Sex & Mayhem 04 No Matter What (7 page)

Frederico
reached out his hand, and Ghost gave it a symbolic handshake,
pulling back as soon as he could. He felt like washing himself
after touching that molester bastard. His hand was itching, as if
some of the dirt from Frederico’s soul crawled out and made it
sticky.

Frederico’s
mouth crooked into a smile. “Get my man and Luca. I’ll wait for
them here.”

“I’ll tell Luca
he can stay, I don’t think there’s a need for tender
good-byes.”

“I insist,”
said Frederico with a small smile. “He’s still mine tonight.”

Ghost wanted to
say something, but Frederico raised his finger to his lips,
shutting him off. “If you tell anyone about anything concerning my
relationship with my
assistant
, you can consider you both
dead men. You’ll watch your boy lose all his fingers first.”

Ghost groaned
at those words and turned around with his skin crawling. He went
back into the club, feeling like shit even with the prospect of
having Luca back here tomorrow. He thought he’d have more time to
put on a brave face, but Luca’s gaze met his the moment he entered
the bar. He stood in the middle of the room, with Frederico’s guard
dog by his side. Dark, somewhat droopy eyes crinkled when the
henchman looked between Ghost and Luca, who folded his arms across
his chest and gave Ghost a smile so pale it was almost
invisible.

“How was your
chat?” asked the henchman. Over his shoulder, Ghost could see
Priest and Tooth arguing in the office. It didn’t look good at all.
Priest would never forgive Ghost if the Coffin Nails lost the
connection to the Villanis because of him.

“We came to an
agreement.” Ghost took a deep breath and managed to smile back at
Luca. That missing finger was not a lie. “You’ll be free tomorrow,
I just need to sort out some paperwork.” He didn’t want Luca to
know about the money, it would only make him feel like a
burden.

Luca gasped,
his eyes going wide and hopeful, but the henchman pushed him
forward and asked, “Is Mr. Villani coming back here?”

“No, he’s
waiting outside.” Ghost took another step toward Luca, unsure how
to act around him. The person who’d sent him goodnight kisses, the
person who’d shared intimate moments with him, as well as had
always cared to see more photos of his dog and never found them
boring. That person was right in front of him, waiting for his
help.

“We’re going
then,” said the henchman and squeezed his hand on Luca’s shoulder.
“Have fun, boys,” he called toward the office before pulling Luca
to the door.

Luca drew in a
sharp breath. “Ghost?” he uttered.

Ghost couldn’t
help himself anymore and crossed the few steps between them. He
pulled Luca into a hug, and for once didn’t care who was looking at
them. This guy needed a break in life, and Ghost wasn’t ashamed to
give him something as simple as a hug. “It will be okay, I’ll pick
you up tomorrow.”

Luca swallowed
hard, staring at him with so much intent, Ghost had a hard time not
to lean forward and brush his lips in a kiss, but Luca pulled away
all-too quickly anyway. “It’ll be fine,” he whispered, hard to say
whether to reassure Ghost or himself.

Ghost changed
his mind. He
would
steal that money if necessary. “What’s
this to all the shit Zara’s been through, right? It’s not like that
douchebag is a Cybermongrel.” They’d killed one of those fuckers
together in
The Age of Endless
. The whole mission took a
week of combined effort, and afterward, with virtual blood on their
hands and endorphins still boiling in his veins, Ghost had
confessed his love to Zara.

The henchman
pulled Luca outside, but those dark, beautiful eyes stayed on
Ghost’s face until both men disappeared behind the door. The thud
of it closing sounded painfully final.

“Ghost, you
alive?” asked Blitz from his place in the leather chair.

Ghost didn’t
know if he was. He could barely breathe. “I’m fine,” he choked
out.

“That Italian
girl’s got something to do with this?” Blitz asked, and Milk
snorted.

“You just saw
that girl,” he said. “And she’s got a dick.”

Ghost turned
around and pushed at his chest, desperate to channel his anger
somewhere. “It’s not funny!”

Blitz sank into
the chair. “Oh fuck no! Are you fucking kidding me?”

Milk chuckled
and pushed Ghost back. “What did he do to you last night that
you’re so protective, huh?”

Priest furrowed
his bushy eyebrows, which gave him the impression of a Jack
Nicholson lookalike. “
That’s
your Italian beauty?”

