Page 15 of Ghost

I glance over at Legacy. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“You’re dismissed.” Steel juts his chin to the door, and Havoc stands.

He circles the table to usher me out of the room in the same way he brought me in here. And even if it feels impossible, I fight the weight of guilt holding me down and manage to find my way to my feet. I look at Ghost a final time before turning to leave.

I’m free to stay. I’m not a prisoner. Yet, everything has changed. I’m not off the hook, no matter what part I did or didn’t play.

Every glance.

Every pause.

They’re questioning me.

The men I’ve put my trust in don’t know if it’s safe for them to do the same.

My heart cracks at that thought—at another family slowly slipping through my fingers.

I wanted to believe this would be different. That I found a home and people I belonged with. I wanted to believe that even if Ghost was incapable of returning my affection, he cared.

But Ghost lied to me. He brought me here, knowing what I’d done. He put me in this familiar position of being alone.

When I leave the room, they aren’t smiling and friendly like we’ve been this past year. They’re cautious. They’ve lost their faith in me.

I’m a threat.

A traitor.

Ghost probably thinks he was protecting me by shielding me from the truth, but his lies dug my grave with the Twisted Kings. Now, I have no choice but to climb into it and hope they don’t bury me alive.

4

Ghost

I did it allfor her.

I remind myself of that truth as I walk into the Shack, having broken my oath to my brothers. Guilt overwhelms me, but I’d do it all again if it meant protecting Luna. Which is why I’ll accept whatever punishment Steel deems fitting.

I’ve spent one year in denial. I avoided Luna as much as possible and pretended her purple hair didn’t catch my attention every time she walked into the room. I lied to myself and tried to ignore the siren song of her giggle. I acted like her blue eyes didn’t alter my brain chemistry, and that one look didn’t give her the power to make me betray everything I stand for.

The facts remain.

I lied to my club for her.

I betrayed my president for her.

And I don’t regret a thing.

Legacy walks up to me the second I step foot inside the Shack, gritting his teeth. “This is bullshit. We were already at war with those fuckers before she got involved.”

“That’s not the point.”

“You shouldn’t have to be the martyr just to prove a point.”

Legacy is my brother beyond the patch, so I’m not surprised he’s taking it the hardest. We’ve been friends since birth, and after I lost my family, his parents took me in. They introduced me to the club and showed me family can be more than a room full of broken people using each other like emotional punching bags.

Legacy has been at my side through the worst of times, and I’m closer to him and his daughter than anyone else in this world. But in this moment, that’s clouding his judgment.

I made this mess, and it’s time I face it.

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