"When I said I needed a doctor, I didn't mean a doctor in the family, you nit-wit!" Ghost snapped for the umpteenth time, after peering into the bedroom.
The doctor had gone in a while ago and he has been restless. He left the door ajar, peeking through it at intervals of seconds.
Right now, Ciara was a hotdog, craved by every member of the family. After whisking her away from them last night, they were probably craving to have her in their grasp again. He would be damned to leave her behind closed doors with anyone of them. Not even if that one was a doctor, a janitor, or the last member of the family.
They were his family too, but right now, he wasn't gonna hesitate to blow out their brains if they made any reckless move on her.
"I'm sorry, man. Alright? You didn't tell me what happened last night. No one did." Scar swiped a hand through his brown hair, pacing the floor. He looked as disturbed as Ghost. Even worse 'cause Ghost had been breathing down his neck since he arrived with the doctor.
"Where the hell were you last night?"
"At the borders. Had to escort the shipment to the stash house. I was on my way to the hide-out when I got your text."
Ghost eyed him closely before turning to the door again. What's taking so fucking long?
"What exactly is going on, Ghost?" Scar finally voiced his confusion. "Why is that girl here? The last time I checked, we delivered to Don Carianno."
Right before Ghost could say a word, the door opened and the doctor walked out. He had a slight puzzled look on his face and Ghost caught right on to it.
"Speak." Ghost ordered.
"She has no scars. No bruises, except for the one on her head. I think it's a fresh bruise…"
"Yeah. She got that a while ago." Ghost replied laconically. He didn't wish to go into details. Admitting that he'd done that to her wasn't as thrilling as it should be.
The doctor nodded. "Well, aside from that, she has no more bruises. She's as healthy as a fox. Did you say she was tortured all night?"
Ghost flashed him a glare, and his brows quirked. The man was prying. He should know better than that. This wasn't his fucking business.
The doctor continued nervously. "I'm sorry, Ghost. I didn't mean to overstep my bounds. It's just unbelievable that her bruises disappeared so quickly. It's humanly impossible, to be exact."
"So what are you trying to say, Doc?" Scar chirped in, overly intrigued. "Is she some kind of a beast?"
"That would be the conclusion but what kind of beast exactly? I think that's what we all should be concerned about. Excuse me." The doctor offered a polite smile and headed for the door.
"Doc." Ghost's baritone reverberated in the room. The man turned around. "Thank you." And then he pulled the trigger, impaling a bullet through his skull.
"Fuck!" Scar gasped, staring at the body slumped on the floor, oozing blood.
"Get rid of him. I don't want any trace left." Ghost tucked his gun into the waistband of his pants. He peered through the bedroom door again. Just to make sure she wasn't doing anything nasty.
"Why did you kill him?" Scar quizzed, dropping a quick text to his men. The few soldiers he had to his command. They'll be the ones to take care of the body.
"He was gonna rat her out and I wasn't about to let that happen."
"What do you mean?"
Ghost moved closer to him with a hushed tone. "She's a fucking werewolf and he figured that out. If I hadn't shot him, he would have reported that to Don Carianno and they would have come for her."
"Wait, what?!" Scar backed off, running his tongue over his dried lips. "She's a what?!"
"A fucking gruesome werewolf. Just like the man in the bar." Ghost hovered at the window, looking down. He had to make sure there was no one tailing him. He had to keep them off his back until he figured out what to do with the beastly girl.
"Then hand her over to the boss. Why the hell are you keeping her?"
"Because I still have to ask her some questions." Ghost replied half-heartedly. Yeah, he needed answers to his questions. But that wasn't why he was keeping her.
The truth is, he wasn't sure why. The thought of handing her over was as painful as scorching his skin with a heated rod. Same pain. Same agony. And he couldn't understand why.
"Viper can do that. He can break her limbs, burn her face, duck her head into a tank of water, break all her fingers…"
"That's enough!" Ghost barked with a menacing force.
"Whoa, I'm sorry, man. Did I say something wrong?" Scar was taken aback by his outburst. Why was he acting up over this? It was unlike him.
"Just stop talking." Ghost sighed, looking out the window again. He had to decide what to do next. What should he do with the beast in his bedroom? He couldn't make a fucking choice, no matter how hard he thought about it.
The buzzing tone and Scar's gasp made him turn around.
"It's the boss." Scar gestured at the phone, fear drenched every inch of his face.
"Don't tell him you've seen me. Do you understand?" Ghost warned him keenly.
"Yes. Sure." Scar nodded, swiping the call to receive. It was a few seconds of silence and then he said, "No, I haven't seen him, boss."
Ghost didn't have to eavesdrop on the call to know that Don Carianno was growing impatient and angry by his irrational action. He had to think fast and sort this mess out before it blew out of proportion.
Scar ended the call with a hushed cuss and a nervous look. "You gotta turn her in, man. The boss is getting impatient."
"They're gonna kill her…"
"So what?" Scar snapped. "What does that have to do with you, man? C'mon. What's come over you?"
Ghost couldn't justify the question with a valid answer so he turned to look outside the window instead.
"Why do you have to think so much about this?" Scar's voice rang in his ears, increasing his agony. "She's just some beastly girl. Why do you wanna lose everything you've gained for her? It doesn't sound like a fair trade to me."
It was hard to get upset by his wrong choice of words when he knew they were true. Why was he putting everything he has gained so far on the line for a girl he met a few hours ago? It made no sense.
With no more pondering, Ghost dialed the number, silencing the painful aching of his heart.
"Boss."
"Where is the girl?" Don Carrianno asked in a rash tone. He wasn't about to exchange pleasantries and shit.
"I'll bring her over tonight, and I'll explain everything. I promise." Ghost sealed his fate, and his head lowered in distress.
"You better stick to your word, Son. You better." Don Carianno replied and the line went dead.
Scar came behind him and patted his back. "You did the right thing."
"I know." Ghost concurred, trying to comfort himself that he was doing the right thing. He shouldn't keep her. He shouldn't give a shit if they kill her or not. Still, nothing he said could stop the breaking of his heart into bits.
"Damn it!" He flung his phone to the wall, watching it break and scatter in different directions.