Page 25 of Monster Mania

“That wasn't the whole deal,” Ghost said. “Hammer and I made a deal before we even met you.”

Her stomach fluttered. “What was the deal that you two made?”

Jackhammer answered. “When we found our woman, we would keep her.”

Angel stared at them, and her heart did something incredibly stupid. “No.”

Ghost smiled. “Yeah.”

“You don't even know me,” she insisted.

“We're working on it,” Jackhammer said.

“I could be a murderer,” she reminded.

Ghost shrugged. “You'd fit right in with us then.”

“That's not funny,” she said.

He pinched his finger and thumb together. “It’s a little funny.” She glared at him, and his smile disappeared. He reached for her, and Angel didn’t expect him to touch her, but he did. Ghost took her hand. It was such a simple thing that it nearly broke her. “We don't know what happened seven years ago,” he said. “Maybe you're telling us everything. Maybe you're not.” Angel looked away from him, and his fingers tightened around hers. “But whoever is hunting you doesn't get to decide what happens next.”

Jackhammer took her other hand. “We do.”

Angel frowned. “We?”

“All three of us,” Ghost said. She looked from Jackhammer to Ghost. They were two men she'd met only yesterday. They were two men she'd promised one night, and two men who somehow already stood between her and the past she'd spent seven years running from.

“This is crazy,” she whispered.

“Probably,” Jackhammer said.

“Definitely,” Ghost corrected. Despite herself, Angel smiled.

Something crashed outside her front door, and Ghost released her instantly. Jackhammer shoved her behind him, and both men drew their guns. Angel's smile disappeared. “What was that?”

Ghost moved toward the window. “Stay back.” He carefully pulled the curtain aside, and his body went rigid. “Fuck.”

“What?” Jackhammer asked.

Ghost looked at Angel. Whatever he saw outside had erased every trace of humor from his face. “You expecting company?”

“No,” she said.

“Then we've got a problem,” Ghost growled. Angel moved before either man could stop her. She looked through the window and her blood turned to ice. A motorcycle sat across the street. It was black and chrome with a familiar white skull painted across the gas tank. It belonged to the Nomad Knights. Nobody sat on it, but they didn't need to. It was a message that they were sending to her. We found you.

Angel stumbled backward, and Jackhammer caught her. Ghost was already heading for the door. “No!” Angel grabbed his arm. He looked down at her hand. “Don't go out there.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because that's what they want,” she insisted.

Ghost's jaw tightened, and Jackhammer wrapped an arm around her waist. “What aren't you telling us, Angel?” She looked at the motorcycle again. Seven years might have passed, but she always knew that this day would come. She just hadn't expected to finally have something worth losing when it did.

“Razor didn't just blame me for Gabriel's murder,” she whispered.

Ghost stopped, and Jackhammer's grip tightened on her. Angel forced herself to say the rest. “He sentenced me.”

Ghost slowly turned toward her. “What the fuck does that mean?”