Chapter Nine #3
Ghost studied me, his sharp eyes taking in my disheveled appearance, the redness around my eyes, the slight tremble in my hands that wouldn't stop no matter how tightly I clenched them… and the man’s T-shirt I forgot I was wearing.
Understanding dawned in his expression, followed quickly by a flash of rage that made me take an involuntary step back.
"Did he hurt you?" The question was dangerously soft.
"No," I said quickly. "Not like that. I overheard a phone call… you know. After." I shook my head. “I wasn’t supposed to hear.”
Ghost's posture relaxed slightly, but the hard glint remained in his eyes. "The Copperheads aren't like us, Wren. They don't have a code. They don't have limits. The things they do to women—"
"I know," I cut him off. "I know what they do. I heard—" I stopped taking a breath. "I know enough."
Ghost took a deep breath, visibly reining himself in. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer. "You should have come to me the second you suspected something was off about him."
"Like you came to me instead of having me followed?" I said softly.
A hint of a smile touched his lips, there and gone in an instant. "Fair point."
We stood in silence for a moment, the tension between us shifting into something more familiar.
This was our pattern. He pushed. I pulled.
Neither of us giving ground and both too stubborn for our own good.
If I hadn’t remembered my life before Ghost found me with great, vivid detail, I’d have sworn he was my biological father we were so much alike.
Finally, Ghost stepped aside, clearing my path to the bedroom. “You came from Honey’s?”
I nodded, scrubbing a hand over my face tiredly. “Yeah. I told her and Jack everything.”
"Good.We'll talk tomorrow. When you've had some sleep." He sighed. “I’ll talk to Jack. Get it all from him. Tomorrow, you can fill in what you can of my questions. Will you do that?”
“Yes. I’ll help any way I can.” I wanted to voice my feeling that Rocky wasn’t like the others, but knew how childish and naive I’d sound. Instead, I moved past him. At the threshold of my room, I paused. "I know you're trying to protect me. But I'm not a kid anymore."
"No," he agreed quietly. "But you're still my baby girl. That doesn't change, no matter how old you get."
The simple statement hit me harder than any lecture could have. I nodded once, not trusting myself to speak but knowing I was going to anyway. “Ghost?” I waited until he tilted his head to the side, a quizzical look on his face.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“Thanks for, you know, taking me in. You’ve been my dad in every way that counts and I’m sorry.” I had to suck back a sob. “For all this. I’m so sorry.”
Ghost moved toward me, concern stamped all over his face.
I didn’t often cry. In fact, I’m not sure Ghost had ever seen me cry.
Not since the first night he’d brought me home.
“Hey. No. None of that.” He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight, swallowing me with his much larger frame.
I’d never felt anything but safe from the first time Ghost had wrapped his arms around me when I was just a skinny kid.
He’d gotten me away from my own personal hell and kept the monsters away from me.
“I’ll take care of this bastard. I swear. ”
“Please don’t.” I couldn’t bite back the soft request. “I know it sounds stupid, but I don’t think he’s really like that.”
“Honey —”
“No!” I pushed back to look up at Ghost. “Something feels different with him.” I closed my eyes and shook my head, unbelieving what I was about to say.
“I just can’t believe that a man who…” I swallowed and shook my head again.
“Who was so gentle with me and gave me…” I took a frustrated, embarrassed breath.
“A man who gives a woman that kind of pleasure can’t be the same kind of man who’d traffic women. ”
Ghost pulled me more firmly back into his arms and rested his chin on my head for several seconds before he spoke again. “I’m not going to promise you I won’t kill him, Wren. But I will promise to make sure we investigate everything before I do.”
“That’s enough,” I said without hesitation. “I just need to know. You know. Before.”
“I can give you that, baby. I can give you that.” Ghost turned toward the door, his footsteps almost silent despite his size. Another reminder of how dangerous he could be when he wanted. At the door, he paused, looking back at me over his shoulder.
