Sex & Mayhem 04 No Matter What (37 page)

He closed the
door. At least he would have Ghost’s old hoodie to keep him
warm.

His phone
buzzed when Luca was halfway down the stairs. He didn’t bother
looking at it, knowing who it was from already. He slid his fingers
over the wall, coarse and dirty where people touched it with their
shoulders. The corridor was so normal, so homely, nothing like
where he was going. A faint scent of coffee still lingered in the
air, and perhaps Ghost’s mother was still around, but Luca strolled
through the hall and opened the door, choking on the cool air
outside.

He was about to
take his first step outside, when Nomad ran up to him, his muzzle
as cheery as always, and his tongue sticking out. He stood on his
hind paws and scratched at Luca’s leg with his front one.

Luca squeezed
his teeth hard and leaned down, scratching the sandy ear.
“Good-bye, baby. Take care of your master for me,” he said, trying
to push the dog away. Nomad whined, but the moment Luca closed the
door, forcing Nomad inside, Luca’s experiment with a normal life
was over.

He jogged a few
blocks down, just in case, so no one would see where he went. The
black BMW was all too visible by the small park at the end of the
road. Like the tip of an iceberg, shiny and clean, hiding all the
deadly future beneath the surface.

Each step
numbed Luca further. The noose around his neck was tightening, but
he went on, trying not to look at the driver’s side. By the time he
opened the passenger’s door, his stomach was twisted into a tangle
of knots.

Antonio’s lips
spread into an ugly smile. At least the fact that he was wearing a
tracksuit meant that Frederico wasn’t around. “Took you long
enough. Had to suck his dick one more time?” He laughed and started
the car.

Luca’s teeth
rattled, and his gaze trailed over the peaceful, suburban streets
he was leaving behind. The food he’d eaten a few hours ago was
rising to his throat. He shook his head, not wanting to think about
Ghost. Not now.

Looked like the
question was rhetorical, as Antonio didn’t prod him for an answer.
“I don’t mind.” He shrugged. “It’s not like there’s any less of you
to go round because of that, right?”

“Yes,” said
Luca, stiffly getting into the seat. He did his best to try to act
normally, but he had no idea what Antonio wanted from him now. What
did he want to be called now that he was Luca’s master? If the one
night he’d had Luca for was anything to go by, things would be far
from pleasant.

“I’m actually
glad it worked out the way it did.” Luca could see the smug smile
in the corner of his eye. “Frederico let go of you, you got to roam
around a little, so you can’t complain about that, and now I get to
have you all grown up.” Luca wasn’t even sure anymore, but Antonio
had to believe his own demented talk. Maybe it was for the better?
If Antonio had a sliver of good will toward him, life would be
easier, or at least less painful. He would play a good boy, be
pleasing... Maybe it would be all right?

“So... you
don’t want me to shave?” whispered Luca, trying to understand what
was expected. He was like a puppet cut off its cords.

Antonio waved
his hand dismissively. “Nah, that’s some gay bullshit. Give me your
phone.”

Luca blinked,
stiffening. “What? Why?” He had a few photos with Ghost and Nomad
on it.

“‘Cause I bet
it’s bugged. Come on.” Antonio held out his hand, and Luca didn’t
protest anymore. He handed the cell phone over.

“Is there
anything else you want me to know?”

Luca bit the
inside of his mouth so hard he drew blood when Antonio opened the
window and threw out Luca’s phone.

“Keep yourself
fit,” said the man with a beer belly the size of a large drum. “And
keep quiet. I bought new handcuffs, but gags aren’t my thing.”

Luca swallowed
hard, looking at the road ahead. He melted into the seat. Should he
offer Antonio a blowjob now? Just to butter him up for the future?
He swallowed hard and looked ahead at the road that took him away
from Ghost. There was nothing waiting for him there.

Ghost:
I don’t
know if I can do this anymore. What if we never actually meet. I
want to see your face so bad it hurts.

Zara:
No…
Please… never say that. We’ll meet one day, but I need you so bad.
You’re the only good thing in my life. We don’t even have to be
romantic if it’s tedious. Just don’t leave me on my own…

Ghost:
Being
romantic with you can never get tedious. Don’t *you* ever leave
*me*.

