Ghost_A Bad Boy Second Chance Romance

by Jade Kuzma

  “What a strange thing that happened the other day. What would a group of thugs want with a place like this?”

  I knew the answer but I wasn’t about to tell him. The important thing was that he didn’t have to worry about it. Keeping my distance from Jon was the only way the shelter would stay safe.

  “I’m sure they won’t be bothering us,” I said.

  “That’s good to hear.”

  He had a smile on his face as he stuffed his mouth. Just watching Ryan eat was enough to make me forget about all my troubles.

  “I’ve seen it before though,” he said. “Not at the shelter but here in Ivory.”

  “You have?”

  “Sure! This is a small town. There’s always been a bit of lawlessness around these parts. Back in my time, the Sheriff’s Department was always running around like a chicken with their head cut off. They seem to have things in order these days.”

  “Sheriff Sutton—”

  “Sheriff Sutton,” he scoffed. “The old man’s been around long enough. More than anybody. He’s seen everything. He’s probably more used to everything than everybody else. That’s why he’s got everything figured out.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Ryan. He ate nonchalantly without a care in the world.

  “You’re really not shaken by what happened?” I asked.

  “I didn’t enjoy it, if that’s what you’re asking. Seeing something like that happen to Miss Reynolds… I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. And when they took you, I knew you would be all right.”

  “I could hear the sirens—”

  “Not the sirens. The real justice in this town.”

  “The real justice?”

  “One of those outlaw MCs.”

  Ryan shook his head and chuckled to himself, his mouth half-full of food.

  “They’re always taking matters into their own hands,” he said. “Vigilante justice. Sometimes they can get out of hand but I know most of the clubs are all looking out for Ivory.”

  I blinked my eyes in slight disbelief at what he was saying.

  “You really mean that?” I asked. “You really think the clubs in this town do good work.”

  “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that most of the older MCs have been around a long time. If they were so bad, Sutton would’ve found a reason to lock them up by now.”

  “Maybe he’s looking for more reasons.”

  “After so many decades? I don’t think so. There’s a reason those clubs are still around. Nobody takes advantage of Ivory as long as the clubs are in town.”

  Ryan had the perspective of someone who’d been around Ivory a long time. Maybe he had a point.

  It didn’t matter if I agreed with him or not though. Keeping my distance from Jon was the best way to make sure the shelter was safe.

  “I’m glad you’re doing okay,” I said.

  “I’m always doing okay when I’m in your company, Miss Roberts.”

  He winked at me. When I first met him, I wouldn’t have guessed he would be so charming, but being around Ryan only made him more endearing.

  I was watching him eat when I saw Jackie enter the dining hall from the side of the room.

  “Excuse me for a second, Ryan.”

  I got up from my seat and made my way over to her.

  “Hey… Jackie.”

  She looked up at me for just a second before turning her attention back to her clipboard.

  “Hello, Anna.”

  “I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to you. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m doing just fine,” she said, not looking up at me. “It’s good to see that you kept the shelter in order while I was away.”

  “It wasn’t just me. There are a lot of volunteers around here that keep this place running.”

  “You did your part, too. Give yourself some credit.”

  Jackie made her way around the dining hall, checking off the names on her clipboard to make sure all of the residents were being tended to.

  “I… I wanna apologize,” I said.

  “For what?”

  “For what happened. You were right. It was my fault. The reason those guys came here was because of club business. The club I invited to volunteer here.”

  Jackie didn’t pay any attention to me. She just kept her focus on her clipboard.

  “Jackie?”

  She finally sighed a deep breath and looked up at me.

  “You’re a grown woman,” she said. “I can’t tell you what to do or what not to do. I only want what’s best for the shelter.”

  “I do, too. That’s why you won’t have to worry about any club business putting the shelter at risk. I’m keeping my distance. There’s no reason for those men who attacked us to come back.”

  “It’s kind of a shame. Those volunteers you invited did some good work. But it’s probably for the best.”

  I laughed softly at the thought.

  “I’ll find some new volunteers,” I said. “Some that won’t bring any trouble.”

  “You mean like him?”

  Jackie looked over my shoulder. I turned around and saw Declan standing next to the entrance to the dining hall.

  “He looks like trouble,” she said.

  “I’ll handle this.”

  I sighed as I made my way over to him. The president of the Black Reapers had his hands in his pockets, his patch proudly displayed on his kutte.

  “What are you doing here?” I said bluntly.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “There’s nothing for you to talk about with me. I don’t have anything to do with you or anybody else involved with the club. So just go on your way.”

  “Anna.”

  He widened his eyes at me. It was a look I was so used to seeing even though it had been so long.

  Declan and I were close at one time. He respected my relationship with Jon more than anything. Declan wasn’t a brother but he came pretty close to it.

  I sighed because I knew I had to give him a chance.

  “I’m not gonna tell you what to do,” he said. “I just want you to listen. That’s all.”

  “…Outside.”

