Antichrist

“Why only two? I thought there were four of us?”

The voice stopped talking, and I didn’t actually think he was going to answer me because I didn’t know if my question was valid or heard. I needed to bite my damn tongue if I wanted to protect Ari, and now Jer.

“The fourth recruit will not come forward yet. They are not ready.”

My eyes narrowed, and my mouth opened to say something else when Ari tapped me with his shoulder.

The voice continued. “Upon arriving at the house, you will need to find staff that you trust. This process can take time. There will be a room in the house that has been set up for the three of you and the three of you only. That’s where the keys come in. I wish you all luck. Ghost, you will be collected a week from today to start your training, which spans for exactly seven days. See you on the other side…”

Present

I have thought about this exact moment multiple times throughout my life. The silence that fills the room is almost as deafening, and the only sound I can really appreciate is Meraki’s heels clicking as she ascends back up the stairs. Does it worry me that she doesn’t want to watch the annihilation of a man that I know has caused her so much suffering? Nah. Meraki is gentle where she wants to be so she can be tough where she needs to be. She could have been the one to end Luca, but knowing she has that power is enough for her.

Fanta’s hand comes to my shoulder. “Brother, you really want to make this fast?”

I shake my head. “No.”

The Knights MC has been the brotherhood that I didn’t know I appreciated until I came in. They know everything. What I’m doing, who I am, and what I do, and not once have they thrown hands around. In saying that—it’s not like they have much choice. The longer I’ve been in, the more natural it feels. It isn’t that I hate what I do and who I am, because I don’t. It’s just Old Don saw something in me that he knew the club needed, but I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to show that without the label of Ghost. And I fucking love it. I bathe in the chaos. Every single time I take a life, I feel mine come to life—regardless if they were a good person or not. I want it, no, need to feel that kind of power wrapped around my hands from the moment I felt the darkness all those years ago.

My training was simple, too simple. I had three obstacles that I had to complete in one week.

Negotiation.

Murder.

Fight.

I was locked in a cage fight as one after another came in until I was the last man standing. Almost died that night, but didn’t because they chose correctly.

It’s not like I’ve lost my humanity since becoming Ghost; it’s as though I have found it. I didn’t have plans when I left college. I didn’t even have plans to go to college, so becoming Ghost was the single most important thing to me, even though becoming a Knight was my only priority around that time.

The brothers are here, all watching me carefully, but it’s Jer’s gaze that stuns me to my spot. As always. Fucking pain in my ass.

He stops me with a hand on my chest as I step closer to the platform. “We need to tell her.”

I look down at his hand then back up again. “Then tell her. I really couldn’t give a fuck, Jer. Now move.”

His next words stop me as my foot lands on the first step. “All of it?”

“No,” I growl, squeezing my fist in my hand. I don’t want to have this conversation right now. I want to kill the man I’ve fantasied about killing since I was a fucking child.

“Yes, Nik, it will be all of it.” Meraki’s voice slaps me from across the room, and I shift to the side to see her standing at the entry. “Because I want to know everything, and that should be my choice to make.”

Fuck. When did she get so light on her feet? “Everyone get out!” The words come out as harsh as I wanted them.

“Brother,” Lester calls out from below. “You sure?”

“Yes.” I keep my eyes glued on Meraki. “You all know what you need to do upstairs.” From the corner of my eye, I can see them all shift out of the room until it’s just Meraki and I—and the bleeding fuckwit hanging from the cross in the middle of the platform.

“Why are you back here, Mer?” I ask, my eyes narrowed.

I’m not fucking stupid. I know this girl better than anyone knows her—better than she knows herself—and I know what’s going through her mind right now. She wants to help me. Her humanity is poison, and it won’t be something I’ll be dying for anytime soon.