Vindication: A Motorcycle Club Romance (3 page)

Bridget opened her mouth to protest,
but she realized Ghost actually had a point. She didn’t want to tell him that,
though. Instead, she just sighed. The smirk on his handsome face said he knew damn
well that he’d won that one.

“Anyway,” said Bridget, “I’m too
tired to clean up this entire debauched mess tonight.” She gestured widely at
the men and the table, and they laughed.

“You sound like every one of my
ex-wives,” said Frank.

“Do you want me to have the kitchen
bring out some tea?” Sid offered with a pat on her hand.

“No, Gramps, I think I’m just going
to head home. It’s been a long week. I just wanted to make sure you had what
you needed.”

“Okay, sweetie,” said Sid. Bridget
bent down and gave him a hug and kiss before making her way around the table to
give each of the senior gentlemen the same goodbye. When she finished, Ghost
was waiting for his turn with open arms, batting his eyelashes at her.

Bridget glared at him. “Nice try.”

“We’re all friends here,” said Ghost,
opening his arms wider.

Bridget rolled her eyes with a laugh
and turned back to the table. “Goodnight, gentlemen.”

The men chimed out their loving
goodbyes to her. Bridget stepped around Ghost’s open arms and headed out of the
common room toward the front desk and doors to the parking lot.

“Hey, wait!” said Ghost, turning to
follow her. “You can’t go yet.”

Bridget didn’t stop. “Funny, that’s
exactly what I’m doing.”

“I didn’t even get to ask any
questions about you,” said Ghost. He paced alongside her as they passed the
quiet front desk, under the lobby chandelier. “What’s your favorite Pokémon?
Mine’s Squirtle, but lately I’ve really been feeling the Charizard hype.”

“I’m actually shocked you know what Pokémon
is,” Bridget chuckled as the automatic doors opened before them.

“I know a lot of things,” said Ghost.
“But what I really want to know is when I can take you out for dinner. Somewhere
really fancy, because I can already tell you’re going to look amazing in an
expensive dress that will look equally amazing on my bedroom floor.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said
Bridget. Part of her actually seized up in excitement at his proposal, though.
He
was
blazingly handsome—big blue eyes in a boyish face, shaved head, a
thick moustache and beard of dirty blond hair, that body—and she couldn’t help
but feel disarmed at his incredibly goofy charm. Still, her knee-jerk reaction
was a hard
no
to a guy like him. She’d been around enough soldiers to
know they were nothing but trouble, especially ones who liked it.

And everything about Ghost told her
instinct that he liked it very, very much.

“Of course I’m not kidding! Have you
really never worn a fancy dress?”

“That’s not—”

“Because frankly, that’s weird, and
you should probably ask your parents about that sometime.”

“I meant you’ve got to be kidding if
you think I’m going to go on a date with you.” She stopped on the sidewalk
outside the circular driveway where residents were dropped off and met Ghost’s
face. He never seemed to stop smiling—even when his lips weren’t, his eyes
were. It was terribly endearing, but she held her ground.

“Not kidding even a little,” he said.
“I can’t pass up the chance at a woman like you.”

“I don’t remember saying you
had
a chance,” said Bridget.

Ghost’s smile widened. He didn’t
reply. He just stood there, grinning at her like an idiot. His gaze slowly
wandered up and down her body, and when she felt a flushed heat creeping up her
skin and face from his scrutiny, Bridget growled and turned to head for her
car.

“If you follow me to my car, I’ll
mace your eyes out,” she said. “You won’t be looking at any titties—Photoshopped
or otherwise—for a long time.” Her boots clacked on the pavement and she didn’t
look back.

From behind her, Ghost called out,
“Okay, sounds good! Pick you up at eight, then?”

~
THREE ~

Ghost

Ghost was already three beers deep by the time Jase
Campbell and Will Bowers showed up to the Black Dogs clubhouse that night.
Granted, the first two he had shotgunned in a competition with Tommy
Castillo—which he had won, thank you very much—but he still chose to gloat
about finally being on time over the Goody Two-Shoe Twins, for once.

“Did you guys have a bromance date
run late, or what?” said Ghost as the two moved around the tables in the
clubhouse den toward the bar. One of the new recruits had taken up the
bartending post, and he already had open beers stretching out to the bikers.
Will asked for a shot of whiskey and took it.

“You had all this extra time to think
of something to say, and that’s the best you’ve got?” said Jase with a smirk.

“Can it, Soupcan, I’m already drunker
than you so I don’t have to be clever.”

Will came up to Ghost’s right and
took a seat with his beer. The MC’s spymaster looked tired, dark rings starting
to form under his eyes, even if they were still glowing. Ghost asked him,
“How’s the mini cupcake? Baking nicely?”

