Sex & Mayhem 04 No Matter What (34 page)

Priest raised
his eyebrows. “Yeah, you can. You wanna jerk off to those bank
accounts?”

Luca swallowed
hard, looking into the dark, bloodshot eyes. “If I do well, will
you help me with my legal status?”

Priest held out
his hand. “You got it kid, but you need to find some proper
shit.”

Luca balled his
hands into fists, and the vodka was slowly starting to spread
through his brain, pushing new thoughts to the forefront. “Could I
get a gun?”

Priest laughed
out loud, still holding his hand out. “Cocky. I like that. What do
you need a gun for, huh?”

Luca put the
computer on the bed and grasped Priest’s hand with a rush of
courage. He was getting somewhere. The roughness of Priest’s
fingertips was a surprising comfort. “Protection.”

“We can think
about it if you do good. I suppose a shot like you needs a gun.”
Priest smirked, watching him closely, as if Luca’s questions had
broken through all the alcohol Priest had no doubt ingested
tonight.

Luca squeezed
his hand tighter and smiled, feeling so much better already. He had
the big man’s attention. He’d be safe. “I will.”

“Who knows,
maybe you’ll be the one prospecting soon.” Priest said. His smile
became softer, but he was quick to turn around and walk down the
corridor.

Only―after
witnessing what ‘prospecting’ meant, Luca didn’t think he’d be all
that interested. That would be something he’d have to worry about
in the future, for now he needed to focus on what he could control.
He locked the door and moved the key in a way that made it
impossible to push it out from the other side.

In front of the
computer, with the folders spilling information he could use, he
was at ease. This he could do. With Ghost forgotten, he slowly
stopped listening to the sounds of the informal party, completely
focused on the melody coming from beneath his fingertips. The sweet
tapping noises were the most relaxing music he could think of. Time
lost all meaning as he went through each and every person on the
list. Some were easier, some more difficult, but clearly the Rabid
Hogs were nothing like the people Luca used to investigate for
Frederico.

Getting lost in
the virtual world was a bit like a trance, and being alone in an
empty room only helped him focus better. Ghost was gone from his
mind for these few hours, and he went through all sorts of patterns
of payments on people’s accounts until he found one that was odd. A
one-time payment from a ‘Mr. Tropico’. The amount, an uneven
$48,949.25.

He went on with
the work until he’d looked through most of the things he considered
important, but the sum kept popping into his mind. No matter how
much he tried to research the elusive man with a very strange name,
he just couldn’t find anything that made sense and fit into the
overall picture.

He didn’t even
notice when the sky became gray and purple, but when he was finally
done, it was almost four in the morning. He packed his things and
with printouts of the information he found, he slowly left his
makeshift office.

The stench of
beer and piss welcomed him in the quiet corridor, with only the
sounds of someone having loud sex upstairs marring the tranquility.
He went all the way to the bar area where quite a few Nails were
sleeping on sofas, one even on the pool table. It was one
particular white-haired person sleeping with his head on the bar
counter that reminded Luca of a reality different than that of
numbers, bank accounts, and addresses.

His chest
tightened, and his first instinct was to retreat, hide to spare
them both any more awkwardness, but then his chest swelled with
bubbling heat, and he walked up to the bar. There was an open
bottle of vodka standing on the counter, and he took a few swigs
out of it, trying to numb the pain rising in his ribcage and
throat. Ghost had promised to wake him up when he came home. Less
than half a day ago, Ghost had told Luca he loved him, and now he
was staying over at the clubhouse instead of lying in their
bed?

He glanced at
his lover, whose serene face was mostly drowned in shadows, even
with the day slowly waking up. A few steps later, he was standing
over him, and despite all the anger and sadness, he couldn’t help
but touch Ghost gently. He brushed his hair, staring at the long,
bright eyelashes.

Ghost squeezed
his eyes, then blinked, and blinked again, slowly sitting up.
“Luca… What are you doing here?” he mumbled, clearly still
half-asleep.

Luca gave him a
tight smile, fighting back the clenching in his throat. “I wanted
to ask you the same thing.”

Ghost rubbed
his face. “I kinda… I got called back here later.”

“That’s not
what Tooth said,” whispered Luca, leaning against the counter with
the bottle still in hand.

