Page 14 of Ghost

Within ten minutes six men rode out of the compound. Maxi, Easy, and Poke from the Ops and Coast, Tank, and Bull from Black Hawk. I was slowly learning their names, but what I noticed most was the interaction the men had with Brax earlier.

I’d thought then that he had landed in a good spot. He’d needed a place to heal from the loss of his family and they’d given it to him. I’d even gotten to speak privately for a few minutes with Flirt. He’d been the one to convince Brax to go home with him after they left the SEALs.

When I focused back in from my thoughts and looked around at the men who were left, Flirt caught my eye and winked. I smiled at him and thought about what he’d said when I thanked him for helping Brax. His short reply of‘That’s what family does,’meant everything to me and showed me just how much they cared for Brax.

While we waited for the ones who left to check in, the men talked about how to handle everything if they found the others at the marina. I only caught bits and pieces as the other womenandI cleared plates and put the leftover food away.

I wanted to be alone with Brax, but I was thankful for the extra time to deal with the feelings thatcreptup on me when I saw him again. I also knew I needed to talk with him and I wasn’t in a hurry there.

When we finished in the kitchen, we walked back into the main room and sat back down to catch more of the men’s plan.

“So, we all agree. Furies stay and cover bothcompounds,and your club and mine go. If they are in the warehouses, we hit before dawn. Preferably around three a.m. Now, if the men would check in with some good news, we’re set,” Creed barely finished when his phone chimed. All conversation stopped as he read the text. When his head liftedandhe smiled, the whole room relaxed.

“Sonofabitch, the assholes areinthe warehouses,” Fork said, and when Creed acknowledged with a nod, the room volume went up. Every man in the room threw out suggestions.

In all my time with the Ops, it had to be the first that none of the women spoke or even made one comment.

By the time the men hashed out a pretty solid plan, Maxi and the others walked in.

“Whatever plan you got, you’re going to want to adjust. Coast’s toy is abeauty,and if itworks ashe says, this shit is going to be a fuck of a lot easier,” Maxi said and looked around the room until his eyes landed on Data and Numbers. “Gonna need you guys to hook a screen for us. Coast has the frequencies you need to tap into. If it works—we’ll have eyes and ears on the Black Hearts.”

“On it,” Datasaid,and he and Numbers left the room. When they came back in, it was with a large screen and a laptop. We sat patiently while the men hooked it all together. Data’s fingers flew on the keypad as Coast read off the frequencies and codes that would allow them to tap in. As the picture came up, the room fell silent as we looked at the screen filled with bikers. They sat or laid around in various spots of the warehouse as if they hadn’t a care in the world.

“Okay, how the fuck did you guys get a visual on them with sound no less?” Maxi smiled at Creed’s question.

“Go ahead, Coast, tell them.” Maxi chuckled.

“Aremote-controlledcar, specially designed with camera and mic incased.I took the remote apart and designed it to work with radio frequencies, giving it the ability to bounce from cell phone tower to cell phone tower, so it wouldn’t lose a signal and stop in the middle of operating,” Coast explained, then endded with, “I’ve got a couple more toys with me if we need them.”

“Geez, sometimes, Coast, you scare me with the shit you come up with,” Crusher said and chuckled.

“Oh, it gets better,” Coast said and preceded to tell us how he drove the silent running car through the partiallyopened door tothe warehouse. He only needed to get it in and to a spot out of sight of the men. As he continued to explain, every set of eyes in the room watched the Black Hearts. Even on ascreen,the confidence showed in the men. They weren’t the least bit worried of being found.

Coast kept moving the camera around,andI finally realized why. He was searching for Sledge. And as I watched the picture change with different bikers, none had been Sledge.

I knew the plan was going to start an argument. I looked over at my friends, and I saw the set expressions on Harmony’s, Freedom’s and Shady’s faces. It hadn’t taken long, and the bitching began. The new plan made it safe for them to go now. But I couldn’t remember a time I’d seenabsoluteresolve in the men’s eyes. I even found myself a little disappointed about not being able to go. And with the ‘no’ that followed out of each of their men’s mouths, I knew their ears were going to bleed after Harmony, Freedom, and Shady got done with them.

“Well,we are set. Everyone be ready to roll out at two-thirty a.m. The Furies will be here around two to take their posts. I think we should get some rest before we pull out. It could end up as easy as taking candy from a baby, but anything can go wrong. We still need to be prepared for that,” Creed said and stood.

“In agreement with you. I know my men could use a little shuteye before we head to the marina,” Crusher said.

The room started to clear out, everyone going their separate ways. I’d planned to stay seated until the last of the men left.

“Come on, baby, let’s go to your place,” Brax said as he walked up and held out a hand for me to take.

I looked at his hand, then up into his eyes. The boy had turned into quite a man. The past was the past. I could no longer live in it than he could. I placed my hand inhis. He pulled me up,andwe walked out.

Time, it seemed I was officially out of it. Hours hadpassedwitheveryone, includingme, focused on what the clubs was going to have to do. It left me no time to thinkaboutmy own dilemma.

Now, as I walked beside Brax, it was the only thing that raced through my mind.

Chapter Seven

Ghost

Luna closed the door to her place, and when she turned around, I stood in front of her. From the moment I spotted her when I dismounted my bike, I wanted her. Everything about her had always appealed to me. When I married Stormy, I pushed the earlier feelings I had had for Luna in a nice tidy box in my head. But once I saw her again, the sight of her blew the lid right off. As I looked down at her now, I knew Flirt was right. She might be a part of the Ops Warrior MC, but she had always been mine.

I pushed her back against the door, bent, and covered her mouth with mine. When I broke the kiss, it was only long enough to pull her shirt over her head, then my lips were back on Luna’s. My Luna. I found the hooks with my handandher bra followed next. Her pants were more of anissue,which caused me to break the kiss and step back to push them all the way down. I removed Luna’s boots, and I not only relieved her of the pants but her thong, too. There was something to be said about a woman naked while a man stayed completely dressed.

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