by Nicole James
At that, his eyes moved around the terrace, taking in the courtyard in the background. “You do all this?”
“Tink helped.”
He nodded. “You’ve got a talent for it.”
She smiled at his compliment. “Maybe.”
“You think I could make a go of this place? I mean as an event location. Put on parties like this one and shit?” He rubbed his hand up and down her thigh.
“I think you could do anything you put your mind to, Ghost.” Her eyes took in the place. “I think this place could be a huge success. It has such funky originality. There’s no place like it. Maybe it would never make it as a restaurant, but I think you could do all kinds of events here. Weddings, Proms, Company Parties, the list is endless.”
He grinned, pleased with her enthusiasm. His hand slipped beneath the hem of her dress, his palm sliding up her thigh.
“You think you could help me with all of that? Do this with me?”
Her smile faded, a stunned expression on her face. “You…you want me to stay?”
He grinned at that. “Yeah, I want you to stay, Jess.”
She kissed him, hugging him.
He stood, tossing her over his shoulder and slapped her ass. “Come on, woman. You’re ol’ man needs a back rub.”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Ghost stood at the picture windows overlooking the view, sipping on a cup of coffee, his thumb moving over his cell phone. Then he put it to his ear telling Boo that he and Yammer were on party cleanup duty and to get their asses over here.
He smiled as he slid his phone in his pocket, thinking he’d make an extra tall stack of pancakes to make it up to them.
He took a sip of his coffee as he watched the sun coming up. He felt settled inside for the first time in a long fucking time. And he knew how crazy that sounded, especially when shit was hitting the fan from seemingly all sides. But as happy as he’d always been with his life in the club, something had always been missing. Now, having Jessie in his life felt like he’d finally found that missing piece.
Yeah, they still had problems to work through. The Death Heads problem had to be dealt with for one. That ball was currently in the DKs hands. They had to find that damn snitch. Once they did that, both clubs could make their move. Ghost just hoped it didn’t take too fucking long. He had no control over that, so he had to take a breath and let it sort itself out.
His problem with Jessie, on the other hand, was totally in his control. There was shit he hadn’t told her. And it was eating at him, especially when he was demanding that she be up front and completely honest with him. He saw the irony, the paradox. And he knew he had to set it right. He just needed to find the right time. Things had finally started to smooth out between them, and the last thing he wanted to do was rock that boat.
He took another sip of his coffee and felt Jessie’s arms slide around his waist and her lips press to the bare skin between his shoulder blades. He dropped one hand to hers and squeezed. “Get back in bed, babe. I was just about to bring you some coffee.”
She stole the mug out of his hand and took a big sip, moaning. “Hmmm. That’s so good.”
He turned, taking her in his arms. “You sleep okay?”
She grinned up at him slyly. “You didn’t let me sleep.”
He dipped down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Then get back in bed.”
“I need to get all these rental chairs back.”
“Prospects can do it.”
“I told Tink I’d help her with her nails today. She’s got a hot date tonight. And I don’t think the prospects want to do that job for me.”
He grinned. “Nope. Even I draw the line on putting that off on ‘em. So, Tink’s got a hot date, huh? With who?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Bet I could get it out of you.”
“You probably could, but do you really want to know?”
“If it’s not Hammer, then probably not. I’d feel a responsibility to my brother to tell him, and then the shit would hit the fan. And I’m in too good a mood to fuck it all up trying to keep Hammer from killing some guy.”
Jessie grinned at his logic. “Good. Then you’ll take me?”
“To Tink’s house?”
“No, I’m supposed to meet her at the clubhouse.”
He huffed out a breath. “Shit, I was hoping I’d have you all to myself today.”
“Take me to the clubhouse, I’ll do her nails, we can return the chairs, and then you can have me all to yourself.” She kissed him on the nose. “Deal?”
“Finish your coffee, and we’ll work out this deal in bed.”
She grinned up at him. “I can work with that.”
***
Outside the clubhouse, Blood stood by the open back gate smoking a cigarette and shooting the shit with Yammer. Over on a nearby picnic table Hammer sat talking with Tink, who was admiring her newly painted nails. It was a pretty sunny day, unusually cool for this time of year in Alabama.
Blood’s eyes moved to the end of the alley, which was actually just a dirt road that ran behind the clubhouse, cutting between two short side streets. The clubhouse took up most of the block, a vacant lot the other half. A junkyard butted up to the alley on the other side.
A dark panel van was pulling into the alley.
“You get much traffic comin’ down this alley,” Blood asked as he tossed his cigarette.
Yammer followed his eyes to the van. “Not much. Just the club.”
A moment later they were both diving to the ground as the side door of the van slid open and several assault rifles opened fire on the clubhouse.
As Blood rolled and pulled his Glock out, he saw Hammer flip the picnic table over to its side, shoving Tink behind it. Then Hammer was up over the top of it, returning fire. Blood scrambled to the fence and peeked around the open gate. He was able to fire off a couple of rounds into the van.
Then his heart dropped as he saw the end of what looked like a goddamn grenade launcher poke out the open door. It fired straight into one of the clubhouse windows.
