Page 48 of The Ghost of Rage's War

“I need to cover your back. Because no brother should be alone now,” Ghost retorted.

“You can follow, but don’t interfere,” Manny warned, and Ghost nodded.

Ghost clocked that Manny spotted Ghost was wearing his cut. The old emblem and patch were onit, but it meant that Ghost was no longer hiding. He was operating in plain sight, and Ghost saw puzzlement cross Manny’s face.

Yeah, bro, he thought, I’m in the open. Ghost is back.

Fifteen minutes later, Manny pulled into a side clearing that was little known and spotted Inglorious straddling his bike. Inglorious had a gun aimed at the rider behind him, and Manny waved him down.

Ghost watched as Inglorious did a double take and snickered as Inglorious spoke.

“Fuck me!” he said, shocked.

“Drake will no doubt update you later. For now, we have an issue,” Manny announced as he balanced his motorbike between his legs.

“Shit. Whatever,” Inglorious replied with a look at Ghost.

Ghost paid attention as Manny and Inglorious talked about Isabelle, a girl they both felt responsible for. He listened in case it had something to do with Fury. Fury would be searching for any weakness, and Isabelle could be seen as one.

As they wound up, Inglorious turned to Ghost. “That’s gonna be a story I wanna know about,” Inglorious exclaimed with a nod.

“One we all fuckin’ want to hear.” No sooner had the words left Manny’s mouth his phone pinged.

Ghost peered over his shoulder and saw an emergency church had been called. This was his time. Manny replied he’d be forty minutes as they took his leave. He rode off with Ghost on his six. Manny wasbringing a gift that Rage MC would either kill or welcome. Ghost wondered if he should open a book.

???

Ghost slipped inside behind Manny and paused. He drew in a deep breath, and even though this was a new clubhouse, it smelt familiar. He noticed hundreds of pictures pinned to a wall and smiled slightly as he passed them.

Ghost was home; this was his blood, his MC, his brothers.

Manny entered church with Ghost on his heels. Ghost saw everyone was present, including the new brothers he’d yet to meet. Manny moved to the side as Ghost straightened his shoulders.

Drake was the first to see him as he faced Manny directly. “About time. Cowboy and Wild have something they…” Drake’s voice faded as a look of sheer disbelief crossed his face.

Apache reacted next as Texas leapt up. One-by-one, the brothers turned to stare at the man who’d entered behind Manny. Ghost almost laughed as Manny stepped to the side, out of the range of everyone’s anger, and held Drake’s eyes. He kept quiet, waiting for Drake to talk.

“So, your shit has ended,” Drake finally stated.

“No, but I have got the proof I’ve been searching for. Those kids gotta speak first before I do,” Ghost replied.

“Don’t you dare think you can walk back in here and issue orders!” Axel bellowed, making everyonejump as he exploded. “Fifteen fuckin’ years. And we only knew you were alive four years ago! Fuck you, brother!” Axel spat.

“You need to listen to those kids. What they are about to tell you is a part of what I’ve been hunting down,” Ghost replied.

And as he expected, boom, the room exploded with Apache leading the way. Ghost was rather surprised at the amount of anger around. Surely, they should have rid themselves of some of it because they’d known he was alive for a while.

“You’ve no fucking right to make demands.” Apache growled.

“Brother…”

“Ain’t no brother of mine. No man I call brother would go dark for eleven years, letting me think he was worm food. And then I find he is alive four years ago because he’s in the car that runs my woman down. Ain’t my brother,” Apache snarled.

“I’ll say this once. And I ain’t saying it again. If I had known the target was Silvie, I’d have put a bullet in his head. I did not recognise her until it was too late,” Ghost said calmly.

Inside, his gut was twisting. He might seem calm, but he was anything but. Ghost understood how his brothers felt and let them have their heads, even if the intensity of their rage surprised him.

“Fuck you! You are only standing there breathing because this is sacred ground. No blood is spilt in church. Outside, fucker, you’re mine. Don’t think you are welcome here!” Apache continued.

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