Chapter 21

The letter was
short, the writing crooked, with ink slightly smudged where Luca
must have touched it. Must have been him. His name was right there,
at the bottom of the page.

When Ghost woke
up and didn’t see him anywhere, at first he’d thought that Luca
must have gotten hungry and went to the kitchen, but when he saw
Luca’s clothes nicely folded, and a piece of paper on top of them,
he knew something was off before he’d even read the first
words.

There was an
‘I’m sorry’ struck through at the top, followed by:

My Love,

I hate doing
it this way, but as much as I want to stay, I just can’t. You’re in
danger, and if you got hurt because of me, I would never forgive
myself. I found out that Frederico is sending money to the Rabid
Hogs. He is still after me, so he’s putting the Nails in conflict
with the Rabid Hogs. The details are in the papers I left.

Frederico
wants you dead in that revenge raid, and he will pay for that to
happen. But he only wants it because I love you. That’s why I
needed to go. If I go, you will be safe, and there is nothing more
important to me than your happiness. Now that you are free of me,
please, leave the club. You know that what you really want is to
heal people. You clearly have a gift for that if you managed to
heal me.

You will
probably hate me now, but I hope you can forgive me some day. I’ve
never been happier than when I was with you, and those will be the
memories I’ll hold on to until the end of my life. You are my first
and only love. Please, be happy and safe.

Take care of
Nomad.

Yours
forever,

Luca

Ghost had to
read it twice to comprehend what the letter was trying to convey.
Luca… left him? This wasn’t possible. Luca had just accepted a
marriage proposal. They’d come clean about all the bad shit
yesterday. What was Luca thinking? Ghost took on the debt for
him
, joined the club for
him
. He didn’t care about
safety if he couldn’t share it with Luca. He could barely breathe,
but, still stark naked, he chose Luca’s number on his phone, only
to reach voicemail. There had to be a way to reach him. Find out
where he went. Would he have gone back to Frederico, or did he just
take off to… God knew where?

He chose
Tooth’s number with trembling fingers. He would not just
take
that news.

When Tooth
picked up the call, he sounded just as pissed-off as the last time
when Ghost saw him. “What?”

“Tooth, Luca’s
gone. It must have been in the last hour or so. I need to find him,
I don’t know what to do,” Ghost spoke as fast as possible to convey
his message. Every second counted. He was getting nauseated at the
thought that Luca would disappear from his life, or worse, be hurt
in any way again.

The line
crackled. “He’s from Europe. Maybe he thought he could find a damn
supermarket in the middle of the suburbs?” said Tooth.

“No! This is
serious. He left me a letter. It’s some club shit, too, I need to
tell you, but not over the phone. Are you at the club? You need to
help me find him. He wrote that Frederico wants me dead!” Ghost was
trying to pull on some pants with one hand, but then just turned to
speakerphone.

Tooth was
silent for a long moment. “Fuck. Don should be home already. Tell
him to come with you, and you both get your asses over here.
Now.”

“You’ll help me
find him, right? Promise you will?” Ghost was trying not to sound
hysterical, but tears already streaked down his cheeks.

“Fucking hell,”
growled Tooth. “That stupid boy,” he said, breaking the connection.
Ghost was left with the silent cell phone in hand, with Luca’s
things, the same they’d chosen together, left behind.

Ghost took the
folder with Luca’s findings and sped out of the room as soon as he
was dressed. “Dad?” he yelled into the empty corridors of the house
as he stampeded down the stairs.

Don’s groan
sounded like a grizzly bear on a prowl. “Fuck... can’t you be quiet
for once?” When Ghost entered the living room, his father was lying
facedown on the sofa, surrounded by painkillers, and with two water
bottles on standby on the floor.

“No, I can’t be
quiet! Get the fuck up. We’re going to the club. Now. When did you
come in? Did you see Luca leave?” Ghost hovered around the sofa
like a crazed hornet.

“Why would I
watch your little fuckboy,” growled Don, looking up with the
ugliest hangover face in the history of mankind. One had to stop
pulling a bender sometime. Best before one was seventy. Still, at
the mention of the club, Don rolled over and sat up.