Inside the clubhouse, Ghost, Jessie and Griz were at the bar laughing with Boo a moment before they heard the gunfire. Bullet holes began piercing the backside of the clubhouse that faced the alley.
Ghost grabbed the back of Jessie’s shirt and yanked her off her barstool, shoving her to the ground and covering her with his body. Then he, Jessie, and Griz all scrambled around behind the bar.
They all sat with their backs to it.
Boo hunched over and ran to a cabinet. A moment later he was tossing shotguns to both Griz and Ghost.
“That’s some high-powered rounds, bro. They’re gonna make Swiss cheese of this place,” Ghost observed.
“Let’s flip the pool table on its side. The slate will give us some protection,” Griz suggested.
“That thing’s gotta weigh over eight hundred pounds.”
“Boo, get over here,” Griz yelled.
The three men were able to flip it to its side. It crashed to the floor with a boom that shook the whole building, and Ghost was sure, cracked the foundation.
They all got down behind it.
Ghost pointed to the window on the left and pulled his 9mm and handed it to Jessie. “Keep watch on the side yard, can you do that?”
She nodded, taking the gun.
“Anything moves, shoot the shit out of it.”
“Got it.”
“Stay with her,” he ordered Boo.
“You got it.”
Ghost grabbed Jessie by the back of the neck, pulled her close and kissed her forehead. Then he was scrambling toward the back door with Griz.
Ghost got in position with his back to the wall under one of the windows, and Griz under the other. The walls were being punctured by rapid fire in a zigzag pattern over their heads. He saw Jessie pop her head up and look out her window.
“Stay the fuck down, Jess,” he yelled. She dropped back down. He looked over at Griz as he busted the pum
p on the 12-gauge, slamming it down and up with a ratcheting sound. “You ready?”
Griz nodded, and they both rose up to shoot.
The blast was deafening when Ghost pulled the trigger, the recoil slamming into his shoulder. He got a look at the van where the fire was coming from as he and Griz both dropped back down.
“Death Heads?” Ghost asked.
“Gotta be,” Griz replied. “Guess they’ve moved on from the capture plan to the kill plan.”
“Jesus Christ.”
A second later the glass above them exploded, and a projectile went skidding across the floor. It spun in a crazy circle, and Ghost’s heart stopped as he saw it was a grenade. His eyes connected with Griz, and they both dove into the side hallway.
The explosion was deafening, a white flash searing through the air. When the percussion faded, they both staggered to their feet. Half the back wall of the clubhouse was gone as was the ceiling to the second floor.
There was debris everywhere, some of it smoldering.
Ghost scrambled across it, clawing his way to the other side of the pool table. Both Boo and Jessie were lying on their stomachs, Boo covering her, protecting her, half buried under the debris.
Ghost scrambled to dig them out, with Griz stumbling up to lend a hand.
“Jessie! Jessie, are you okay?” Ghost shouted frantically, his own voice sounding deaf in his ears. All he could hear was a large roaring noise. He clawed his way through the debris and everything seemed in slow motion. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.
Griz pulled Boo off her, and Ghost rolled Jessie over to her back. She began to cough, and he grabbed her up hugging her to his chest.
“Thank you, Lord.”
She pushed back on him. He watched as her lips moved, and he knew she was saying something, but with his hearing messed up by the explosion, he couldn’t hear a word.
He studied her, his eyes moving over every inch, checking to make sure she was okay. He determined she must have had the wind knocked out of her. Her forehead was cut, blood oozing from it, but it didn’t appear too deep.
“You okay, baby?” he asked, cupping her face and brushing her hair back.
Finally, his hearing started to return. Slow at first, like the sounds were coming down a long tunnel. But he could make out the words, distorted as they were.
“I’m okay. Are you hurt?”
He shook his head. “I’m good.
Griz was rousing Boo, who was moaning, holding his head.
“You took a blow to the head by that two by four, Boo,” Griz told him.
“Fuck, that hurts.”
Jessie pulled at Ghost’s vest. “Tink and Hammer! They’re outside.”
Griz looked at Ghost. “Blood and Yammer, too. Let’s go.”
Ghost looked back at her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. They may need help.”
The two of them moved toward the door, but the men were already tearing in through the rubble, trying to see if they were hurt.
“We’re all okay,” Griz shouted to them.
“Tink. Is she okay?” Jessie asked, looking up at Blood.
He squatted down in front of her. “Yeah, babe. Hammer’s with her. She’s fine. Are you okay?”
“I think so.” Her eyes took in her arms and legs, looking for wounds. Then they moved to Blood. “You’re bleeding.” He glanced down.
“Just a knick. I’m good. You’re the one that needs a bandage.” He pointed at her forehead.
She reached up to touch her head, pulling her hand away and seeing the blood on her fingers. Before she could comprehend that, Ghost bent and scooped her up in his arms carrying her to the bar that, surprisingly, was still standing. He sat her ass on the bar top and nodded toward the hall.
“There’s a first aid kit in the closet.”
