Sex & Mayhem 04 No Matter What (6 page)

“Fuck,” he
finally hissed out loud, staring himself in the eye. “Get a
grip.”

Ghost pushed
down his pants, and started jerking off with one of his hands
against the wall. But despite the unglamorous surroundings, his
imagination went straight back to the dream, and Ghost didn’t have
the energy to fight it.

Luca pushing
down Ghost’s pajama. Sucking on the cockhead. Taking the dick in
deeper and kneading Ghost’s ass. Luca bobbing his head on Ghost’s
cock and looking up with those big, dark eyes.

Ghost bit his
lip to make the groans of his orgasm quieter. All he could think of
was Luca swallowing his load with a pretty smile.

He could never
again sleep with Luca in the same bed.

Zara:
It’s
getting bright outside.

Ghost:
Yeah?
It’s late evening here :)

Zara:
Oh God, I
took your whole day?

Ghost:
It’s
okay, don’t worry. I didn’t want to leave you alone.

Ghost:
And it
was nice talking to you.

Zara:
I better
go to sleep now. No idea when I have to get up. My sleep patterns
are all messed up since I moved here.

Ghost:
But
you’re sure you’re fine now?

Zara:
I think
so.

Zara:
Can I talk
to you again sometime? Just say no if you don’t want to, it’s okay.
I’m feeling much better already.

Ghost:
No, no!
It would be great. My guild needs a new member anyway. You could
join us.

Ghost:
You can
always write to me if you’re ever in a dark place again.

Zara:
I didn’t
think I’d meet someone like you online.

Chapter 4

Ghost and Luca
each dressed in the bathroom. They met up with Tooth and Milk, and
had breakfast at a nearby diner before heading to Detroit. It was a
long ride, and with Luca’s firm, strong body pressing against
Ghost, those toned arms around his waist, he couldn’t help but let
his mind wander. Even Milk stopped his relentless teasing, most
probably after a talking to from Tooth, and so Ghost and Luca could
enjoy the awkward conversations during stops. It was so odd to be
around someone whom Ghost knew so well, and yet be so utterly lost
in the masculinity of that person. No matter how much Ghost tried
though, the moment Luca looked away, Ghost’s eyes strayed to where
they shouldn’t, following the curve of Luca’s ass and up his spine,
all the way to the broad, firm shoulders.

It was already
getting dark when they arrived at the fence of their compound on
the outskirts of Detroit. The wide gate moved aside, letting them
in to the dusty front yard where a row of bikes waited for their
riders. Ghost had never called this place home, but it felt good to
bring Luca here. Judging from the quality of his clothes, he was
used to something much more luxurious than a compound made of
concrete, but at least he’d be safe here. The Coffin Nails wouldn’t
let anything happen to him within those walls.

It was
strangely quiet as they approached the ugly gray door leading into
the bar from the inner yard. Ghost followed Tooth inside, and his
mind drifted off to the patches that caused so much strife at his
home. Since he’d lost his medical licence, his father wanted him to
prospect and eventually join the club, while Ghost’s mother would
see him choose a path as far away from the Coffin Nails as
possible. It was a neverending struggle, especially that most of
his money came from the MC these days.

Tooth looked
around and eventually his eyes settled on Blitz, a guy whose bald
head and pronounced Adam’s apple never ceased to remind Ghost of a
vulture. He sat in a beat-up leather chair under a flag with the
club symbol, with a smartphone in hand. Blitz raised his hand in
greeting.

“Where’s
everyone?” asked Milk, but Blitz waved a hand at him.

“Priest’s in
his office. Asked all of you to come over as soon as you
arrive.”

Tooth looked
back with a frown, but he gestured for everyone to follow him past
the bar counter and toward the doors leading to the Chapel and MC
office, which incidentally was also where Don, Ghost’s father.
usually hung out.

As they walked
in, Ghost was ready to hear some bad news. It had been two months
since the club prez found out that his wife had cancer, and the
atmosphere tended to be tense around him. Dolly could be a scary
woman, but Priest loved her with all his heart, so he was always
distracted lately, leaving most of the responsibility with his VP,
Tooth. Priest was over fifty, but he looked much older since his
wife got ill, and barely had any black hair left. He seemed out of
place among the gray walls, cheap furniture, and computers that had
seen better days. The single lightbulb dangling over his head was
like a cheap plastic chair on the terrace of a millionaire.

