25. Luna

25

Luna

I’ve never missed anyone before, so I don’t know what to make of this stinging sensation in my chest. But Ghost has been on a run with some of the club for the past three days, and I can only assume that’s why I have this pit in my stomach.

I miss him.

Waking up in his bed isn’t the same without him here. It’s empty and cold.

I’ve considered going back to my room, but then I wouldn’t have a piece of him at all, so I don’t.

Besides, he told me to make his room my own while he’s gone, so I don’t think he’s bothered by the fact that I am. A chair in the corner is filling with a pile of my clothes, and my makeup, shampoo, and moisturizers are slowly taking over the bathroom. My possessions bleed into every corner .

I’m not as neat as Ghost is, with clothes tossed everywhere, so he might take one look when he returns and kick me out. But I hope that’s not the case.

When he’s here, I need to be around him. When he’s away, I need to be surrounded by things that remind me of him. If he knew my level of obsession, he’d probably cut things off, and I wouldn’t blame him. I fell for him, barely knowing anything about him, and now that I do, these feelings are growing more intense.

I make the bed when I’m done showering and getting ready for the day. It’s not something I care about in my own room, but Ghost keeps his space spotless, and with my things already taking over, it’s the least I can do.

Tempe wanted to have coffee this morning, so it’s still early when I walk into the clubhouse kitchen. With Steel gone and his grandma on a trip with friends for a few days, Tempe and Austin have been staying in their room at the clubhouse. Anytime that happens, there are strict orders in place regarding parties, and the guys keep to it with the threat of dealing with their president if they don’t.

Even if they weren’t under orders, I get the feeling they still wouldn’t be partying as hard lately.

The guys are on edge again. Even Soul, who tends to be the most carefree of the group. With Steel, Havoc, and Ghost gone, he’s been working nonstop. And I haven’t heard him complain once about the fact that he needs to behave with a kid wandering the clubhouse .

I’ve barely seen the ranked members these past few days, and prospects are rotating patrols. Something bad is on the horizon, but I don’t know what’s coming.

I pull my phone out of my back pocket as I walk down the hallway and look at the last text I received from Ghost. It came in just over twenty-four hours ago. A little too long to feel comfortable, even if it’s sweet.

Ghost : Morning, beautiful. Thinking of you.

I’m not sure how Tempe does it. It’s one thing to live this lifestyle temporarily, but I’m learning that being involved with one of them is different. Ghost may trust me, but there are certain things he’ll never be able to share with me. I’ll never know where he is at all times or if he’s in danger.

Club business.

Part of me wants answers, but I know they keep it between the club members for a reason.

I scroll back through our texts over the last few days and pause on the video clip he sent me.

It’s a recording of him fucking me at the club party. The angle of the camera gets a clear view of my face as I ride him in front of everyone. I watched it at least ten times last night, but after coming twice, I knew nothing was going to take the edge off like he could.

Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I step out into the den.

Reina and Wren are walking outside in bikini tops to soak up the sun, and when I wave, they’re hesitant to wave back .

Things are already changing between me and them. I can’t tell whether it’s because I’m having sex with Ghost or because I’m no longer sleeping in the room the three of us share, but they’ve been slowly cutting me out.

“Hey.” I drop onto the cushion beside Tempe.

Austin is kneeling on the floor, coloring and playing with his cars.

The floor is polished, and the clubhouse is spotless, which means Steel must have put the guys under strict cleaning orders for his family to be crashing here.

“Don’t let those girls get to you.” Tempe frowns, watching Reina and Wren sit outside with Kristen.

“They’re not.” I pretend I’m unaffected. “We’re friends… or we were. I don’t know what we are now, but I’ll be okay.”

“It’s the old-lady effect.” Tempe offers a sympathetic smile.

“But I’m not an old lady.”

“From what I’ve heard, you might as well be. Where did you come from just now, Luna?”

I lace my fingers in my lap. “Ghost’s room. He said I could use it if I wanted space to myself with him gone.”

“Exactly.” She nudges my arm, leaning close to whisper so Austin can’t hear us. “And I heard a little rumor you two had some fun at a party a few nights ago. Very public fun.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m not the first one to do that.”

“I’m not judging.” Tempe smirks, and it makes me wonder what sneaky things she and Steel do without anyone knowing about it .

“Anyway, I’m allowed to have fun. And it’s not like I’ve offended any of them. He’s never shown any interest in any of them, so it’s not like I took away one of their options.”

Tempe folds her legs under her on the couch, turning to face me. “It’s not your fault, Luna; it’s just the dynamic. You’re either one of them, or you’re a threat; there’s no in-between. It doesn’t matter if Ghost was interested in them or not; the status has changed. It’s their insecurity. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“What if they’re not the only ones feeling insecure?” I’m probably pathetic for even asking. “What if I’m just like they are to him, and now that he’s broken his abstinence streak, he’ll get over it and move on? What if this is all just temporary, and I’m being na?ve and blind to it?”

“Something tells me that’s not going to happen.” She squeezes my hand. “Ghost sees you, Luna. He likes you. It’s been obvious since the first time I saw you two in the same room together. Let yourself have this. Let yourself be happy.”

Happy .