Blood moved off to get it.
Ghost ripped a piece of the bottom of his tee shirt off and pressed it to her forehead.
“Ghost, your shirt. You ruined it.”
“Think that fucking matters? Look around, sweetheart. The place is blown to shit, and you’re worried about my shirt?”
Blood chuckled. “Maybe she got knocked in the head.”
She glared at him. “I’m fine. It’s just a scrape.” Then she looked at Ghost with a pouting face. “I didn’t even get to fire off one round.”
Ghost and Blood burst out laughing.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
After a long day of dealing with a fire department and police department that responded to the gunfire and explosion, then getting the prospects started boarding the place up, as well as a long meeting that involved a phone call to the DKs to set a meeting for retaliation, Ghost finally brought Jessie home, and she was so happy to be there.
They were out on the terrace, watching the planes land as the sun set. He stood behind her, his arms folded around her shoulders. His mouth at her ear, he said softly, “When that blast went off today, I thought I’d lost you. Never been so scared in my life.”
She nodded, reaching up to squeeze his forearm, feeling safe in his arms. “Me, too. We were all so lucky. I’m so grateful no one was hurt. I’d feel responsible. I feel to blame for all of this.”
“No, babe. You’re just an excuse, a pawn. Hatred between clubs is deep and goes back a long way. You did nothing to start any of this.”
“Still, I feel like maybe I shouldn’t have come here. I wanted to find you, but I’ve been nothing but trouble to you.”
He turned her around. “Look at me. That’s bullshit. Get it out of your head. I’m glad you came. Glad you found me. And I don’t want you to worry. We’re gonna take care of this. Understand?”
She looked up into his eyes, and his strength melted into her. She nodded, “I know. I just wish I’d told you everything right away. Maybe things would have been different. Maybe none of this would have happened.”
“You don’t know that, brat, so don’t drive yourself crazy wondering what if.”
She nodded, but it was easier said than done. “I just want you to know there’s nothing else. There’s no more secrets. I promise I won’t ever keep anything like that from you again. Do you believe me?”
He searched her eyes. “I believe you, Jess.”
“Good. Thank you.” She went into his arms, pressing her head against his chest and felt his hand at the back of her head. He kissed the top of her head, holding her. And then she heard his voice, soft and serious.
“There’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time.”
She nodded, perhaps knowing what was coming. He was going to finally tell her that big thing that he said would drive her away when he revealed it. Well, at least after her talk with Skylar, she felt a little more prepared and hoped she handled it well.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Do you want to sit?”
She shook her head, her hair brushing across his jaw. She felt him take in a long, slow breath.
“Jessie, I’ve been lyin’ to you about something, and I need to come clean.” He blew out a breath. “Shit, it’s so hard for me to tell you this.”
“Just say it, Ghost,” she encouraged in another whisper, her head still buried against his chest.
He blew out another breath. “I’m the one that talked Robert into that recruiter’s office.”
“What?” She pushed back to look at him. That was the last thing she expected him to say.
“You remember the day Robert went to enlist?”
She nodded. “Yes. Why?”
“I went with him.”
This was news to her. She frowned. “You did?”
“Yeah. I was supposed to enlist with him.”
“You were?”
He nodded. “Remember back then how he practically idolized me? I don’t know, maybe you were too young to know that.”
“He did. We both did.” She felt his arms tighten in a quick squeeze.
“He’d been out of sch
ool for a year or two and just sort of floundering for what to do next. That’s the summer I found the club.”
“The MC?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I knew. Immediately. Everything just sort of…clicked into place for me.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I kept it from you. Your mom, my dad, no one knew, except Robert.”
“Robert knew?”
He nodded. “And I knew he’d follow me. Whatever path I led him down, he’d follow, if for nothing more than to have my back, even if it wasn’t right for him. And the club wasn’t right for him. Robert was always more the hero type. That’s why the military was perfect for him. He got to save people. He got to stand up for right. That wasn’t me.”
“That’s not true,” she protested. “You saved me. So many times.”
He squeezed her again, snorting, “Saving you from a schoolyard bully? That’s not exactly the same thing. I was never cut out to be anyone’s white knight.”
“You were to me.”
He looked off at the horizon for a few minutes, his head turned toward a plane landing in the distance. He was quiet for a few minutes. When he spoke again, she heard the emotion in his voice, as if her words had affected him.
“Maybe. Anyway, I knew I couldn’t let him follow me down that road. I had to make sure he took the path he was always meant to take.”
“The military?”
“The military. Maybe you don’t remember, but he used to talk about it all the time.”
“I didn’t know. It was such a shock when he signed up.”
“I was supposed to go with him that day, to the recruiter. I knew he wouldn’t sign up if I didn’t sign up with him.” He paused, and she could sense he was struggling with his next words.
“And?” she prompted.
“So I went with him.”
“You did?”
“When it was time to sign on the dotted line, I told him to go first. So, he did.”
She swallowed, pain knifing through her. “You didn’t do it, did you? Obviously, you didn’t.”
He shook his head.
“You just hung him out to dry.”