Will gave him the half-smile he was
famous for and took a drink of beer. Even though it was early in the process,
Will had already become something of a nervous wreck about his impending
fatherhood. “So far. Eva has another appointment next week, and we should be
able to find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I think I’ll feel better once I have
that information.”

“I just hope it’s a puppy,” said
Ghost, sighing wistfully.

Jase slapped him on the back of the
head as he sat at Ghost’s left, and Ghost immediately slapped him back on the
shoulder as he lowered himself into the chair. “Shut up, dickhead.”

“What? It
is
technically the
next generation of Black Dogs.”

“Not if it’s a girl,” said Will with
a chuckle. “And God help me if she looks like her mother.”

“Speaking of girls,” said Ghost,
leaning back in his chair and throwing his boots on the tabletop, “I met the
most perfect one ever created today.”

Jase and Will both groaned together
and took a swig of beer. Ghost ignored them and continued.

“Her name is Bridget, and she is made
of sugar and spice and I assume some sort of Viking blood, if I had to guess. “

“Where’d you meet this perfect
woman?” asked Jase with a raised eyebrow.

“The same place everyone meets their
perfect woman: at the old folks’ home.”

Jase and Will laughed and shook their
heads. “You can’t be serious,” said Will.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
said Jase.

“She’s not an
old
,” said Ghost
with a snotty voice. “She’s Sid Dawson’s granddaughter.”

“Oh, shit, you mean that old dude who
knew Marty?” asked Jase. “I think I’ve met her before at the Legion. If I
remember, she was a stone cold fox.”

“I’ve always said you have a
beautiful memory,” said Ghost to Jase, rubbing the tip of his foot along Jase’s
arm teasingly. Jase swatted it away. “She is, indeed, a stone cold fox. And
she’s got some kick to her, too. I asked Sid to tell me about her after she
left, and when he said she was ex-Marine, woo boy…” He pretended to fan
himself. “Almost passed out from blood-flow-related biological functions right
then and there.”

“So she’s a super-hot lady, and she’s
a Marine?” Jase scoffed and took a drink of his beer. “I give you a fucking
week before she breaks your neck between her thighs.”

“If you’re lucky,” said Will.

“Dude, that would be the most
legendary and spectacular death a warrior could ask for,” said Ghost, pointing
hard at Jase. “And you fucking put my casket on
parade
if that’s how I
die. You make sure every asshole in this town knows how it went down!”

“Seriously, though, I wouldn’t mess
with her if you’re just gonna blow her off like the rest of them,” said Jase.
“Sid and Douglas are still close. You could cause tension.”

“Don’t you worry about Sid, we’re
tight. He’s totally fine with it.”

“You asked him?”

“It’s implied!” said Ghost with a
shrug and a raise of his palms. “Implied by our magnificent friendship.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“
You’re
an idiot. At least I
got laid today.”

“I’m married to Maggie Oliver. I get
laid every day.”

“Wait, you already fucked the Viking
chick?” interrupted Will.

Ghost waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, no, I fucked one of the nurses at the old folks home.”

Will laughed and exchanged a glance
with Jase. “And was this before or after you met the most perfect woman ever?”

“Before, obviously. Like, ten minutes
before? Who can remember; life before Bridget is just a blur.”

They laughed and threw out
disbelieving insults at him. Jase said, “Doesn’t that sound, I dunno… a little
insincere to you?”

“Psh,” said Ghost. “That’s just
bangin’. Bridget isn’t that. I can feel it.”

“You’re sure it’s not just a hard-on
you’re feeling?” said Will with a sarcastic smirk.

“You can put your hands down my pants
and investigate for yourself, Will Nye the science guy,” said Ghost, shifting
in his chair to offer his crotch to Will. Will stuck out a boot and kicked his
legs closed with a laugh.

Talk quickly devolved into man-child
prodding until the conference room door on the second floor swung open, and
Henry Oliver came out with heavy steps. He’d been gaining weight in the last
few years, doing what he could to fight it, but he was still a big man no
matter what he tried. He leaned over the bannister and waved a meaty hand at
them. “Boys, let’s get this going. I’ve got dinner reservations.”

“Well, aren’t you fancy!” Ghost
called out as he threw his feet on the floor.

Henry only grumbled under his breath
and went back into the conference room. Ghost exchanged glances with Jase and
Will, all of them wondering the same thing:
Fuck, what’s got the boss moody?

