ve found out in regard to Bristol and her situation. If there’s anything you need to discuss we will get to that in our monthly meeting that is scheduled for next week. If it’s urgent and can’t wait, come to me or Tic and we’ll take it from there.”
Tic picks it up from there saying, “I’ve been doing some research and recon today and it didn’t take me long to find an inside man willing to talk to me. Ghost, I need you to reel yourself in brother until I have all the facts that are known laid out on the table. This is goin’ to piss you off, which we all understand, but we need your head in the game.”
“I getcha VP, and I’ll do my best,” I tell him.
“Now that that’s settled,” Wasp states, “Let’s get on with it. Tic, tell us what you found out brother.”
“Valdez has his hands in all sorts of illegal activities, drugs, guns, back door gambling, but the worst of them is sex trade. He doesn’t care if it’s women or children, he sells them both. From what I was able to find out they start as young as newborns and work their way up to fifty-year-old’s. What some sick fuck wants with a baby and older women
and men is beyond me, not that at any age this is acceptable, but I know why a sick fuck like these would like some young person. They’re able to train them and break them, makes me want to vomit whenever I let my mind go there. All I can think about is Lil’ bit and my future son.”
The door suddenly slams open causing us all to jump to our feet and ready to beat some poor motherfucker’s ass, until we see who it is…Justice.
“I hear you fucker’s have a party goin’ on without me. That is unfuckin’ acceptable. That’s right, I’m back brothers, catch me up and let’s kick some ass!” God, it’s good to see him up and moving. Knowing he’s back and will help puts some of my tension at ease. He’s always had my back and is always down to get dirty.
“Brother,” I call out as I stand up and give him a brotherly hug. “It’s good to have you back. Things haven’t been the same since you’ve been gone.”
All the brothers stand and welcome him home. He takes his seat at the table and looks over at me and gives me a look that lets me know, no matter what he’s there and down. As we catch him up on the Templeton charter and Bristol’s situation I see anger grow on his face. He hasn’t met Bristol yet, but she’s family and he now knows she’s my Ol’ lady. Just like that, she has his loyalty no matter what her family was involved in and the cause of his long hospital and recovery stay. None of that matters. It ceases to exist. What matters now is getting rid of this piece of shit Valdez and shutting him down. Permanently.
“So,” Justice speaks up, “We going to take down this fucker and put an end to his extracurricular activities and keep our man’s girl safe?”
“That’s the plan,” Wasp says.
“Then we need to come up with a good one, one that will put a permanent hurting on this fucker so he never comes back,” Justice states matter-of-factly.
“I want him in the ground,” I growl out.
“And he will be,” Tic tells me.
Wasp speaks up, “I want as much intel as we can get on his operations and on him before we act. I want to make sure before he’s put to ground that these operations are so crippled that they don’t have a way of being picked back up for some other stupid fuck.”
“Should we call the Templeton charter home?” I ask.
“Not yet, I’ll call Kid and give him a heads up that it will be happening sooner rather than later, but first I want as much information as we can before we bring them home. I want to annihilate every single motherfucker involved in this as possible. Not just the key players, I want them all!” Wasp yells.
We spend the next couple of hours coming up with a game plan and assigning certain brothers with jobs that meet their specialties.
Chapter 22
Bristol
It’s been two weeks since Brady told me what was going on. Johnny…just his name sends shivers down my spine. He always looked at me with predatory eyes and I always feared for my safety whenever he would visit. His creepy vibes would keep me on my toes, I wasn’t allowed to retreat to my room, I had to help be a hostess and show my proper upbringing. I was their slave, servant and prostitute. I know, prostitute is such a dirty word, but it’s what I always felt like when I was served up to these men on a silver platter. I learned early on, just because you have money doesn’t mean you have class or morals. It’s a dirty world when you offer your own daughter, your flesh and blood, up as payment for services rendered.
I’ve never told anyone here about how exactly I was used and abused, I just let them make their own conclusions. I was my daddy’s dirty whore, now I’m Ghost’s Ol’ lady, and that means something to me. It helps wash away all the dirty that used to taint my skin. I haven’t allowed my mind to go back to that time and place since I’ve been here, I just wanted a fresh start to life and my new family has given that to me. No more having doctors visit me to keep my shot up to date and STD tests done regularly. Since being with Brady, I’ve never felt so loved and appreciated and I plan on keeping it that way. No one can know my dirty secret, it’s something that I’d prefer goes to the grave with me.