Ghost groaned.
“Oh, come on… I just needed some space.”

Luca stepped
back and drank some more. With the warm liquid streaming through
his body, the sound of Antonio’s breathing at the back of his ears
became blurred, almost nonexistent. “Oh.”

“Why are you
drinking in the morning? Why are you here?” Ghost got up and
stretched, making Luca want to drown in a hug. Ghost wasn’t much
bigger than him, yet in Luca’s mind, he always associated Ghost
with safety.

“It makes me
feel better.”

“Hey. Luca.”
Ghost’s eyes were instantly awake, and he locked them with Luca’s.
“What’s wrong? Let’s go talk somewhere private, huh?”

Luca nodded and
slowly moved toward the room he’d used for the last few hours. Just
knowing Ghost was behind him, to watch his back, was enough to make
him feel safer, even if he was angry and sad. Why would Ghost need
space? Was Luca that tiresome already?

The click of
the door being closed behind them was welcome intimacy on one hand,
and a tense silence on the other. Ghost sat on the desk and ran his
fingers through his hair.

“I know things
haven’t been ideal lately. I’m sorry,” he said in the end.

Luca exhaled
and slowly put his bag on the chair. He looked at the bottle he was
still holding and put it on the desk. His heart was picking up its
pace, drumming like a prelude to the inevitable battle. “Are you
tired of me?”

Ghost took a
deep breath and slouched. “It’s just― You can be a bit
overwhelming.”

Luca squeezed
his jaw so tight his teeth hurt. “I
am
overwhelmed. I don’t
feel safe when you’re not around. I am here because I can’t be
alone at home.”

Ghost jumped
off the desk and spread his arms so abruptly Luca took a step back.
“Do you want me to go find him and kill him? Is that what you want?
I think about it sometimes. Would that really make you happy?”

Luca stared at
him, dumbstruck, but he shook his head before he could even think
about it. No. He didn’t want Ghost to kill anyone. He wanted him to
be safe and go back to healing people, like he used to. He didn’t
want him to participate in some crazy revenge against the Rabid
Hogs. This should have been his request to Priest.

“All I wanna do
is make you happy, but there’s only so much I can do.” Ghost hung
his head, breaking the eye contact.

“I want
you
to be safe. Going against Antonio’s crazy, but he’s
after me. Why else would he be here?” whispered Luca, walking over
and cupping Ghost’s face. His body was cold. He was close to
shivering just thinking about it.

“I already told
you everything was arranged with Frederico. He’s not after you.
It’s not like you were taken from him.”

Luca drew in a
sharp breath. “Why would he just give me away? It’s not like him.
I’m sure he’s just waiting to strike back when we least expect
it!”

“No, he’s not.
Priest arranged it with him. It’s fine.” Ghost rubbed his forehead
with a frown.

Luca backed
away, his mind a bit hazy. Priest. The data. “Oh God, he’s planning
retaliation. He’s gonna take you with him. He told me something
could happen to you if I don’t do the research right.”

“What
research?” Ghost started breathing faster. “What did you do?”

Luca shrugged
and gestured to his bag. “The Rabid Hogs. I was at it all night.”
His eyes scanned the tense lines of Ghost’s face. “You should leave
the club. It’s gonna be messy.”

“Oh, you’re the
one to talk. Doing research for Priest when I told you to stay
home?” Ghost’s lips turned into a tight line.

Luca frowned.
“At least I’m not doing any field work. If that’s what you intend
to go into, I want to do it too. I don’t want to be sitting alone
on the sofa while you’re in danger!”

Ghost spread
his arms. “I’m doing this so you
can
sit safely on the sofa.
Can’t at least one of us have a normal life?”

Luca didn’t
like the way he raised his voice at all. He shook his head with a
snort. “I had a shit life already, so why shouldn’t it be you?
Disappearing, spying on people... that’s not you at all!”

“I can’t leave,
okay? I have to get patched in, and it’ll calm down!” Ghost face
was already getting a blush of pink all over.

Luca groaned,
swaying slightly with the heaviness in his head. “Why? Why can’t
you? What’s up with that?”

A thick, bluish
vein appeared on Ghost’s forehead. “Because I owe the club
money!”

Luca chewed on
his lip. “What could have been worth so fucking much that you'd go
into debt with them?”