Single-file, they tromped up the
stairs and into the conference room. Douglas Dillon, the club’s VP, was already
seated at Henry’s right hand. Tommy Castillo, the newest member to the table,
was also waiting, and Ghost couldn’t help but lean over and start poking him
when he saw how straight and proper Tommy was sitting.

“You tryin’ to be teacher’s pet,
huh?” said Ghost as he jabbed at Tommy’s neck and arms. Tommy grunted and swore
through the involuntary laughter, trying to wiggle out of Ghost’s way. “Go
shine his apples!”

“Ghost, just sit the hell down,” said
Henry, exasperated. He didn’t even look over, just sat leaning back in his chair
like he wanted to sink into the floor.

Ghost wrinkled his nose like he
smelled something sour and took his seat between Jase and Tommy. “Real party
weekend in here, I see.”

Henry ignored him. Once Will closed
the door and took his seat, Henry twirled in his chair at the head of the table
and began speaking without looking directly at any of his men. “We’ve got a bit
of a problem that needs addressing, boys. We just got word from the charter in
Eagleton. They’re in a bad way and need our help to get out of it.”

Tommy and Ghost looked at each other
and groaned. They shared a mutual hatred of the charters from the big cities.
Jase glared at him from across the table, but Ghost just stuck his tongue out.
Henry either didn’t notice, or chose to ignore it.

“Right now, they are down to the
absolute D-list on their ranks. They’ve had a run of bad luck that’s put more
than a few guys out of commission, either doing time or healing up from
something physical. It’s starting to affect their ability to take jobs and, in
turn, their profits. They’ve asked for our help to fill in the gaps
temporarily.”

“Poor, rich city boys finally need
us, huh?” said Ghost, leaning back in his chair. “I say we leave them a flaming
bag of shit and nothing else.” Next to him, Tommy tried to hide his laughter.

“Ghost,” said Jase with a heavy look.
No one ever said it out loud, but Jase was definitely the club babysitter,
stepping in between Ghost’s charm and the less patient members of the MC when
needed.

It drove Ghost nuts. He hated the
feeling that anyone was trying to rein him in, or make him behave somehow other
than how he wanted. But there was nothing new about that feeling; everyone did
it to him. “Just foolin’ around, obviously,” he said in a dramatic voice.
“Other charters are great and totally not full of jagweeds! We should help.”

Henry dragged his gaze over Ghost for
a silent, tense moment before he began again. “It’s not just their profits that
are affected. If we don’t get them out of the hole now, eventually it’s going
to hurt traffic in the corridor. So what we’re going to do is send a contingent
group of Dogs up to Eagleton to help them out with their next delivery.”

“What are they running up there
again—AKs?” asked Will, scratching at his copper-colored scruff.

Henry nodded. “And some assorted
small arms. This run is a regular thing for them. It’s longer than ours
typically are, but sounds like a pretty straightforward run from the city out
to Burling.”

Ghost raised his eyebrows. “
Burling
?”

Henry glanced over a sheet of paper
scribbled with notes on the table in front of him. “It’s a small border town,
but apparently it’s a useful drop point because of its location on the highway.
Regardless, you won’t be there long. No hanging around the town after the drop
is made.”

“So what’s the plan?” said Jase to
Henry.

“I wanted to gather you here to get
volunteers first thing. The job is simple, but because none of us are familiar
with Eagleton’s route, there’s an added risk factor to take into account.
Volunteers first, and then I’ll make requests to fill the gaps after that. The
job will have a slight pay raise, too.”

Ghost lifted his hand and impatiently
started grunting. “Oh, me! Henry, me. I want to. I’ll do it. Henry.”

“Calm down, Ghost,” said Henry,
waving his hand without looking from Jase. “I automatically put your name on
the top of the list for any dangerous job.”

Ghost sat back in his seat,
satisfied. “Yes.”

“I’ll go,” said Jase.

“Same,” added Will. “Extra money for
the nursery would be great.”

“I want to go,” said Tommy. “I
haven’t done a job outside of the corridor yet.”

“Good idea,” said Douglas, pointing
down the table. “Get your connections with the other charters established now,
Tommy.  You’ll be glad for them down the road.”

“All right,” said Henry. “The four of
you should be a fine enough group to pad their ranks for now. We don’t have any
big jobs on the horizon, anyway, so this is the perfect time to lose all of you
for a few days. Just get a hold of me if things turn out to be in worse condition
than we thought.”

“Is that something you’re afraid of?”
asked Will.

Henry shook his head, but his
expression didn’t quite match it. “You just never know how things are going to
look until you get there. Keep me informed. Jase, you’ll be the leader of this
three-ring circus.”

“Got it,” said Jase.

“You boys need to be in Eagleton in
three days.”