Page 25 of Carnival Queen

“I get it,” nodded the man. “Look, the truth is my girlfriend and I had a fight, and she headed out this way a few days ago. We were just wondering if you’ve seen her.” He held up the grainy photo of Deanna, and Ghost frowned at the man.

“I’m not sure what your game is, but we don’t turn women over to random men claiming to be their boyfriends or husbands. Especially men lying about why they walked into my business in the first place. There’s a lot of businesses along this road. Why would a single woman, apparently running from you, come into a motorcycle shop.”

The man’s mouth twisted in anger, and Ghost felt great satisfaction for that. Behind him, he heard the door open and knew that Noa and Skull had walked in. They walked around the counter, positioning themselves amongst the bikes, just looking at them.

“I’m offering a reward for the woman,” said the man.

“Is that so? You’re offering a reward for a woman you claim is your girlfriend. That sounds like slavery, mister. Women aren’t belongings. They aren’t owned by anyone, and they damn sure don’t have to return to you if they don’t want to.”

“Are you the fucking dating police?” growled the second man.

“You might say that,” nodded Ghost, laughing at him. His expression suddenly sobered, and he stepped forward, crowding the two men who immediately stepped back. “See, I suspect that your intentions are not good for that young woman. Even if she’d come through here, I wouldn’t tell you. In fact, I might even take it upon myself to try and find her before you do. And when I find out why you really want her, I’ll come looking for you.”

Jackson stared at his bodyguard next to him and gave a nod. The man attempted to reach for his weapon, only to be met by a fierce grip.

“You do that, you’ll be leaving in a body bag,” said Noa. Ghost gave a knowing smirk to the two men, who were shocked that a couple of crude bikers outsmarted them.

“I think it’s time you gentlemen found your way out of here,” said Ghost. He could see out the window that Razor and Tango were placing trackers on their car. He couldn’t help but smile at that.

“You have no idea who you’re fucking with,” snapped Jackson. “I can ruin you.”

“I doubt that,” said Ghost. “Better men than you have tried. But you boys move along now. These bikes are way too grown-up for you. You’re going to need something smaller. Simpler. Maybe a tricycle or perhaps a scooter. We’ve got motorized ones that will get you around town. Twenty miles per hour, if you’re careful.”

“Fuck you,” he muttered under his breath. “We’ll leave. But if I find out you knew where the girl went, I’ll be back.”

“Oh, man,” said Ghost, laughing. “Please. Please, come back. The boys and I could use some exercise.” The man turned, hearing the bell on the door. Walking in were Nine, Gaspar, Ian, Alec, Tailor, and Max.

“Hey, did you fellas know you’ve got three flat tires out there?” said Tailor.

“I don’t suppose you could help us out,” said Jackson.

“Sorry,” said Ghost. “We do bike tires, not car tires.”

“You’ve got cars out there you’re working on,” said the other man.

“Yeah. No go, buddy. I suggest you call a tow.”

The two men left the building, taking a seat in their car. Forty-five minutes later, a tow truck arrived, pulling the car onto the flatbed and driving away with the men.

“They want Deanna,” said Max. “We need to make sure they don’t get her.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“I want to know everything about that fucking bike shop,” said Jackson, throwing his jacket into the chair.

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you catch their names?”

“No. They didn’t have tags, and we didn’t ask them their names. I’ll try to find out who owns it.”

“That bitch drove her car that way. It disappeared from our tracking just a mile before that shop, and there’s not a damn thing out there that we could see. I know she went there for help,” said Jackson, pouring himself a whiskey.

“Maybe not,” said his bodyguard. “Maybe she met someone out there and got a ride. Her car was shitty. It could have broken down.”

Jackson chewed the inside of his mouth, nodding at the other man. It was possible. The car was almost twenty years old and falling apart. What the fuck? A CPA usually had pretty decent credit and could afford the downpayment on a car.

“I should have never let her old man have access to those records until I knew he’d finish the job. Bastard had a bigger conscience than I thought. Didn’t even budge when I threatened his bitch daughter.”

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