Ghost felt his
cheeks heat up with shame. “It’s complicated.”

Milk wouldn’t
let it go, grinning with that ear-to-ear smile. “You fucked him,
didn’t you? Turned off the light and went with it?”

“Milk, shut
your filthy mouth!” growled Tooth, storming into the bar, his hair
wild as a scarecrow’s.

Priest followed
him at a much lazier pace. His demonic eyebrows were as sharp as
ever.

Milk groaned.
“I’m just sayin’. They spent the night together, and now they’re
all hugging and shit?”

Ghost tried to
ignore the fire in his cheeks that no doubt turned his pale skin a
bright shade of pink. “I’ve got a problem…”

“Yeah, we all
have a fucking problem if we piss off the Villanis,” growled
Priest. He walked over to the bar and got himself a shot of
vodka.

“So he proposed
to a guy,” said Milk.

“I
didn’t
propose to a guy!” Even Ghost’s ears were heating up.
It did melt his heart though to see the ring he bought for Zara on
Luca’s finger.

Tooth leaned
against the counter next to Priest. “So, what were you two talking
about?”

“I need fifty
thousand to get Luca out of debt with Frederico. If he gets the
money, he’ll let him go.” As much as Ghost tried to keep his voice
steady, it still trembled. He looked between Tooth and Priest, who
poured himself another shot of vodka. “I need it by tomorrow.”

Milk rolled his
eyes and mouthed, “See?”, but Ghost couldn’t bother to look at him
when the future of his friendship with Luca weighed on what would
happen next.

Tooth looked at
Priest, who stared at the shot, moving his wrist to make the liquor
sway in the glass.

“That’s a
fuckload of money to get within a few hours,” he eventually
said.

Ghost wiped the
sweat off his face. “I don’t want him to know, I just want him to
feel free for once in his life. He’s my best friend, and he got a
raw deal in life. I’d help the club with any medical emergencies,
keep my mouth shut…” Even to him it didn’t sound like an amazing
offer, but he didn’t have that much to give either.

Blitz whistled.
“That boy must give amazing head.”

Priest downed
his shot and scowled. “No. We have a better offer.”

Tooth hunched
his shoulders, staring at Ghost with a half-smile. “We get you that
money, and you’ll get your prospect’s cut.”

Blitz got up
from the chair. “Hey, nobody gave me anything when I prospected! It
was just all ‘Prospect, get me a beer’, ‘Prospect, I’m too lazy to
wipe my own ass, do it for me’!”

“It’s not a
gift, it’s a loan. Sure, the terms are nice and comfy, we’ll sort
out the details, but I think this is the right time for you,
Ghost,” Priest said, piercing Ghost with his gaze. “You want
something? Man up.”

“Man up!”
echoed Milk with a wide grin. “Do it for your
Italian
beauty
!”

“Shut the fuck
up,” hissed Tooth, slowly approaching through the bar.

Ghost looked
into his eyes, searching for help. They weren’t the best of friends
in the way Ghost was with Luca, sharing photos from trips,
breakfast plans, or meeting up online to watch movies at the same
time. Over two years ago, Ghost had made a decision that ended his
medical career, all to save the life of Tooth’s boyfriend, Lucky.
The unspoken bond of gratitude he had with Tooth was obvious to
both of them.

“You know I’m
not big on guns,” Ghost said, already hearing the creak of a door
closing on his life. If he chose club life, that was it. Yet he
couldn’t get himself to selfishly decline when he thought about the
person he loved being abused and hurt. If Frederico was a man
Priest of all people tiptoed around, trying to just take Luca by
force again was out of the question.

Tooth chewed on
his lip and pulled Ghost along toward the office. “Look, we know
that. But you can help us with lots of stuff no one else knows much
about, yeah? It’s not like we’ll give you a bazooka and send you
over to the nearest police station.”

Priest followed
them, and it felt like having the club president breathing down his
neck. “Tooth’s right. And it’s not like you have a job. We need to
know you’re
in
, Ghost. All of you. Not just for emergencies,
not just when you feel like it. A brother for life.” They went into
the office, and Priest took his usual spot on top of the desk.
“Your father will be so proud.”

