Page 35 of Ghost's Obsession

“I know what you mean,” she says easily. “I felt the same way. Trust me these club girls are not just passively waiting to be chosen as someone’s old lady. They’re lying, scheming, and using every trick they know to get noticed and become favored by one of the brothers. It’s their golden ticket to a better life.”

I stare at her, trying to figure out how bad their lives are that marrying a biker is their dream come true. I don’t say that because it would be rude. From what I know about Ghost, he works in the club’s garage. I wouldn’t look down on being a mechanic because it’s good, honest work. He’s clearly got a nice life but he’s not on the fast track to becoming a millionaire soon.

I mumble, “I don’t care about getting a golden ticket to a better life. I just want to start at ground zero and build a better life together with Ghost if that’s what we want.”

Brittany’s face lights up and she grins wider. “You’re different, Heather. You just don’t know it yet. Ghost was lucky to find you.”

I take another sip of my drink, thinking that I could really find love and belong here with Ghost and his club. Maybe that’s the real golden ticket about being a brother, the built-in found family. Glancing around, I realize that’s exactly what she meant. With the exception of that one bitchy club girl, everyone’s been extremely nice to me. Any initial wariness or fear I had of Ghost and the other brothers is long gone. Now, I see them for what they are, a bunch of men who love to ride the open road, socialize, and protect their women. I don’t have one single complaint about the Savage Legion MC or the brothers.

Brittany gets called away by her man a few minutes later. Tusk waves her over, grinning like he can’t wait to spend time with her again. He’s so sappy, it’s cute. And Brittany is eating it up.

I sit there for a while after she’s gone, nursing the last of my cranberry juice, watching the room. The brothers move through the space like a current, bumping shoulders, and tossing barbs at one another that are really inside jokes. But underneath the surface, everything’s serious, focused, and they’re gearing up for something, and I know exactly what it is. Finding my ex, the one they call Carnage. They’re working their asses off while the woman they hardly know sits on her ass and sips cranberry juice. I get emotional thinking that they are planning to put themselves in harm’s way because of me.

I feel guilty about that. If one of them gets hurt or killed, I don’t know how I’d handle that. Knowing I’m the cause would suck. I’m nothing but a burden to these men. But there’s something else flaring up in my chest too. That something feels a lot like… hope. Because Ghost and his club brothers didn’t shove me aside when things got messy. He didn’t tell me to run or leave me to fend for myself. Ghost pulled me closer, listened to me, and protected me. He brought me here and got his club brothers involved.

I’m not stupid. I know Jerry—or Carnage as everyone here calls him—isn’t going to give up just because Ghost found his tracking device. If he’s as bad as they say he is, and half as possessive as I remember him being, he’ll come for me. And when he does, it’s going to turn into a fight that none of them will be able to back down from. If Carnage backs down, it’ll mean he was defeated. If there is one thing my ex will not accept, it’s losing a fight.

I plan to do everything within my power to make sure the Savage Legion wins, because I can’t even contemplate a future where Ghost or his club brothers end up injured or dead because of me.

It’s a miracle that I bumped into these men. For the first time in a long time, I’m not standing alone in the fire. I’ve got Ghost on my side, and he’s got a whole army at his back. Every one of them is braver and more loyal than Carnage and his friends.

Maybe I don’t know the rules of club life yet. And for sure, I’m still learning where I fit. But one thing’s clear, I’m not a runner anymore, I’ve found the place where I belong.

Chapter 12

Ghost

My club brothers scatter in every direction following our meeting, looking for Carnage and the rest of our old crew. Siege has told them to track him down at any cost, but we have no idea where to start. Word on the street back then was they mostly fled from Las Salinas. Siege and the rest of the club officers tried to track them down for a while but finally gave up when they couldn’t find any trace of them in our immediate vicinity. They thought at the time that they’d joined another MC and were laying low. Siege never imagined in a million years they had just given up the MC lifestyle full stop.

Heather reports that she met him in the Twin Peaks area, three counties over from Las Salinas. Siege, Rigs, and Tank are going to check it out. We sent brothers in five different directions. If they even get a whiff of him, they’ll let me know and I’ll join them. Right now, my job is to protect Heather. She’s pregnant and needs an element of normality in her life. I plan to give it to her.

A soft voice interrupts my internal thoughts on the way back to my house. Heather’s voice sounds unsure. “Are you sure it’s okay to go back to your place? He managed to slip onto the property to attach the device. Since he knows I’ve been living with you, won’t that be the first place he comes looking for me, now that we destroyed his tracking device?”

“Zen’s checked it out. Going by the serial number and registration details, it was bought around three years ago, and it looks like it’s been in situ since then,” I say.

“But why have I only found out now?”

I shrug. “Maybe Carnage installed it so he could track you if he needed to and either forgot about it as the months rolled on or decided to give you a chance to get settled in Las Salinas before he turned it on?”

“Right,” she says thoughtfully. “There was always a chance my phone would pick it up when he activated it, right?”

I nod. “Yeah, that’s why it makes sense that he waited a couple of months to activate it.”

I watch her out of the corner of my eye as I drive. She relaxes back into her seat and releases the seat belt across her chest that she’d had a death grip on since we left the clubhouse.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am that he’s probably not been on your property. But now that he’s pinged it, I worry he won’t be able to resist showing up, thinking the element of surprise will give him the advantage or something like that,” Heather says.

I give her a feral grin. “I hope the stupid fucker miscalculates that badly. My house is practically a fuckin’ fort. I’ve got enough weapons in my basement to defend a small nation.” Trying not to look smug, I add, “And I’ve had sniper training.”

Her head slowly turns to look at me, her expression morphing into one of surprised awe. “Oh, I see. Every time I think I know you, I find out more interesting stuff.”

I tell her, “Yeah, I’m all kinds of interesting.”

She gives me a smile. “I knew that already.” Hesitating again, she lowers her voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt protecting me. I’d feel terrible if something bad happened to you.”

“Don’t worry about me. If you want to worry about someone, worry about Carnage’s crazy ass. If he’s stupid enough to show up at my house, I’ll make him regret every single shitty thing he ever did to you.”

“Trust me,” Heather shoots back. “You don’t have that kind of time.”

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