Tank

12 - Ghost's memories part 2

Ghost

The girl stops beside Hammer’s bike and lifts her glasses onto her head. Those are some blue eyes I will never forget, deep blue. Her face ain’t bad to look at either.

“Can we help you, little girl?”

There is absolutely no fear in this girl’s eyes as she raises her eyebrow at me.

“You always approach men like us like this?”

This time, she looks at Hammer. “You must be Cade. I believe you’re expecting me.”

Hammer’s eyes shoot over to me. He’s thinking exactly what I’m thinking.

Who the fuc.k would send this young woman to meet with two bikers alone with no one else around?

Don’t they know what could happen to her?

Sure, we don’t hurt women or kids, or even the innocent, but we’re bikers. Jesus! Not all bikers are as nice as we are. Not all bikers have the same morals. She could have been meeting with a damn rapist!

“Look, I don’t have time to hang around while you two stare this out. My time is limited. Do you want help or not?”

There ain’t no time for this. I don’t care who she is nor who sent her. We came here to hand over some information to have a motherfucke.r we can’t find found and ended.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“No one special.” She smirks, letting me know she won’t be giving up her name. Probably wise.

“Give her the envelope.”

“But she’s a damn kid, Ghost. What if something happens to her? I’d never forgive myself.”

“I doubt very much she’d be out here if...”

“Cade?” The girl cuts me off.

Cade is the name I gave Hammer, so he’d be recognized by whoever came for the information. There was no way I was giving either of our real names. I also made sure Hammer knew to dress in black and cover his ink. Just because we’re not wearing our cuts doesn’t mean we can’t be identified by our tattoos.

Hammer turns to look at the girl. “I know I may look like a little woman to you, weak and unable to handle myself but believe me, I can handle myself just fine. I work for the man you seek help from. He sent me here to speak to you, to hear your story. If I believe you deserve the help you seek, I’ll take the information to him. So why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”

This ain’t easy for Hammer. He’s never spoken about what happened, but as I watch him climb off his bike and lean back against it while looking at this woman, I know he’s about to tell her everything.

Hell, I’d tell her everything if she looked at me the way she’s looking at him. He’s a handsome bastard, tall as fuc.k, and as I said, he’s as big as a mountain. She’s watching him with kindness as he explains how Cindy was kidnapped and how he was sent live links to watch her being beaten and killed. God, those links will haunt me forever.

“I loved her so much. Ain’t never in my life met anyone like her. She was gonna be my wife and hopefully the mother of my future children, and they tortured her like she was nothing more than a bug on their shoes. Then, with the last link came the last time I ever saw her alive.”

I get off my bike and clasp Hammer’s shoulder. He needs support right now. He has one arm wrapped around his waist, and the other hand is clasped over his face. He’s trying to force back the tears.

“The club that took his girl was brutal. They took her as p*****t for something they accused Cade of doing. Killing one of theirs.”

“And had he?” Her voice is soft. She’s feeling Hammer’s pain right now.

“No. These pricks just wanted to make a name for themselves. By taking Cade’s girl, they did that. She didn’t deserve to die. She was a beautiful soul, loved by everyone around her. Everyone is suffering because of this, no one more than Cade. If we could find the cunt who did this to her, we’d end him ourselves. However, he’s gone without a trace.”

“There’s always a trace... What’s your name?”

“Will.”

Fuckin.g Will?

Where did that come from?

Oh well, whatever. It doesn’t matter now.

“No one disappears completely. Not to those who know how to search and find. Believe me, The Exorcist will find this man. Can you tell me how exactly he killed her?”

Hammer lifts his head and takes a deep breath. “He slit her throat live on camera so that I could see the woman I loved more than life itself die. I saw the fear in her eyes. Mine were locked with hers through that camera. I watched the light go out of them. All I’ve wondered since the day she was taken from me is whether or not she believed I was searching for her or if she thought I’d just left her to their mercy.

