BLOOD AND DESIRE

CHAPTER FIVE — THE FACE OF a BETRAYAL

The rain didn’t stop.

It stabbed the earth like needles.

It drummed on Ghost’s skin, on Amara’s trembling shoulders, on Scorpion’s blood-soaked clothes, and on Vee’s cold expression as she stood above them all.

But the real storm was inside Ghost.

His jaw clenched. His fingers twitched. His breath was shallow, his ribs screaming, his wound leaking warm blood that mixed with the rain-soaked mud beneath him.

The words Vee spoke hung heavily in the air:

“There is a traitor in your camp.”

That sentence alone felt like a bullet in Ghost’s chest.

Scorpion sat heavily on a rock, breathing hard. Amara knelt beside Ghost, her hands pressed against his side, trying to slow the bleeding. Ghost didn’t push her away. He couldn’t. And already that made the situation worse.

Vee’s eyes flicked briefly at Amara, then back at Ghost.

“I said I know who the traitor is,” she repeated.

Ghost’s tone was razor-sharp.

A warning.

A promise.

A threat.

“Talk.”

Vee studied him for a quiet, tense moment.

Then she exhaled.

“It’s someone close to you. Very close.”

Ghost’s fists tightened.

Scorpion spat blood and pointed at Vee.

“You no fit just appear from nowhere and accuse person. Say the name!”

Vee turned her gaze to Scorpion slow, assessing.

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be inside that river floating beside Killer,” she said calmly.

Scorpion shut his mouth.

Ghost wiped rain from his face, steadying himself with a shaky breath.

“Vee… don’t play with me. Say the name.”

Lightning flashed again, illuminating Vee’s cold expression.

Then finally she said it.

But instead of naming a person, she said:

“The traitor is a man you trust.”

Ghost’s eyes narrowed instantly.

“That no be answer.”

“It is,” she replied. “Because you’re not ready for the real one.”

Amara shivered not from the cold, but from the tension vibrating in the air. Ghost looked like a man caught between survival and slaughter.

He staggered to his feet.

Amara stood with him, her hands still on his arm.

Ghost turned to Vee.

His voice was low, deadly quiet.

“Who. Betrayed. Me.”

Vee held his gaze… then looked at Amara.

Then looked back at Ghost.

And said nothing.

Ghost’s face changed instantly.

Confusion.

Danger.

Alarm.

“What is that look for?” he growled.

Amara stiffened beside him.

Scorpion struggled up. “Vee, if you know something talk abeg!”

Vee finally answered, her tone softening.

“Ghost… you’re bleeding. Your mind is not steady. If I talk now, you’ll make a wrong move.”

Ghost stepped closer to her, ignoring the pain burning through his side.

“You dey tell me say I no dey think straight?”

“I’m telling you,” she said, “that the truth will break you. And if it breaks you here, tonight, Balogun will win.”

Ghost froze.

Amara bit her lip, heart hammering.

Scorpion muttered, “Talk like person wey no fear death.”

Vee turned to him.

“I fear one thing,” she said quietly.

Ghost frowned.

“And that is?”

Vee looked directly at him.

“You.”

Silence hit the riverbank.

Even the rain seemed to pause.

Ghost blinked slowly, confused by the answer.

But she continued:

“You are different tonight, Ghost. Because of her.”

She nodded toward Amara.

“You fight different. You bleed different. You survive different.”

Amara’s cheeks flushed. She looked away.

Ghost’s jaw tightened.

“This no concern you,” he snapped.

“Oh, it concerns me,” Vee replied. “A leader distracted is a leader easy to kill. Balogun knows that. And he knows exactly who to use.”

Ghost stepped forward.

“Use how?”

Vee’s voice dropped.

“The traitor… is someone Balogun can control.”

Ghost was losing patience. “Name.”

But Vee shook her head.

Her braids swung with the movement.

“No. Not here. Not now.”

Ghost started to move toward her, but his legs buckled.

Amara caught him quickly.

“Ghost! You’re losing too much blood. Please just stop. You can’t keep pushing like this.”

He tried to stand straight, but dizziness washed over him.

“I no dey weak…” he muttered.

“You are right now,” Amara whispered. “And if you fall unconscious here, you’ll die. I can’t let that happen.”

Ghost swallowed, torn between pride, pain, and the warmth of her hand steadying him.

Vee stepped closer.

“Listen,” she said firmly. “I know a safe spot nearby. A hidden place. Balogun’s men won’t find you. I can patch him up. But we must move. Now.”