“The fuck,
Dad?” Ghost hissed. “He’s not a ‘fuckboy’, but my
fiancé
, if
you really want to know. So move your fucking ass, or I’m going
without you!”

Don rushed to
his feet, pulled at the front of Ghost’s shirt, and sent him flying
at the wall. Don’s fist was bony but held unexpected strength.
“Stop with this fucking nonsense.”

Ghost
straightened up as soon as the first bout of dizziness passed. Don
had never actually punched him. Sure, he got some slaps as a kid,
but never like this. “I’m not even gonna discuss this,” he growled
and bolted for the door, ignoring Nomad even as the poor thing
tried to push through and run outside. He didn’t care whether his
father followed and quickly mounted his bike. His gaze inevitably
brushed over the empty sidecar, and he choked up, instantly
remembering how Luca enjoyed riding in it. But it wasn’t time for
sentiments.

Ghost got to
the clubhouse within fifteen minutes, and when he found the gate
closed, he lost his temper and yelled at the newest prospect to
open it right away. Tooth walked out into the yard before Ghost
even parked along the other bikes.

“What do we do?
He could be anywhere!” As much as Ghost hated it, what came to his
mind was how the club had gone to search for Lucky. The guy had
been pretty much dying when they got to him. And they’d had a
tracker to find him.

Tooth reached
out his hand, his face completely straight. “Show me what he
left.”

Ghost quickly
passed him the folder, and even the letter in case that could help
find Luca. He followed Tooth inside, where some members were
rushing about, looking groggy.

“Get yourselves
some fucking coffee and painkillers,” growled Tooth, leading the
way to the office. Priest looked up from behind the desk. He always
held his liquor well, but Ghost was surprised to see the old man
completely
well after yesterday’s party.

Priest accepted
the folder and opened it, putting on his reading glasses.

“Sit,” Tooth
told Ghost, leaning down over Priest’s back and reading with
him.

“There’s no
time to sit…” Ghost whined and put his hands over his face, but
followed the order nevertheless. All he could do on his own was
drive through the streets of Detroit looking for Luca. That
wouldn’t work.

Tooth opened
his laptop and typed something. He was focused and as emotionless
as he always was, nothing like when Lucky had been taken. Ghost
knew they needed some levelheadedness in this, but it was just so
hard to watch him so steady.

Priest’s
forehead was getting more wrinkled with each page he looked
through, but he didn’t otherwise show any emotion. Ghost shuddered
when someone put on a ridiculous new pop song in the bar, just
behind the door.

Ghost wasn’t
even embarrassed for them to read the letter. He didn’t care who
knew anymore. He turned around when he heard the door creak. Grim
entered the office with an unreadable expression.

“What’s going
on?” he asked.

Priest snorted
and dropped the printouts on his desk, as if it were a challenge to
the Rabid Hogs. “Fuckers are prepared, and the Villanis are
supporting them. Possibly with firepower.”

“Shit,”
muttered Tooth beneath his breath, typing on. It was hard to say
whether he was talking about whatever he was seeing on the screen,
or about the situation with the other club. Ghost didn’t really
care. He wanted to start doing
something
. His mind was
bursting with images of Luca, miserable and afraid, alone. He
didn’t deserve to be back in the nightmare of his past, didn’t
deserve to endure further abuse. To lose Luca now, after finally
having him here, was a blow Ghost simply couldn’t take.

Ghost took a
deep breath to find his voice. “It’s not the Villanis as a whole.
It’s Frederico Villani. He’s pissed off about what happened despite
the money I paid him. He’s using the Rabid Hogs to get back at me.
At Luca. So Luca left.”

Tooth glanced
at Priest, and the silent communication that went on there had
Ghost almost believing there was some kind of telepathy going on
between the men. Priest leaned back in the leather armchair.

“We’re gonna
deal with those fuckers today. Villani played them as well. Grim,
you’re gonna use those knives of yours,” he said with a smirk.
“Gather everyone in ten.”

Grim nodded
with a sinister smile.

Ghost looked up
at them in panic. “I don’t give a fuck about them. What about
Luca?”