Black Dogs Motorcycle Club: Full Series Box Set (44 page)

“You
are
goddamn
American heroes, and no American hero is going without access to booze and
Photoshopped titties. Not on my watch.”

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.