Page 20 of Wilder's Promise
The chapel feels smaller than usual with only Ghost and me inside. The rest of the brothers are making final preparations, checking weapons, going over the assault plan one last time. But Ghost pulled me aside, his face unreadable as he closed the chapel door behind us.
"You need to get your head straight before we roll out," he says, lighting a cigarette despite the club's indoor smoking ban. No one, not even Reaper, calls out the VP on his small rebellions.
"My head's fine," I tell him, leaning against the reaper table. "I know what I need to do if things go south."
Ghost takes a long drag, studying me through the haze of smoke. "It's not the contingency plan I'm worried about."
"Then what?"
"You and the president's daughter." He says it bluntly, in typical Ghost fashion. No preamble, no softening the blow. "I've seen the way you look at her. The way she looks at you."
My spine stiffens. "I'm just doing my job. Protecting her like Reaper asked."
"Bullshit." Ghost's laugh is a rough, humorless sound. "I've known you a year, brother. I've seen you with other women. This is different."
I want to deny it, but lying to Ghost is pointless. The VP has an uncanny ability to see through people's defenses, to spot the truth they're hiding even from themselves.
"It doesn't matter," I say instead. "Nothing's going to happen."
"Something already is happening." He flicks ash onto the floor. "You took a knife for her today. That goes beyond duty to the club."
I can't argue with that. The moment those Vultures MC appeared at the diner, my only thought had been keeping Emma safe. Not because she's Reaper's daughter, but because the thought of her being hurt had become unthinkable.
"Look," Ghost continues, "I'm not here to lecture you on club politics or the dangers of getting involved with Reaper's kid. You already know you're fucked."
"Thanks for that assessment." I rub my injured arm absently. "Very helpful."
"What I am saying is that there are exactly two things in this life you can't outrun." He holds up one finger. "A bullet with your name on it." A second finger joins the first. "And love when it finds you."
Love. It's not a term thrown around lightly in the MC world.
"It's not love," I protest automatically. "I barely know her."
Ghost just looks at me, that knowing gaze that's seen too much, survived too much to be fooled by simple denials. "Whatever you need to tell yourself, brother."
"We've known each other less than a day."
"Time's got nothing to do with it." He stubs out his cigarette on the reaper table, leaving a small burn mark that Reaper will definitely notice later. "Some people walk into your life and flip everything upside down in a heartbeat. No warning, no defense."
I think of Emma. Her fierce intelligence, her wounded defiance, the vulnerability she tries so hard to hide. The way something in my chest tightens when she smiles, rare as that is.
"Even if that were true," I start, "she's Reaper's daughter. She hates everything about this life. About what we do."
"And yet here she is." Ghost pushes off from the wall. "Look, I'm not saying pursue it. That's your call, and probably a death wish given who her father is. I'm just saying, be honest with yourself about what's happening."
"Which is what, exactly?"
"That you're falling for her, whether it makes sense or not." He claps a hand on my good shoulder. "And that complicates an already complicated situation."
He's right, and we both know it. Whatever this pull toward Emma is, it's a distraction I can't afford. Not tonight, not with so much at stake.
"I'll keep my head in the game," I promise. "Focus on the mission."
"Good." Ghost moves toward the door, then pauses. "For what it's worth, I've seen how she looks at you too. Like you're the first real thing she's seen in this place."
Before I can respond to that unsettling observation, he's gone, leaving me alone with thoughts I'd rather not have right now.
I take a moment to center myself, to push aside the confusion of emotions Ghost stirred up. Tonight isn't about me or my inconvenient feelings for Emma Kane. It's about keeping her and Evelyn safe if the mission fails. About being ready to move at a moment's notice.