“You! For
fuck’s sake! You! If I wanted you out of Frederico’s hands, I
needed to have the money then and there. Fifty grand! Oh, minus
exactly 1050.75$. That’s how much he estimated your little pinky to
cost so he gave that back to me. Fucking jingling change included.
You’re priceless. He can’t do that! I should have been there. I
should have never let you go with them again. I just didn’t think…
I didn’t comprehend the level of violence these people were capable
of. I’d go into debt for a million dollars if I could only take
back that night.” Ghost’s eyes watered, and he quickly turned away
with a sniff.

Luca stared at
him, completely stunned. All energy drained from his body and
tumbled into the imagined dirt at his feet. $48,949.25. The
transfer from the mysterious Mr. Tropico. Frederico was still
haunting him. He wanted to hurt Ghost. He wanted to hurt Luca. He
wanted to hurt the club.

Despite Ghost’s
sacrifice, Frederico was still after them. Money that was
life-changing for Ghost was just loose change for Frederico. An
amount he could gift to another club out of spite. Frederico could
spend more than fifty grand on a suit. It was making Luca sick.

And worst of
all, Luca was the reason for Ghost’s misery. His eyes clouded, and
moments later, wetness trailed down his cheeks, letting him see
Ghost again when the blur spilled out of his eyes. And while his
heart wept for this horrible situation, for being sold like any
other commodity, the depth of Ghost’s commitment to him was so
overwhelming he didn’t know what to say at first. Ghost felt Luca
was worthy of all that sacrifice, of choosing a path in life that
he didn’t condone. He hadn’t even told Luca about the money, surely
knowing it would hurt him. Ghost loved him so, so much.

“You are
priceless, too,” whispered Luca, pulling on Ghost’s arm while
trying to stifle the sobs rising in his chest.

“I never wanted
you to feel guilty over this,” Ghost whispered and rubbed his face.
“It’s not your fault he put you in that position.”

“He’s a
bastard. And so are Tooth and Priest if they’re doing this to you!”
Luca pushed himself between Ghost and the desk, looking into his
face. He couldn’t bear the thought of Ghost trading Luca’s freedom
for his own. “I will get you back, because you’re mine, not
theirs.”

Ghost’s eyes
were red, and seeing him like this got Luca so protective it felt
as if he’d grown a few inches. Like when shit went down at the
Rabid Hogs clubhouse and he needed to act.

“I made the
choice. It’s not their fault,” Ghost said.

“Was it,
really?” hissed Luca, pulling Ghost into his arms. He wiped his
tears on the white hair, trying to completely embrace his lover,
but there just wasn’t enough of him to shield Ghost from all the
danger out there.

“I had to do
it,” Ghost said in a shaky voice and hugged Luca with all his
strength. Like he’d never let go.

“I will barter
with them. I’ll get you out. You’re so miserable...”

The door bust
open, and when Luca saw Tooth’s face, he just couldn’t hold back
all his rage. “You bastard! How could you do this to him?” he
yelled, rushing across the room and pushing at his chest with all
he had. Wasn’t enough to make Tooth budge. He even closed the
fucking door behind himself.

“What the fuck
is this about?”

Ghost pulled
Luca back. “Oh God, nothing. Why did you come here in the worst
possible moment?”

Luca looked
between them, and the sudden motion made his mind a bit hazier.
“It’s not ‘nothing’! You are making him join because he wanted to
help me! You’re calling yourself his friend?”

Tooth narrowed
his eyes and raised his gaze at Ghost. “It’s none of your business,
boy.”

Ghost put his
hand over Luca’s lips. “He doesn’t mean it, Tooth, he’s just a bit
overwhelmed.”

Luca pulled
Ghost’s hand away. “Didn’t he save Lucky’s life? That’s how you
repay him? He’s a doctor, not some thug!”

Tooth stepped
back, frowning at him. “Maybe you should be more grateful,
otherwise you’d still be with Villani.”

“Luca… It’s all
gonna work out. I’m not doing anything horrible.” Ghost ran his
fingers through his hair. “And Tooth, I’m very grateful for the
club’s help. And for all your support.”

“You just used
me to drag him in! How cruel and twisted is that?” Luca hissed
through his teeth and slowly turned away from Tooth, sinking deeper
into Ghost.