GHOST: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Evil Dead MC Series Book 5) (11 page)

“All set?”

She nodded.

He swung his leg over the bike, lifted it off its kickstand and fired it up. Then he motioned her to climb on behind him. When she was on, he rolled over and got in the line next to one of his brothers, who looked over and nodded to him, then smiled at her and winked.

She grinned back.

He revved his throttle and turned his attention to the line waiting to pull out. A moment later, the bikes roared to life as the line began to move. When Ghost hit the on-ramp, he twisted his head and yelled over his shoulder, “Hold the fuck on.”

She tightened her arms around his waist, and he gunned the throttle. She felt the bike surge forward beneath her. When they reached the top of the ramp, Ghost and the brother to his left eased over in synchronization as if they’d been doing this maneuver for years. Which, she supposed they had.

The wind surged over her, and she watched the landscape soar by.

It was the most thrilling experience of her life. She’d never been on a bike before, except for one time when she’d begged her brother, Tommy, to give her a ride on his dirt bike. He’d refused, but later that afternoon, after her brother had gone to a dentist appointment with their mom, Ghost had sneaked her a ride to the end of the block and back. She remembered holding him tight. He’d been just a boy, then. It was a whole different story holding on to the muscled man he was now.

She smiled, resting her cheek against his back, recalling the memory. A moment later she felt his left hand settle over her thigh just above her knee and give her a reassuring pat and squeeze. It was almost as if he was letting her know he was happy she was on the back of his bike.

And she couldn’t stop a strange feeling from running through her that maybe, just maybe, this was where she’d always belonged. It had just taken her a long roundabout way to get here. But she was here now. Finally.

Five hundred
long
miles later, the club pulled up to the clubhouse of the Omaha, Nebraska Chapter, and their hosts for the night. Surprisingly, it was an unassuming, large clapboard two-story building that looked like it was built around the turn of the last century. It was buried back in an old neighborhood on the corner of a tiny side street that ended in a dead-end that butted up against the rail yards. As they rolled up on the corner, Jessie looked up at the side of the building. There were four windows on the second floor, each one covered with a banner with a different letter that spelled out: E D M C. It didn’t take her long to figure out that stood for
Evil Dead Motorcycle Club.

The windows on the first floor were bricked up with glass blocks. There was one entrance on the side, and some type of warning sign was posted on it, but they rolled by too quickly for her to read what it said.

They rolled around the corner, and she got a look at the front of the building. Two narrow windows up top had vertical banners covering them from the inside. One read,
Evil.
The other read,
Dead.

On the ground floor, on either side of the main entrance were two big windows, each covered with a flag of the Evil Dead logo.

As her eyes scanned the building, she also noticed cameras mounted up high in several locations as well as security floodlights. There was a big, newer addition on the right that didn’t have a single window, just a door. There was also a six-foot high wooden privacy fence with a gate.

The bikes began backing to the curb and parking in a line that extended all the way to the dead-end and back up the other side of the street. Ghost and the man riding next to him maneuvered into a spot. When he stopped, she scrambled off quickly, and he rested the bike on its kickstand, climbing off himself.

Ghost and his brothers took a moment to stretch, some lighting up smokes before they began to head through the gate and bleed into the large compound.

Jessie moaned as she stretched and rubbed her sore ass.

Ghost grinned. “You sore, brat?”

“Uh, we did just ride all day, so yeah, I’m a little sore.”

Ghost chuckled, took her hand and led her inside the compound. She immediately noticed a large group of women waiting to greet the Omaha Chapter back like returning conquering heroes.

There was hugging and kissing and drinks passed around.

She soon found herself pressed against Ghost’s side, tucked under his arm, with a beer in her hand, standing among a group of his brothers. There was food cooking on several grills, and tables laden with food. The ol’ ladies obviously took care of their men, as well as all the visiting chapters. With no time wasted, the party started cranking up, and even though the men had to be tired from the ride in, it didn’t seem to slow them down in the least.

