Becks ignored Cameron’s ramblings, her brain still trying to piece together the last ten minutes of her life. “You put a bombin the bar?” The bar where Ghost was working. Oh God! Where was he? Was he okay?
Becks needed to get to him, but how? Liam was completely out of it. He was entirely useless in this state, and Becks couldn’t abandon him. She had no choice but to simply pray her husband was okay while she figured out what the hell was going on with Cameron and her brother—who was now staring up at the ceiling, circling his head around and around as he watched the fan spin above him.
He seemed…blissed out. When Becks had been younger, she’d been given oxycodone before getting her wisdom teeth pulled. To her teenage horror, her dad had recorded Becks’ reaction when she woke up so he could send it off to Liam, who’d been overseas at the time. She still couldn’t believe she’d been so upset that polar bears didn’t have access to ice cream stores in the arctic. No doubt the thought had been on her mind because her mom had promised her ice cream meals for the next several days after surgery—though Becks still had no idea why she’d been fixated on polar bears too.
It had been the closest thing to a high as Becks had ever experienced. And while Liam wasn’t rambling about the unfairness of polar bears’ lack of access to ice cream franchisees, the only way she could describe his look washigh. Or cooked? Was that the word kids were using these days? She had no idea. Whatever had been in that syringe had loosened her brother up enough that he was more entertained by Cameron’s ceiling fan than her gun.
“Ranger, baby,” Cameron cooed. “Let’s head down to my car.”
Becks watched, horrified, as her brother smiled down at his girlfriend. “S’kay,” he said like his tongue weighed heavily.
Liam took a step forward, then a step back, and then a step forward. Cameron gave Becks a look of impatience.
“Be a dear and help Big Brother out. Wouldn’t want him to trip down the stairs now, would we?” She slipped her gun into the back of her jeans before flipping her shirt down over it. “You two go first, and if you try anything, just remember that I only need one of you—and right now, your brother is the perfect target.”
A cold chill filled her veins. Looping her brother’s arm around her shoulders, Becks nodded her obedience. For all that had happened in the apartment, the place looked immaculate. Liam’s beer bottle and her water glass still sat on the island, and there was no sign of any struggle or wrongdoing now that Cameron had cleaned up the syringe.
She touched her wedding ring. It was the only thing on her that was removable and obvious. As she worked it off her finger, she’d have to wait for the opportune time to drop it. She had promised Ghost she wouldn’t remove it, but knew he’d forgive her because it would clue him in that something was very wrong.
“Where the fuck is my wife?”Ghost tried to shout, and not for the first time. Like the other times, though, his voice was barely above a croak.
Tessa rounded on him. “I will sedate you, Ghost, so help me God. If you do not stop trying to get out of that bed, I will knock you out and then you’ll have to wait to get the answer to that question. I’m sure Becks is on her way.”
It took all of Ghost’s dwindling energy not to growl at her, and it was only the fact that he was in no state to go head to head with Bear that stayed his reaction. He was in the emergency room of Mount Grove Memorial Hospital, where Tessa was oneof the doctors working the ER. He’d been in here many times since moving to Mount Grove, but never as a patient before.
The bar was destroyed, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Prior to Ghost being locked into an ambulance and transported to the hospital, they’d pulled another body from the wreckage. Scott Pan, another of Carlos’ deputies, had already been identified as the body Danny had brought outside with him. Now, Dru Dendinger, the wife of the man Ghost had rescued, had also been DOA. Last Ghost heard, there was still no sign of Frankie, Monica, or Gracie. Others had been pulled alive with injuries, like the bar’s part-time cook and the bankers that had been gathered at the back of the bar.
Grumpy was in surgery. The fact that he was alive shocked Ghost the most. That shard of glass had been huge, or maybe it had only looked that way. If he did survive surgery, there was no doubt he would lose the eye.
Bear was inside the room with Tessa and Ghost. He had one phone to his ear and was texting on another. Whose, Ghost had no idea. Maybe he stole it from a paramedic or he’d borrowed Tessa’s. Either way, he was Ghost’s current source of information.
Ghost’s injuries were many, but superficial compared to what they could have been. His palms were burned, ranging from first to second degree, and likely from pushing the beam off himself. His chest also had a burn, and Tessa had informed him that he had three cracked ribs. Tessa had also ordered a CT scan to confirm there was no internal bleeding. Ghost was also refusing all pain medication, wanting to be awake for when Becks arrived.
“Fire’s out,” Bear announced before returning to his dual conversations.
Many of the club were at the bar while others were spread around the hospital. Specs, the prospect that had been upstairsat the time of the blast, had blown through the upstairs and had landed on the hood of a cage. He had a few scrapes and bruises, but was somehow otherwise fine, and had insisted on staying to help search for survivors.
Ghost did not understand why one of the two people Bear was currently in communication with was not Becks or Ranger. The fucking bar had blown up. Every single club member and ol’ lady would have gotten that alert. The ol’ ladies would have secured the children, locking down on club property. Keys would have assigned his three men, Thorne, Goose, and Grimm, to guard them, freeing up the club members and prospects to deal with club business. Ghost was pretty sure he’d seen every single club member either here or at the bar—except for Ranger.
Ghost didn’t care how pissed Ranger was at him. He knew his best friend and enforcer, and nothing would keep Ranger from coming to help. Recalling something, he got Bear’s attention as Tessa continued to work on him. None of them were caring that Ghost was currently wearing only his birthday suit and a thin sheet over his lap.
Bear gently pulled the oxygen mask off Ghost’s face. Tessa had also diagnosed him with severe smoke inhalation, and was monitoring his lungs very carefully. “What is it, Prez?”
Ghost struggled to get the words out, but fear forced him to push past the pain. “Ranger and Cameron had a date scheduled tonight, but Ranger stood her up and she left before the blast went off. What if he came in the back? He might be in the bar, and I never saw him.”
Bear’s eyebrows drew down and he put the mask back on Ghost’s face. “His hog wasn’t at the bar. Keys checked his tracker, and he’s at Cameron’s apartment. Lucky sent Bulldog and Artemis over.”
Ghost felt his anger rise again. If the reason Ranger wasn’t answering or hadn’t shown up was because he was fucking an apology into his girlfriend, Ghost was going to kill him.
“Jumper has Apollo and Aerial at the scene. Aerial’s not trained as a search dog like Apollo is, but she’s still helpful.”
Apollo was Artemis’ military dog. Both had served in the Coast Guard, retiring only a few months ago. She was the club’s third female prospect, though Angel was currently the club’s only female member. She was also Cage’s niece, even though she was only a few years younger than him. Like Aerial and Jumper, it was rare to see Apollo and Artemis apart. But Ghost was glad for any help they could get.
“Becks?” Ghost asked behind the mask. Tessa seemed to be allowing him to talk so long as he was keeping still as she worked.
Bear hesitated. “She’s not answering her phone, and Keys says her tracker is also at Cameron’s.”
Ghost frowned, because he hadn’t known Becks had been planning on going to see her brother tonight. But the timing was still off, discrediting Becks as the reason Ranger would have been a no-show for his date with Cameron.