Scorpion gave her a skeptical look.

“How we go trust you? You show, shoot Killer, talk about traitor, but you no wan talk who e be.”

Vee met Scorpion’s stare.

“If I wanted Ghost dead, I’d let Killer finish the job.”

Ghost exhaled deeply, then nodded once.

“She dey right,” he muttered weakly.

Amara shook her head.

“You trust her?”

Ghost’s lips curved slightly, painfully.

“I no trust anybody, Amara. I just sabi danger when I see am… and she be danger wey dey fight on our side.”

Vee gave the faintest smirk.

“Come. Before soldiers come check wetin make gunshots.”

They moved slowly.

Ghost leaning on Amara. Scorpion hobbling beside them. Vee walking ahead, rifle slung over her shoulder, scanning the dark forest with sharp, predatory eyes.

The rain softened into a drizzle.

The night air thickened with tension.

THE HIDEOUT 20 MINUTES LATER

It wasn’t a house.

It wasn’t even a proper shelter.

It was an abandoned ferry station a concrete skeleton choked by vines, broken glass, and graffiti. The roof had holes, but the walls were thick enough to hide shadows.

Vee motioned them inside.

“Drop him here,” she said.

Amara helped Ghost sit against a wall.

His breath came in tight, painful gasps. Sweat mixed with the rain on his forehead. His wound had reopened.

When Vee tore off a piece of her jacket to prepare a bandage, Amara stopped her.

“No. Let me do it.”

Vee hesitated… then stepped back slowly.

Amara knelt beside Ghost, her hands trembling as she pressed harder on his wound.

He hissed sharply.

Her voice cracked.

“Sorry sorry Ghost please just hold still…”

He lifted a shaky hand, touching her cheek.

“I dey try.”

She swallowed hard, tears pricking her eyes.

Ghost wiped one away with his thumb.

“Don’t cry,” he whispered. “I still dey here.”

“Barely,” she whispered back.

Scorpion sat close by, his own wounds drying like dark paint on his skin.

Vee leaned against a pillar, arms crossed.

Her eyes watched everything.

Ghost finally spoke, voice low but steadying.

“Vee… start talking. Who betray me?”

Vee’s expression didn’t change.

But her silence did.

The room held its breath.

Amara felt Ghost’s muscles tense under her hands.

Scorpion sat up straighter.

Vee finally exhaled.

“Ghost…”

He growled, “Talk!”

She did.

“The traitor is someone who knows everything. Your movements. Your deals. Your routines. Your hideouts. The way you think.”

Ghost’s heart hammered violently.

Scorpion’s jaw dropped.

Ghost whispered:

“Only three people know all that.”

Vee nodded slowly.

“And one of them is sitting here.”

Amara’s blood ran cold.

Ghost froze.

Slowly… painfully… his eyes lifted toward Scorpion.

Scorpion’s eyes widened with hurt and disbelief.

“Ghost… you no fit dey think say na me”

Ghost didn’t answer.

He couldn’t. His mind was spiraling.

Amara grabbed his arm gently.

“Ghost… he fought for you. He saved you. He nearly died.”

Vee shook her head.

“That’s why he’s the perfect person.”

Scorpion stood, furious.

“You dey craze?! After everything?! After all the blood we don spill?!”

Ghost didn’t move. He just stared at Scorpion.

Vee spoke again.

“Ghost… he disappeared during the first explosion.”

Scorpion blinked.

“What”

“Then he returned,” Vee continued, “right after Balogun’s men finished searching the tunnel. Right after they said, ‘We know where they go.’”

Amara gasped.

Her eyes darted between them.

Ghost remained silent but his breathing thickened.

Vee’s voice was ice.

“And now tonight… Killer no shoot him. Even when he weak. Even when he get chance.”

Scorpion’s voice broke.

“You dey accuse me because I no die?!”

Vee stepped forward.

“I dey accuse you because the timing no make sense.”

Ghost’s hands trembled.

Scorpion’s face flushed with rage and betrayal.

He stormed toward Ghost.

“Ghost look me for eye! You believe this woman wey you kick out of your crew?!”

Ghost clenched his jaw.

He wanted to speak. But the truth lodged in his throat.

Amara gripped Ghost tighter.

“Ghost say something!”

But he couldn’t.

Because deep inside… a small part of him was afraid Vee might be right.

Scorpion saw the hesitation.

And it broke him.

He stepped back slowly, shaking.

“You no trust me again.”

