Page 13 of Ghost

“Darlin’, my thoughts are anything but grandfatherly.”

Shady burst out laughing,andso did I and several of the other women. The men from both clubs, not so much. From Brax’s reaction of wiping his hand down his face, I figured the behavior was typicalofthe older man.

“Fuck, Roscoe. Can you give us time to meet these men and their women before you start.”

I lookedatthe man who spoke and noticed he wore thepresidentpatch. The old guy that he’d called Roscoe confirmed it.

“Sorry, Prez. Didn’t mean nothing by it. I just said what the other brothers were thinking.”

“Don’t even bring us into your shit, Roscoe,” was said by the man who stood next to him, and his comment had some of the Opschuckling and becoming more relaxed.

Before anyone else could say anything, Jas came around the building and ran straight through the middle of us. She didn’t stop until she was in the arms of the big man who had justspoken.

“Dare!”Jasyelled, and the big man held her up in the air and out in front of him with little to no effort. When the large man’s name registered, I realized that he was the uncle to Trey, the Ops’ newest prospect.

I stopped hearing what everyone was sayingaroundme when I looked back at Brax. Hewinked, then kept his eyes lock on me. Introductions were made,andhe briefly looked away before he turned and headed in my direction. I opened my mouth to sayhi but never got the chance to get it out. Braxgrabbed me, wrapped me in his big arms, and covered my mouth with his. The kiss stole mybreathand closed everything around us out. Being in his arms again felt like coming home.

When Brax broke the kiss and set me back on my feet, everyone from both clubs stood silently watching us. I’dnever beeneasily embarrassed, but I felt the heat on my face.

“Well with that, Crusher, I think we should get you and your men squared away and then we can have asit-downand bring us all on the same page with what is going to go down. We also have a ton of food in the clubhouse kitchen to eat while we talk,” Creed said.

“I agree. We haven’t eaten sincebreakfast,and if I’m lucky, the food may keep Roscoe’s mouth busy,” Crusher answered.

“Awww, Prez. At least I didn’t walk up and stick my tongue down one of the women’s throat,” Roscoe said and waved a hand in Brax and my direction.

“Roscoe, how has Sue not killed you in your sleep?” Brax asked, and the man’s face broke out in a huge smile.

“Because I got what she likes and I don’t need a blue pill to help with it either. I’ve told you boys that women love them some Roscoe.”

I assumed from all the groans at Roscoe’swordsthat the men from Black Hawk heard that frequently.

“Yep, I damn like him,” Shady repeated.

“You would,” Cajunsaid,and Shady elbowed him.

Before everything got out of hand, Creed and Crusher worked together getting everyone moving. It wasn’t the first time I noticed how everyone worked together as a unit. Sometimes it was easy for me to forget that the Ops’ men had been in the military and Brax had told me the majority of Black Hawk had been, too.

They proved it with the organized way everyoneworked. It only took an hour, and everyone was back at the clubhouse eating. The women were allowed to attend the meeting if we swore not to interrupt, which left us sitting in the back of the large room while the men strategized on the best way to handle the Black Hearts.

“So, on your way in you saw a few of them?” Creed asked.

“Yeah, we passed ten of the Black Hearts going the opposite direction on I5. We rode to the next exit, got off and circled back around when we saw them take the exit ramp. By the time we did, they were nowhere to be seen. We drove around some of thearea, passed a park called Petco or something like that. Not being familiar with the area, we weren’t sure of any places around that would be big enough for them to stash bikes out of sight. I’m sure the president was with them because as we passed, he looked in our direction and he nodded his head. Got to say,strangestencounter I’ve ever had, and shit, after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, my gut feeling has become the norm. And mine says Sledge wants you to find him,” Crusher finished, and Creed sat back in his chair.

“Maybe the fucker wants to lure us to them because he knows our compound and the Furies is like a military armory. If they hit us on our turf, the outcome for them wouldbe devastating. Could be they think we will leave just enough men here to cover, then they can send us on a wild goose chase and hit here,” Fork added to the scenario.

“The area you’re talking about is close to the Tenth Ave. Marine Terminal. It’s roughly fifteen miles from the Mexico border, so that would be convenient for them if they needed to make a quick exit,” Creed finally spoke.

“Could bethey’rein one of those warehouses the marina asked San Diego County to let them tear down. They’re empty and not serving a purpose like the open space would. The marina could use it and be able to stack more containers,” Boony said, and Creed looked at him and smiled. “What? I read the paper.” A few of our men chuckled.

“Boony, you never fail to amaze me. Maxi, take a few guys and check it out. If it pans out, this shit could be easier than we anticipated. Especially, if we plan a hit before daybreak. I’m not going to get excited until we know for sure. But, damn, it would be nice to catchan f’nbreak.” Everyone in the room agreed with Creed.

When Maxi stood, one of the men from Black Hawk stood, too. I looked at his patch and it read Enforcer.

“If it’s alright with my prez, I’d like to go with you. I have a new gadget I’d like to try out.” The man spoke to Maxi, but I noticed he looked at his prez for the okay.

“Works for me, Coast.” Crusher looked toward Creed, I assumed to see if he had a problem with one of his men going along.

“Might not be a bad idea for several to go, Maxi. On the off chance you run into a few of them while you’re looking around,” Creedsaid,and Maxi nodded in agreement.

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