Tank

11 - Ghost's memories

Ghost

A little over a year and a half ago.

“This is a bad idea, Hammer. If Shepard finds out we’re here, he’ll kill us.”

“He won’t know you were with me, Ghost.”

I look over at my brother, straddling his bike like I am. Both of us are waiting for the guy working for The Exorcist to come to collect the information Hammer has on the guy who killed his girl.

We shouldn’t be here.

We were told not to seek outside help and that Shepard would handle it.

However, Hammer couldn’t rest. The woman he loved was murdered in cold blood, and he wants revenge. No one could blame him for that. Cindy meant everything to him. She wasn’t just his Old Lady; she was about to become his wife.

Why was she killed?

Revenge.

Revenge for something that didn’t happen. No one in our club killed anybody. Well, not the fucker.s who claimed we did.

There will always be clubs out there trying to overpower the Snakes. We’re a massive club; those smaller clubs out there will always try to make a name for themselves by coming after us.

What better way to get our attention than to take one of our women and end her life in the worst way?

It didn’t happen all that long ago; the girl’s funeral was just a few short weeks ago. Hammer is a mess. He’s not the same man any longer. He won’t settle until those fuck.s are ended.

Shepard had been planning a hit, but we couldn't go in there, all guns blazing. We couldn’t take out the whole club at once because the cops would be all over us. Especially as Coral, Stryker’s wife, and Cindy’s sister, had called the police in, thinking they would help catch Cindy’s killers. They didn’t and couldn’t give a damn. Typical.

Who cares if a biker’s Old Lady is dead?

Certainly not the police.

I agreed to help Hammer because of all the men in our club; he came to me. I wasn’t expecting it, but he pulled me aside a few days ago and asked me for help. I knew it was wrong to agree when Shepard could strip me of my patches, but I couldn’t say no to him.

Hell, he could have gone to Tank and asked for help; the man is his brother by blood. Hammer could have gone to anyone in the club, but he came to me. I was honored in a weird way. So, I agreed to help him.

We made arrangements with a friend who put us in touch with a guy who knew how to contact The Exorcist. Hammer was told to gather every piece of information he could on the guy he wanted dealt with, plus the p*****t for The Exorcist’s time. The guy we’re to meet will only take p*****t if they believe Hammer deserves the help he requires.

No one said it would be easy.

“You think I’d throw you under the bus if Shepard finds out? You didn’t drag me here with you, Hammer.”

“No,” He looks over at me, his big arms folded over his even bigger chest. The man is a giant, a mountain of a man, and could scare the piss out of God himself. “But you didn’t have to go along with this. I asked something of you, and you didn’t hesitate to help me. I won’t forget that, Ghost. If Shepard does find out about this, he won’t know you were here.”

“Oh yes, he will. If he finds out, then he’ll know I was here, Hammer. We’re in this together. We’ll get justice for your girl, Brother, believe me.”

He reaches over and clasps my shoulder and squeezes. This man is so lost. My brother is lost. Without Cindy, he’s not the same man he was.

Little Willow, Prez’s daughter, is the only one who has been able to get near Hammer. She forces him to get up in the morning, and she stops him from drinking himself stupid and fighting any idio.t that so much as looks at him. Willow was the one who held him up at the funeral. She’s the only one he’ll talk to about anything at all.

Anyone else?

Even his brothers in the club, his actual brother?

He says nothing. I’m lucky he’s even speaking to me right now.

The trouble is, Willow has been in love with Hammer for longer than I’ve known them. The poor girl had to watch the man she loved claim her best friend, fall in love with her, and even ask her to marry him. I can’t and don’t even want to imagine what that felt like for Willow.

But she did it with a smile on her face, never letting what she felt overshadow what her best friend was feeling. Willow was even helping with wedding plans. The girl must have been mental, but I suppose she loved them both enough to let them be happy.

Then Cindy was killed, and I think it hurt Willow just as much as Hammer. Maybe in a different way, but they’re now bonded in grief for a woman they both adored. They’re both hurting. I might not be able to help Willow, but I can help Hammer right now.

“Don’t look now, but there’s a young girl walking this way.”

Hammer follows my line of vision. A young woman is walking toward us. She has blonde hair down to her shoulders, black jeans, jacket, boots, and dark sunglasses on her face, hiding her eyes, but I can tell she’s looking right at us.

“Why is she heading for us?”

“No idea.” However, she is heading right for us. There’s no one else around for miles. Our contact told us The Exorcist likes it that way. The fewer people around to know what’s going on, the better. The fewer people see us hanging around, the better, too.

We’re in the middle of a town a couple of hours away from our own, parked near an abandoned warehouse. We’re not stupid, we’re packing. You never know when you might need to defend yourself. Always be on alert, and always be ready for the unexpected.

This chick doesn’t look like she poses a threat but looks can be deceiving. Trust me; women can be just as dangerous as men, even a little slip of a girl like this one. We’re not wearing our cuts, so our club won't be identified, but that means nothing right now.