Chapter Nine
Ghost
H unter: Everything worked out. We made twenty grand.
It takes everything in me not to throw my phone across the room. Sure, the kid wasn’t killed. This time. But he didn’t walk away unmarked. I hope he got out all of his aggression because he won’t be back in my cage until he has at least six months of training under his belt.
Fucking Hunter.
Hunter: That’s twenty grand each, brother. Just our share. The Undercage made a hell of a lot more.
What the fuck ever.
Pocketing my phone, I watch Snow and Dove as they talk using sign language.
Whatever it is they’re talking about, Snow looks concerned.
***Amara***
“You’re being quiet. Do you want to go home? We can come back another time.”
“I want to play with Allie,” she tells me.
I smile, my heart heavy with concern. Zoe’s behavior has been different since she returned. I make a mental note to have a heart-to-heart with her about her father’s situation later. I met with the lawyer Ghost hired, and everything looks promising. Zoe doesn’t even have to go for visits until a decision has been made. Then, if it goes the way I’m hoping, she will never have to see him again. Maybe the news will make my little girl happy.
“Hey, Dove,” Allie greets with her usual cheerfulness, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I’ve been working real hard this past week. Let’s see if I can get this right.”
Allie’s hands move with a grace that only comes from hours of practice, forming different words. With each word that she crafts, Zoe’s smile grows wider, her eyes lighting up. She adores moments like this when people make the effort to communicate with her. After Allie finishes, I can’t help but chuckle at what she’s suggested.
“Good job,” Zoe tells her, laughter filling her face.
“What did you say, Alliecat?” Ghost asks suspiciously from his desk.
“Oh, nothing major,” Allie says, her voice dripping with sweetness as she looks at her uncle. “Just that we need to talk the club’s mean president into getting us a pool put in since we spend so much time here.”
“It’s November,” Ghost says. “It’ll start snowing any week now.”
“We need to get an early start on the persuading.”
I translate Zoe’s message, and Ghost’s eyes narrow at her playfully.
“I see how it is,” he says in mock anger, his playful tone evident. “Everyone is going to gang up on me now. I’ll tell you what, let’s table this discussion until after Christmas. I will make a wise and formal decision before Spring.”
“Of what year?”
“Zoe asks, of what year?” I laugh.
“Sneaky,” Ghost says. “This coming Spring. If you ladies agree to give me that time to think about it, then I will take you both to the zoo tomorrow.”
“THE ZOO?” Allie yells excitedly. “What do you think, Dove? Should we give him time to think or go all in and demand our pool needs?”
“I dunno,” Zoe says, trying her best not to let her excitement show. “The zoo sounds cool and all, but a pool is a whole summer of fun. I think something sweet needs to be added to the pile.”
“Throw in ice cream, and you’ve got yourself a deal,” Allie tells Ghost after I translate.
“You ladies drive a hard bargain,” Ghost says, standing before them. He reaches out his hands towards both girls. “Deal.”
“AWESOME,” Allie yells. Then, turning to Zoe, she speaks slowly. “Come on. I want you to teach me how to sign every single animal.”
“The zoo, huh?” I smile as Ghost looks my way. “I’ve never taken Sky near that many animals before.”
“Fuck, I didn’t even think about that,” he groans. “I’ll have Venom take them.”
“No, it’s alright,” I laugh. “He’s been trained for situations like that. But I might have to keep him leashed. Being near that many people with an unleashed dog tends to draw attention. And not the good kind.”
“Fuck em,” Venom says from the doorway. “When we enter, we will let them know that Sky is a service dog trained to be unleashed for his job. Legally, that’s all they’re allowed to ask you, anyway.”
“Why did you give Hayes so much information when he asked about it at the club?” Ghost asks me. “If you didn’t legally have to answer, then you should have told him that.”
“Well, technically, businesses aren’t legally allowed to ask me about my disability or documentation on my service dog,” I explain. “They can ask if my animal is a service animal for a disability and what work or task my animal is trained for. But, honestly, it just causes so much hassle when you try to explain those things. Sometimes, it’s just easier to answer.”
“I get that, babe,” Ghost tells me. “But, you’ll have us with you when we go to the zoo. We will take care of anyone that has an issue.”
“I can fight my own battles, Ghost,” I remind him.
“No need to when you belong to the Obsidians,” King says, dropping a package onto Ghost’s desk. “Mama sent you some turkey jerky. She said if you need more, to let her know, and she’ll make it.”
“I love that woman,” Venom says. “You planning on sharing that, brother?”
Before Ghost can respond, Allie rushes into the room.
“I think Dove needs your help,” she says. “She has to use the potty but can’t get her pants off.”
“Well, that’s odd,” I say to myself as I leave the room.
I find Zoe in the bathroom, standing in front of the sink.
“Do you need help?” I ask.