Jessie took it all in, watching the interactions between the men. But it was the women that fascinated her. Some openly stared at her, some with suspicion that bordered on hostility, some with just curiosity. She couldn’t stop herself from asking Ghost about it.

“Why are they staring at me?”

Ghost’s eyes followed the direction of her eyes.

“They’re wondering who the hell you are, and why you rode in with the club when they all know the annual run to Sturgis is for the club only, no ol’ ladies invited.”

“Should I be worried? Are they going to hassle me?” She knew they questioned why she was there. But apparently they knew better than to ask.

“Naw, since you didn’t show up with anybody from their chapter, they’ll pretty much let it go.” Ghost nodded in the direction of one of the meaner looking ol’ ladies. “Now if you had ridden in on the back of her ol’ man’s bike it’d be a different story.”

Jessie looked up at Ghost and saw the teasing twinkle in his eyes.

“Good thing I didn’t then, huh?”

He grinned. “Yup.”

Jessie took a sip of her beer, and then the thought crossed her mind that perhaps Ghost had an ol’ lady. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She’d never even considered it. Would she have to stand and watch some woman welcome him home with open arms? She felt her stomach drop at the thought. And even though she was almost afraid to hear the answer, the words came out of her mouth.

“Will there be an ol’ lady waiting for you when we get back to your clubhouse?”

“You worried about getting beat up?” he asked with a grin, and she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. That wasn’t it at all. She
was
afraid of getting hurt, but not in the way he was talking about.

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“No, Jess, there’s no ol’ lady waitin’ on me.”

“Don’t let him fool you, darlin’. They’ll be women waitin’ on him, just no ol’ ladies,” Shades teased her with a grin, and then held a bottle of Jack Daniels out to her.

“Shut up,” Ghost told him as she took it and drank.

She imagined what Shades said was true. Ghost was a very good-looking man. Of course there’d be women, probably a whole line of them. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she didn’t have time to consider it.

Another one of the members of Ghost’s chapter walked up, saying, “I think I’m in love.”

“Well, I’ve got just the cure for that, Hammer,” Ghost said, shoving a bottle of Tequila at him, probably glad for the timely interruption.

Hammer took it, grinning. “I just got a blow job from that cute redhead over there, and now she’s off getting me a burger and a beer.” He took a bow. “And that, my brothers, is how it’s done.”

Jessie stared at him with her mouth open.

He looked back at her with a shy grin and lifted his arms, his shoulders shrugging. “Hey, when you got it, you got it.”

Griz pulled a cigarette from his mouth and teased, “Yeah? Well five bucks says she’ll change her mind about you by morning.”

“Fuck off,” Hammer snapped back.

“Yeah, you can always tell how a woman really feels about you by the way she cuts your brake lines,” Heavy put in.

The others all turned to look at him.

“Maybe that’s just me,” he murmured.

Ghost turned to Shades and said, “Bet I stopped listening before you did.”

Shades burst out laughing, and Jessie giggled.

Ghost took the bottle out of her hand and handed it back to Shades. “Stop givin’ her booze, she’s a lightweight.”

“I am not,” she insisted, staring up at him, then ruined it by hiccupping.

Shades grinned down at her, then reached up and ruffled her hair. “You tell him, girl.”

“I think you’ve had enough partying, brat,” Ghost insisted.

Jessie looked up at Ghost. “Are we staying here tonight?”

“Naw. It’s crowded as fuck with all the chapters passing through, even with the Omaha boys crashing at their own cribs, there’s not much room here. Besides, I figured you’d be more comfortable in a motel.” His eyes connected with hers. “Am I right?”

She nodded and yawned.

Ghost smiled as he watched her.

“Aren’t you tired?” she asked.

“Yeah, a little. You obviously are.”

She hiccupped again, and both Shades and Ghost chuckled.

