Chapter 2

I wake up—my body covered in a cold sweat. My face is pressed into the pillow as visions assault my mind.  I hate sleeping; I hate falling asleep because I never know what might creep in on me. Tonight, was a little different. I dreamt of my mom. I was there when she was killed. Someone broke into our house when I was a young boy. They were looking for my dad but he wasn’t home yet. He was at work, and it was just my mom and me. I heard her blood curdling screams. It pierced my heart. I heard her being dragged toward my room when I climbed under the bed. I was always disappearing. That’s how I got my nickname. No one ever knew where I was, or when I’d pop the fuck up. I was always like that. I lay there in silence. The door flew open, and I saw her bare feet as she was dragged across the room. Her legs dangled as the man held her in place. The man growled… “Where’s the fucking kid?” My mom was gasping for air, I could hear her.

“I told you… he wasn’t… here.” Her voice still haunts my memories. The pained sound of it, the way she was trying her hardest to protect me.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see anything but for some reason, I kept opening them. There was something that just kept pulling me back to the sight in front of me.  Her gurgling was the first thing I heard. Then I saw the drops of blood that slowly fell to the floor in front of me. I wanted to scream—I wanted to come out from under the bed and help her—but I was only seven. I knew no different back then. Her body fell a few minutes later with a thud. The man left, I heard the door close.  I slid out from under my bed, crawling across the floor to her. Her eyes were partially open and she was looking right at me.

“Mom… Are you okay?” I reached for her, shaking her slightly. I wanted her to wake up. I wanted her to say something. She blinked a few times but she wasn’t there.

“I love you David.” She spoke my name softly before she was gone. I rested there in her blood.

I pressed my lips to her cheek and snuggled into her chest. What was I supposed to do? I was seven fucking years old. I don’t really know how long I stayed there. It could have been hours but to a seven-year-old, it felt like forever. My dad finally came home. I heard him call out for her but I couldn’t move. She was so cold, I didn’t want to let her go. He walked in and my eyes blinked away the sleep that I felt. I looked at up at him, a blank look painted his face.

“Oh God… No… Marcy.” My dad cries.  Tears fell down his cheeks. He looked at her lying there in a pool of her own blood before reaching for me. He pulled me up, pulling me into his chest.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t fully understand the magnitude of what was going on in that moment. I knew she wasn’t waking up but the truth didn’t make sense to me either. I didn’t understand that she was dead. I thought she was asleep.

“You need to go down to Mrs. Shelton’s house. Tell her to call the police.” I didn’t move at first. He shook me slightly before I looked up into my dad’s lost eyes.

“Do you hear me? Don’t come back here, David. Call the police.” Nodding once, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my head before shoving me out of the room. I was only a few steps out the front door when I heard the boom.  At the time it didn’t make sense, either. I didn’t stop or go back in to see what the sound was. Maybe deep down inside of me, I knew.

Washing my face, I look at myself in the mirror. I’ve never held much hate for my parents. I know my mom did all she could. Hell, she saved me.

I thought about being mad at my dad for killing himself and leaving me, too. I wanted to hate him. I could never do it, though. He had his reasons for what he did. Besides, what good would it have done me to hate someone that wasn’t around to be on the receiving end of that hate?

I know how much he loved my mom. He would've never made it without her.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Those wounds are still lingering in my chest. They are always there. Like an open sore that never fully closed. Melanie was the glue that held me together for several years. I slowly ruined that too, though. Shaking my head, I can’t focus on this shit right now. I throw my shirt on and pull my cut on over it.  Heading out the door, I need to get some breakfast before I head out on this run. Stepping into the dining room, I stop.

“You know I’m always up for a good piece of ass, but goddamn man! I’d rather eat after her ass was on the table—not yours!” I growl. Aria straddles Roc as she fucks him on the table. Not that I don’t mind the view. Aria is fucking hot as hell. I would stand there and watch, but I know Roc would get pissed. As many times as I’ve caught these two, you would think they would stay in their room.

“Fuck off, Ghost!” Aria’s yelps make me chuckle.

I walk past them and into the kitchen before I notice Nessa is still here.

“If you plan on eatin’ that, you may want to stay in here with it,” I say nodding toward Nessa’s food.  Nessa looks over her shoulder at me. She’s confused as to why I said that. “Your girl is ridin’ the fuckin’ rodeo on the breakfast table,” I say. Nessa giggles before turning back to what she was doing. Damn, that was a sweet little laugh.

I grab a pan and reach around her for the eggs.

