Break Me Open (Desert Wraiths MC) Read online

Trig looked back, still bouncing with adrenaline. He stopped dead when he saw Ghost lying on my lap.

  "Shit, is he hit?

  "No," I said. "It's his spiking."

  "What do we do?"

  They were looking at me for advice? "Take him to a hospital, I guess."

  What was it he'd mumbled? Go back to where we started? Gilsner, maybe? Yeah, that was safest, get us far away from here. But that interpretation seemed oddly poetic for Ghost, and as much depth as I’d seen in him, I hadn’t seen that. I stroked his chin, alarmingly cold now. I draped my jacket around him, then took Trig’s and added it on top.

  A couple thunks came from behind the seat, and a muffled voice called out. "You are fucking with the wrong man." It started to swear in Spanish. Apparently the cartel wasn't quite out.

  Then it hit me. We couldn't just go drop these guys off at the FBI and expect to walk away. They had to be found.

  Go back to where you started.

  "We have to go back to that parking lot," I said. "Where I lost my phone."

  "What?" Spoke said, but he got it straight away. "Ah right. Where the feds expects you to be."

  His sense of direction was good too. Before long we were cruising down the highway. Even without a chase, it was a tense ride back. The car looked like a movie prop, with spiderwebs all across the front shield and the night leaking in from outside through a couple dozen bullet holes. It was a testament to the shocking speed of the attack that they had managed to get us all out alive.

  Ghost's plan, I was sure.

  I stroked Ghost's fuzz of hair. It’s my turn now, don't worry.

  We crept back behind the shopping center, and found roughly the spot we were parked. Spoke opened the trunk and found the cartel guy trying to worm around over Gyro's knocked out form. Spoke knocked him out with another punch, and then we searched them both for phones. I grinned as I found a backup sewn into the cartel man's jacket and took it out before we shut the trunk.

  Let him feel helpless for once.

  There were still a couple cars parked here. Spoke hotwired one and they dragged Ghost to its backseat. Once the engine was in gear, I borrowed Spoke's burner and called in the local police.

  "Yeah, hi, there's this car here, with someone yelling in the trunk. I want to go help them, but there's bullet holes all over the car and I'm afraid there might be someone dangerous inside. "

  I hung up before the woman could answer and pulled out the battery for good measure.

  "Home?" Spoke asked.

  "What about your bikes?" I asked.

  "We'll pick em up later. Ghost comes number one."

  Maybe not everyone in the Wraiths were soldiers but these guys were really brothers in arms. "Ok."

  The ride back took a lifetime. We had to drive below the speed limit to make sure we weren’t pulled over by state patrol and caught. I kept an eye out for signs on approaching hospitals in case Ghost's vitals took a turn for the worse, but he lay as still as he normally did in life. No tremors, no anything. His breath came shallow and steady. I still felt pretty awful. A coma wasn't much better than death.

  I wanted to cuddle up into him. I wanted to kiss him and thank him, and punch him uselessly a few times. Why did you spike so hard? Why did you do this for me?

  The question was pointless. If I could I would have done the same for him.

  When we finally passed through Phoenix and caught a sign for Gilsner, the first of the tension released. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm me, but I stayed strong for Ghost. My mind swam with memories and of things that never happened. Nights with Ghost, days laughing with my parents, fights with Sandy. The sadness of losing them. The idea of losing Ghost. The past mingled with the unformed future. Questions popped like bubbles in my head.

  I remembered one, and asked Trig. "How did you guys even find me?"

  Trig grumbled as if I had waked him up. "Your scent. Ghost followed your scent."

  Huh.

  We rolled into town at almost midnight, and went straight to the ER at Santa Maria. Trig jumped out and helped me lug Ghost out of the car. A couple orderlies rushed out, paused frowning when they saw our jackets then came up anyway.

  "OD?" one asked pushing Ghost into a wheelchair.

  "Shock, I think." I said. "He's in a coma."

  The other eyed my tattoo. "You see what did this to him?"

  Oh, I had seen a ton of stuff, but I shook my head. The guy rolled his eyes. He'd probably heard denials a 100 times over. We tried to follow, but he waved us off.

  "Family only."

  "I'm family," I said.

  Maybe cause Trig backed away as contrast. Maybe cause I looked fiercely in love. Maybe cause it was midnight and he couldn't be asked to give a damn, but he let me go in.

  "Name?"

  I hesitated, but gave it to them. No reason for the FBI to come after me right now. If they did and they asked what Ghost had done that night weeks ago, I would tell them.

  He had saved my life. He had protected me. He always had and he always would. I could wrap myself in that truth and make sure they didn't go any deeper.

  The doctors couldn't do much for Ghost. He was stable, just unresponsive. They set him up in their cheapest room, wired up his vitals and left us there.

  Seeing him in that hospital gown made the truth come alive for me. This might be all that was left of him. A wave of grief washed over me, but I knew he would want me to be strong. I would figure this out for him. Tomorrow. When I could get back to the veterinary clinic. I would figure it out.

  I took his hand and sat on a chair by his head. I watched his majestic form until I could no longer stay upright, then slumped onto him.

