“I know I shouldn’t have come here, Ghost, but…” I trailed off as someone knocked on the door.
The president of the Savage Sons waved my words away, and I fell silent as the man I had saved stepped into the room. He looked better than he had on the side of the road, but he was still pretty beaten up. Not ‘about to fall down’ weak like Ghost looked, but not great either.
Like he could feel my eyes on him, he turned to me with a smile. I looked away quickly, a blush creeping up my cheeks. I didn’t even know why I was blushing, only that I had never had a man look at me like he could see straight through my clothesbefore. His dark eyes roved up and down over my body until Ghost cleared his throat.
“Sorry, Prez.” The dark-haired giant of a man flicked his eyes at me and the corners of his mouth twitched but didn’t form a smile. “I just wanted to say thank you to the woman who saved my life. I’m Pocket, and you’re Chloe?” He lifted a dark, slightly bushy eyebrow.
Biting my lip, I remained silent.
“How do you know her name?” Ghost’s voice was clipped.
Pocket didn’t miss a beat. “I heard Chance say her name.” He shrugged. “They’ve just told me about the newspaper article. Looks like we are famous, hey?” He aimed the question at me, but I didn’t answer him. My eyes were firmly on Ghost, who was turning redder and redder by the second.
God, this was bad. I was meant to stay in the shadows and away from the Sons. That was the deal I had made with Ghost in return for his help over the years, and here I was with my face in the paper and my name on the lips of half the clubhouse.
“I didn’t mean for—” I started to say, but the look Ghost shot me made me swallow down my words.
“It doesn’t matter now, Chloe. We will discuss it at a later date, when we are alone. I have a job for you, Pocket.”
“Sure, Prez.” There was no hesitation in Pocket's voice, and that troubled me. Just what kind of hold did Ghost have over these men, that when he said jump they asked how high? “Anything you need.”
“No.” My voice came out shaky. “He’s hurt and—”
Again, I was cut off. “Pocket won’t mind doing this for me. After all, he owes you his life. You don’t mind taking Chloe and keeping her company, do you? Keep her inside and away from the others.”
Ghost paused, and a line appeared between his eyebrows. “Not in one of the bedrooms, Pocket, is that understood? Chloe is…off limits.”
The blush on my cheeks flamed back into life. Was he really telling Pocket that he wasn’t allowed to get me into bed? As if I would ever sleep with a man I didn’t know. Especially one like Pocket.
“Completely.”
“And find Duke and tell him I want to see him.” Ghost turned his attention back to me and his gaze softened. “I promise you I will sort this out, Chloe. Have I ever let you down before?”
“No, Ghost, and thank you.” If he was angry with me, then he wasn’t showing it.
“Come on, Chloe.” Taking my arm, Pocket led me out of the room. “Are you hungry?”
“A little,” I admitted in a whisper, blushing at the meekness of my voice. Why couldn’t I stop blushing? He wasn’t doing anything but being friendly. That was all. He wasn’t making a move. “Mostly I’m just tired.”
“There’s a sofa down in the rec room. You can sleep if you need to.” Gently, he led me down the long corridor and down a dark flight of stairs. “We have a kiddie friendly rec room. Had to put one in when Legacy’s step kid kept showing up in the common room and causing a commotion with the club girls. It’s like a teenage lad's heaven up there sometimes, but it’s not for young innocent eyes, if you get my drift?”
I wasn’t an idiot, I could guess, and it just made me blush harder.
“Some of the other kids of members come down here on family days. But no one will tonight, so we will be ok.” He pushed open a door and flicked the light on.
I blinked in the sudden brightness.
“So, what brings you here?” He motioned for me to sit on the threadbare sofa and I sank into it gratefully. Letting out a sigh of relief at finally getting off of my feet, I let my head fall back and my eyes close.
“How do you know Ghost?” The couch cushions dipped as he settled his giant frame next to me. “Not that I’m not happy to see you. I was going to find out who you were and come and thank you in person, but…well, here you are.”
I knew these questions were inevitable, but I was too exhausted to answer them. Both physically and emotionally. The last few days had been a rollercoaster.
“It’s a long story.” I mumbled, and I must have sounded sleepy because I felt the weight of a blanket being drawn over my body. I sighed, but when I felt rough fingers touch my cheek, pushing my hair behind my ears, my eyes flew open to find him staring down at me.
“Yeah, sorry, I shouldn’t ask.” Dark eyes crinkled at the edges and the full mouth under his thick beard arched up in a smile that made butterflies take flight in my belly. “That’s your business and none of mine but…” Leaning over me, he pressed his lips to my forehead. “I am glad you are here. Thank you for helping me. I thought you looked like a damn angel coming to take me to heaven or some shit like that, but I was wrong.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You were? I mean…I’m not an angel.”