Page 14 of Ghost (Iron Thunder MC 4)
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t know this would happen. I’m so stupid. I…”
“You can go see your grandmother!” I grunted.
Mercy’s eyes grew wide.
“Really? I can? Are you serious?” With those words, came a big hug. She’d jumped in my direction, pasted herself to me with glee. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her body heaved gently with relief.
It was obvious that she regretted her decision immediately. She didn’t actually want to hug me. She despised me. Mercy quickly stepped away and an embarrassed expression washed over her face.
“Yes, you can go see your grandmother today.”
“Okay, thank you. I really do appreciate it. Maybe I’ll stay there, indoors. I won’t step out of the house till you tell me to.”
I sighed. Why did she have to keep pushing me like that?
“I said you can see her today, doesn’t mean you can stay there.”
Her face drooped. Her nostrils flared again, but this time she wasn’t going to fight it. Maybe she knew this was a good enough deal.
“You can go to see her sometimes, but you can’t live at your house.”
She looked up at me excitedly again, meeting my eyes.
“So you mean this isn’t a one-time thing? I can keep going to see her? Keep an eye on her?”
“Yes, cautiously, and there will be some rules to follow, but you can keep an eye on your grandmother.”
I thought she was going to break into a smile. She was clearly relieved to hear the news, but Mercy caught herself just in time, clearing her throat like this was no big deal.
“What’s the catch?” she asked.
“You have to treat Crash,” I replied.
Her brows furrowed again. “Excuse me?”
“Crash is being held in a cellar downstairs. As you know already, he’s addicted to heroin. He is doing pretty bad down there. The withdrawal isn’t treating him well. We could get someone in to look at him; we have doctors on our payroll for that shit, but you can do it instead. You’re a nurse.”
She gulped.
“I’m not exactly an expert,” she murmured.
“But you can do it,” I stated. It wasn’t a question. She was going to agree with me.
“Yes, I can take a look at him. Help him in any way I can.”
I knew Drax would be pleased to hear about this arrangement. So would Mary-Beth. I could bet neither of them knew Mercy was a nurse in disguise.
She stared at me with her blue eyes, like she was trying to figure me out. Maybe she was wondering how my brain worked, what I was thinking about now. Just like me; maybe she couldn’t figure out if she could trust me either.
Without breaking eye contact, she spoke again, this time a little more firmly.
“That isn’t the only catch, is it? There’s something else. Something besides helping Crash recover. What is it?”
I wanted to smile. She wasn’t as naive as I thought she was.
“You have to stay at my apartment,” I replied and Mercy looked away.6MercyI knew there had to be another catch, something else he wasn’t telling me. And now the secret was out. He wanted me to live with him.
However, the weird thing about it was that I didn’t react to the news the way I probably would have under any other circumstance. I should have reacted with shock and disgust. What kind of girl did he think I was? Just because I was a stripper…he could treat me any way he liked? Etc., etc.
And yet, when he told me, I felt a wave of electric excitement run down my spine.
I felt it like never before, the sexual tension in the room. When he rammed into me, I nearly begged him to kiss me. I was pretty sure I felt a boner in his pants. And then, like an idiot, I hugged him and jumped all over him when he told me I could go visit my grandmother.
A part of me wanted to live with him in his apartment. Just to explore the fantasy of being with him, and what it could be like to be in a relationship with a man like him.
And then there was the other part of me that was insulted by his suggestion.
“Why would I do that? Why would I live at your apartment?” I asked, trying to maintain a neutral expression.
I expected him to give me a direct answer—that he wanted me in his bed. That in exchange for the freedom to go visit my grandmother, he wanted me to pay him his dues. In fact, I waited with bated breath to hear those words. I secretly wanted to be in his bed.
He did give me a simple answer, but it wasn’t the one I was looking for.
“This clubhouse is being watched by Eagle and his men. If you keep leaving and coming back here, one of these days, they’re going to follow you and grab you.”