  If he wouldn’t wake up, then at least I could join him in the darkness.

  I was flying down a desert highway. The land outside was flat, but teeming with life, minute and large, plant and animal. Cliffs framed the road ahead. Above them, the sky sat cracked open between eggshells of clouds - a deep and shimmering blue. I had been driving for hours, days. I didn't know. Time didn't matter here.

  This wasn't reality, but I didn’t think it was death.

  At my side flew another rider, her chopper a lighter and brighter version of mine, chrome maybe - almost golden. I couldn't see her face. Every time I tried to look, the air around would seem to grow dark, but once in a while she would come close and we would clasp our hands on the gap between our bikes. It was Katie, I was sure.

  I was glad knowing those canyons and that optimistic sky lay forever away. This was all I wanted. The freedom to go anywhere, as long as I could ride side by side with the one person I wanted to keep by me.

  Sometimes, I would look up at the sky directly overhead. That darkness would fall on me, as if the light were never there. If I peered through it, I could see an angry sky above. Red and scorched, cracked by the ruptures I had caused.

  There was a way up through there. A way back. But why did I want to go? This was perfection, and Katie sat at my side. What more could I want?

  I flew for a million years. Then I started to wonder about Katie, right next to me. Did she want to be here? Maybe I was being selfish.

  I turned to Katie, and asked her what she wanted me to do. Her face sat in that fog, but her voice rang clear in my ears.

  "Stay with me."

  Into the darkness or into the light, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that if I kept going this way, I wouldn't see her face again. And with sudden fierceness, that was all I wanted. Even if it meant giving up this wild unending freedom, I would lay still and drink in the sight of her forever.

  I couldn’t stop the bike, but I looked up at the cracked red sky. It looked closer than ever. All I needed was a little boost…

  I had the needle right up to the IV line but my hand froze.

  In theory, the cocktail of suppressants here would bring Ghost out of his waking dream. His brain scans had shown a ton of activity in all regions. The doctors were absolutely unsure what exactly he was doing in a coma. />
  Of course they didn't know about the modifications. When they asked me for a medical background all I'd given was that he'd been in the army and that he liked to drink a good amount. After forcing me to repeat that he hadn't ODed they had declared him to have some traumatic relapse from an army injury - which they were unable to access records on of course. It was an easy way to say they had no idea what was going on.

  Not to say I knew better. I had spent the entire day studying back at school. A dozen people had pestered me with questions, but seeing as none was law enforcement, I didn't dodge those so much as completely ignore them. Even Sandy had only gotten a "Sorry, just some me time."

  All that work had landed on this - basically an upped dosage of the sort of stuff I knew had worked before.

  Theoretically, it was all he needed. Theoretically, it was well below a lethal dose.

  In reality, this was not only illegal, but I had no way of knowing how this would react with his system. He wasn't exactly human anymore.

  The door opened and Nico came back in. Trig and Spoke and a bunch of others had come through and paid their dues to the sleeping Ghost, but Nico had stayed the whole day. Even when I had left.

  "Done?" he asked, before my trembling arm caught his eye. "Something wrong?"

  "I don't know," I said. I turned to him to show that I wasn't just stalling. "I don't know.” I pleaded into the club leader's dull brown eyes.

  He shrugged. "I don't either, but it's worth a shot." He chuckled at his little pun.

  I wanted to bite that look off his face. I must have looked it, cause he stopped, and sighed.

  "Ghost hated risks," he said. "Did you know that about him?"

  I didn't. In fact, that didn't sound like him at all.

  "Yeah. He used to be fucking infuriating. Just sitting on my left, shooting down one idea after another. The most annoying part was you couldn't knock a couple of his teeth out either, cause he'd knock out your entire jaw. I honestly wondered sometimes why he stuck around with a bunch of people who he must have seen were idiots."

  Nico and I had been talking quite a bit since I came back. He'd updated me about the FBI heat lifting off Gilsner, the arrest down by Los Cruces, the raid on the Sand Scorpions hangout. The hammer had come down fast as lightning. I'd told him about my own part in all this and his brows had actually lifted in surprise, which I'd heard was a rare treat.

  But this, this was a new level of honesty. I listened and waited.

  "Eventually I figured out that was the role he liked. To be part of something bigger than him and make sure they didn't do nothing stupid. He saved our asses yesterday, but he's been keeping ourselves from needing to be saved for a long ass time."

  Old man Ghost. That character I could see, especially with him swaddled in all the hospital garb now.

  "This man you met, that ain't the Ghost I know." Nico shook his head at the bed. "Defying orders. Dueling people on the roads. Pissing in the FBI's face and smashing into Cartel safe houses. Does that sound like a man who plays it safe?"

  "No."

  "It makes me wonder which one’s the real Ghost. The quiet tough one or the one that burned through with purpose? I know which one seems happier and I know that you’re the reason that part came out. He did all this stuff for you."

  "That's not helping."

  "Ay, I thought you were good with thinking." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm telling you, he took risks because you made him want to. Because he sees something in you he doesn't see anywhere else. And he will fucking nearly kill himself to make sure that you stay ok. He was willing to kill all of us even."