  We walked out to the front of the shelter. It was a warm day in Ivory and the sun was out. I looked around but only saw Declan’s bike.

  “You’re really by yourself,” I said.

  “I’m here on my own. Nobody sent me.”

  “All right. You’re here. Now what?”

  Declan put his hands in his pockets and smirked at me.

  He was older now, somewhere in his early 30s. He was a little more distinguished than before. The rugged, tough biker persona was still there but there was an aura about him. An aura I couldn’t explain. I guess he got it in the five years I was gone.

  I looked down at the ground as I started to smile, already knowing what he was going to say.

  “He loves you,” he said.

  “I know,” I sighed. “But it would never work.”

  “It worked before.”

  “No, it didn’t. I fell in love with Jon when I was a teenager. I put up with him and the influence of the club because I loved him. But the club was just too much. That’s why I left.”

  “But you still love him.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do. But what am I going to do, Declan? Huh? What could I possibly do? Innocent people were put in danger just because one of those men saw me with Jon.”

  Declan nodded in understanding.

  “I’m not gonna lie to you,” he said. “Part of wearing the patch means you’ve gotta deal with some serious shit sometimes. But isn’t that every relationship? Isn’t that what makes your relationship special?”

  I looked away from Declan and stared out into the distance.

  “I do love Jon. And I know he loves me. But this is just for the best. Don’t try to change my mind.”

  “I can’t change your mind. I can’t tell you how to think. It’s just something to consider. The club will always be there for
you.”

  “Thanks but… I think I can handle it from here.”

  Before Declan could say anything more, an unmarked cruiser pulled up to the curb. A woman I’d seen once before in a gray pantsuit stepped out of the passenger seat and walked up to me.

  “Lieberman?” I said.

  I blinked my eyes to make sure that it was her.

  “Mr. Cunningham,” she said to Declan. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just stopping by to say hello to a friend,” Declan replied.

  “You know, this shelter was just attacked a few days ago…”

  She slowly walked toward Declan. She was almost tall enough to look him right in the eye.

  “…But you wouldn’t know anything about that now, would you?”

  “Why don’t you ask the perps who did it?” Declan responded. “You did arrest them, didn’t you? Or are you not doing your job?”

  “Don’t worry about me. My job is being done just fine.”

  Lieberman gave Declan that icy cold stare of hers but he just smirked in response.

  “Have a good day, ladies,” Declan said to the both of us.

  He got on his bike and quickly rode off into the distance. Lieberman turned to me after he left.

  “What are you doing here?” I said.

  “There are others out there. Not just the Corps. There are the Triads. Maybe someone else.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  “I need answers, Miss Roberts. If you’re hiding something from me, you have to tell me. Anything that can lead me to the rest of the Corps or the Triads.”

  I put my hands up and shook my head in disbelief.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “That’s the truth. I’ve washed my hands clean of everything and everybody. Don’t ask me.”

  Lieberman stared at me like she didn’t believe me.

  “If anything happens, you give me a call,” she said.

  She reached into her pocket and handed me her card. I stared at it while she got into her car and drove away.

  I stood alone in front of the shelter for a moment. I let out a deep sigh, not knowing whether or not I was still involved in anything. The only thing I knew for sure was that my only priority was the people in the shelter.

  Chapter 18

  JON

  Every Reaper had a tell.

  Needle was always smirking but his lips would twitch when he had a big hand.

  You had to watch Sully’s throat. Watching his Adam’s apple bob up and down meant he didn’t want you to call him.

  Petey’s was subtle. He’d scratch his nose when he was bluffing.

  And then there was the big man. Brawn was the worst out of everybody. I’d seen this guy get outnumbered in brawls and not break a sweat. But when it came to playing cards, he had the worst poker face of them all.

  All of them, at one point or another, gave their hands away. I never told ‘em what they were doing. Shit, I figured it was only fair. You’d think I would’ve taken all their money but all I did was break even with the amount of luck each of them had.

  Needle would tell you he was the best player and he didn’t need luck. Of course, that meant he was full of shit. He was the luckiest man in the club when it came to poker.

  Tonight wasn’t any different.

  “Read ‘em and weep, boys,” he announced.

  He tossed his cards onto the table.

  “Full house.”

  He cackled like an obnoxious asshole as he swept the chips on the center of the table to himself. Brawn angrily tossed his cards on the table. Petey shrugged like he was used to it. Sully gave a disapproving glare. All I could do was roll my eyes and try not to fall out of my chair.

  “It’s my night,” he said. “It looks like lady luck is finally giving me some attention.”

  “Speaking of ladies, shouldn’t you be taking care of Katrina right now?” Sully said.

  “He’s right,” Brawn added. “You’re just gonna let your old lady just take care of your baby girl all by herself?”

  “Katrina’s a strong woman,” Needle said. “She can handle one night with the baby. Besides, she’s hanging out with her brother tonight. The last thing I wanna do is hang around a fucking snake.”

  Everybody had their eyes on Needle as he stacked his chips in the most obnoxious way possible.