But Priest’s
stern face and bright eyes weren’t all that greeted them. Along
with him sat two men Ghost didn’t know, or at least that was what
he thought until he got a better look at them.

Frederico and
his henchman. Did they have a death wish to come here? Ghost
couldn’t help but stand closer to Luca. Even seeing Frederico made
his adrenaline levels rise. The bastard had this suave European
vibe about him and was still handsome despite being probably
Priest’s age. He sat in an armchair, slowly smoking a cigarette, in
a black suit that had to be tailor-made. Ghost wanted to stuff that
tobacco down his throat for what he’d done to Luca, but he wouldn’t
step down to that level.

The door behind
them closed, the sound muting Milk’s hiss. Tooth stepped forward,
his hand hovering close to his gun.

“Priest.”

Frederico’s
sharp gaze rushed over Ghost’s shoulder, no doubt pinning Luca to
the wall like a freshly mounted fly. “You’re late,” he said,
leaning against the backrest.

There was a web
of wrinkles around Priest’s formerly lively eyes, but his stare was
as sharp as ever.

“Tooth, what
the fuck did you do?”

Ghost stepped
forward, raising his hands. “It was my idea, Priest. But I had my
reasons. What is this man doing here anyway?”

Frederico cut
in before Priest could speak. “What
are
your reasons,
Alex?”

Now this was
getting creepy. Half the club members didn’t even know Ghost’s
actual name, and yet this fucker somehow did.

Priest exhaled
and nodded toward the door. “Is that the boy you guys took? Why the
fuck would you kidnap somebody? Weren’t you meeting some Italian
girl from the Internet?”

Ghost’s stomach
plummeted when Frederico’s eyes lit up. He was absorbing every
word.

Tooth joined
Ghost in front of the table. “Priest, we should talk about this in
private.”

Frederico
frowned at them. “I’d like to be a part of a conversation that
concerns my belongings.”

The gasp those
words elicited from Luca, had Ghost all riled up. “Priest, what is
he even doing here?”

“Mr. Villani is
our
business partner
,” Priest hissed. “What were you
thinking, kidnapping his assistant? What the fuck? I’ve got enough
shit on my plate. You think this is funny, Milk?” He raised his
voice and got up.

“No, no, not at
all,” Milk mumbled from behind Ghost. “It’s just so fucked-up.”

Frederico waved
his hand dismissively. “I’ll let this go as long as what’s mine is
returned to me, and I get back to New York in time for lunch
tomorrow.”

Tooth stiffened
and balled his hands into fists. It was like crumbling ground
falling from underneath Ghost’s feet.

“He’s a
Villani?” muttered Tooth, stepping back.

Frederico gave
him a soft smile and nodded. “You couldn’t know, I understand.” His
eyes darted to Luca again, and it was slowly dawning on Ghost that
the situation was slipping out of his hands. He could hardly
breathe. “My little birdie must have told you some fairy tales for
you to take him the way you did. He’s one sly boy.”

“Whoa, they are
the guys who get us the magic dust?” asked Milk from behind, and it
felt like being kicked in the nuts from one side with someone
punching your kidneys from the other. Frederico Villani was a drug
supplier for the Coffin Nails, and a bigwig at that, but it was
another chapter who usually dealt with him. The Nails wouldn’t side
with Ghost over a guy they didn’t even know.

Priest threw a
stapler at Milk. “Shut your fucking face, or just get out. I don’t
see a patch on Ghost’s back, so keep club business to
yourself.”

Frederico
listened on with a little smirk on his thin lips as he lit another
cigarette.

Priest was
right. Ghost wasn’t one of them, yet knew more than an outsider
would. With his father being the oldest member of the club, many of
the guys his friends, he wasn’t oblivious to what went on within
the MC. Tooth had suggested many times that Ghost should prospect,
just like his dad pushed for it. Even Priest was always happy to
see him around. No wonder. Ghost didn’t need a medical licence to
sew up gunshot wounds on club members. He never knew how to say
‘no’ to saving a life. And if he decided to prospect, he’d probably
be patched in within a few months, the prospecting only a
formality, especially now that the chapter needed new members.