“Time to go, brat,” Ghost insisted, taking her by the arm and steering her through the crowd. He led her out to his bike, and they headed down the road.

Jessie laid her head down on Ghost’s back and held on tight. Surprisingly, she dozed off. Also surprisingly, she didn’t fall off.

CHAPTER SEVEN

A few miles from the Omaha Clubhouse, Ghost spotted a cheap motel and slowed to turn in. Just as he was making the turn across lanes and into the drive, a Cadillac with an old man driving roared out. Ghost swerved to avoid him, but the old man clipped his back tire, and Ghost lost control and laid the bike down. When he did, they slid about ten feet across the parking lot.

When they went down, Jess slid clear of the bike, but it landed on Ghost’s leg. He quickly scrambled to lift the six hundred pound bike off of where it had his leg pinned. As he did so, he twisted to see where Jess was and if she was okay. He called out to her. “Jessie! You okay?”

She didn’t respond right away, but he saw her roll over slowly and sit up. He yanked his leg free and scrambled to his feet, moving quickly to her side, favoring his left leg.

“Babe, are you hurt?” he asked, squatting down next to her.

She leaned to one side, her hand going to her hip and thigh, and wincing. “My side.”

Ghost rolled her, his hand pulling up her shirt and jacket to look. The skin was fine. Then he moved down to her hip and thigh, and he could see that when they slid across the pavement, her shorts had been pushed up and exposed the skin between the bottom hem of her shorts and where the chaps started. There was about a three-inch scrape on her skin.

“Fuck, babe. I’m sorry.”

She struggled to sit up.

“You’re hurt. Just stay down.”

The manager of the motel came running out of the office.

“Are you okay?”

Ghost glanced up at the man. “I’m good. She’s hurt.”

“Do you want me to call 911?”

“No, please. I’m fine,” Jessie begged.

“You sure, babe?” Ghost asked her, frowning.

“It’s just a scrape.”

“There’s a first-aid kit in the office. It really should be cleaned up, ma’am.”

Ghost looked up at the man. “Yeah, that’d be good. We were pulling in to get a room. You got one?”

“Yeah, got one left, the handicapped room, first floor. Please, come in the office. Are you sure you don’t want to report this?”

“An old man in a Caddy hit us. He took off. He’s long gone by now. Nothin’ the cops can do about it now but file a report, and that’s a waste of time for all of us.”

The man nodded and glanced over to where Ghost’s bike still lay on its side in the middle of the parking lot. “Let’s get her inside, and I’ll help you with your bike.”

“Thanks, man.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were checked into a nearby ground floor room, Ghost’s bike parked outside the door. Luckily, the accident had just bent the passenger foot peg, scraped some paint and damaged his taillight. Yeah, he was pissed, but those were easy fixes. He was just thankful Jessie hadn’t been hurt more seriously. Especially when he noticed the scratches on her helmet as he removed it and set it on the dresser.

He guided her to sit on the bed and tossed the first-aid kit that the manager had given him onto the bed next to her. The man had offered to help her, but Ghost had declined. No way in hell was he letting the man put his hands on Jess, especially given that the area that needed attention happened to be on her lower hip.

She shrugged out of the jacket Ghost had given her, dropping it down to the bed. Ghost grabbed it and tossed it aside; thankful she’d had it on. It had saved her from a far worse injury, protecting her tender skin from the asphalt.

He knelt down in front of her and began removing her boots, cursing silently to himself that he should have seen the Cadillac sooner. She moaned as he pulled off her left boot. His eyes flashed up to hers. “Jess, are you hurt worse than you’re lettin’ on?”

“I’m okay, just banged up a bit. That’s all, I swear.”

He took her small foot in his hand and rotated her ankle gently, watching for any sign in her reaction that maybe she’d broken it. “Does that hurt?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m fine, Ghost.”

