Monster Slayers MC Book 7
Chapter 13-Ghost & Misty

Last night I had laid awake for a long time, thinking when at one point I’m pretty sure I heard Misty cry out but I think Millie must have quieted her down pretty quickly. I finally fell asleep and had the most wonderful dream about Misty.

The next morning, I was up early. I took a good hot shower, took extra care in shaving my face, not wanting to cut myself and put on my newest jeans and a nice button down shirt. I pulled on my boots and my belt and my holster but left my gun in the gun safe. Finally I put on my cut and left my room.

I stood by Misty’s door for a full minute, trying to hear if they were still asleep or had gotten up yet. I figured that women don’t really snore like men so finally I gave up and went downstairs. I wasn’t surprised that the families were already gathering in the family living room. The kids were all anxious to see what Santa had brought for them.

I followed my nose to the coffee pot and then found myself an out of the way place to sit down and watch as the kids opened their presents and even though the memories it brought back of my own family were mostly good ones, it kind of made me depressed so I stood up to go anywhere but here.

I was almost to the door when I saw Millie come in holding hands with Misty. We had brought her clothes from home and she had chosen a dark blue velvet blouse with a white collar and white lace around the bottom of the sleeves and skinny jeans that showed off her shapely legs and hips to perfection, at least from the front. She had light purple hand marks on her face, neck and arms but otherwise she looked fine.

But it was her eyes that captured my attention and I had to make a conscious physical effort not to let my chin drop to my chest. God, she is so beautiful!

When Misty looked up and saw me, she stopped and let go of Millie’s hand. She suddenly seemed rooted to the spot in the doorway as we stood and stared at each other for what seemed like a long time but in reality it was only maybe a minute.

We were only feet away from each other and it would probably only take me one or two steps to be able to reach out and touch her. I wanted to so badly but I was afraid of frightening her. I don’t think either one of us realized that the entire room was watching us and if it hadn’t been for the kids and the cartoons on the TV, you could have heard a pin drop in the room as everyone waited to see what would happen next.

She didn’t look scared so I took a chance and took one step towards her. “Hello.” I said.

“Hi.” She said and I saw her cheeks get pink.

“How are you feeling this morning?” I asked softly.

“A little sore but I’m alive, thanks to you and the others who came to my rescue last night. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. I just wish you could have gotten there in time to save my mom too.” She said quietly and her eyes began to tear up.

“I’m so sorry, Misty. We rode as fast as we could.” I told her softly.

Just then, Simon loudly asked “Mommy, can we open presents now, pleassssseeee?”

All of the adults groaned and Misty and I finally realized that everyone had been watching us. When they all saw us turn and look, they all turned around and Marley said “Now that you’ve ruined the moment, I guess so.”

Misty and I looked at each other and I grinned at her. “Would you like to go somewhere and talk? I’d really like to get to know you.”

“I’d like that.” Misty said with a slight blush. She turned to go back out the door when suddenly Joker and Quizzer stepped into the doorway. Startled, Misty gasped and took a step back and ended up stepping right into my arms, which is right where I wanted her to be.

Joker, as usual, stuck his foot in his smartassed mouth and said “Well, well, well. What do we have here? Hello, beautiful. My name is Joker. Who are you?”

“Back off Joker.” I told him, turning Misty to my side and pulling her behind me.

“What? I’m just saying hello to a very pretty girl. What’s your problem?” Joker said, getting up in my face.

“Joker! Back off and walk away. NOW! You know better than to start trouble in here and in front of the kids.” Hunter told him.

Joker turned to look at Hunter and saw all of the new children clinging to their mom’s. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to start any trouble. Just came looking for coffee.”

“Come on, Misty. Let’s replace somewhere quiet to talk.” I told her, taking her hand and we walked out of the living room.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask if you want some coffee or anything?” I asked as we walked away from the living room. A second later, Dixie ran up behind us and called to me. “Ghost!”

“Yeah, Dixie?” I turned back to look at her.

“Try the library. It’s quiet in there and no one will bother you.” Dixie said.

“Good idea, Dix. Thanks. Come on, Misty. This way. Very few of the guys come in here.” I said opening the door to the library. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like some coffee or juice or something?”

“Actually, I would just about kill for a cup of coffee. And I hate to ask but something smelled so good when Millie and I were coming downstairs. Are they going to serve breakfast soon? I didn’t eat last night and I’m hungry.” Misty asked shyly.

“Sure. You stay here where no one will bother you. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Do you take cream and sugar?” I asked.

