Chapter Twelve
Phantom’s bike kicks up dust as he takes a side street, barely dodging the group of bikers chasing after him.
Bigfoot and Gremlin took off in a different direction, and now Phantom’s all alone.
Adrenaline kicks in, and his hands clutch the handlebars of his bike until his knuckles blanch the color of freshly fallen snow.
The wind whips through his hair, his bike echoing off the walls of houses as he passes by, desperate to put as much distance as he can between him and the Misfits.
They took a few shots at him, but none of them stuck, most of them whizzing over his head as he moved through the quiet streets of Fernley.
“Fuck,” he growls, taking another turn. That turns into a road he doesn’t recognize.
“Come on, baby. Think!”
But he’s too caught up in the chase, the Misfits gaining on him, the distance between them only getting tighter.
“Phantom, you gotta get out of this. You can’t go home, so where can you go to hide? Think, baby! THINK!”
I’m practically shouting in his ear, but I’ve never been this afraid before. It’s almost like the Misfits knew they would come—everything was a goddamn setup.
It makes me think back to the conversation in the clubhouse, when Hyde came rushing in, out of breath and puffing.
“The Raging Misfits are back in town,” he yelled, exhaling hard as he gripped his knees, fighting to catch his breath. “I just saw a bunch of them heading to town toward that new pool hall.”
Drac and Voorhees shared a look as both of them stood in the middle of the room with their arms crossed, unfazed and unmoving.
“Well, aren’t we gonna move on them?” Hyde questioned, his eyes flashing like a war cry.
The side of Drac’s mouth ticked. “We got our shipment coming in tonight. That’s more important.”
Hyde kept pushing. “Yeah, but if we take out the Misfits now, we won’t have to worry about future shipments.”
Voorhees held up his hands. “I checked; this one is secure. The drop will be in a few hours.”
Drac nodded, then his eyes moved to where Phantom was sitting, nursing a bottle of beer like it’s the last one on Earth.
“Phantom, I want you and Bigfoot to go check out the pool hall. Take the prospects with you for numbers.”
Hyde’s chest puffed up in protest. “Hey, what about me? I’m the one who saw them heading over there.”
The way Drac looked at him said things I didn’t realize until now. He knew. He knew something was up, and he fucking used Phantom and Bigfoot as bait. It wasn’t the Misfits setting a trap; it was Drac.
That motherfucker.
“I need you to stay here at the clubhouse, Hyde. Just in case they decide to do something here.”
Hyde rolled his eyes. “Fuck that shit! This was my recon, so I should be the one going.”
“And I’m saying you need to keep your ass here. So, go sit the fuck down before I staple your ass to one of the chairs.”
The biker grumbled the whole way, throwing himself onto a chair before grabbing a beer to chug it.
Hyde set them up.
Drac knew.
He fucking used my Phantom as bait.
Goddamn it, I’m going to kill the bastard.
Phantom takes a turn I’m not expecting, and I almost tumble to the ground.
Thankfully, my tether to him keeps me snuggled up to his back, just as he pulls into a familiar apartment complex, stuffing his bike in the shadows of a grove of trees.
He dismounts and starts running for cover, seconds before the other bikers come tearing down the road, rushing past as they search him out.
“Smart, baby. Very smart.”
Then I realize where we are, and my heart sinks.
Why the fuck did he come here?
He smooths down his hair, then casually strolls past a few buildings before he ends up at her door, out of breath, barely able to knock on the wood.
He knows I can’t enter here, and yet that’s where we end up. On her doorstep. In her territory.
“Who is it?” a meek voice asks from the other side of the door.
“It’s Phantom,” he grits out, falling against the building. It’s then that I see the blood spilling down his arm.
She flings open the door, wide-eyed and terrified when she takes in his disheveled hair, the look of fear in his eyes, and the blood crawling down his arm like lava creeping down the face of a volcano.
It’s almost two in the morning; I’m pretty sure she wasn’t expecting to have a bleeding biker on her doorstep this late.
“Goodness, are you okay?”
He lets out a breath. “Pretty sure I’ve been shot.”
