22. Ghost

Sitting in the Levkins' conference room, I'm uneasy. Something is going to happen. I can feel it in my bones, and I don't like it a damn bit. I'm here with Shadow and E-Z and I'd rather be with my woman making sure she's okay.

"I must admit, I'm not sure why you wanted this meeting today. We met with Lennox yesterday. I'm not sure why there would be any issues. She's happy and is going to remain here in Phoenix. It's the best outcome we could have hoped for. However, if you upset our Lennox, Ghost, it will not end well for you. Treat her like the queen that she is.

"We're trying to make sure all of the connections with Bones are severed. The last thing I want is to have my woman get blindsided by them," I respond. Ivan frowns.

"I don't see how that is possible. We, along with Killian and his men saw to the issues personally. My brothers and I just handled Dimitri ourselves. That's where we've been. So, I'm not sure what the problem is. Lennox confided that she will be happy staying at the club with you. I'd say all is well that ends well, or whatever that old adage is," Viktor answers.

My heart squeezes in my chest. She told them that she will be saying with me. I can't express the emotion that unleashes inside of me and I'm not going to try. I'll take Lennox wherever she wants to go. I won't ask her to stay in a city that holds bad memories for her. My only concern is her happiness."

"Actually, I'd prefer she stay in Phoenix. She is our family. We want her close by."

"I'd like the file you have compiled on who killed Lennox's brother," E-Z injects.

Ivan smirks at him. "What makes you think I have a file.

"Because if Lennox is family, so was her brother."

"You're starting to understand me. You might be smarter than Viktor gives you credit for," Ivan chuckles.

Viktor grunts, making E-Z laugh. "We're just asking to see the file. We want to be able to assure Lennox that her revenge has been had and help her get it if not. The club was a mess when I got here. It took a lot to find the ones that remain. There's a chance I missed someone. If the file you have will reveal that, I want to know. If I haven't cleaned out the club enough, I will. It's as simple as that. Lennox may be family to you, but she's one of ours now, too."

"How do you know my little Lennox wants revenge?" he taunts. This is all a cat and mouse game to Ivan. He knows he's going to show us the file. He's just dragging it out. Right now, though, he's going too far.

"She's mine. Not yours. Remember that," I growl, not giving a fuck that the man is the head of the Bratva.

"Is that so?" Ivan asks, sizing me up.

"It is. Lennox will want revenge. She's alive because of that need. She's a warrior."

"Well done, I, however, think that you have no idea just how much of a warrior she is. The woman is fierce."

He's not telling me anything I don't know. I let it slide, however, because he hands me over the file. I sift through it immediately. There's not much there. "This isn't helpful," I mutter, scrubbing my face with my hand, somehow feeling even more on edge.

"I know, that's why Lennox felt that dismantling the club completely was the only way to achieve her need for vengeance. We didn't want to support it, yet we would have. Alas, she met you and called a halt to everything."

I smirk, but my victory is short lived when E-Z looks up from the file. Are you saying you have no leads whatsoever into who killed her brother?"

"Not really," Mikhail answers. "We were able to get into Bones' video uploads on his phone because, as you know, we had it mirrored before your men took care of him. There are no faces in the video. Just a man holding the gun with a black glove on."

"Can we see the video?" E-Z asks.

Ivan frowns. "I'm not a man to get squeamish but it's not a video one wants to see."

"I understand that. I don't really want to, but I need to. We could see something you don't."

Ivan looks at his brothers. They all grimace but nod. "So be it," Ivan sighs.

He motions to Mikhail and the other man punches some buttons on a control panel by the conference table. A monitor slides out from the wall and the screen goes black for a second before a video begins playing.

"I want my sister!" the kid cries. He's been hit several times in the face. His dark hair is wet, too. One of his eyes is swollen together. They obviously roughed him up before tying him to a chair. "I want Lenny. Please. Get Lenny," he begs.

Seeing an innocent child, who really has no idea what's going on breaks something inside of me. How in the hell did Lennox survive after watching this? She loved this little boy with all her heart. It's no wonder she survived. She's kept breathing to make these fuckers pay. God, his woman was strong. Stronger than he ever was, but that will change. I'll become stronger, I'll be whatever I need to be to make sure she's safe and happy.

"That kid is too fucking young and innocent. I wish like hell bones was still alive. I'd make his death hurt more than it did," E-Z snarls.

"You'll see your sister very soon," a man says off camera. His voice is muffled as if he's speaking through a mask.

"That's Gritt talking," Shadow says. "He's one of the first men he got rid of when he took over. He's dead."

I nod, wincing and disgust burning through me as boy screams once more. "I want my Lenny!" His wailing continues, sounding as if it is being torn from his sweet, innocent soul. "Want my Lenny! Lenny! Lenny, help me!"

A man enters the scene enough to be picked up by camera. All you can see is a revolver and a hand with a black glove at first. Then, his arm is there and there's a distinctive tattoo on it. The moment I see it, I lose my mind. On screen the man shoots the kid in the back of the head, but my gaze is on the tattoo that currently has blood splattered over it. It's a tattoo of an older woman with her hair up in a bun. I know that tattoo. My fist comes down so hard on the conference table that it cracks immediately. My gaze is locked onto the screen as that fucking hand of the man, I thought was a friend, shoves the lifeless kid to the floor. The man that Shadow identified as Gritt steps into view—and he is wearing a black face mask.

"Get rid of the body," he orders. "Let's get this shit done."

"Back up the film," I order Mikhail. "Stop," I order when it's at the spot I want. "Freeze the frame." E-Z and Shadow stand. Until this moment, I didn't realize that I'm already standing. Ivan looks at us.

"You know who that is?"

"That's fucking Iron!" E-Z growls, but I'm already running to the door.

"That motherfucker is with my woman!" I yell, feeling like my world is ending.

I have to get to her in time. I have to.