Ghost whispered:

“I no know wetin to believe.”

Silence.

Rain dripped through the broken roof.

Ghost pressed a hand over his face, groaning from pain, from confusion, from betrayal.

Scorpion wiped his eyes angrily.

“I dey fight for you. I dey take bullet for you. I dey kill for you. And you dey doubt me because of person wey leave you for dead?!”

Vee’s voice was cold.

“I didn’t leave him. But someone did.”

Ghost’s eyes snapped open.

“Explain.”

Vee stared directly into Ghost’s eyes.

“The night you nearly died… the traitor disabled your backup comms. That person removed the tracker on your jacket. That person erased the emergency beacon.”

Ghost froze completely.

“That night,” Vee said, “you trusted two people.”

She raised two fingers.

“Scorpion.”

She raised the third.

“And someone else.”

Amara whispered, “Who?”

Vee lowered her hand.

“The second person… was not me.”

Ghost swallowed, staring at her intensely.

Vee stepped closer, lowering her voice.

“And that second person is still in your camp. Still close. Still trusted. Still feeding Balogun your secrets.”

Ghost shivered not from the cold.

From fear.

Fear not for himself… but for Amara.

Because having a traitor inside meant she was never safe.

Ghost finally spoke.

His voice was deep. Heavy.

“Say the name.”

Vee inhaled.

“Ghost… that night”

A sharp sound cut her off.

A twig snapped.

Ghost’s eyes shot toward the doorway.

Scorpion jumped up.

Amara’s heart slammed against her ribs.

Vee raised her rifle instantly, posture tense.

Something moved outside.

Footsteps.

Dozens of them.

Ghost’s eyes widened.

“No… no… not now…”

Vee cursed under her breath.

“They followed us.”

Scorpion’s voice cracked.

“Balogun’s men!”

Amara grabbed Ghost’s arm.

“What do we do?!”

Ghost forced himself to stand.

Barely.

His voice was a shred of steel.

“We fight.”

Vee c****d her rifle.

“We die if we stay.”

Ghost glared at her.

“Then we no go stay.”

Outside, flashlights swept across the trees.

Men shouted orders.

Guns clicked.

Boots approached.

Ghost turned to Scorpion.

“Guard Amara.”

Scorpion nodded immediately.

Vee stared at Ghost.

“Your wound”

“E no matter.”

“Ghost”

“Vee, you want redeem yourself?” His eyes burned through the pain. “Help me kill them.”

Vee smirked.

“Gladly.”

The footsteps grew louder.

Dozens of shadows moved toward the hideout.

Ghost’s chest tightened. Adrenaline surged. Pain vanished into instinct.

Amara grabbed his hand.

“Ghost… please don’t leave me.”

He squeezed her hand hard.

“I no dey leave you. Never.”

She swallowed, tears in her eyes.

“I’m scared.”

Ghost leaned forward, foreheads touching.

“I dey scared too. But I go fight till my last blood to keep you alive.”

A tear rolled down her cheek.

He wiped it gently.

Then he whispered:

“No matter wetin happen, Amara… don’t let them catch you.”

Her breath hitched.

He kissed her forehead a soft, trembling touch.

Then he turned away.

Vee stepped beside him.

Scorpion covered Amara.

Boots stopped outside the door.

A voice called out:

“GHOST! COME OUT! BALOGUN SAY YOUR TIME DON FINISH!”

Ghost whispered:

“No. My time just start.”

Vee raised her rifle.

Scorpion lifted his knife.

Amara held her breath.

Just then

THE DOOR EXPLODED INWARD.

Gunfire ripped through the darkness.

Ghost charged.

Vee dove to the side.

Scorpion shielded Amara.

Bullets tore through the walls.

Shouts filled the hideout.

Blood sprayed.

Ghost’s roar shook the night.

And then

A familiar voice shouted from outside:

“GHOST! DROP YOUR WEAPON! WE GET AMARA’S MOTHER!”

Ghost froze mid-motion.

His heart stopped.

Amara’s scream tore through the air.

“NO MUMMY!!!”

Ghost’s eyes widened in horror.

Vee cursed.

Scorpion stumbled.

And Amara ran toward the doorway.

Ghost shouted

“AMARA STOP!!!”

But it was too late.

She had seen her mother.

Bound. Beaten. A knife at her throat.

Ghost’s worst fear had come to life.

Balogun wasn’t just coming for Ghost.

He was coming for everything Ghost loved.

And Amara…

was now standing right in the enemy’s line of fire.