“Yes, please.” She smiled at me and suddenly my knees felt weak. I would crawl to town on my hands and knees for her if she asked me to. I hurried out of the library and ran to the kitchen. I made two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and Claire’s wonderful cinnamon rolls. I poured two cups of coffee, two glasses of juice, one apple and one orange and put it all on a tray. I made sure to get cream and sugar and utensils then picked it up and ignored the jibes of my brothers as I carried it down the hall to the library. I balanced it on my knee as I opened the door and went inside. I kicked the door closed with my heel and saw Misty standing in front of the book shelves, looking at a book in her hands.

“Wow, they have quite the collection. There’s everything from a study of Anatomy to Little women to War and Peace. This is better than the library at school.” Misty said as she put the book she had been looking at back on the shelf and came over to the table where I was setting out our breakfast on a table near the window.

“Wow. What a feast! I usually eat cereal or toast in the mornings.” Misty said as she pulled out a chair and I quickly stepped over to help her sit down then sat down beside her.

“Rooster’s sister is our main cook but Knuckle’s ole’ lady is a really good cook too. They take turns. Before they got here, Rooster’s wife used to cook for all the men but when she got pregnant with their son, he made her stop. Man, those months with no cook really sucked. Some of the members tried to cook but after we all nearly got food poisoning from Boxer’s cooking, we all started relying on take out or going to town to the club’s diner.” I said as we put cream and sugar in our coffee. I noticed that we both added the same things and amounts to our coffee.

“I was surprised that there are so many women here and kids! This is certainly not like what you see in the movies.” Misty said as she began to eat.

“No, it’s not anything like that. They used to be from what I understand but when Rooster took over from his father, he changed everything and if you ask me it was all for the better.” I told her.

“Have you always lived here?” Misty asked.

“No, I’ve only been here for a little over a year now. I was rescued too. Most of the younger men here are rescues as well as almost all of the women, except Dixie, Connie and Millie.” I told her.

We ate in silence for a few minutes and then she asked. “So what happens to me now? What happened to Griff?”

“Was that his name?” I asked and she nodded. “The Sheriff took him to jail. He’ll probably go to prison for the rest of his life for what he did.”

“Good. He deserves it and more.” Misty said. “Ever since he moved in, he’s made our lives a living hell.”

“He wasn’t your dad? Why didn’t your mom kick him out?” I said.

“No way! My dad died in Iraq. My mom met Griff about a year ago, just before I graduated. They dated for a little while and then he just moved in. He always gave me the creeps so I stayed gone as much as I could but last night was Christmas Eve and I wanted to spend it with my mom. He came home early, drunk as usual and started trying to get my mom to go to bed with him.

She kept telling him no, that she wanted to spend time with me for Christmas. He wouldn’t even let us have a tree! He claimed it was a waste of money. Anyway, my mom told me to go to my room, so I did. The next thing I know they are fighting, again, and I heard him slapping her. Then I heard what sounded like furniture breaking so I went out to check. I saw my mom laying on the floor and Griff grabbed me and started pushing himself up against me and was trying to pull my shirt out of my pants. I kicked him in the leg and he let go of me so I just ran back to my bedroom and locked myself in. I was so scared. Some of my friends had told me about some kids getting rescued last year by the Monster Slayers MC so I looked it up on my phone and called Rooster.

Griff was pounding on my door and I knew it wasn’t going to last much longer. I was trying to open my window but it wouldn’t budge. There are so many layers of paint on it that it’s always been really hard to get open. I don’t think I could have jumped out of it anyway and not gotten hurt. There’s a rose bush outside the window.

I finally managed to get the window open by a couple of inches when Griff finally kicked the door in. Hell, he was so drunk, I was surprised he was still standing. He must have been snorting that coke too. He’s a big coke head. Makes him horny as hell too.” Misty said and then blushed bright red when she realized what she had said but after a sip of coffee, she continued.

“Anyway, he grabbed me and kept trying to take my clothes off but I fought back. He ripped my shirt open but I kept kicking and hitting him any place I could reach.

He grabbed a hold of the back of my hair and was slapping me when that huge man kicked in our front door and grabbed him and made him let me go. Well, you were there for the rest of it.” She finally finished.

“Well, you are safe now and he’ll never get anywhere near you ever again. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” I asked.

“No, I don’t mind. I’m a pretty open person. If you want to know something, just ask.” She said with a small smile.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I just turned 19 earlier this month. December 3rd to be exact. How about you?” Misty said.

“I’ll be 20 next month. January 21st.” I told her with a smile.

“So what will happen to me now? I can’t afford the rent on my mom’s place. Hell, she could barely afford it. That was one of the reasons she let Griff move in. He helped out at first but then he was drinking and coming home drunk more than going to work. I don’t even know if he still has a job or not. Will I be allowed to go back to her house and get some of my things?” Misty asked.

