32. Luna

32

Luna

The guys still haven’t made it back from their run, so it’s quiet around the clubhouse for a Friday night.

Tempe went to bed shortly after Steel left, and the few brothers and patch bunnies who are still awake are playing pool or darts. But I can’t sleep, and I can’t sit still. There’s a pit in my stomach.

I don’t believe in things like fate and karma, but I’ve always had good intuition. I can sense when something is off before I know what it is, and that’s what stirs inside me now.

Ghost texted me ten minutes ago that he was safe and just running a final errand with Steel and Legacy, so he’d be back soon, but it didn’t settle the bad feeling I’ve had all day.

Stepping into Ghost’s office, I sink into his chair and close my eyes. I breathe in the fading scent of him in the room. I’m glad he doesn’t mind me being in here, even after the incident where I found his other phone.

Ghost doesn’t believe in setting up walls between us. His space is my space, and I’m still wrapping my head around what that means for us in the long term.

Since the first night I slept in Ghost’s bed, I haven’t been back to mine. But we haven’t discussed if that’s permanent or if we’re going through a honeymoon phase. I’ve been taking over his space with clothes and slippers and spending every spare minute with him when he’s at the clubhouse, but we haven’t defined what we are.

You’re my woman.

The statement alone could be taken as him claiming me, and he hasn’t corrected me when I called him my boyfriend. But I’ve also spent enough time with the club to know that it means nothing unless he claims me as his old lady. And I can’t help analyzing why he hasn’t brought that up.

Does he think I don’t want it?

Maybe he doesn’t.

I’m still learning so much when Ghost seems to already know everything there is to know about me.

Running my fingers over his desk, I focus on a picture frame that sits in the corner opposite his computer. He and Legacy are holding beers, grinning at their patching-in party. Their eyes are hazy, but the smiles on their faces are big and genuine.

I open the top drawer, and the phone Ghost used to message me as Rider is no longer there, but that’s not what I’m looking for .

When I picked up the phone, I vaguely remembered a stack of photos sitting beneath it. I didn’t pay much attention to them at the time because I was distracted by Ghost’s hidden identity, but now I grab the pile of photos and flip through them.

I’m surprised he has physical photographs when most of his life is digital. But as I look through the stack, I see the majority of them are from when he was a kid.

Ghost has always been half a foot taller than all his friends, so he’s easy to spot in all of them. His dark hair and chilling blue eyes steal the attention in every photo. He sticks to the background in most of them, but he’s all I see as I flip through.

There are a few pictures of him and Legacy. Apparently, Legacy was blonder when he was younger, which must be where Bea gets it.

Some are of club members; others are of the open road.

Near the bottom is a photo of Ghost sitting on the clubhouse steps talking to a girl I don’t recognize. They’re teenagers, and her dark hair is pulled up in a ponytail. She’s smiling at Ghost, who’s looking down at his soda can.

Her grin is so big her eyes squint, and as I flip through the photo stack, her grin grows with her laugh.

In the last one, Ghost is smiling back, which is rare for him, so I assume this must be Paulina.

Ghost said they were close since they were young, and whoever this girl is, it’s clear he’s comfortable with her. In one of the pictures, she hugs his arm, and they look so happy. Whatever hardened in him over the years wasn’t quite settled yet.

I continue to flip through, and they get older. Paulina is wiry before her curves change the shape of her figure. The older she gets, the more makeup she wears, and by the time they are in their early twenties, she’s no longer that innocent girl on the porch.

She’s mature, and her eyes are darker. Something about her feels familiar, but I don’t know why.

Leaning back in the chair, I stare at Paulina—the only girl Ghost has loved. It doesn’t matter if it wasn't romantic; she had a piece of his heart.

I think about the family he built on this land and how that changed after what he lost. I think about Ghost, the biker, and I think about Marcus Jasper, the man. Paulina was one of the few people who saw both sides of him.

Sides I’m still figuring out.

When I reach the bottom of the stack, I’m surprised by the final picture because it’s of me.

I’m sitting in the clubhouse studying. My hair is up, and I’m wearing my glasses. There’s not a drop of makeup on my face, and I wonder why, of all the images Ghost must have of me, he chose to print this one out.

One where I’m not even looking up at the lens.

A knock comes at the door, and Venom peeks in. “You all good?”

“I’m fine.” I straighten up in Ghost’s chair.

“Sorry to interrupt, but they have me doing rounds every hour. ”

Steel doubled security at the clubhouse after the ATF raid, so I’m not surprised by Venom’s orders.