“I made extra, if you want some,” She offers. I raise an eyebrow, taking her in. Did she just offer me food after being such a bitch?

“Does that mean you’re done bustin’ my nuts?” Nessa turns slowly, passing me a plate.

“For now, sorry about last night. I was in a mood,” Nessa shrugs before moving past me. A mood from hell. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the girl was on her goddamn period being all emotional. I turn to watch her set her plate on the counter before hopping up on it.

“If that was your mood, I’d like to see you pissed.” Her grin is beautiful. It’s so bright, and airy.

“I don’t get pissed often. I’ve been trying to rein that in,” She says. I set my plate next to hers before heading to the fridge.

“Want some juice?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder, she nods. I grab two of the small bottles before walking back over to her. She’s cute. I would fuck her. Hell, I might even fuck her a few times.

“What are your plans today?” Her eyes come up to meet mine. She’s unsure of my intent and I can’t blame her. I am a jackass when I want to be.

“I don’t know.” Sticking another bite of eggs into her mouth, I nod trying not to watch her mouth as she chews.

“I have a run if you want to go, then stop by the beach.”

***

Nessa sits there, with her fork lingering near her mouth. She doesn’t move as she watches me.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” She finally says. Shrugging, I grab my juice and swallow it down in three big gulps.

“No strings attached, darlin’. I was just goin’ to hang out at the beach while I was out there for a while. Take a break.” I finish my food before placing the plate in the sink. I turn back toward her and she’s still sitting still.

“Thanks for breakfast,” I tell her as I walk to the door before she stops me.

“I don’t have a swimsuit.” Glancing over my shoulder, I smile.

“Naked?” I ask. Seeing the look on her face, I laugh. Hey, I had to give myself points for trying. Can’t blame me, I am a man.

“Borrow one from Aria. I’ll be ready in thirty minutes.” Walking out of the kitchen, I head to Dragon’s room. I need to get a little more information on where I’m meeting these assholes for this drop. I don’t like going in blind, it never ends well for me. One of us is going to die, and it isn’t going to be me. Since we took out Cambridge a while back, we’ve been running most the sticky green shit that runs around here. It works for us. They need the supplies, and we have them to offer up. It’s a great profit for the club. It’s a win-win for us. Knocking on his door, it pops open within seconds. Amber grins at me as she walks past, wiping at her lips. Damn, I know for a fact that girl can suck like a vacuum. I follow her with my eyes as she swishes her ass down the hallway. I might need to hit that later.

“Didn’t know you were gettin’ that,” I say to him not sure that I even want to know. Closing the door behind me, Dragon shrugs.

“It was a long night. You ready?” Nodding, he walks to the desk and picks up a paper.

“You’re meetin’ them at this address. There shouldn’t be any issues.” Taking the paper out of his hand, I read over the address. I’ve been to that part of town before. It’s nothing I can’t handle.

“Can I ask you somethin’, Dragon.” He drops onto the couch, looking up at me.

“You know you can always ask me anything, brother.” Dragon’s a good guy. He has a good heart; sometimes he lets it show.

“Mel called here the other night. I hung up, didn’t listen to shit she had to say.” His eyes widen before he rubs his hand over his face.

“After all this time, she called you. What’s that about?” He says. Shrugging, I say it again.

“Didn’t wait to hear it. I hung up.” Dragon leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“You askin’ me if I think you should give her a chance?” He asks me. I see the look in his eyes. I don’t like it either. Dragon knows the hell I went through the first time, but I can’t help but think about her. We were together for a long time. She was all I wanted.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” Dragon blows out a breath before standing in front of me.

“Then my answer is–hell no. You may have pushed that girl to a breakin’ point, but she knew what she was gettin’ into with you. She took that chance and she bailed, Ghost. You tried to get her back. She wanted no part of that.” He’s right. I did go after her once. She closed me out and disappeared after that. I guess I need to rethink that shit. As much as I miss her, he’s right. She fucking bailed on me.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m out.” Slapping a hand on his shoulder, I head out his door ready to go on this ride. Heading down the hallway, I spot Amber.

“Hey, Amber.” She glances over with a smile on her face. She would have been hot as hell if she wasn’t so used up.

“What do you need?” She asks. Licking her lips, there is no way in hell she wants some more ass right now after getting Dragon.

“I didn’t know you were hittin’ Dragon. I was thinkin’ about gettin’ a little somethin’ later.” Her eyes light up like Christmas.

“I can handle you, Ghost.” Running her tongue over her bottom lip, I reach down and adjust my dick in my jeans.

“See you after this run.”