"Stay away from him, Wren." His voice was gentle but left no room for argument. "Whatever he told you, whatever he made you feel, it was a lie. Men like that, they're skilled at making you believe what they want you to believe. Don’t go after him yourself. Let me handle this. OK? I promised to make sure he’s guilty before I kill him. I want you to promise me you won’t go off by yourself with this. "
I closed my eyes and lowered my head. The man knew me better than I knew myself. “OK.” I was very aware I hadn’t actually said, “I promise” but Ghost didn’t push. Which surprised me.
I thought of Rocky's face when he realized I'd heard his call. The desperation in his eyes as he tried to explain. For a split second, he'd looked sincere. But Ghost was right. Men like Rocky lied for a living.
Ghost nodded once, then slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him.
I stood in the hallway for a long moment.
Only when I was sure he was gone did I allow my shoulders to slump, the facade of strength crumbling now that I was alone.
I turned toward my bedroom, exhaustion weighing me down.
Tomorrow would bring its own battles. But for tonight, all I wanted was the oblivion of sleep.
I locked my bedroom door with a soft click, then leaned against it.
My legs gave out, and I slid down until I hit the floor, knees pulled to my chest. The silence of my room pressed in around me, broken only by my ragged breathing.
This was my space. My sanctuary. The one place I didn't have to be strong or tough or Ghost's fearless daughter.
Here, I could fall apart without witnesses.
And fall apart I did.
The tears came again, hot and angry. I buried my face in my hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. I'd sworn to myself after the shitshow that was my childhood that I'd never be vulnerable again.
Yet here I was, shattered by a few nights with a man who'd probably been laughing at me the whole time.
Every word, every touch, every moment of intimacy had been designed for whatever purpose the Copperheads had in targeting me.
But that wasn't what hurt the most. What cut deepest was how real it had felt.
The way Rocky looked at me like I mattered.
The conversations that seemed to flow without effort.
The feeling of safety I'd had in his arms, a sense of belonging I'd only ever felt with Ghost and the club.
All lies.
I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing the heels of my hands against them until I saw stars.
Enough. I wasn't going to waste any more tears on someone who'd played me for a fool.
With effort, I pushed myself up from the floor.
My legs wobbled but held as I stumbled to my bathroom.
I flipped on the light and flinched at my reflection.
Jesus. I looked like roadkill. My purple hair stuck out in wild tangles.
My eyes were swollen and red-rimmed, mascara smudged beneath them in dark smears.
Even my lips looked raw, bitten and chapped.
This wasn't me. This broken, pathetic creature in the mirror wasn't Wren of Bound in Blood. Daughter to the VP.
I turned on the cold water full blast and leaned over the sink.
The first splash hit like a slap, shocking and brutal.
I welcomed it. Again and again I cupped water to my face, scrubbing away tears and makeup and any trace of vulnerability.
When I straightened, water dripping from my chin, my reflection looked marginally better.
I gripped the edges of the sink. The porcelain was cool and solid beneath my palms, an anchor in the storm of my emotions.
"This is the last time," I told my reflection, my voice raw but steady.
"The last fucking time you cry over him.
The last time you waste a single thought wondering if any of it was real.
" My reflection stared back, green eyes hardening as I spoke the words aloud.
"You're done being weak. Done being played.
If he comes near you again, you end him yourself.
" The conviction in my voice surprised even me.
"You are Ghost's daughter. You are Bound in Blood.
And you are never, ever letting anyone make you feel this small again. "
Rocky thought he'd played me. Thought he could use me to get to Ghost, to the club. He had no idea what was coming for him. He would, though.
After a quick shower and tossing Rocky’s T-shirt in the trash, I went to bed, not bothering with even a sleep shirt. I pulled the covers close and closed my eyes. With a deep breath, I finally allowed exhaustion to pull me under. My last conscious thought was simple, brutal clarity.
Fuck Rocky. And fuck the Copperheads. They'd started this game. But I would be the one to finish it.