“I can’t get my pants off,” she tells me.
“Are they too tight?”
She shakes her head so I reach down to help her. They probably are too tight. It might be time to get her a new wardrobe in a bigger size.
When I grip the sides of her pants and pull, she takes a sharp breath in.
“I’m sorry,” I rush to sign. “Did my nail scrape you?”
Again, she shakes her head.
Confused, I finish pulling down her pants and panties when, again, she gasps.
My heart races as the pieces of the puzzle come together.
I grab her side and gently turn her around.
My stomach drops at what I see. Her bottom is covered in bruises. Not just the occasional small bruise, either. I’m talking bruises the size of my hand. Her bottom is so black and blue that I can’t even see her natural skin color.
My eyes cloud with tears, and I turn her back around.
“What happened?” I sign because I can’t speak around the knot in my throat.
Zoe doesn’t respond, but tears fall down her face.
“Answer me,” I manage to say.
“I fell,” she says.
She’s lying. There’s no way falling would cause the marks on her bottom.
I fall to my knees and scream in pain. My heart is broken for what I know happened to my little girl.
That bastard.
“Baby,” Ghost says from outside the room. “What’s wrong? What happened? I’m coming in.”
I don’t even try to stop the men as they barge into the bathroom. Zoe’s pants are still down to her ankles, but my only thought right now is where I can find a gun.
“Snow?” I hear Ghost say, but my ears are ringing, and a rage unlike any I’ve ever felt before rushes through my body.
“Amara,” Ghost says, using my real name. “I need you to talk to me, baby.”
I look at my daughter who is looking down, tears falling to the floor, then back up at Ghost. Venom and King are standing behind him, all waiting for an explanation.
Knowing words wouldn’t do it justice, I turn my daughter around so they can see.
Ghost’s eyes widen, and his face contorts with a fury I’ve never seen before. His chest heaves as he takes in the sight of Zoe’s bruises, a storm brewing behind his gaze.
“Who did this?” His voice is a guttural snarl, barely recognizable, his entire body trembling with barely contained rage.
His eyes shift to me, burning with an intensity that makes my breath catch. “Babe, you need to tell me who did this to our girl,” he demands, his voice cracking. “I swear, I’ll rip them apart with my bare hands.”
Venom and King exchange dark glances behind him, their jaws set, ready for whatever is coming next. Ghost turns to them, his voice dropping to a dangerous calm. “Call in the whole club. I want them all here in thirty minutes. I don’t care if businesses have to be closed down in order for it to happen.”
He turns back to me, and despite the fury raging within him, there’s a pleading look in his eyes. “Baby,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “I need to talk to her. Can you be her ears?”
Nodding, I pull her panties up as gently as I can. With each painful gasp, my heart breaks a little more. I decide to remove her jeans completely. Maybe Allie has a pair of pajama pants she can borrow.
When Ghost falls to his knees in front of my daughter, his face is calm despite his anger.
“What happened?” he asks.
Her response is more silent tears.
“Babydoll, I need you to tell me what happened so that I can make sure it never happens again.”
This time, Zoe looks at me to translate, and I try my best, but my hands are shaking, and it’s difficult.
Sighing, Zoe looks back at Ghost. This time, her tears aren’t silent as she breaks into hysterical sobs.
“My dad,” she says out loud. At first, I’m shocked that she spoke out loud again. She feels safe around these people. “I was bad.”
I’m about to tell Ghost what she said, but he simply shakes his head at her.
“You’re not a bad girl,” he says while I translate for her. “It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t do. No one should ever hit you. Let alone hard enough to leave bruises like this.”
“He was mad,” she says slowly, trying her best to enunciate her words. I can tell Zoe’s getting frustrated with trying to talk as she goes back to signing. “He couldn’t understand what I was trying to tell him. His wife asked me if I would call and order a pizza while she was in the shower. I tried to tell her that I couldn’t hear to order, but I could use her phone if it had an app. But she shrugged her shoulders and went to shower. When she got out and saw that I didn’t do what she said, she got angry and told my dad that I was being disrespectful. I got punished.”
I’m pulling out my phone as I tell Ghost everything she just said.
“Where can I buy a gun?” I ask as I pull up the dial pad. “I’m going to kill that bastard.”
His hands reach out, trembling as he gently takes Zoe into his arms, his rage giving way to a heart-wrenching tenderness. “It’s okay, baby girl,” he murmurs into her hair, his voice cracking with emotion. “We’re going to take care of it. I promise.”
“She can’t hear you, Ghost,” I remind him as I search up the nearest weapons store.
“I don’t need her too, babe,” he says, kissing the top of Zoe’s head. “I just need her to feel it. You’re not buying a gun.”
“The hell I’m not,” I glare. “That man hurt my daughter. And not in a small way. He’s going to pay.”