  “Stop trying to make excuses,” he said. “Ante up.”

  The club seemed reluctant but eventually tossed their chips into the center of the table. I sighed and pushed my chair out.

  “I need a drink,” I said.

  I headed over to the bar.

  It was a regular night at The Grindhouse. Friends of the Reapers and some other MCs were out to celebrate nothing at all. It wasn’t a rowdy scene but there was enough for everybody to have a good time.

  I leaned up against the counter and stared at the shot of whiskey the bartender poured in front of me. I pounded it down and the bartender followed it up with a mug of beer.

  “Don’t get too crazy tonight.”

  Garnet greeted me with a pat on the back before I could sip on my drink.

  “What’s up?” I said. “We got any business we need to take care of tonight?”

  “There’s always business we need to take care of. That comes with the territory.”

  “Just another beer. Not that big of a deal.”

  I took a huge gulp and stared forward. From the corner of my eye, I saw Garnet looking me up and down.

  “You don’t usually drink that much,” he said.

  “Yeah, well, maybe you haven’t been paying close enough attention. It’s just a beer.”

  I looked at him and smirked. He gave me another hard thump on the back and laughed at me.

  “I talked to her,” he said.

  “Who?”

  “Who do you think?”

  He widened his eyes at me. I sighed and shook my head at him.

  “Shit, man. What are you doing—”

  “Don’t worry, brother. She’s not mad or anything. She knows you didn’t send me. I just wanted to have a friendly conversation with her. She’s a friend of the club.”

  “She was a friend. After that shit that went down at the shelter, I can see how she doesn’t want anything to do with us. Shit, that’s why she left Ivory in the first place. She didn’t come back just to get involved with more shit.”

  “Maybe not. Just give her some time to think about it. If she’s the woman I think she is, she’ll figure it out.”

  Garnet seemed nonchalant about the whole situation. I knew he cared but he acted like it wasn’t a big deal to him. I was jealous that he was able to maintain his composure for once.

  “We got bigger shit to deal with,” he said.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “I just talked to Lin. The Chinese aren’t happy that the Corps are still around. They’re fucking with us but they’re really pissed with the Triads.”

  “They could just be using us to get to the Chinese.”

  “That’s what Lin is thinking. The problem with the Corps is that they’re all ex-military, so they’ve got the right kind of training to cause all of us some serious issues.”

  I took another gulp of beer and sighed through my nose.

  “All right, Pres. What’s the plan?”

  “For now? Lin will have another shipment up and ready pretty soon. We lay low and watch our backs until then.”

  “You know, it’s not just me. Needle and Sully… They’ve got old ladies they’ve gotta worry about. Even you with Michelle might be a concern.”

  Garnet shook his head.

  “They targeted Anna because they saw you with her that night. You were the first man they spotted. They don’t know shit about Needle. They don’t know shit about Sully. Their old ladies are fine. Michelle is fine.”

  “Then I guess it was just bad luck that Anna got caught up in all of this shit.”

  It was slightly reassuring to hear that none of the other old ladies
were having problems. But after everything they’d been through, I knew they were strong enough to get through a situation like this.

  Garnet put a hand on my shoulder and looked me right in the eye.

  “We’ll handle this shit,” he said. “We’ve been through tougher situations before. This’ll be the same as that—”

  Garnet was cut off by the front entrance doors booming open. Everybody in the clubhouse turned and looked at the men walking in.

  Fatigues. Shaved heads. A bunch of steroid-ridden freaks with psychotic looks in their eyes. A half-dozen of them marched forward with the attention of the entire bar on them.

  Garnet didn’t give a shit that he was outnumbered. It didn’t matter if a million of them walked in.

  He walked up to them with his hands out and a grin on his face.

  “Gentlemen,” he said. “Welcome to The Grindhouse. How can I help you?”

  The lead man took a step forward and looked Garnet right in the eye.

  He looked slightly crazier than the other guys, if that was even possible. He wore a white undershirt, so I could see how bulging his biceps were. The veins on his arms were almost as thick as the veins on his temples.

  The man clenched his jaw as he breathed through his nose.

  “Who are you?” the man said.

  “Garnet. President of the Black Reapers. You sure you’re in the right place?”

  “Oh, I’m in the right place.”

  The rest of the club finally realized something was up and walked out toward the bar. I stood behind Garnet along with them.

  “There’s no need to make a scene,” Garnet said. “We can discuss this like gentlemen.”

  “…Don’t even think about trying anything.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  The man turned around and nodded to his cronies. They all left as quickly as they’d appeared.

  “This way,” Garnet said.

  “You,” the man said as he pointed at me. “I wanna talk to you.”

  I nodded to him.

  “Get back to your game,” I said to Needle.

  Needle and the rest of the boys returned to the poker table in the back. The other patrons in the bar went back to their conversations.

  I walked behind the man as Garnet led him into a backroom where we could talk. It was small without much inside of it. It was just enough to get the job done.