Chapter Four

Ghost's POV

I woke up feeling like I was in a cave. The smoke from all the burnings still hung in the air and the compound was as quiet as a grave yard. 

Luca laid in my bed, his skin pale and chest wrapped in blood stained bandages. I had patched him up myself and not until now, I hadn't realised how bad it was. He looked like an eyesore. 

I stood up to arrange the stray bandage when the door suddenly slammed open.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Viper’s voice sliced through the silence.

I turned slowly, completely shocked at his outburst. “He was dying and I did the right thing.”

“You call keeping a traitor alive in your own room the right thing?” Viper stepped closer, fists clenched. “Brother, have you lost your mind?”

The sound of boots filled the hallway and I realised the brothers had crowded my doorway whispering about the atrocity I had committed.

“He shouldn’t be here.” One said.

“He’s the reason we’re where we are right now. He deserves to die.” Said another. 

“Finish it, Ghost.”

Viper’s glare was pure fire. “Do you hear their voices? Those are your brothers out there, Ghost. Don't forget who the enemy is.”

I took a breath as his words hit me like a punch. “The enemy is whoever is leaking our blood. And I can tell it’s not him.”

“So you’re defending him now?”

“I’m just saying no one has the right to touch him. Not even you.”

The tension skyrocketed from a ten to a hundred as one of the brothers reached behind him and pulled out his gun. Swiftly, I pulled mine too. 

“Try it,” I yelled. “Try it, Rufus. And I will have your head on a platter for dinner.”

Viper’s jaw clenched as he stepped forward and signaled Rufus to drop his gun. The others backed off too, muttering in hushed tones. They didn’t trust me anymore. I saw it in their eyes but did I know who I still trusted.

“Ghost,” Viper called, his voice sounding calmer. “I am not sure you know what you're doing.”

“Get out,” I yelled.

“What?”

“Did I stutter? Get the fuck out of my room.” 

He stared at me for what felt like ages, then he turned and walked out without another word. When the door closed and I was finally left to the silence of my room, I sank back in the chair beside the bed. 

The silence pressed heavily against my chest and for the first time since it all began, I realised one thing. The club was splitting.

Even if it wasn't from the on set, it is now. And I was the one holding the knife.

…….

Hours later, Luca finally stirred. His eyes opened slowly and he tried to sit up but fell back instantly, groaning from the pain.

“You’re awake,” I said.

He turned his head toward me. “Why am I still alive?”

“You tell me.” I leaned forward. “It looks like you have a track record of coming back to life.”

He coughed weakly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you I'm a super hero.”

“Try me.”

He gave a tired smile. “Maybe I am just the scape goat used to disrupt things so that I can help you see the real traitor.”

“Okay… I definitely wasn't expecting that answer.”

“You still don’t get it, Ghost. You think you’re fighting me but you’re fighting the wrong man. The actual person who sold you out isn’t the one bleeding in your bed. The cover up plan is.” His voice faded. “And you trust them too much to see, that's the problem.”

I stared at him, his words slowly digesting as a host of people came to my mind. Who could it be? Viper’s face flashed through my mind for a second. He’d been with me from the start, he was my right hand man so he knew everything I was doing, and he was the loudest voice demanding Luca’s death. Was he threatened by Luca’s presence? Was Luca disrupting the flow of his scheme? 

No. Viper couldn't be the traitor. He was loyal and all he was doing was trying to protect the club from ‘the Angel they knew.’

I shook the thought off and grabbed a clean cloth, wiping Luca’s arm. My hands moved on their own, careful and steady.

“You should’ve let me die,” he murmured.

“Shut up and rest.”

“Why do you care?” His eyes softened, voice barely a whisper. “You can lie to anyone, Ghost. You can pretend all you want, but don’t lie to yourself.”

My hands stopped moving as if someone had hit the pause button. “You think I forgot what you did?”

“I think you never understood why.”

“Don’t talk to me about why. You made your choice.”

Luca looked at me, eyes full of regret. “Well, I told you once I’d die for you. Looks like I meant it.”

………….

Somewhere else in the compound, someone moved in the dark. The brothers had gathered in the old storeroom, behind closed doors. There were no candles lit, just men who had bled together now threatened a single wounded traitor lying in a bed.

Viper stood at the center and cleared his voice to speak. Everywhere fell silent. 

“He is a poison to us, you all saw what happened shortly after he came here yesterday. Ghost is blinded by something I am yet to understand. He has always being a fierce, unbiased leader but something has come over him. And while he’s playing nurse, we’re bleeding out.”

Someone muttered, “But Ghost gave his word.”

Viper’s eyes hardened. “And what’s that word worth if we are all in danger? Do you want to follow him into a grave or save what’s left of the Serpents?”

The only answer that met him was the deafening silence in the room so he pulled a small stone from his pocket and dropped it onto the table.

“I have casted my vote. Let's take him out before he takes us down.”

Slowly, the others mirrored his actions. One by one, the stones started to increase in numbers as they began voting. Some hesitant and some eager. 

Viper didn’t flinch as he fuelled the fire with calm words. “This isn’t rebellion, this is survival. Ghost built this club with blood, but if he can’t protect it, I owe it to him to protect it. Luca dies before dawn.”

The brothers exchanged glances but no one challenged him. In that dim room, a new order began to form. 

Viper's

rebellion had just been activated, Ghost’s government was on the line and Luca’s life was hanging by a thread.