“That’s what I wanted to talk about,” Wilder says, unscrewing the top of the bottle and putting out cups on the table. “Have you heard of the biker that people are calling Ghost?”
“Yeah, actually,” Burner says, taking the glasses as Wilder hands them out.
We’ve been ordering things for the house now that everyone is home, and these glasses are nice, heavy tumblers. Hopefully none of them go flying at the walls tonight.
Our guests tend to be rough on the household items.
The first glass goes to Marie, and only I notice the slight tremble in her hand.
“I heard he’s taking credit for the hit on Lyker’s club. Is that true?” Arsenal asks.
“Lyker did claim that a ghost massacred his people,” I reply. Arsenal and Burner were there and they nod, remembering.
“Would it be the worst thing if this Ghost did kill them?” Marie asks seriously.
“No,” Arsenal murmurs.
“It would just be a matter of ensuring that he’s not systematically killing entire clubs for shits and giggles,” Nick adds.
“That’s true,” Storm says. “I haven’t heard any chatter that he’s targeting other clubs. It could be a one time thing.”
“So why are we talking about him?” Burner asks. “You don’t shoot the shit, Prez. None of you do. Little Queen, you fucking hate small talk.”
“You’re right,” Wilder says. “The thing is…”
“I am Ghost,” Lore rumbles, walking into the living room.
Goddamnit. Leave it to him to make a grand entrance.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lore
My heart pounds as I get confused stares from Burner, Nick, and Arsenal. I went upstairs and cleaned up the sides of my hair while they were talking. Storm has a camera in this room, which allowed me to listen to their conversation as I fixed my hair so I’ll look a little more like myself.
I also trimmed my beard a bit too, though not enough that I can’t hide if necessary. The facial hair is kind of growing on me.
“Did you miss me?” I joke, gazing around the room.
“Holy shit,” Arsenal whispers. “How did it feel to pull out the hammer again, Prez?”
“Not Prez anymore,” I sigh, shrugging as I squat in front of them.
It feels awkward as hell to be the only one standing. We were right to call these alphas first. They’re my friends, and we’ve been through a lot of shit together.
“I took all my patches off,” I add. “I’ve kind of been living in limbo. Also, Marie’s boss isn’t taking advantage of her. He savedmy life. Took me right off the operating table and took me home like a kicked puppy.”
“You’re a really big puppy,” Burner rasps, eyes wide.
“We buried you,” Nick says, his lips twisting as he glances at Marie.
She’s staring down at the amber color of her drink before she sighs.
“All of that was real. We didn’t know until much later that Lore was alive,” she says, taking a deep sip. “He protected the club before he came back to me, and that has to mean something to you.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to throw something over loyalty to the club,” Burner says softly.
“Yeah, well, that’s my life,” she sighs.