“Damn right, he is,” Ghost says, taking my phone. “But I will not let you bloody your hands. You stay here and take care of our girl. Don’t leave this building.”
“Doc wants to check over Zoe. Apparently, he knows sign language,” Venom says, rolling his eyes. “I’d like to know when he found the time to learn without my knowing.”
“Doc’s one of his alters,” Ghost explains. “Would it be alright if he checked her?”
I spent over an hour talking to the girls and Knox about Venom’s alters last week. Any other time, I would have been so excited to see him in action, but right now, I’m just desperate to make sure my daughter isn’t seriously injured.
I nod my agreement.
“Come with me, little darling,” Venom says, suddenly sounding like someone from England. “Maybe after we check you over, we can talk Ghost into ordering some chicken. Course that will have to be once we get back.”
Venom, I mean Doc, walks backward while signing everything he’s saying to Zoe. When he trips over Sky, Zoe giggles, which makes Doc smile.
The moment itself is precious, but all I can think about is getting revenge.
Sky stops at my side, my medicine bag in her mouth.
“Fuck, are you about to have a seizure?” Ghost asks. “Come on, Snow. Let’s get you someplace soft.”
“It’s fine,” I say, accepting the bag from Sky. “His collar vibrates at the same time my watch does for my meds. When it vibrates, he’s trained to watch and see if I take my pills. If not, he usually brings them to me. Listen, can you watch Zoe for me for a few hours?”
“Baby, let me take care of this,” Ghost says, pulling me onto his lap. We’re both still sitting on the bathroom floor, but I can’t find it in me to move. “Trust me that the fucker will get what’s coming to him.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble,” I admit.
“If I let him live, I’ll make sure he doesn’t talk,” Ghost growls. “Now, let’s go and find Doc and Dove. He won’t look at her bottom until you’re in the room.”
Ghost stands and practically pulls me to my feet.
“You have got to stop manhandling me,” I complain. “I still can’t for the life of me figure out how you can even lift my big butt.”
“The good Lord made me strong so that when I found my perfect woman, lifting her big butt wouldn’t be an issue.”
I should be offended, but I find myself smiling as Ghost leads us out of the room.
Once I arrive at Zoe’s side, Doc examines her quickly. His face is blank throughout the whole process. He doesn’t touch her much; he mainly looks at her or asks her questions.
“I’m going to be blunt,” Doc says after sending Zoe from the room wearing a pair of Allie’s shorts. “I find it’s the best way to get my point across without confusion.”
“Alright,” I nod.
“She wasn’t molested,” he states. “There is no bruising to her private areas.”
My heart stops because that thought didn’t even occur to me. What if she had been and I hadn’t noticed?
“It’s okay, babe,” Ghost says. “She’s fine.”
“I didn’t even think about that possibility,” I admit. “I’m a horrible mother.”
“Not even close,” Ghost growls.
“However, and this might not be easy to hear,” Doc continues. “She was beaten brutally with not only a hand but a belt and what I can only assume was a switch.”
“Oh no,” I cry.
“There is breakage of the skin where one of the handprints is, indicating she was hit hard,” Doc says formally, showing next to no emotion as he explains his findings. “There are, however, a few older marks. This isn’t the first time she was whipped by him.”
“Beaten,” Ghost growls. “She wasn’t whipped, she was fucking beaten.”
“This has happened before?” I cry. “Why haven’t I noticed?”
“She said they were never that bad before,” Doc explains. “From what I understand, she was protecting you.”
“It’s not her job to protect me,” I shout. “Ghost, give me back my phone?”
“I’m not letting you buy a damn gun, Snow,” he says. “I’m going to settle you in with our girl and my men and I are going to take care of this.”
“Give her some ibuprofen to help with the pain and swelling,” Doc adds, ignoring our banter. “Other than that, I don’t think a hospital visit is in order unless her pain gets worse. I would suggest taking some pictures so that you have proof, though. Preferably before they start healing. If you need anything else, just tell Venom. Most of the time, I’m listening behind his eyes.”
“Thank you for your help, Doc,” Ghost says.
“Sorry we had to meet like this,” Doc tells me. “Maybe next time we can sit and chat for a bit. Ghost, I promised the little one you would buy fried chicken for dinner.”
“Thank you, Doc,” I sniff.
The next thing I know, Doc’s entire body shifts, and the look in his eyes changes from kind and concerned to downright enraged.
“Xander,” Ghost says. “You coming to help?”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The English accent is replaced by a silky smooth American one with perfect enunciation.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he tells me. “I’m Xander. Venom will take a backseat this evening, but he wants you to know that everything will be okay. We will never let something like this happen to your daughter again. I’ll gather everyone up, Ghost.”
“What just happened?” I ask when the man leaves the room.
“Xander probably pushed his way forward without telling Venom,” Ghost says. “He’s just the one we need for tonight. Let’s go, baby.”
