PROLOGUE
Two Months Ago…
Evil Dead Clubhouse
Birmingham, AL
June 3rd
Just after midnight
Ghost’s cell phone went off just as he and the brothers were heading out of the clubhouse. He pulled it out of the hip pocket of his faded jeans and glanced down at the screen, frowning.
It wasn’t a number he recognized.
“You need to take that?” Shades asked looking back at him as they walked out the door.
Ghost’s eyes connected with his VP. “Yeah, give me a minute.”
“Make it fast,” Shades replied, as he and the rest of the boys headed to their bikes.
Ghost frowned as he hit the button and put the phone to his ear, wondering who the hell this could be. He wouldn’t even bother taking a call from an unknown number except for the fact that this wasn’t the first time he’d gotten a call from this particular number. He’d had one yesterday, but hadn’t picked it up. And whoever it had been, had never left a message.
“Yeah?” he growled into the phone, a little pissed off that someone he might not know had his number.
“Billie?” a soft female voice asked. There was only one person that called him by his given name. Holy shit.
“Jessie?” he replied back in a stunned whisper. He heard her soft laugh through the phone. Only it kind of sounded sad, like she was overcome with emotion or choked up.
“Yes, it’s me. Surprised to hear from me?”
“Hell yeah. But a good surprise.” Ghost eyed his VP, who sat on his bike, not twenty feet away, watching him and trying not to look as impatient as he knew the man was. They had business to take care of tonight. The kind of business you conducted in the dark of night, and Ghost was keeping the whole club waiting, their bikes idling behind the big clapboard house that was their Birmingham Clubhouse. “Honey, why you callin’ me so late?”
“Is it late there? I’m sorry.” Ghost frowned at her response. Where the hell was she?
“It’s after midnight.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize. Its just past ten here.” Her voice sounded kind of shaky. Or was that just his imagination?
“Ten? What time zone are you in?”
“Pacific.”
“Pacific?” Ghost was thrown for a loop with that one.
“Ghost!” Shades snapped, motioning with a circular motion of his finger to wrap it up.
Ghost gave him a chin lift. “Babe, I really can’t talk right now.”
“Oh. Okay.” That time he was sure he heard a sniffle through the phone.
“Honey, why you cryin’? Is everything okay?”
He heard her swallow and then put on a fake bright voice.
“Yeah. It’s fine. I just…wanted to hear your voice I guess.”
“It’s really good to hear your voice, too. It’s funny that you’re callin’ me tonight. I was thinking about you the other day.”
“You were?” He could hear the smile in her voice as she perked up.
“Yeah. Drove by that snow-cone place you used to love.”
He heard her huff out a soft laugh. “Chilly Willy the Penguin?”
“That’s the place. What was your favorite flavor again?”
“Maui Mango.”
“Right. Maui Mango,” he repeated softly. She was quiet for a few moments. Ghost wasn’t sure how much more small talk he could make. He knew there had to be a point to this call, so he decided to cut to the chase, his voice dropping low. “You still with him?”
It took her a moment before she whispered back, “Yes.”
“Does he know you’re talkin’ to me? This gonna start a fight?”
As if on cue, Ghost heard a male voice growl in the background, “Who the fuck are you talking to?”
A moment later, he heard a clattering sound, and the line went dead.
Cursing, he immediately tried calling back, but the phone went straight to a computerized voice mail.
“Let’s go,” Shades hollered.
Ghost jammed the phone in his pocket, promising himself he’d try her back later.
CHAPTER ONE
Yesterday