เข้าสู่ระบบThe war room wasn’t really a room.More like a hollowed-out storage space behind the bar concrete floors, flickering overhead lights, a dented table that had survived more fights than most of the men in the club. Ghost had spent half his life here planning raids, tracking rivals, deciding who lived and who didn’t. But tonight felt different.Because Luca was standing across from him.Free. Not shackled. Not locked in the infirmary. Free enough that every breath Ghost took felt like a mistake he’d have to answer for.Luca braced his palms on the table, eyes scanning the spread of photos, maps, and intel sheets. His hair was damp from the shower he’d been allowed to take Ghost had refused to call it a privilege, but it was. Clean clothes too. A plain black shirt, jeans, boots that fit. All of it made him look less like a man Ghost had dragged out of a garage and more like the brother he used to be.And Ghost hated that it still did something to him.“You’re looking at the wrong sector
Ghost didn’t want to free him. Didn’t want to see the hope flicker in Luca’s eyes.Didn’t want to admit to himself that the world had tilted the moment he found Luca alive again.But dawn rose anyway, painting the desert behind the clubhouse in bruised shades of orange and blue. Ghost stood in the cool half-light, jaw locked tight, knife in hand as he cut the zip ties around Luca’s wrists.The sound of plastic snapping felt louder than it should.Luca flexed his hands, wincing. “Didn’t think you’d ever let that happen.”Ghost stepped back. “Don’t make me regret it.”Luca lifted his eyes slowly, searching him. “You know I wouldn’t.”“You say that like I’m supposed to believe you.”Luca bit back a response not out of fear, but out of restraint. “I came back because someone in your club is working with the cartel. You know that.”Ghost didn’t answer. Which was an answer in itself.He tossed Luca a black tee no Serpents patch, no markings. Neutral. “Put that on. We’ve got work.”Luca cau
Viper never liked silence, in fact he hated it. He thrived in noise, the roar of engines, laughter at the bar, arguments that made the walls vibrate. Silence, to him, meant something was wrong.That’s why I knew we were in trouble before he even opened his mouth.He showed up in the garage that morning, cane tapping against the concrete, his smile too smooth for the hour. “Heard you and the prodigal son have been spending time together.”I didn’t look up from the engine I was fixing. “He’s under my watch. You got a problem with that?”Viper’s tone stayed calm, but his eyes were sharp. “Not at all. I just didn’t think you’d be so… forgiving.”“Didn’t know I needed your permission to talk to a brother.”He stepped closer, leaning on the cane like it was an accessory instead of a crutch. “You don’t. I just think it’s funny after everything that’s happened that you’re suddenly his biggest defender.”I tightened a bolt, hard enough to make the wrench bite my palm. “Funny isn’t the word I’d
The room felt smaller suddenly. The air heavier. He moved closer, his knee brushing mine. I could smell the faint trace of soap on his skin, the warmth radiating off him.“I missed this,” he admitted, voice barely above a whisper.“What?”“Talking to you. Being near you without you looking at me like I’m the enemy.”I turned to face him. “You disappeared. You let me think you were dead. You let me bury you in my head and then….”He reached out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist. “I know. And I’d take it back if I could.”His grip was firm but trembling. It wasn’t about control, it was about needing to be heard.The silence stretched again, thick with everything we couldn’t say. Then, slowly, I covered his hand with mine. His pulse thrummed beneath my thumb.“Ghost,” he breathed.And that sound, my name on his lips unraveled something inside me.We sat like that for a long time. No words. Just quiet breathing, shared warmth, the weight of the years between us pressing in and looseni
The clubhouse had finally gone quiet. The hum of engines faded into the distance, replaced by the faint crackle of a dying fire in the common room. Most of the brothers had passed out drunk or left to crash with their girls. Ghost stayed where he was in the hallway, leaning against the doorframe, watching Luca in the dim light.Luca sat at the far end of the bar, elbows on the counter, his bruised knuckles loose around a half-empty glass. He looked tired, but not weak like a man holding himself together by instinct. The cut on his lip had reopened; Ghost could see a thin streak of red every time he spoke.“You should crash,” Ghost said finally, voice low. “You’re running on fumes.”Luca lifted his dark eyes which was steady and unreadable. “And you should stop pretending you’re not worried about me.”Ghost’s jaw tightened. “You’re the one who keeps giving me reasons to be.”That earned a faint smirk, the kind that shouldn’t have made Ghost’s chest tighten, but did. “Then maybe keep
Luca didn’t stop him. He just said, quietly, “You didn’t lose me, Ghost. You just stopped believing I’d come back.”Ghost’s hands curled into fists. “You disappeared. You left us with blood and lies.”“I left because someone made me because I was set up and you…” Luca’s voice cracked. “You were the only one I wanted to tell. But you were gone before I could.”Ghost turned. “Don’t make me regret letting you out, Luca.”“You won’t,” Luca said simply. “You’ll see soon enough. I’ll prove it.”The fire popped between them, breaking the silence. Ghost ran a hand through his hair, jaw tight, every inch of him vibrating with things he didn’t know how to name.He didn’t trust him but he didn’t not trust him either and maybe that was worse. He sat back down across from Luca, close enough to feel the heat of him again.“Get some rest,” Ghost said roughly. “We move before dawn.”“You’re not sleeping?”“Can’t.”Luca’s gaze softened. “You never could.”That made Ghost look up but not at his face, a







