Page 24 of Ghoul

Epilogue

Ghoul

Present Day

Iwas one of the oldest members of our chapter even though I was only in my forties, other than Spider that was. I was happy for every moment we got to spend together. Tin Man left the club in good standing some ten or so years back to take care of his family, and I had a new vice, Crow. I’d taken him under my wing as Spider had done for me all those years ago, but in reality, Crow had no idea of half the shit us Bastards used to get into. We were far from model citizens, and I never planned to be one, but we weren’t as wild as we once were either.

“Just because you went to DC and finally got that noodle of yours wet doesn’t mean you’re hot shit now, Sledge,” I pointed out while he rounded the pool table and confidently called the corner pocket as the destination for the eight-ball. Crow brought his hand up to his face, hiding his knowing smirk. He was well aware of what I was doing. Ever since Sledge came back from Heavy’s clubhouse, he’d been an extra cocky fucker. He needed to be knocked back down to size before he got out of control.

Sledge scoffed but was quick to reign in his composure when I didn’t reply. I refused to look up from the grain of the bar, knowing I’d lose my shit.

“Boss?”

Feeling a little guilty, I turned my attention to him, “Fuck, Sledgehammer. You know, if I was ten years younger, I would have been up there with ya, but I would have been ear deep in pussy.” I wiped my thumb and pointer finger down the sides of my mouth, “There’s a reason I keep a beard. It adds a little extra tickle.” My sides heaved with laughter, but not for the obvious reason. I talked a big game around my brothers, but rarely meant what it said when it came to women. I only had the desire to do those things with one person, and it definitely wasn’t the one beside me.

“Ghoul, happy looks good on you,” Scorch, my nephew and president of our Elizabeth City chapter, said with a smile, eyeing the sweet ass hanging onto my arm suspiciously. This woman and every other woman who wasn’t Ginger didn’t matter to me. She had been the only one for me ever since the day she walked into my life, or I slammed into hers. She was the only one who did anything for me, so it never went any further than this with any other woman, regardless of what other people thought.

I never took the time to learn any of the women’s names who breezed through my brothers’ bedroom doors. They were meaningless to me, so I called them all “Red.” It was a running joke between Ginger and me. We had been through so much to find each other that normal trivial shit others fixated on in a relationship didn’t bother us. She didn’t give a shit who was on my side while I shot pool or killed a few more brain cells with cocaine.

“You don’t even know the fucking half of it, brother.” I beamed as the door of our clubhouse opened, and Ginger stepped inside, her attention landing on another faceless Red.

Ginger winked at me and sauntered her sexy ass over to where I sat at the bar, wedging herself between the two of us. She pressed her middle finger against the bridge of the woman’s nose and laughed, “He’s mine, bitch,” and immediately clamped her lips together as she turned to face me, and Red rushed off.

My wife was an intimidating woman, and that meant a lot coming from me considering my body count. She was equally as lethal as I was but in her own way. It made me love her even more, though.

“You really shouldn’t fuck with all these Red’s, Ginger.” I smiled, taking her hand in mine and pressing it to my lips.

“Gives them character,” she joked, dropping onto the stool beside me and smirked. “Serves them right for thinking they would ever have a chance with you.” Her fingers wrapped around my glass, and she finished the rest of my drink. No one understood our relationship, but they didn’t have to. The only thing that mattered to us was each other, and it had been that way for fifteen years now. She was mine, and I belonged to her. I was a fucked-up and flawed individual, but it didn’t take much to keep me happy. All I needed were my brothers, my club, Ginger, mediocre macaroni, and fucking shoes.

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The End for now…