“Come in,” she urges, looking around her door to see if anyone is near. It’s then I realize she’s looking for Angus, who suddenly appears at the base of the stairwell encased in shadows, his red eyes glowing as his grin spreads.
“Did you miss me?” he hisses.
“Go away. I got more important things to deal with than some old stalker who’s obsessed with a girl far too young for him.”
He smirks. “She’s done nothing but think about me since the last time we saw each other. It’s glorious. I’ve never felt stronger. The more she thinks about me, the closer I get to her door.”
Guilt seeps in for about two seconds until I realize she’s shut the door, keeping me from coming in again.
“Goddamn it, you distracted me. Now they’re alone inside, and I don’t even know if he’s okay.”
Angus keeps his distance as shadows dance around him like they’re there to play.
“Let me ask you something, Angus. How’s the shadow life treating you?”
He laughs. “Never better.” Though it comes out struggled and a bit ragged. He coughs, the redness in his eyes fading to blue and then back to red again.
“Was it worth it?”
He cocks his head to the side. “Was what worth what?”
“Selling your soul. Was it worth the price?”
His eyes narrow. “You think I’m one of the Dark Ones?” His voice commands the hallway.
“Um, yeah. You’re part shadow, and your eyes are red and all evil like.”
He smirks. “You don’t have to become one of them to feed off their energy. Sometimes, all you have to promise is that you’ll keep them fed.”
“And how do you expect to do that?”
His shoulders slightly lift. “I’m what they call a soul collector. I keep what’s left of my soul, and in return, they don’t fully consume me. They’ve been watching you, Eve. They can see the darkness inside of you just waiting to burst out.”
“No thanks, I don’t want to be like your neighbor and be lost and wandering.”
Angus steps closer. “Did you really believe that story, Eve? Did it tug at your heartstrings like the story about my wife? Well, let me tell you the real story. That girl wandering 45B… she’s dead because of me.
She was my first taste of sweet, young pussy.
She was too young and na?ve to see anything other than an old man looking for some help to lift a box.
I remember her screams when I pulled her into the pool house,” he whispers, licking his lips like he’s tasting her.
“I remember her taste.” He takes another step towards me.
“There’s nothing I don’t remember from that night.
That lock of hair I kept in my pocket. That smile I carved away when she realized I wasn’t going to let her go.
She was so accommodating that night. Her little pleas, begging me to let her go, only made me want her more.
I never meant to kill her, just to take what I wanted and leave her be.
But that was before she tried to hurt me.
I couldn’t let her go after that, not after all that time I spent tracking her movements, watching where she went, making sure that stupid boyfriend of hers wasn’t home.
Disposing of her body wasn’t easy. Nobody here ever sleeps, but I did it.
Much like the others that came after her.
When my wife found out about my little… toys.
I had to get rid of her too, snuffing her screams with a pillow until I’d stolen her last goddamn breath.
Such a hateful woman she was. Didn’t even give me a chance to be happy. ”
He takes another step towards me, but I crowd myself up next to Autumn’s door, making sure he can’t cross the boundary lines she has in place. “You’re psychotic.”
He laughs victoriously. “And yet, it took my death for me to be found. Do you know why the Dark Ones keep me alive, Eve? It’s because I was already dark before my death.
My soul was sold long before their existence.
Autumn was supposed to be the last, but my heart gave out on me before I could get to her.
Pity. Because my unfinished business probably never will be finished, especially now with your boyfriend protecting her. ”
“He’s not protecting her! He’s—” But my protest dies in my throat, because the second I whip around to look in her living room, I’m met with the most horrific sight I’ve ever seen.
Him…
Her…
Their lips moving together as one.
Angus smirks. “Guess I’m not the only one who can’t resist her.
Face it, Eve. You have two options. You can either fight for your man, and keep her from stealing him away from you, or you can just stand back and watch him forget you even exist. Either way, the war to win Phantom’s heart won’t be easy, and whatever happens after, I’ll be here to collect what’s left of you.
Whether that be a woman scorned and lost in shadows, or a miserable bitch who deserves the descent the Devil has in store for you. ”