“Well, I think they brought you at least some of your clothes but I didn’t go in your room so I don’t know what else you have to get. We might have to get permission from the Sheriff to go back in since it’s technically a crime scene. We’ll have to talk to Rooster about that. Maybe I could take you tomorrow?” I said.

“I have some stuff hidden, so that he couldn’t replace it. Heck nobody would be able to replace it. Plus, I need to get my birth certificate and some other papers in my mom’s safe place. She told me where it is because there’s a copy of her will and the key to her safe deposit box at the bank in there. She got it after some of her jewelry went missing not long after Griff moved in. We couldn’t prove he took it but my dad had bought my mom some pretty jewelry from everywhere he went while in the service. I’d bought my mom a Christmas present but I guess I won’t be able to give it to her now.” She said and her voice began to break as her eyes filled with tears.

I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me and just let her cry. “It’s going to be alright, baby. Let it all out.”

After a few minutes, she wiped her face with her napkin and blew her nose and said “I’ve got to make funeral arrangements too, I guess. I’ve never done anything like that before. I have no clue what to do.”

“I think Rooster and Dixie will be able to help you with that. Don’t worry. Everything is going to be alright. You can stay here with us. With me. Misty, I know it’s really sudden and you’ve been through an awful lot and I don’t want to rush you but I knew it the first second I saw you. You walked out of your house and right into my heart. Please say you’ll stay with me and be my lady?” I said, putting it all out there as I began to pray that she wasn’t going to shoot me down before we even had a chance. I saw her eyes get really big as she lifted her head off of my shoulder and just stared at me for what seemed like an hour but was really only a few seconds.

Then she began to smile at me when she said “I hoped that what I felt when I walked into the living room and saw you wasn’t all one sided. Last night, in the van when we were driving, I heard you talk to Rooster and Millie and your voice calmed me and made my heart race all at the same time.” she told me and I felt so happy.

“So does that mean you’ll stay with me and be my lady?” I asked eagerly.

“Just so I understand, what does being your lady mean? I mean, I’ve heard of bikers having an ole’ lady. Is it the same thing?” she asked.

“No, it’s not. But when you are ready and we both feel the same about each other, I hope you will agree to be my ole’ lady. Being my lady, for lack of a better term, means you will be my girlfriend. Rooster is going to introduce you to the club sometime today and I want him to announce that you are my lady and untouchable. That means no other biker can come in and try to be with you while we are dating and getting to know each other better.

When you are ready, I’ll ask you to be my ole’ lady. You’ll wear my property cut and I’ll give you a ring but by biker law, once you accept being my ole’ lady in front of the whole club and put on my cut, we are married. Being married by biker law is a lifetime commitment so you have to be very, very sure that it’s what you want and are willing to commit to. Getting a divorce is not impossible but can be very dangerous for the woman.

Once you become a biker’s wife, you are under the protection of the entire club. My brothers and I will fight to the death to protect you. No other biker in the entire world would dare to put his hands on you but if you were to divorce me, first of all, I have to accept it and then Rooster would have to accept it and grant it. You would burn your cut and leave the clubhouse, never to return. Also, any kids we might have would stay with me. You wouldn’t just be leaving me and the club but our kids too. You could never be with another member of our club, even our sister chapters. You could also become a target for other outlaw biker clubs.

Rooster’s mom left him and his dad and ended up with a club called the Cobras. They are bad news all the way around. They run drugs and guns and have their hand in human trafficking. Claire’s dad was part of the Cobras and, even though he wasn’t with them because he’s in prison, they came and tried to take her back. We had several run ins with them over several of the women here but it’s best if you hear their stories from them.

I’m sure that in the next day or two, Dixie and maybe even Rooster, will tell you the rules of the club that you must follow, no questions asked except to be sure you clearly understand them but you must follow them to the letter or they won’t allow you to stay.” I told her.

“Like what?” she asked.

“Well, the number one rule that everyone, men and women, has to follow is that you never repeat or talk about anything you hear or see here. Club business is to stay within the club. Members go to a meeting called Church where club business is discussed and it’s only the male members allowed in there. You have to be a patched member, not a prospect. Most of the time, it’s just talking about the finances of the club but can also be war related.

For instance, before we went to rescue you last night. Rooster called for church. We all ran in there and he told us what was going on and then picked who would ride with him and who would be on duty to guard the house while we were gone. We don’t ride in blind and not know what is going on. That could be suicide and Rooster always makes decisions on what’s best for all of us. We trust and respect him. He’s a really good leader.”

“I noticed that some of the women wear the same kind of vest that all of you guys wear. Will I wear one like that too?” She asked.

“When you become my ole’ lady, yes, you will get a cut that says to the world “Property of Ghost” and no one will ever try to put their hands on you. You will be mine and mine alone.” I said and leaned my forehead on hers. “Misty, can I kiss you?”

