Page 202 of American Hellhound
Roman took a shaky breath and reached to push his hair off his face; when he did, his sleeve bunched up and Ghost caught a glimpse of raw, abraded skin at his wrist. Rope burn. “The Ryders kinda, uh, well, they found me.”
“Shit.”
Maggie swallowed with an audible gulp. “They turned you loose?”
“I, uh…” He flicked a sideways grin that was more of a grimace. “The girl they had looking after me, bringing me food and stuff, took a shine to me. I flirted a little bit. Got her to untie one of my hands.” He shrugged.
“So they’re looking for you,” Ghost said.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Why’d they keep you alive in the first place?”
“Thought they could work something out with Duane, I guess.”
“Jesus.” Ghost was exhausted, suddenly. “This is a goddamn soap opera.”
“Ghost–” Roman started.
“Shut up. I’m thinking.”
“This kind of thing won’t go away until the Dogs prove they’re the dominant entity around here,” Maggie said, reasonable, calm. He’d turned her into a regular little outlaw.
“Yeah. You stay here,” he said to Roman. “I gotta set some stuff up. This is ending.I’mending it.”
~*~
“What do you want me to do?” James asked.
Act like the goddamn VP you are, Ghost thought. He said, “I want you to come to a parlay with me. The heads of all the crime families in the area. We’re gonna have a real sit-down with them, and you’re gonna act as Lean Dogs president.”
James set his glass of sweet tea down slowly, shooting Ghost a raised-brow look. His voice was infuriatingly calm. “I’d like to remind you that we already have a president.”
Stella’s was packed with its usual lunch crowd, and no one was paying them any attention. Still, Ghost lowered his voice another notch. “And I’d like to remindyouthat he’s a piece of shit. This town’s a powder keg right now.” One growing hotter every day beneath the surface. The laughing, chatting café patrons around them had no idea. One day they’d wake to the news that a gunfight had erupted in one of their neighborhoods, and they’d wonder where this “new” criminal element came from – when it had been growing quietly in the shadows all along.
“This is Knoxville, James, not Oakland. I don’t want this turning into some kinda California gang city. We need to get a handle on this now, and we can’t do that with Duane.”
James was expressionless, spearing pasta with his fork. “What do you propose we do about him, then?”
Ghost took a deep, unsteady breath. “Vote him out. Take his patches.”
“You don’t sound too sure about that.”
“Oh trust me, I am.”
James chewed, eyes steady on Ghost’s face. When he swallowed, he said, “I don’t know if the boys will take your word for it.”
“No, but they’ll take yours. Just like they accept it if you make me your VP.”
“That’s what I’m doing, then?”
“Yeah. That’s what you’re doing.”
~*~
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Ithink it is,” Ghost said, more viciously than he’d intended. He was buzzing with nerves, and more concerned about Mags and Aidan than he should have been – he acknowledged that, but it didn’t mean he could change the way he felt.
