Page 54 of Ghost
Ghost
His arm still stung whereSpencer had injected the tracker, but now it was part of his body,it vanished as he ghosted. Ghost was careful not to rub the spotbecause Harris had programmed it to be pressure-sensitive. If heneeded help, he’d push on the spot where his tracker was, and thecavalry would come running. Lucky for him, it was a warm night, orrunning around Marshall butt-ass naked would have been a muchchillier proposition, and his dick would have crawled back insidehis body for warmth. He couldn’t help but think of that Seinfeldepisode when George got out of the pool and was changing when hisgirlfriend walked in.Turtlingindeed.
Ghost followed Jake as he left thestation and crossed the street, heading toward the diner. He notedthe man’s nervousness, glancing over his shoulder every ten totwenty seconds. As Ghost maneuvered around a shard of broken glasson the sidewalk, he’d have to remember to mention foot protectionfor future missions if possible.
Few people were on the street since afootball game was playing on the high school field. Marshallresidents loved their football. It helped to know fewer peoplewould be in the line of fire if anything went down. Ghost easilyblended into his surroundings as Jake continued past the diner andtook the first alleyway that led behind the hardwarestore.
Great, he’d be walking throughconstruction landmines. All he needed now was to step on a nail orget a splinter in his foot and leave a trail of blood behind him.He was cautious as he continued down the alleyway, and luckily, hedidn’t step on anything sharp enough to break the skin, but by thetime he caught up with Jake, he was facing off with the guy fromthe hardware store, Jackson. This should be interesting.
“What’d you tell them?”Jackson demanded, his face red.
“Nothing,” Jake growled,eyes shifting back and forth, likely looking for a possibleescape.
“Lift your shirt,” Jacksonordered.
“What?”
“Lift your shirt. I need tosee if you're wearing a wire.”
“Fuck,” Jake said but didas he was told. “See, nothing.”
“I’ll ask again,” Jacksonsaid as he pulled out a gun. “What did you tell thecops?”
“Nothing. I swear I didn’tgive them your name.”
“Then why are they snoopingaround?”
“Where?”
“Cross’s house.”
“’Cause you killed him.They found the body.”
“Why did they haul youin?”
“My wallet fell out there.I told you I needed help lifting the body, but you sat in the truckwatching me do all the work. It was your idea to dump him outthere, saying it’d be safe considering your dad was buying theland. I had nothing to do with this. All I was supposed to do wasfind the land to buy.”
“My father wants to seeyou.”
“Why? I didn’t tell themanything. I did what he told me to do. I got rid of thebody.”
“Just get in the truck. Youcan explain it to him yourself.”
Jackson motioned with his gun towardthe same truck Ghost had seen when the guy tore out of the parkinglot after Cross told him off for shooting at them. As Jake jumpedinto the truck, Ghost gingerly climbed into the truck bed. They hadto get to the top guy, but Jackson wasn’t him. Time to meet theBerry patriarch.
It was much colder riding in the bedof a truck as it flew down the road in the middle of the night, buthe had to stay with Jake to get to the head honcho. Ghost couldn’thelp but look out into the darkness behind them and wonder wherethe team was because there wasn’t a light in sight. He had to trustthat they were nearby.
He knew Ray and the team would neverabandon him, and this thought steeled him for the remainder of thejourney. He and his ability could lead them to the personresponsible for destroying so many lives—those who thought theywere above the law and entitled to steal and kill others withoutever answering for their crimes.
Who knows what they had planned forthe town of Marshall once they’d seized all the land containing thefreshwater spring? Would they charge people for water? Would theyallow farmers crops to wither on the stalk and their animals to dieof dehydration? What would they make the poor townsfolk do tosurvive?
People like this reminded Ghost of thebullies he’d been fighting his whole life. They took and took untilthere was nothing left. Now that Cross was dead, only one familywas left to prosper from generations of destruction and theft. Theycouldn’t be allowed to continue.
The truck began to slow and eventuallypulled onto a long driveway that led to a large ranch house setback from the road and surrounded by trees. The truck parked behindthe house, and Jackson forced Jake out of the truck and onto thedeck, where another man sat waiting. He was sitting back leisurelyin a cushioned chair, sucking on a cigar. He resembled a mob boss,someone who belonged in a big city like New York, not the hillcountry in Texas. Ghost couldn’t help but notice the armed menstationed throughout the area but knew the team would be preparedand ready to take them on.
“Jake,” the man said. “Goodto see you’re well.”
The missing part of thatsentence was evident—for now.