She didn’t say anything but she put her hand on the side of my face and lifted her face to me as she slid her hand behind my neck, pulling my head down until our lips met and it was everything I had dreamed of last night, better in fact. Her lips were so soft but not mushy and I felt like my heart was going to pound right out of my chest.

“So will you be my lady, Misty?” I asked and then she nodded and whispered. “I’d like that very much.”

I kissed her again, firmer this time and I felt like I was in heaven. When I felt her arms go around my shoulders, I slid my hands around her waist. We were still sitting side by side so it wasn’t the most comfortable position but I didn’t want to stop kissing her.

I didn’t realize how much time had gone by but when someone knocked on the door, we finally pulled apart. Dixie stuck her head inside and said “Ghost, Rooster wants to talk to you and Misty and then he’s going to Bolton to pick up the little girl and take her to Papa Joe’s.”

“Okay. We’re coming.” I said and stood up and began gathering our dishes. “We’ll just drop these in the kitchen and be right there. Is he in his office?”

“Yep. Here let me take that. You two go on and talk to him. He’s kind of anxious to get going. Doc stayed there last night and he’s wanting to come home now.” Dixie said as she took the tray of dirty dishes from me.

We followed Dixie down the hall until we reached Rooster’s office. I stopped and knocked and we waited to hear him tell us to come in. I opened the door and put my hand on Misty’s back and we walked in together.

“Come on in and have a seat. How are you feeling this morning Misty?” Rooster asked.

“Sore and sad but at the same time happy.” She said, looking at me at the last part.

“Well, it sucks that all this had to happen on Christmas and I’m sorry that we didn’t get there in time to help your mom but at least we got you out in time and your mom’s boyfriend is now in jail, probably for the rest of his life.

I’m sorry to have to ask you some of these things but I don’t want to put these things off and since I have to file a report to the state about why we were involved, I need some answers from you.” He said.

“Okay. I have some questions too but you go first. I might get the answers I need from your questions. But first let me say, thank you for helping me. I’m sure if you had not gotten there when you did, Griff would have probably raped me and more than likely killed me too.” Misty said and I tightened my grip on the chair arms. I didn’t even like knowing that he had hurt her and it really pissed me off to think of that asshole raping my girl.

“So his name is Griff? Do you know his last name?” Rooster asked.

“Griffin Langston.” Misty replied.

Rooster wrote it down on his notepad and then asked. “What is your full name?”

“Misty Alison Carlton.” She replied.

“How old are you?” Rooster asked.

“19. I was born December 3rd.” Rooster’s eyebrows went up but he didn’t say anything, just made a note on his pad.

“What was your mother’s name?” Rooster asked.

“Marianne Carlton.” Misty said with a slight catch in her voice.

“What was your father’s name?” Rooster asked.

“John Carlton. He died in Iraq 4 years ago.” Misty said.

“What branch of the service?” Rooster asked.

“Marines.” Misty replied with pride.

“Do you know if your mother has been receiving her widow’s benefits?” Rooster asked.

“My mom said she had it set up as a trust for me. It’s in a savings account that Griff couldn’t get his hands on, mainly because he didn’t know about it. I was just telling Ghost that I need to get back to my house to get some paperwork and stuff so that I can start making funeral arrangements for my mom. I hate to take him away on Christmas day but if we could go tomorrow morning?” Misty said.

“Sure. We’ll be going there in a little while so you guys go and take a van with you so that you can bring back whatever you want to keep out of the house. Did you mom own that house or was she renting?” Rooster asked.

“We were renting. I’ll have to let the landlord know about what happened.” Misty said.

“Well, don’t worry about all that today. We’ll help you with a lot of it, like notifying your landlord and we’ll take care of making her funeral arrangements. Did she have a will?” Rooster asked.

“Yes. It’s in her safe spot in the house.” Misty said.

“Well, except for lunch, most of the festivities here will be the kids playing with their new toys and the men getting drunk so if you want to go today and at least gather the important papers and stuff that you really want out of the house, go ahead. Ghost, make sure you take a couple of the prospects with you for backup and to help her carry stuff.” Rooster said.

“Thanks Prez. Oh, can I ask you to do something for us?” I asked.

“Sure. What do you need?” Prez said and I think he knew what was coming.

“Can you introduce Misty as my lady and as an untouchable at lunch today, please?” I asked with a smile.

Rooster chuckled and said “Like I didn’t see that one coming. Sure thing. Lunch should be ready in an hour or so.”

“Thanks!” I said as we stood up to leave.

“Oh, Misty. Welcome to the MSMC.” Rooster said.

“Thank you.” Misty said with a smile and then we left his office.