“She was my world, and I would have taken her place in a heartbeat. I searched from the moment I knew she was missing to the moment she died in front of my eyes. I just couldn’t find her. Nothing we did to track the cunts who took her led us to find her. We only got her body back because they dropped her off in the middle of the town we live in. They had no respect for her at all. They literally threw her body out of their truck and drove away. My beautiful girl...” Never heard this man sob before, but he does right now.

The little girl, who still hasn’t given us her name, walks closer and wraps her arms around Hammer’s neck. My eyes narrow; no one but Willow touches this man because he won’t allow it.

But this woman?

He wraps his arms around her and holds her to him as he cries.

I’m fuckin.g stumped.

I also know I will never tell another living soul about this. First off, Hammer would kill me. He’d literally hammer me into the ground. His name ain’t Hammer for nothing. Secondly, the man just lost the woman he loves. We might be bikers, but we can grieve just as hard as anyone else.

“I know how much this hurts right now,” She tells him while stroking the back of his head, her fingers in his long hair. “I can see and hear just how much you loved her. I know how much pain you’re in right now because I can feel it. I’m so sorry you lost her. She sounded like a wonderful woman, and I promise you right now that The Exorcist will help you. I’ll make sure of it.”

I hear him mumble, “Thank you,” before she pulls away from him.

Hammer wipes his eyes and keeps his head hanging down.

Little girl, whom I’d say can’t be a day over nineteen, turns to me, “Do you have the information you were asked to bring?”

I turn away from her, lift the lid on the box at the back of my bike, and pull out the A4-sized envelope. Inside is everything The Exorcist needs to know about Cindy and what happened to her. Everything about the cunt who killed her, and a little about some of his friends, just in case.

I hand it to her. “Thank you.”

“How long will this take?” I ask.

“The Exorcist, once he has the information he needs, is quick. No more than two days. No matter where this man is, The Exorcist will find him within a week tops. No more than that and all this will be over, Cade, I promise.”

“And just how is he going to find a man no one else can find?”

She smirks at me, which tells me everything. It’s none of my business. “You were told how much this would cost you?” Hammer nods, slips the smaller envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket, and hands it to her.

I place my hand over his before she can take it from him.

“How the hell do we even know this is real? How do we know you are who you say you are, and we can trust you?”

“You don’t.” She shrugs. “The only thing you have is my word. Believe me, that’s all you need. As soon as the job is done, you’ll get proof. Trust me, this prick will get what he deserves and so much more.”

What else can I do but trust her?

Hammer has already pulled his hand away from mine and given her the money. She opens the envelope just enough to look inside. Once she’s satisfied, she slips it into her inside pocket.

“Take care of yourselves, Cade and Will.” She smirks. She knows those aren’t our names, and I doubt she cares what is.

“Will you be safe?”

She smiles at Hammer. He always was a sucker for making sure women were safe. “I'll be just fine. Go home to your families. Never forget your girl, but don’t live in the past either. Remember, she wouldn’t want you to be alone forever.” She slips her glasses onto her face and walks away.

Hammer and I watch until she’s no longer in sight.

“You think we just made a massive mistake? That girl could have been anyone, someone who just walked off with thousands and thousands of dollars.”

“Don’t worry so much, Ghost. She knew a little too much just to be some random looking to rob us. Anyway, there was something about her that made me trust her. You know me, I trust no one but you guys.” True. “Her eyes were so kind. I felt it, Ghost, this will be over soon.”

I slap him on the back. “In that case, let’s get the fuc.k outta here. It’s time to go home.”

“Home.” I hear him mumble while climbing on his bike. Home to him right now is the clubhouse. Don’t think he’ll ever return to the apartment he shared with Cindy. Poor bastard can’t stand to be there without her.

I couldn’t deal with the pain he’s in right now if it was my own.

I couldn’t handle watching the woman I loved die.

That’s why I’ll never fall in love.

I’ll fuc.k whom I want when I want. It’s safer that way.

Even if it can be a lonely life sometimes.

I just hope this doesn’t backfire on us big time.