The feds didn’t find anything, but the entire club is on edge after they violated their space, and I’m sure they have their reasons.

Venom starts to close the door.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?”

He pauses, and I can sense his hesitation. My evolving relationship with Ghost has really changed my friendship with Venom. Prospects are careful when it comes to things that belong to ranked members—especially their women. Venom probably doesn’t want to step on any toes by being too friendly with me.

I don’t have a property patch on my back, but Ghost has made it clear I’m off-limits. And Venom respects that by keeping his distance.

“Of course.” Venom pauses in the doorway.

He won’t turn me down because he wouldn’t want Ghost to think he’s being rude to me.

“Do you have a family outside of the club?” I ask, tucking the pictures away in the drawer and leaning back in the chair.

Venom shakes his head. “Not anymore. Why?”

“I was just curious.”

In all the conversations I’ve had with Venom, we rarely talked about anything serious. He would flirt, and I would laugh. We talked about whatever trouble the prospects were getting into or the ridiculous bets Soul was making with fellow members .

“Is that why you wanted to become a Twisted King? Because you had nothing else to live for?”

I understand why so many of the men joined when they were young, given this life appeals to anyone interested in operating outside the lines of law enforcement. But Venom doesn’t give me that impression. Even if he enjoys himself, I have a feeling he came here for more reasons than that.

Venom props his forearm up on the doorframe. “I guess so. Everyone wants their life to mean something, right? Mine didn’t out there. But here, I think it could. Plus, it’s as good of a family as any. We outcasts gotta stick together. You get it.”

“I’m not a member.”

“Member or not, you’re part of all this, Luna. I see how you take care of people around here. You were one of the first people to welcome me. You make it feel like a home.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Venom nods. “Ghost is lucky to have you.”

“Thanks.”

He smiles, grabbing the door. “Open or closed.”

“Closed.”

“Night, Luna.”

“Goodnight.”

Venom shuts the door, and I glance in the drawer again. The picture of me is on top now, and I wonder if Ghost feels like I make this place feel like home too.

That’s what he is to me.

Not this building or these walls.

But him .

Ghost’s computer chimes, and I glance up to see a message flash on the screen.

He’s always tracking something, so I expect to see coordinates or sensors triggering. But instead, I’m met with a small box in the corner with a message.

Unknown : Time to set things right, Ghost. Turn over what’s ours. We hired Luna, but her job isn’t done yet. Refuse, and you’ll lose a lot more than your whore.

The computer chimes again as a picture comes through. It’s an image of Bea running around the compound. Next is a picture of Austin. Picture after picture, images flood the screen, showing the two of them happy before they take a darker tone. The next images are of ATF agents all over the property. Austin in the ambulance, and Bea crying in Legacy’s arms.

No one could have taken these shots unless they were here on the compound.

Unknown : Hand her over, or we’ll keep going until you have nothing left.

The raid.

The threats.

They’re doing this to get to me, and so long as I’m here, I’m continuing to let it happen.

I think about Venom’s words. How he said that I take care of the people around me. I’ve never thought about it because I do it out of instinct, but now that I know I’m the reason these terrible things are happening to them, my heart aches.

I glance down at the picture of Paulina, remembering what Ghost told me the Iron Sinners did to her. What if they did this to one of the girls at the club? Or worse, what if they hurt the kids?

I can’t let that happen because of me. I have to try to fight this. Reading the message again, I know there’s only one option.

Resting my fingers on the keys, I click into the message. I pull up a window and type a string of code to trace the IP address. But it pings all over the city, changing locations every few seconds.

Unknown : Trying to find me, Luna?

I freeze as I stare at the message.

Unknown : I know it’s you. I know how you operate. Come out now. Stop playing games, and they’ll be safe.

They could be lying, or this could be my best shot.

The screen lights up with an address and a deadline of two hours. It’s not enough time to wait for Ghost, and even if it was, he’d just try to stop me. I got us into this mess, and I need to get us out, whether I survive it or not.

Entering the address on my phone, I see it’s only fifteen miles away, so I scribble it on a piece of paper and tuck it in my pocket.

I delete the conversation on the computer and set my phone on his desk. Ghost won’t be able to track me without it. Hopefully, it’s enough time to face whoever hired me and convince them to stop.

If offering to work for them again will save the club, I have to try. The Twisted Kings protected me. They saved me. I owe them.

Ghost might hate me for leaving, but I love him too much to hurt the people he cares about. So, before he returns, I scribble out a final note and wish I could be here when he reads it.

Marcus,

Thank you for creating a home in my heart.

I love you,

Luna