My head feels fuzzy as I take a stumbling step forward.
“Are you alright?” Ghost asks, concern heavy in his voice.
“Yeah,” I croak. “I just want to hold my daughter.”
By the time we reach the lounge, it’s filled with men in leather biker vests. Every single person looks as intimidating as a man can get.
“We’ll be back soon, baby,” Ghost says, kissing me softly. “Take care of our girl while I’m away.”
Turning to the crowd, he says loudly, “Someone has harmed our little Dove. It doesn’t matter why it was done. It doesn’t matter who did it. It doesn’t matter if it was a slap or a severe beating. The fact of the matter is that someone touched what belongs to us. One of our most precious members. And for that, they will pay.”
The room bursts out in cheers.
“Tonight, we will not kill this person,” Ghost continues. “It will only cause suspicion towards my woman because of her custody battle. But we will give him a good old-fashioned Obsidian warning. Vest up, brothers. Tonight, we ride. Pops, you take lead. We’re not going out tonight as a club. We’re going out as a family protecting its own.”
Again, the room lights up with cheers as everyone heads out the door.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I say before Ghost leaves.
“Baby, you were gearing up to shoot the bastard,” he reminds me.
“Yes, and that may have been a hasty decision.”
“No one touches our girl and walks away unscathed,” he growls. “He may not die tonight, but he will learn a lesson he won’t soon forget. Love you, babe. Stay in the building until I return.”
With that, he turns to leave.
“Don’t worry,” Knox says. “They’ll make sure he never touches her again.”
“King is with them,” Maddy adds. “He knows ways to scare someone to death. He lives for this type of thing.”
“With Xander being in control, he might try to kill your ex,” Sophie points out. “Xander and King alone would scare the man within an inch of his life. But he’s about to have the full force of the Obsidians at his doorstep. He might die from the sight alone. Come on, the girls are asking to watch a movie.”
“Did he just tell me that he loves me?” I ask out loud, knowing everyone has already left the room.
Deciding to push those confusing feelings to the back of my head, I turn and find my daughter and friends.
Zoe’s eyes light up when I enter the office where everyone is waiting.
“They’re all going to protect me ,” she says, her hands moving like lighting. “Doc said that we’re part of their family, and they’re going to make sure my dad doesn’t hurt me anymore.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?” I ask silently. “How long has he been beating you, honey?”
“Dad said that if I told you, then he would never let me see you again,” she says, breaking my heart.
“He lied, Zoe,” I say out loud. “Legally, there’s no way he could have done that. I’m so sorry that I didn’t protect you, honey. Can you ever forgive me?”
Tears fill my eyes as guilt floods my heart. I didn’t protect my little girl. I had no idea she was being hurt. I should have known something was up when she started crying every time I told her she had to go to her father’s for the weekend. When she asked to stay home, I should have fought to let her. Instead, I sent her off to be beaten by the one man who was supposed to protect her.
“You’re so silly,” My little girl says. I’m aware of Maddy, Sophie, Knox, and Allie all watching, but I don’t have it in me to translate for them. “You didn’t know that dad was hurting me. So, no, Mommy, I don’t forgive you because you didn’t do anything that needs forgiving.”
Zoe rushes into my arms and I cuddle her as gently as possible. I didn’t protect her before, but no matter what it takes, I’ll make sure she never has to see that bastard again.
“I need to take pictures of your bruises,” I say when I pull back.
“But, mommy, that’s my butt,” she says, eyes wide.
“No one will ever see them unless it’s to protect you,” I say quickly. “I need them to keep you safe from him.”
Sighing, she nods.
“You can use my phone,” Knox says. “Ghost still has yours.”
“He didn’t want me ordering a gun,” I admit, accepting his phone. “He can’t keep my phone forever, though.”
“I can help you with that,” he tells me. “We’ll talk more about it later. I’ll go and see if we have any children’s ibuprofen.”
Everyone keeps busy while I take pictures of Zoe’s injuries. When I’m finished, I text them to my phone and send them to my email. Just to be safe.
My phone isn’t password protected in case I have a seizure and someone needs to access my contacts. So, I know Ghost will be able to see them, but it doesn’t matter.
Suddenly, the sound of motorcycles starting echoes around the room. Knox smiles knowingly as the sound fades away.
“They’re going full Obsidian,” he says cheerfully. “I should have rode with them just to see the look on this man’s face. But I freaking hate motorcycles.”
“You’re a biker,” I say confused.
“Yep,” he says. “Just in title alone. I gave my bike to my man’s sister. She’s more of a biker than I am, anyway. I’m content to stay in the office.”
“Can I go and play now?” Zoe asks.
“Of course,” I answer.
Zoe walks away with a lightness on her face that I haven’t seen in a long time. The heaviness she was carrying around was clear as day, and I didn’t even notice it.
Some mother I am.