Chapter 10
1550 Words
Chapter Ten
The Old Mill
The road to the old mill seemed endless.
Emma held tightly to Ghost as the motorcycle tore through the darkness. Cold Georgia air whipped against her face, but she barely noticed.
Her mind was somewhere else.
Her father.
Cole.
Silas.
Her grandmother.
And the photograph.
Your father was protecting you.
She couldn’t stop thinking about those words.
What had her father been protecting her from?
And why had nobody told her?
Ghost slowed as they approached the abandoned mill.
The massive brick building rose from the trees like a forgotten monument. Broken windows reflected the moonlight, and weeds had swallowed most of the old parking lot.
Ghost killed the engine.
Silence.
Emma climbed off.
“Is this where it happened?”
Ghost nodded.
“Ten years ago.”
She looked at the building.
“You remember anything?”
“Not much.”
“What do you remember?”
He stared toward the entrance.
“Your father was angry.”
“At you?”
“No.”
“At your father?”
“Yes.”
Ghost rubbed his jaw.
“They were arguing.”
“About what?”
“Money.”
Emma’s stomach tightened.
“Then I heard a car.”
“What happened after that?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said there was a gunshot.”
Ghost nodded.
“Then everything went black.”
Emma looked at him.
“And when you woke up?”
“I was in the hospital.”
“Who took you there?”
“Bishop.”
“Where was my father?”
Ghost’s expression hardened.
“Dead.”
Emma closed her eyes.
The word still hurt.
Even after all these years.
Especially now.
A noise came from inside the mill.
Ghost immediately drew his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
Emma followed him through the broken doorway.
Inside, moonlight poured through holes in the roof.
Old machinery sat covered in dust.
Ghost moved carefully.
“Where are you, Cole?”
Nothing.
Then a voice came from above.
“You’re late.”
Emma looked up.
Cole stood on the second-floor walkway.
He wasn’t holding a weapon.
He simply watched them.
Ghost’s gun remained raised.
“You wanted us here.”
“I did.”
“Then talk.”
Cole slowly walked down the metal stairs.
“You brought her.”
“She deserves answers.”
Cole looked at Emma.
“Yes.”
He stopped several feet away.
“She deserves everything.”
Emma stepped forward.
“Start with my father.”
Cole’s eyes softened.
“Thomas Brooks was a good man.”
“You knew him?”
“I loved him like a father.”
Emma’s breath caught.
“Why?”
“Because he saved my life.”
Ghost’s eyes narrowed.
“When?”
“The night I disappeared.”
Cole looked at his brother.
“You thought I was dead.”
“I was told you were.”
“By Dad.”
Ghost’s jaw tightened.
“Tell me what happened.”
Cole looked toward the broken windows.
“Silas found out Thomas was going to expose him.”
“Expose him for what?”
“Everything.”
Cole’s voice hardened.
“The weapons. The money. The Black Rose.”
Emma swallowed.
“What is the Black Rose?”
Cole looked directly at her.
“They aren’t an MC.”
“Then what are they?”
“An organization.”
“Doing what?”
“Controlling people.”
Ghost stepped forward.
“Who?”
“Politicians. Police. Judges. Business owners.”
Cole paused.
“And motorcycle clubs.”
Emma felt sick.
“You were working for them?”
Cole laughed bitterly.
“I was seventeen.”
Ghost stared at him.
“You were a kid.”
“I know.”
“What did they want?”
Cole looked at Emma.
“Your father.”
She froze.
“Why?”
“Because Thomas had evidence.”
“What kind?”
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
“Everyone involved.”
Emma’s heart pounded.
“Where is it?”
Cole looked at Ghost.
“That’s the problem.”
Ghost frowned.
“What?”
“Your father hid it.”
“Where?”
Cole shook his head.
“He never told me.”
Emma stepped closer.
“But he told my grandmother.”
Cole nodded.
“Yes.”
Ghost went still.
“Ruth.”
Emma looked at him.
“You think Grandma knows where the evidence is?”
“I know she does.”
Emma shook her head.
“Then why didn’t she tell me?”
“Because she was protecting you.”