He nodded, pulling off the other boot, and then rising to his feet awkwardly. When she saw him favoring his leg, she asked, “Ghost, you’re the one that’s hurt. Your leg—”

“I’m okay. Just got it hung up under the bike. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, now let’s get these chaps off you, darlin’,” he said in a low voice, his hands already moving to the zippers that ran up the outside of each leg. He gently removed them, taking care not to brush against the scraped area. “We need to get you out of those short, too. Lie back.”

She did, giving him no lip for once. He unzipped the shorts and carefully eased them down, studying her face and watching for pain as he did so. He could tell the effects of the alcohol she’d drunk at the clubhouse were still dulling her senses, and he was glad for it. It may actually have done some good, keeping her body loose when they went down, otherwise, if she’d tensed up, she may have hurt herself worse, perhaps even broken a bone.

Shit, he’d like to catch up with that old man and kick his motherfucking car door in. He blew out a breath, letting go of the anger. It wouldn’t do her any good for him to get riled up right now.

She lie back against the pillows in nothing but his flannel shirt, and her bra and panties. Ghost swallowed and reached for the first aid kit as he sat on the bed next to her.

“Roll on your side, Jessie. Let me have a look,” he instructed softly. She complied, rolling to face him. He examined the scrape. It was bleeding a bit, but not too bad. “How much does it hurt?”

“It stings a little.”

He grinned. “I’ll bet. Don’t worry; I’ll fix you up. Stay right there while I go wash my hands first.”

“Okay, Doc,” she teased. He smiled and headed into the bathroom to scrub his hands. When he returned to sit beside her, her eyes were closed.

“You with me, brat?” he asked as he opened the kit and dug around for an antiseptic wipe. Her eyes opened, and she tried to smile.

“I’m still here.”

“I know you’ve had a lot to drink, but stay with me okay.” He tore open the packet and took out the wipe. “This may sting a little, sweetheart.”

She hissed when he gently cleaned the area.

“Sorry, Jess. I’m trying to be careful.”

“I know you are, it’s okay,” she whispered, and his eyes flicked up to hers.

He winked at her. “Your first case of road rash.”

“Is this some type of initiation?”

Ghost chuckled. “Maybe. But I didn’t lay the bike down on purpose.”

“I guess I dozed off. Last I remember we were pulling away from the clubhouse. I’m lucky you didn’t lose me back on the road somewhere.”

“I felt your weight against my back, I had one hand clamped around your forearm. I wouldn’t have let you fall, brat.”

“What happened?”

“Guy almost hit us. Old man in a Caddy. He came barreling out and clipped the back of my tire as we pulled in the lot. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt more seriously.” He shook his head. “I’d have never forgiven myself if something had happened to you.”

“I’m okay, Ghost. It’s just a scrape.”

“You were on the back of my bike. I take that shit seriously, Jess.”

“I know you do.”

He tossed the antiseptic wipe in the trash and dug out a packet of antibiotic ointment. He squeezed some out on his finger and dabbed it tenderly across her scrape, his eyes again watching hers for signs he was hurting her. “This has an analgesic in it, so it should help with the pain.”

She nodded, closing her eyes as he finished.

“Okay, babe. I’m done. You can open your eyes again.” She did, and he grinned at her. “I think you’ll survive. You want me to cover it with a bandage or leave it exposed to the air?”

“Leave it.”

“Okay, but you’ll need to sleep on your side.”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

He dug some pain meds out of the kit and moved to the dresser. Picking up one of the plastic cups next to the ice bucket, he pulled the paper wrapping off it. Then he moved to the bathroom and filled it half way with water. He returned to the bed, and stood beside it as he held the pills and glass out to her.

“Here, take these.”

She went up on an elbow and took the pills, tossing them back then reaching for the glass and chasing the pills down with water. She gave him back the glass, and he set it down on the nightstand

It was then he noticed for the first time that the room only had one bed. Fuck.

She lifted her hand to him. “Lie with me.”

