Page 52 of Haunting Phantom
His voice is so lost. All he has left is the club. And now even that is almost gone. “We gotta take out the rat,” Blake growls.
“Hyde?” Krampus questions.
Drac pats his shoulder. “You should calm down, Phantom. We don’t need you stressing yourself out too much. Once you’re better, we’ll take care of him. Right now, it’s best if we let him believe that we don’t know.
But they don’t understand Blake like I do. He’s hurting, not because of his lung or the metal piece that poked through it. He’s hurting because Autumn hasn’t returned his calls. Not even after she found out that he got hurt.
I’ve never seen him look this sad before, like he’s ready to die just to end his misery.
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”Krueger asks, suddenly appearing.
“Jesus, Krueger, I didn’t realize you could leave the clubhouse.”
He chuckles.“I can go wherever the club goes. I didn’t die in the clubhouse like Damien; I died out on the streets. So, wherever my club and son goes, I can follow.”His one good eyestares at me with intent.“What you did the other day wasn’t okay, Eve.”
“I know, but it was the only way to get her to leave.”
His jaw tightens as his teeth clench.“And now that she’s gone, your boy is lost and broken. Just like you. Just like all of us. He’s going to get himself killed, Eve. But when he crosses over, he won’t be here waiting for you like you are.”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you realized it yet?”
“Realized what?”
Krueger shakes his head disappointedly, tsking me with his tongue.“One day you’ll see, Eve. And when you do, it might just be too late for him.”
Chapter Nineteen
Halloween
The club’s annual Halloween party is in full swing. Everyone’s here, even a few people that shouldn’t be, including Hyde, who’s sitting in the corner throwing back beers like he’s not number one on our hit list.
“How you doing, Phantom?” Drac asks, sliding into the chair next to him.
Phantom grasps at his chest, his voice tight and a bit wheezy. “Better. Still healing though.”
Drac nods. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, but that’s not what I was referring to, Brother.”
Phantom takes a swig from his beer; his eyes lost in a hundred-yard stare that can’t be broken—the kind where you’re lost deep in a thought you can’t run away from.
“Horrible, actually. I’ve called her every damn day, and she refuses to answer my calls. Does it get any easier?”
Drac smirks. “The longing?”
“Yeah, man. It feels like my fucking soul has been ripped away and trampled on. What I did to her… God, I fuckingcan’t take that back. I don’t even know how to explain how it happened; it just did.”
“And you swear it was Eve who did it?”
He nods. “I know it was her. I saw her face for the briefest second, the same face that came through to tell me about the bomb in the house. She’s my savior and my demon all at the same time.”
My heart, if it was still beating, clenches, his words more powerful than he could ever understand.
“Falling in love isn’t easy, Phantom.”
“That’s the scary part, Drac. I didn’t even know what true love was until Autumn came into my life. I loved Eve, but not like I do Autumn. I don’t fucking long for Eve like I do Autumn. It’s fucking crazy. I only met the girl a month ago, and she’s already devastated me to the point of wanting to eat a bullet.”
“Please don’t do that,” Drac begs. “We already lost one brother to that; I can’t lose another.
