Grinning, I stepped away from her and said, “I can live with that. Now get your ass dressed unless you want to wear that?”
Honestly, I didn’t care what the fuck she wore if she said ‘I do’ when the time came. So, I wasn’t surprised when she plopped her ass down on the couch, crossing her arms like a petulant child. God help me. I wanted to strangle this woman most days, but I loved her dearly on the rare occasion she was sweet.
I wish I could say that my marriage was a happy occasion, but it was more like standing next to a Bengal tiger who was frothing at the mouth. When it came time to kiss my bride, well, the swift kick to my groin let me know that I wasn’t going to be consummating anything any time soon.
Instead, I received the silent treatment for the remainder of the trip home to Purgatory, with an ice pack in my lap. Tyrant was many things, and subtle wasn’t one of them. When we arrived back at the compound, I said nothing when she jumped from the SUV, grabbed our daughter, and headed into the clubhouse, snarling at every brother she passed, who gave her a wide berth. Slowly getting out of the vehicle, I tried not to grimace, but my balls still hadn’t descended from my chest, and I feared they wouldn’t work for a while.
Taking my time, I walked into the clubhouse to find it quiet, too quiet. “What happened?” I asked those standing around, waiting.
Savage spoke first, “Reaper. We had to sedate him.”
“Why?”
“He went after Brian,” Chaos offered, then added. “Brian came by to tell him that he found Remi’s brother and sister. They were moved to a foster family in upstate Washington when the vehicle was sideswiped and fell into a ravine. The kids are hurt but alive, but Reaper lost it and blamed Brian and everyone else for their failure to protect those kids. It took most of us to get him off, Brian. Healer sedated him. I’ve sent Player and Caroline to Washington with documents stating that Caroline is their grandmother. I didn’t know what else to do. I figured if we could get those kids here, then maybe Reaper will snap out of this state he’s in. He knows how much Remi wants her brother and sister safe. With them being here, we were all hoping that he might wake the fuck up and start doing the right thing again.”
“When are Caroline and Player due back?”
“Player called in last night. The girl, Sunny, still needs a few days. She broke her leg and cracked a rib. The boy, Jax, is fine. Just a bunch of cuts and scrapes. Player thinks they should be able to head back here in a few days, maybe a week at the most.”
“Any word on Remi?”
“No,” Chaos sighed. “Plus, we had an unknown visitor last night. She’s…well, she’s something I really can’t explain.”
“She?”
“Yeah, Phantom showed up.”
“Wait,” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “You mean Player’s Phantom? The techie-chick he’s been going on and on about. The woman who’s been helping us. That Phantom.”
“The one and only and in the flesh,” a female voice said, walking into the room. The woman in question was tall, standing about five-seven, maybe eight, with jet-black hair shaved on one side and fell down her back. Her piercing green eyes looked like emeralds against her pale white skin. Dressed head to toe in black leather that hugged her curvy body in all the right places. The woman was stunning to look at. She was the epitome of a biker’s wet dream, and I knew this woman was going to cause a shit-ton of trouble.
“You must be Ghost,” she said, walking straight up to me. “I’m Phantom. We need to talk.”
Nodding, I turned to Shadow. “Make sure Tyrant and Becca have everything they need. Put them in my room, and don’t take any of her shit. Find Grimm and get him to help. If she gives you trouble, text me.”
When my brother left, I motioned for Phantom to follow as I headed for church.
Sitting in my chair, I wondered if this shit would ever end. Everything was intertwined, molded, and folded together. I couldn’t tell who was good or evil anymore. Everyone was an enemy until not. The world was not as it seemed. So much depravity, sinister evils, demons in disguise. The world was nothing more than a cesspool of inequity where the whores of Babylon roamed free, spreading their deviance everywhere. It needed to end. Someone had to stand up and shout STOP! Enough is enough. I thought that would be Reaper for a while, but with Remi in the devil’s clutches, he was useless until he had a target. The man was nothing without Remi. She carried his soul within her. She gave him what life had taken away all those years ago a reason for living, for fighting against the tyranny of evils.
I knew we needed to find that woman and fast. Without her, Reaper was nothing but a shallow hull of nothingness. Though Chaos believed having her brother and sister here would help, I knew it would only anger Reaper more.
Sighing, I rubbed my face with my hands and wondered how much more we could take before we all started to crumble. I read the file Pops gave me before he died. I knew the toll it took on the men before us. They all thought they were doing the right thing at the time, but thinking and knowing is totally different. When the truth finally came out, it slaughtered the strongest men. Even now, the current Golden Skulls were having a hard time knowing what they were initially part of. To think they were making a difference, only to realize that they were working for the very devils themselves.
It was all too much.
Something needed to give.
We needed something good to come of all of this.
I looked up when I heard the door lock, shocked to only see Phantom in the room with me. But it was her next words that moved me to action. “I found her.”
Jumping from my chair, I asked, “Where?”
“You better sit down because you are not going to like this.”
“Where?” I growled, not moving.
“In one of your chapter’s back yard.