My heart rejects the idea immediately. Happiness is what gets people into trouble. It’s what makes you feel secure right before the rug is ripped out from under you. Everyone in my life has discarded me, and I can’t survive Ghost being one of them.

“It will be okay.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “Trust me.”

Venom walks into the room with his sights set on me like he’s on a mission.

I’m used to him being relaxed and flirty with me, so I don’t know how to feel about this other side of him. Venom might be a fuckboy like most of the guys here, but he has a sweet and caring side, and I hate that he’s no longer showing me hints of it, just like Reina and Wren are acting like we aren’t friends anymore.

He stops at the couch. “Ghost needs the coordinates of the confirmed Iron Sinners safe houses. He said you know where those are, and you can get those to him?”

A tinge of irritation surfaces because Ghost could have asked me himself. There’s probably a chain of command, but I miss hearing from him.

“Yeah, I know where he keeps that information.” I turn to Tempe. “Catch up later?”

“Of course.” She drops to the floor to help Austin color, and I follow Venom out of the den to Ghost’s office.

“All he needs are the coordinates?”

Venom nods. “That’s what he asked for.”

“I’ll send it to him.”

Venom disappears while I step into Ghost’s office. It doesn’t feel like him when he’s not here. Desert dust has settled, and there’s no hint of Ghost’s soapy scent—just wood cleaner and a cinnamon plug-in.

Circling his desk, I try not to think about the last thing we did on top of it. He fucked me so hard I was sore for two days.

Almost immediately after, Steel gave the order that they had to leave, and I saw him long enough for him to pack some things and say goodbye, but we never got a chance for him to make good on the promises he left me with in here.

Sitting in Ghost’s chair, I start up his computer and wait for the screens to come to life. Once it does, I open our shared drive and type in the password for the surveillance archive. Ghost stores everything in clearly labeled folders, so it’s easy to locate. I find the one with the most recent Iron Sinners locations and drag them into a shared folder so he can access them from wherever he is.

Glancing at the blank spot on his desk where my laptop sat the last time I was in here, I realize I haven’t played my game since Ghost left. And I haven’t heard back from Rider either.

Pulling out my phone, I open my gaming app and find Rider’s name. It’s unusual for him to be silent this long. I glance up at the files and see them still transferring, so I shoot off a quick message to see when he wants to tackle the next raid.

But the second I hit send, a chime rings out from Ghost’s desk.

It’s a strange coincidence. And it makes me think about what Legacy said.

Are there ever really coincidences?

I send another message to be sure, and when I hit send, I hear the chime again.

Something is wrong, and my mind is rejecting the thought settling in.

The first time Rider messaged me was shortly after I moved into the clubhouse. It was nothing but friendly conversation at first. We would game together and talk about our day. Slowly, it evolved into a friendship, even if I was always careful and spoke generally or with code names in place of actual people.

I told him about Ghost. Confided in him about my crush.

Which is why my hand shakes as I pull open the top drawer to the desk and see a phone staring back at me. I tap the screen to wake it up, and a message with a little owl sits on the screen. The same message I just sent.

Ghost is Rider?

It doesn’t make sense.

I’ve never seen Ghost waste time with video games, and I’ve talked to Rider with Ghost in the room.

Except, Ghost is always looking at his phone. Could it really have been him all along, and I didn’t know it?

Picking up the phone, I unlock the screen and see our messages staring back at me. Confessions, concerns. I see the proof that Ghost has been keeping massive secrets. And as if that isn’t bad enough, there’s a blinking symbol in the corner of the screen that catches my attention.

I shouldn’t keep digging. I shouldn’t open the app that’s staring at me. But I ignore the red flags and click the blinking icon anyway.

An app opens, showing me a series of clubhouse feeds.

Most of them mirror the same rooms on the screens in Ghost’s office. The den, the bars, the hallways. But then, the feeds keep going, and the surveillance moves into areas of the clubhouse I didn’t know Ghost was monitoring .

I click on one labeled Owl and see my bed in my room staring back at me. There’s only one place it could be coming from—my computer.

Locking the phone, I shove it back in the desk, slamming the drawer shut.

Ghost has been watching me every moment of the day. In the clubhouse. In bed.

On top of that, he’s been pretending to be someone else to have entire conversations with me.

I’ve been worried about my level of obsession, but Ghost has been stalking me.

The computer beeps as the file finishes, and I stand up so fast my head spins.

Rubbing my fingers on my temples, I try to process everything he knows and everything he must have seen. I’m still thinking through it all when a scream rips through the clubhouse, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I look at the door, and something loud pops from the other side, followed by yelling and a series of gunshots.

Tempe is out there.

Austin is out there.

I rush for the door, but the second I swing it open, a large body dressed in all black barrels toward me. His face is masked, and he’s too quick and fast to slip from his grip. He grabs me at the waist when I try to run, but he snatches my arm, and my head hits the doorframe as I fall.

“Let her go.” Venom’s voice sounds strange as my temples throb, and the hands holding me loosen their grip .

Venom steps between me and the man in black, and I watch as he takes a punch.

“Run,” Venom grunts.

I want to help him, but I can’t. I need a weapon. I need to find Tempe and Austin. I need to get us out of here.

But the moment I turn the corner, I’m stopped in my tracks by the barrel of a gun.

“Freeze.”