Ghost -- First Five Chapters

The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, Book 8

Candace Blevins

Chapter One

Ghost

I don't usually have much to do with the girls at the whore hotel, but with Gen in the hospital giving birth to Duke's first child, and most of the brothers close to Duke with him, it was all hands on-deck to make sure our businesses ran smoothly.

The ancient hotel we bought isn't in our territory. It's on the other side of the river on a once-busy road that lost its traffic when the interstate was put in, and there isn't enough crime around it to warrant us having to patrol to make sure drugs aren't being sold nearby. The cops know it's a whorehouse and they've busted us a few times, but the charges never stick so they're biding their time until we fuck up and incriminate ourselves.

I looked around as I pulled my bike beside Bobcat and Slick's. The parking lot was nearly full, so business was apparently good tonight.

I took a deep breath as I walked into the old hotel lobby — a habit my dad taught me, to get my bearings as I enter a room. My heart skipped a beat and my body froze as a familiar scent hit me.

Hailey.

"You okay, Ghost?" Slick asked, his tone wary.

I ignored Slick and prowled to the seating area, and a woman with candy-apple red hair and a tiny miniskirt stood and turned as I neared. She took three steps back when she recognized me, but I'd have never recognized her by sight. My nose told me it was Hailey, though.

"Darius! What are you doing here!?"

She looked like shit — too thin, with ugly-assed candy-apple red hair, and she was dressed like a whore in a too-short and too-tight miniskirt with only an exercise bra. I could see every damned rib, not to mention her hipbones. My wolf wanted me to spank her ass for doing this to herself, but I answered her question.

"I'm part owner. The question for the day is what the fuck you're doing here?" Even I heard the growl as my wolf pushed his way to the surface, but I didn't give a shit.

She shrugged. "Girl gotta eat."

This wasn't my Hailey. What the fuck had happened to her in the last six years?

She'd been with so many men, their scents were mingled with hers and it was... wrong. My wolf insisted we punish her for it, but I told him we had to take care of her first. He finally backed down a little when I got the idea across that something was wrong and we had to fix it.

"What's going on, Ghost?" Now it was Bobcat asking, and I could hear the caution in his voice too.

"Hailey's my sister. I need to borrow a helmet so I can get her out of here, and you need to call someone else to be your third here tonight."

Bobcat took a small step back as he asked, "Ruby? Is this true?"

"Stepsister," she snarled. "Darius doesn't own me, and I'm not going anywhere with him. Besides, our parents divorced so I'm not even his fucking stepsister anymore."

I sighed as I grabbed her arm, careful not to hurt her. Humans are so damned fragile. "Helmet? Please tell me one of you has a spare."

"I keep one in the back in case one of the girls needs a ride," said Slick. "I'll get it for you."

"You can't just go all caveman on me and drag me out of here, Dare! I need to work! I have a scheduled party in ten minutes!"

I looked at Slick. "Tell me you have someone who can fill in for her."