Club life
wasn’t what he wanted though. The concept of carrying a gun made
him cringe, just as being forced to ignore the law at times for the
sake of loyalty did. The only thing that really made him bond with
most of the Nails was a love of motorcycles. They did party
together and share deep, sincere conversations over liquor, but he
didn’t condone many of the things that made up their lifestyle.

Ghost barely
prevented himself from stepping back when Frederico got to his feet
and buttoned up his suit jacket.

“Alex, how
about a chat? Just you and I?” he suggested with a small smile.

Tooth swiftly
joined Priest by the table and leaned down, whispering into his
ear. The thug whom Ghost had seen the day before was sitting by the
wall, as silent as Luca behind Ghost’s back.

Ghost nodded,
as talking was becoming a difficult concept. Kidnapping a drug
lord’s sort-of boyfriend wasn’t exactly on his bucket list. When
Frederico walked over, Ghost made sure to shield Luca with his own
body. He would not allow this sadistic fuck to even touch Luca in
his presence. Milk ran over to the door and opened it for the guy,
as if he were royalty. Ghost wasn’t one for violence, but he’d love
to slap Milk upside the head.

He followed
Frederico outside, stealing a glance at Luca, who backed away
against the wall, his eyes cast down, as if he wanted to disappear.
It made Ghost yearn to strangle the Italian bastard with his bare
hands.

Frederico
walked through the bar as if it belonged to him. He knew how
untouchable he was, and watching it was like acid on a bleeding
wound.

“So, Alex, what
did my young friend tell you?” asked Frederico as they left the
building. His face was unreadable, even in the lamplight coming
from above the door.

Ghost took a
deep breath to win himself a second or two. “You hurt him,” he
mumbled and put his hands in his pockets. This conversation could
go wrong in so many ways.

“He also told
you he’s a girl.”

Ghost tried to
make his face expressionless as well, but it wasn’t easy when his
heart was wounded so badly it was bleeding all over his face. “It
must have been a misunderstanding.”

They walked out
into the courtyard at a leisurely pace. What if Frederico was
telling the truth though, and Luca used Ghost, lied to him, didn’t
love him? He did seem desperate enough for a chance to escape his
current situation.

Frederico
sighed. “I suppose I do hurt him sometimes. He’s not what he used
to be when I took him in anymore. Too independent. Too hairy for my
taste. If you’re interested, we could come to an agreement,” he
said, turning back to face him.

Ghost’s heart
leapt at those words. So Frederico would let go of Luca? “Huh? I―
It’s not about my tastes, I just want to help him. So he lied about
being a girl, but he’s still a friend.” The crow’s feet on
Frederico’s face made him think of the huge age gap between
Frederico and Luca. Luca was old enough to make the decision to
date an older guy, and that would be fine in Ghost’s book. But to
think that this guy, old enough to be Luca’s father, had taken him
in at fifteen and had sex with him, treated Luca in a way that made
him want to kill himself, was sending tiny scorpions crawling under
Ghost’s skin.

Frederico
smirked. “Sure you are. He can be yours for fifty grand. That’s
what he still owes me.” He made a dramatic pause before leaning a
bit closer and looking straight into Ghost’s eyes. “Will be worth
it though if you’re into that type of guy. Takes come on his face
like a porn star.”

Nausea twisted
Ghost’s gut. There was nothing exciting about getting the image of
Luca humiliated and abused by Frederico stuck in his head. The need
to pull Luca out of this guy’s clutches was so visceral Ghost would
do anything to see it happen. Even if he were to find out that Luca
lied to him about more than his gender, just to slide out of the
life Frederico cooked up for him. Ghost would understand it. He
wouldn’t
like
it, but he would get it.

“And you’ll
leave him alone?” Ghost asked as steadily as he could.

“If you get me
the money till tomorrow,” said Frederico checking his expensive
watch.

Ghost slowly
nodded, even though he had as much money as his dog did. None.
Frederico’s offer wasn’t one he could decline. He would beg, steal,
or borrow. Maybe not steal. “Okay.”