I don’t think anyone here would judge me, at least I hope not. It wasn’t something I willingly did. It was forced upon me, and if I threw a fit or said no the repercussions were life threatening. So, I learned to go somewhere else while it was happening, my mind would wander into a life that I wanted for myself. I would let my imagination take me places that were unheard of for me. Something I believed would never come to fruition. But Johnny, he was his own brand of sadistic, he liked to torture me while he had me. He liked to keep me in the present, not allowing me to make my mental escape. I hope he dies, painfully and slowly, but also taking my dirty secret to his grave when that day comes.
I wish I could wash it all away—my past. I dream that I had loving parents whose only thoughts and heart belonged to me, their only child. Instead I had parents set on revenge and dirty dealings. I made myself a promise however, that I wouldn’t let the past define my future with Brady. I will do everything in my power to keep that promise to myself. I love him, and I’m learning to love myself for the first time. I like who I am now, I want to keep her.
I like the carefree, loving, independent me. That’s why I freaked out over all of the security and bodyguards following me around. That’s all I’ve know my entire life, and I feel my freedom and independence slipping from my grasp every time I see my shadows. I know they’re only doing it to keep me safe from harm, but damn, it felt good when I didn’t have them lurking around every corner of every room I was in. I have to keep in mind that it will all end and I’ll have all of that back again…hopefully, sooner rather than later.
I don’t want to slip back into my make-believe life, I want the one I have now. Now that I know that he is involved, it will help keep me grounded and understand why Brady is being so overprotective. He wants to make sure I’m not alone and vulnerable to be grabbed by my enemies. I trust Brady—therefore I believe that all this will pass and we will go on with our lives the way we are meant to.
Brady has been gone more than he’s here, I know he’s finding leads to take down Johnny, I just hope it’s done soon and we can get back to the way things were before. I miss him, even though he’s here every night to eat with me and go to bed, but I miss our long talks and finding out new things about each other. I always wake up alone, since we’re back at the clubhouse I know I shouldn’t feel alone since someone is always here, but I am lonely without my man. I try to fill my days with online classes and cleaning up around here. These guys are pigs and leave me plenty to do. The more alone I am though, the more time I have with my thoughts. I realize each and every day how much I hate my parents. New memories surface that I thought I’d buried and I wish I’d seen my father take his last breath.
I know these morbid thoughts can lead me down a dark path, but I can’t seem to help myself. I don’t feel my mom got the justice she deserved, solitude isn’t a punishment she should’ve received, but unless I open up about why, I have to deal with the hand life has given me. I hope she drowns in grief, but my mother is the most selfish woman on the planet and she most likely feels like she’s done nothing wrong and is enjoying the fact that she’s gotten away with murdering her brother and the life she’s given me.
Deciding I should get out of bed and leave these thoughts where they belong, I get up and start my day with a shower. I have some school work that needs to be done so I will lose myself in that…again.
Chapter 23
Ghost
Leaving Bristol in bed every morning has been torture. I know she stays in the bedroom more than she’s out, and I hate that for her. I feel like I’m losing her to herself, she’s not the bubbly woman I am used to. I wish I could crawl into her head and know what she’s thinking and feeling. Every night when I come home, I’m exhausted and want nothing more than to have some dinner and crawl in bed next to her, and hold her while I sleep the day away. Then I’m up again before the sun, and leave her there, longing to hold her just a little longe
r.
Her safety however, is more important than physically holding her in my arms. We’ve gotten some leads on Valdez’s players, but we don’t have them all yet, which worries me. I’m not sure how much time we have on our side. We’ve gotten some inside men to work with us, they don’t agree with what their boss is up to and would like to see it come to an end. There is no escaping or leaving an organization like that other than death or the destruction of said organization. Having inside information is helping, but they’re not high enough in the ranks to give us everything. And we need it all, which is what is taking so long to get started on bringing down Valdez’s empire.
I can’t wait to watch it burn…and for him to meet his demise, at my hands. We need more hands so that our plan to take it down in one fell swoop can happen, we can’t go after one business at a time, it needs to happen all at one time. That way he doesn’t see it coming and doesn’t have time to cover his tracks. Him going into hiding is something that we can’t allow to happen, we may never find him again with his connections.
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