And Ghost’s
mother would skin him alive. Then cry. Then sprinkle his bared
muscles with salt. Ghost took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s do
it.” Luca deserved a better life, and Ghost had been lost,
unemployed, and with no plans for months now. Maybe this was life
pushing him? “But I don’t do guns.”

Tooth and
Priest looked at each other.

“We’ll treat
this as a probationary period. Those babies do come in handy,” said
Tooth, pulling out his Glock.

Ghost felt
queasy even looking at it. After almost a year in Syria, he’s seen
enough violence to last him a lifetime. Not to mention the gunshot
wound and being kidnapped for ransom. He wasn’t there as an
official doctor, but when fifty people get brought in needing help
and surgery, no one cares whether you have the right paperwork.

“Yeah, that’s
why it’s called ‘prospecting’ after all, right?” Ghost let out a
nervous laugh. He was really doing this.

For Luca.

Ghost:
I love
being a doctor. Sometimes, there is not much you can do, but when
you save someone’s life, it feels better than anything. Even when
I’m sleepy, angry, a bit frustrated, I still never feel like I
chose the wrong job.

Zara:
You make
me feel like such a simple person :) Simple needs. I just want a
break from my life. Two weeks of being somewhere else. Just going
wherever I choose to.

Ghost:
My dad
used to take me to target practice as a kid. I loved the trips, but
the guns… Gah… I didn’t like destroying stuff. It felt so
pointless. I guess I’ll never follow in my dad’s footsteps.

Chapter 5

Luca stiffened
when the familiar weight of Frederico’s long fingers settled at the
back of his neck. The rented car wasn’t nearly as luxurious as the
one they used in New York, but it was no less intimidating with its
pale leather and the lemony scent of some cleaning product choking
the life out of him. Antonio didn’t say a word from the front seat,
and when the large metal gate opened, letting them out of the
compound, the silence in the limousine became so heavy Luca wanted
to jump out of the car. He was slipping away from Ghost.
Permanently? Or had Frederico really gotten bored with him and
found the situation convenient? It wasn’t like Luca had much
knowledge about the Villani secrets anyway, always kept out of
important discussions.

“Awfully quiet,
for someone who clearly has such a rich life. Meeting men from
America and all that,” Frederico said in that cold, bored voice
that promised all the pain in the world.

Luca winced
when those all-too-familiar fingers squeezed his nape harder, like
a cat chastising her young. He had to force his feet to stay on the
ground when they started nervously shifting back and forth.

“I didn’t mean
for this to happen. We just played games together.”

“I did a
background check on him, but tell me more about this ‘Alex’. Why is
he so intent on you? I’m guessing it has something to do with you
telling him you’re a girl, and he’s still all confused?” Frederico
pulled away as Antonio stopped the car in front of a decent-looking
hotel.

Luca swallowed,
fighting the nausea tightening around his stomach. He didn’t dare
look up. “I... I was just playing around. We’re friends.”

“Out,” was all
Frederico said before exiting the car himself. The dark clouds
above them were foreshadowing things to come.

Luca stormed
outside and stopped under the glass canopy extending from the
entrance to the lobby. His heart was drumming in his chest like a
trapped bird, and all his instincts told him to run, while at the
same time, his feet felt screwed to the pavement. Frederico left
the car with as much dignity as always. He straightened and
buttoned up his suit jacket in a way so efficient and stern Luca’s
skin broke out in goose bumps. Antonio drove off to park the car,
but Frederico didn’t wait and walked toward the entrance.

“Frederico? Are
you mad at me?” tried Luca.

“I don’t
appreciate you going behind my back,” he said as calmly as ever,
but Luca sensed the fury simmering under Frederico’s olive-tinted
skin.

“What do you
mean? I would never do anything to spite you. It was just harmless
fun. I didn’t know this would happen,” said Luca, hoping to improve
Frederico’s mood even a tiny bit on the way to their room. The
corridors seemed to stretch into an eternity of gray carpeting, and
the farther they were from the lobby, the softer Luca’s knees
became.

“Harmless fun
doesn’t result in a kidnapping worthy of a cheesy movie.” Frederico
opened one of the doors, and held it open for Luca.

Luca made
himself smile at the generic room with a king-size bed, a
television set, and the works. All in beige and brown shades which
gave a false impression of peace and safety, but Luca didn’t cross
the threshold. “Come on, I won’t believe you’re jealous.”