Chapter 28
GHOST
Something is wrong.
I feel it in my gut.
I’m about to call Patch and find out where Xanthe is when he calls me.
Something is definitely wrong.
“Where is she?” I bark.
“I followed her to a bookstore, then I went and got a coffee. When I got back, she was gone,” he admits, cursing under his breath.
“I’m sorry, Ghost. I was only gone for five minutes.
Her car is here, but she’s gone. I’ve looked inside the entire store and all the shops around. Can Angel hack into the cameras?”
“I’ll deal with you later,” I mutter, ending the call and clicking on Angel’s name. Fear, as I’ve never felt before, is trying to take over my body, but I push it down. I need a clear head to find her.
“Yeah?”
“Angel, I need you, brother.”
There’s no hesitation. “Tell me.”
“Xanthe is missing. She was last seen at the bookstore around the corner from her house. Fairy Tales, I think it’s called.”
“Yeah, I know the one. I’m on it.”
Next, I call Prez and update him. He calls a quick church, while I get on my bike and ride over to the bookstore. Her car is still there, and Patch is parked next to it, leaning against his bike and looking at the ground.
He knows he has fucked up.
I’m pissed, but I’m not going to pour my energy into hurting him. Not right now, anyway.
He pales when he sees me, putting his hands up in surrender. “I’m fucking sorry, Ghost.”
“Go back to the clubhouse. Prez is coming up with a plan.”
He nods, gets on his bike, and rides away.
I check the area for anything I can find and speak to the lady at the bookstore. I’m about to get back on my bike when I see Angel’s text.
Angel
She was kidnapped in the parking lot. Two men.
Motherfucker.
Who would do this?
I have a reputation, and most men wouldn’t dare.
By the time I ride back to the clubhouse, Prez is standing by the gates, waiting for me.
In his hands, he’s holding Xanthe’s phone. There’s a sticky note with a phone number on top of it.
“We’ll get her back,” Prez vows, clapping me on the shoulder. “Let’s call and see what they want.”
We all sit around the table in church, my phone on speaker as I call the number.
“Where is she?” It’s the first thing I ask.
There’s a pause, and then, “Son, nice to hear your voice. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Son?
No.
That fucker was meant to be locked up for another four years.
“What do you want?” I rasp. “And if she even has a scratch on her, I’m going to fucking kill you.”
I’m going to do that anyway. He just doesn’t know it yet.
“One hundred thousand dollars. Meet me this afternoon, and we’ll trade.”
I glance up at Prez, who nods. “Okay, message me where, and don’t fucking hurt her.”
He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “We’ll see.” He ends the call, and then I stand up and finally let out all my rage.
My brothers move away while I pick up my chair and throw it at the wall. “I should have ended that miserable fuck years ago,” I roar.
“Ghost, keep it together, or you won’t be fucking going to the meet point,” Prez yells out, crossing his arms over his chest. “We will get her back. You have my word.”
“I’m fucking going,” I force past clenched teeth.
Logic knows no place right now. I’m so angry I’m seeing red, and I’m so scared for my woman.
This is my past coming to haunt me, and because I was too weak to deal with it back then, my darkness has now come for her.
Pushing past all my brothers, I head to the gym and punch the shit out of one of the bags.
I don’t care about the money. I’d pay every cent I have for her to be back in my arms.
My fists connect with the bag until my knuckles start to bleed. I lean back against the wall and let my body slide onto the floor.
My face falls into my hands.
Please, let her be okay.
Please.
“He sent the address,” Blade says, as we all arm ourselves with knives and guns. “I traced his phone location, and it says they’re at that old hospital, you know, the one that shut down?”
“Maybe half of us should go there,” I suggest, wondering if he has some plan not to stick to his end of the bargain. Prez called a lockdown, so all the women and children are currently in the clubhouse.
“I agree,” War comments, testing the weight of the gun in his hands. “Who is staying behind with the women?”
“I’m going to leave behind Lore, Romeo, Omen, Scorp, and Blade,” Prez states, glancing over at us. “How many do we want to take to the meet?”
“Six should do it, and keep two close by,” Angel suggests.
“Me, War, Ghost, Bones, Skull, and Angel,” Prez decides, studying us. “Curse and Rune can wait nearby in case we need them. Haze, you lead the rest of the men to the hospital, then circle back toward us.”
We all get on our bikes and ride out in formation.
Two in a row.
If anything happens to Xanthe, I don’t know what the hell I’ll do.
I’d likely be joining her.
I’d rather be with her in death than alone here in life.
Maybe that’s how my mother felt about Charlotte. I refuse to believe she took her life because that’s how she felt with my father locked away in prison.
Shutting out old Ghost, I focus on the task at hand.
Save my woman.
Lock her away for eternity so no harm ever comes to her again.
Marry her.
Give us a daughter with Xanthe’s dark eyes and Charlotte’s smile.
Kill anyone who is a threat to her.
And live fucking happily ever after.