  I glanced up and he shrugged. "Yeah I know that was his other plan. It's ok."

  "So what?" I said. "Just stab him and see what happens."

  "I'm saying if you think there's a chance to save him, then that's enough. He’d take any risk to be with you again."

  A bead of liquid had formed at the tip of the syringe - a fraction of what would be needed to affect him.

  Nico's hand lifted off me. I had to do whatever I did alone.

  I didn't like being alone very much. Not anymore.

  The needle slid into the IV like it belonged, and the liquid surged out, flew down the tube and ran into Ghost.

  My eyes opened on Katie's waiting face. Was I alive or was this just another level?

  Her eyes glossed up like dew condensing on a cool desert morning. "Oh god," she whispered.

  That sounded pretty real.

  "Aw shit," Nico's voice boomed out above, and I lifted my eyes and saw his tan face, glowing even brighter, a mythical grin crossing it. The air glowed, but I could smell the stench of sanitizer and blood. We were at a hospital.

  "Everything good?" I asked.

  "All's good with us, man, how bout you?"

  "I'm-" I tipped my head over and froze as I caught full sight of Katie. She had on a loose cream blouse, which I could see cause the club jacket she had on hung open. Her legs were covered by a long black skirt which was tucked neat under her. Her lips hung open in worry, but they looked beautiful, entrancing, waiting for me."

  "Are you ok?" they asked. "Easy."

  "I'm fine. It's just... I missed you. The real you."

  Her lips parted. Her teeth glittered at me, like all the wealth of the world. Nico stretched conspicuously above her.

  "Are you ok?" I asked her. "What's going on, are we ok?"

  "It's good, brother," Nico said. "Everything is good. The FBI are off our backs. They’re out of town. No one's looking for you or for us."

  "Katie." My eyes dropped back to her.

  "I did say us, didn't I?" Nico said. "She's safe, don't worry."

  Katie's hand fell on mine, like a delicate flower. I squeezed it back and found surprising strength in me.

  "Just rest," she said. "You need your rest."

  "The cartel," I said, with a sudden realization. "The FBI is after them?"

  "Don't worry," Nico said. My eyes found his and saw a different message. I wasn't the only thing being wakened today. Handing over the Cartel asshat had been necessary to link Gyro to them, but his bosses might not let it go at that. Especially if they needed Gilsner as a transport hub. This was bigger than the Sand Scorpions.

  "She's right, man," Nico said, warding off my thoughts. "Get your rest. We have time."

  He turned and made for the door. "I'll see you two later." He walked out and I heard the door lock shut.

  The room was actually pretty nice. A hot breeze blew in from outside. Katie and I lay examining each other in it for some time.

  "You can go back now," I said. "You can go back to your classes and your schoolwork."

  "I did," she said. "That's where I found the compound to wake you up. Well, I mean I guessed and thank god I guessed right."

  Again, she had saved my life. Literally. "I don't know how to thank you," I said. "I'm just happy you can go back to your normal life."

  "Oh," she glanced at an empty syringe. "I must have messed something up."

  Everything felt alright inside. Was this heat not for her? Was it something bad? "What?"

  "I must have mixed in some psychiatric meds to make you so melodramatic."

  She trembled with laughter. I caught on and joined her. "I'm just saying -"

  "Oh, shut up. I'm not going anywhere. I can go back to school and still be with you.

  It was what I had dreamed of hearing all that time inside my head. I remembered the darkness of the sky overhead though. With Nico's words I knew what that meant. "Winds rising,” I said. “We might have stirred up a storm.”

  "We'll ride through it together."

  She squeezed my hand again, and I wished she would never let go. If that put her in danger well, I would be there. Because I needed her to be there when I was in trouble.

  And after it passed.

  And every other goddamn time.

  Her finger traced across my palm, like a flint lighting a spark.

  "Actually," I said, “Th
e wind isn't all that's rising."

  She smiled a crooked smiled, checked the lock on the door, and climbed up onto the bed. She bared our bodies, bound her flesh to mine.

  It was the best medicine I could ever ask for.

  Thanks for Reading!

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  Amy

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  Riding Dark:

  Lee would pace along the length of the couch, glance at me, then turn around in silent struggle, his hard face twisting one way then another. When I'd drank in enough of his lean white angst, I stood and paced up to him. He didn't notice till my breath was hitting his chin. He startled like a deer spotting a hunter.

  "What you doing?" he said, a foot taller and ten sizes stronger, yet still with fear in his eyes.

  "I wanted to thank you."

  "Thank me? I was saving you from this."

  "Yeah, that's why I want to thank you." I studied the fine lines of his pecs, the heart shaped indent at the bottom right before the muscles bulges out. "I can say no to a crappy meal then turn around and sink my teeth into a juicy one. Don't you know nothing about girls?"

  "I know plenty about...white girls."

  "That's a whole different book. Why don’t you open me up and see what I got?"

  I traced a palm along his bare chest, and halfway down, he grabbed my arms and spread me open. I could feel my thick breasts thrust out at him and smiled a coy smile. His mouth hung open; his eyes locked on me in naked hunger.