He shrugged off his cut and tossed it over a chair, then he sat on the side of the bed to pull his boots off. They landed with a thud on the carpet. He stood. “I’m gonna take a shower. Wash some of this road grime off.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

His eyes slid over her bare legs, and he swallowed, thinking he might make that a cold shower.

Fifteen minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom, his jeans pulled back on, the top button undone. His eyes swept over Jessie as he moved toward the bed. Her eyes were closed, her hands tucked under her cheek. He smiled. In sleep, she looked like the young girl he remembered. He slid on the bed next to her, his back to the pillow and headboard and put his arm around her. She snuggled closer, her head moving onto his chest and her leg sliding over his thighs. Her arm stole across his bare abs.

He kissed the top of her head, his hand coming up and his fingers sliding through her hair, over and over. His eyes couldn’t help but drift down to her ass that was revealed as the flannel shirt rode up. He fought the urge to take his hand from where it played with her hair and move it down to stroke and squeeze that cute ass cheek. His jaw clenched as he tried to tamp down the desire he felt swelling. He couldn’t have thoughts like that. Not about her. Then his eyes moved along her hip to the red scraped skin, and he closed his eyes, again thanking God that things hadn’t been worse.

He’d promised Tommy he’d look out for her; take care of her if something ever happened to him. It was a promise he intended to keep. She hadn’t made it easy, running off like she had, disappearing from his life, but he’d understood it, understood why. And with the way things had been before he’d moved out, maybe distance was the best thing between them. But now she’d come back into his life, in typical Jess fashion, bursting upon him with all the drama of a chase scene. Jess couldn’t do anything simple or the easy way. No, it always came with drama and flair.

Question was, what the hell was he going to do with her? When they got back to Birmingham, the trouble she was running from would follow. Which meant he’d need to keep her safe, and that meant he’d need to keep her close.

And there was the rub of it. The two of them together, how long would it be before he couldn’t fight the attraction that flared up every time he was near her, the desire that right now was clawing at his gut?

As if she read his thoughts or maybe felt the sexual energy vibrating through his body, her hand began to move across his abs, her palm gliding over his skin, lighting him up like a fucking Christmas tree, a trail of static electricity shooting straight to his groin.

The hand that still toyed with her hair froze. Her head lifted, her big eyes coming to his before dropping to his mouth.
Ah, hell. Don’t look at me like that, babe.

She only had to move a couple of inches, sliding up ever so slightly, and their lips met. Soft at first, just a touch, and then her mouth opened, and the tip of her tongue traced along his lips.

And fuck, that’s all it took.

His hand in her hair tightened, holding her head as his tipped to the side to fit their mouths together, and he opened and took her kiss, taking over control, taking the lead. His other palm came up and cupped her face, holding her head immobile as his tongue swept inside her mouth.

Jesus Christ, he’d forgotten how sweet her kiss was. No, that was wrong. He remembered. He remembered every blessed moment of that kiss they’d shared so long ago. But she wasn’t sixteen anymore. She was a woman now. And her half naked body was pressed against his in a soft warm bed. A situation that could test the will of a saint, and he was no saint.

He couldn’t stop his hand from straying down her throat to the opening of that soft flannel shirt of his she still wore, his fingers curling around the first button, popping it free, then the second, which was all she had buttoned. The edges fell free, and his hand slid inside. He’d been expecting to find her lacy bra underneath, but when his hand closed over warm silky skin, he broke the kiss, staring down at her.

“Where’s your bra?”

She looked up at him dazed and confused, a little frown creasing her brow as she answered, “I took it off.”

He hadn’t meant to go this far, hell he hadn’t meant to do any of this. And he could tell, looking down into her eyes that she was still a little tipsy. He pulled his hand away, but not before realizing just how perfect her breasts were, soft and warm in his hand, how perfectly they fit. He gritted his teeth, pushing her away, his hand closing over her upper arm to do so.