Emma’s voice cracked.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Cole looked at her.
“Because it’s true.”
She stared at him.
“Then why did my father die?”
Cole’s expression changed.
“Because he refused to give them what they wanted.”
Silence.
Ghost lowered his weapon slightly.
“Who killed him?”
Cole hesitated.
“Silas ordered it.”
Ghost’s face went pale.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Emma felt the world tilt.
“No.”
Cole looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I was there.”
Emma stopped breathing.
“You saw it?”
Cole nodded.
“I watched Silas shoot Thomas.”
Her knees weakened.
Ghost caught her.
“You okay?”
She couldn’t answer.
Cole continued.
“Thomas knew he was going to die.”
Emma covered her mouth.
“What did he say?”
Cole looked at her.
“He told me to run.”
A tear slipped down Emma’s cheek.
“He knew you?”
“He knew who I was.”
Cole looked at Ghost.
“And he told me to find you.”
Ghost’s eyes narrowed.
“Me?”
Cole nodded.
“He said, ‘Ryder will protect her.’”
Emma looked at Ghost.
His eyes were filled with tears.
“He believed in you,” Cole said.
Ghost looked away.
“I failed him.”
“No.”
Cole shook his head.
“You didn’t.”
Ghost looked back.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
Cole reached into his jacket.
He pulled out an old envelope.
“Thomas gave me this.”
Emma stared.
“What’s inside?”
“Something for you.”
He held it out.
Ghost started forward.
Cole shook his head.
“She gets it.”
Emma slowly approached.
She took the envelope.
Her name was written across the front.
Emma.
Her hands trembled.
She opened it.
Inside was a letter.
She unfolded it.
Her father’s handwriting.
The first line made her heart break.
My baby girl,
Emma covered her mouth.
She couldn’t read past the first sentence.
Ghost stood behind her.
Cole looked away.
Finally, Emma forced herself to continue.
If you’re reading this, I’ve failed to protect you from the truth.
Tears fell onto the paper.
I need you to know that none of this was your fault.
She closed her eyes.
There are people who will tell you your father was a bad man. There are people who will tell you Ryder is responsible. Don’t believe either one.
Emma looked at Ghost.
He stared at the floor.
The letter continued.
Ryder loves you. I know he does. That’s why I trusted him with your life.
Her breath caught.
If anything happens to me, keep my daughter away from the Callahan family until you know who you can trust.
Then the final sentence:
The key is with the person you trust most.
Emma stared at the page.
“The key…”
Ghost looked at her.
“What key?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Cole’s expression suddenly changed.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Read the last line again.”
Emma did.
The key is with the person you trust most.
Cole looked at Ghost.
“Who did Thomas trust?”
Ghost’s answer came immediately.
“Ruth.”
Emma’s heart stopped.
“My grandmother.”
A sound echoed outside.
An engine.
Then another.
Cole looked toward the windows.
“They found us.”
Ghost stepped toward Emma.
“Who?”
Cole’s expression hardened.
“The Black Rose.”
Several headlights appeared through the broken windows.
Ghost grabbed Emma’s hand.
“Move.”
Gunshots erupted outside.
Glass exploded around them.
Cole drew his weapon.
Ghost pulled Emma behind a concrete pillar.
“Stay down!”
Men rushed through the mill doors.
Black clothing.
Black masks.
A rose insignia on their shoulders.
The Black Rose.
Emma watched Ghost and Cole move together.
Brother against brother no longer.
For the first time in ten years, they fought side by side.
Then a masked man shouted:
“GET THE GIRL!”
Emma’s blood ran cold.
Ghost heard him.
His face changed.
He looked at Cole.
“They’re not here for us.”
Cole nodded.
“They’re here for her.”
Ghost grabbed Emma’s hand.
“We’re getting you out.”
But before they could move, a familiar voice came through the chaos.
“Emma!”
She turned.
Grandma Ruth stood in the doorway.
Emma’s heart stopped.
“Grandma?”
Ruth looked terrified.
Then she shouted:
“RUN!”
A gunshot rang out.
And Grandma Ruth collapsed.
- Writer
