Ghost (A Steele Riders MC Book 6) Read online

  GHOST

  A Steele Riders MC Novel

  C.M. Steele

  Contents

  GHOST

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Twenty-two years later

  About the Author

  GHOST

  My last assignment.

  The one I didn't want and my family begged me not to take, but I had to do what I could to make our town, our state, our country a little safer.

  I had no idea that I'd walked into a trap set up by some of the deadliest men in the world.

  My vision had gone black as I faced the end of my life.

  All the regrets, all the love I'd miss out on.

  I sent up a prayer and made my peace with my fate. I hoped my friends would seek retribution and care for my siblings.

  My eyes open, and everything has changed. Was it all a cruel dream, or am I in heaven? Either way, I want my angel to stay with me throughout eternity.

  Now I was back from the dead and out for revenge. Those who tried to bury me in the depths had best watch out because a Ghost was coming for them

  This is the sixth book in the Steele Riders MC.

  Prologue

  Rico

  “Martinez, the boss wants to see you,” Ferguson said, smiling from his perch behind the front desk. He hated me, which made me laugh. We had a difference of opinions on things: I thought he was a big fucking pussy, and well, he didn’t like it.

  “Good morning to you, Fergie.” I tossed him a wink, tipping my cowboy hat to the asshole. He couldn’t even wait until I officially clocked in to tell me that I was in trouble. I tossed my hat onto my desk, then walked to the boss’s office.

  Rapping my knuckles on his open door frame, I stuck my head in and asked, “You needed me, sir?”

  “Please come into my office, Rico.” He waved his hand for me to close the door. As soon as it clicked shut, he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

  I looked around the room for IA people leaning up against the walls waiting to nail me for some infraction, but it was just the two of us. I hated Internal Affairs. Those fuckers never got the guys they needed to bust for shit.

  I’d been with the ATF for five years since leaving the Special Forces. It was a gig I’d been made for, and most of the time I loved it. Lately, though, I’d become restless, wanting something else. Maybe it was that my friends were finding love around me or that the cartels were more trouble than I cared to handle, but I felt my time in this game was coming to an end. Perhaps he sensed my disenchantment.

  I sat in front of his desk with my fingers intertwined and steepled, waiting for the hammer to drop.

  He rested his arms on his desk, lacing his fingers. “So how’s it going with your assignment?” he asked with a huff.

  I’d been working to nail the Cortes Cartel that ran through Texas, but they were well armed and enforced. They trafficked women and drugs throughout the States, and the US government wanted to put an end to their supply chain.

  We all knew that if you snuffed out one cartel another would pop up, but saving as many lives as possible was all that mattered. “Meh. I don’t have any new information on the cartel just yet, but they’re definitely trying to spread their wings into new areas.”

  He tilted his head and pursed his lips, cocking his brow like a smug motherfucker. “Like Steeleville?”

  “Yes.” So he was aware of more than he let on. My friends and I had a motorcycle club that was about protecting and making a community in Steeleville, Texas, a town that had been created by the Steele brothers who happened to be the President and VP of the Steele Riders MC.

  “Is something wrong?” My tone was acerbic as I lost patience for his pussyfooting. He needed to get to the point because I wasn’t in the mood to play a guessing game with the old bastard. I had a couple of informants to speak with who would run off if I was late.

  “No, I have an undercover assignment for you.” I hadn’t done an undercover assignment in two years, and I suspected that my identity was well-known in the area to be going back under. Had he lost his fucking mind? We sat in silence as I processed what he was saying.

  From the look in his eyes, he was serious about the assignment. Thrusting my fingers through my thick black hair, I blew out a harsh breath. “Where?”

  “In McAllen. It’s with the Villanueva Cartel. We already have an agent on the inside, but he’s not getting far with them.”

  I found it rather odd that they’d want two different sets of undercover teams in the same place. People tended to get suspicious if we spoke to each other. Before you knew it, your cover and the damn operation were blown. You’d be lucky to get out alive. The last one had been close for a group of our guys. Only one agent died, but it had been one too many.

  “And when do I need to report?” With everything going nuts in Steeleville, leaving seemed counterproductive and foolish. However, if we got one cartel’s tendrils out of the area, then maybe the others would back off. I doubted it, to be honest, but I had to trust that my brothers would be fine without me.

  “The day after Christmas. You’ll need to be in the town for a bit before you can work your way in. Understood?” I nodded. It was smart to ingratiate myself with the town and get my name out there before I approached them.

  “Yes.”

  “Your packet and residence are already being prepared as we speak. Remember, keep us informed—and if it gets too dangerous, don’t hesitate to pull out.” I nodded, so he continued with the rest of the plan.

  “You’ll need to make contact with the other undercover agent on the inside so that you can work together.” We spent another twenty minutes going over the finer details and the true objective. I had so much to do before splitting, so the next few weeks were going to be hellish. Especially when it came to saying goodbye to my family.

  “Understood.” I left his office with a thick sense of foreboding. My meeting with the informants was a bust, so I prepared to hand over my cases for the rest of the day.

  When I finally arrived at my house, I popped open a beer and sat down on my sofa. So many thoughts crossed my mind as I considered all the people who’d freak when they learned of my assignment. The sound of silence hit me harder than I expected. I needed to see my siblings and let them know the situation, but first, I had to eat. I opened the fridge, only to slam it shut a second later. Nothing in there but beer and some old-ass milk.

  My doorbell rang, and the smell of food wafting through it won me over. I opened it to find my twin siblings there with pizza. “We brought food.”

  “Damn miracle workers. My fridge is ass empty.”

  “I told you,” Demi said, setting the drinks down on the coffee table.

  “So how’s the shop?”

  “It’s good. You know Mick is itching to get his hands on the needle again.” Mick owned the tattoo shop they worked at, but the wounds he sustained from the Cortes attack on the club had been nearly fatal. We were thankful that he finally pulled through.

  “I bet.”

  We enjoyed a fun night of bullshitting. They came from my mother’s second baby daddy, so they were over a decade younge
r than me. They were twins about five minutes apart and Demi lorded over Asher, reminding him that he was the baby of the family. Suddenly, I felt the weight of leaving them. I knew he’d take care of her and so would the Riders, but I worried.

  “Demi, why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Bro, you’ve got something on your mind. You went from smiling to looking like someone’s shit on your parade. What’s up?”

  “Something’s up, isn’t it?” Asher added.

  “Don’t be doing that double-team shit on me.” They had a knack of doing that very often. They worked so well together that I wondered what would happen if they didn’t find a significant other at the same time.

  “Then don’t keep shit from us. We can see it in your eyes. You have Mom’s eyes.”

  “They’re sending me on an undercover assignment.” For a minute, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence bouncing around the room. Then, Demi threw her arms around me, sensing the same thing I did. It wouldn’t end well.

  “Can’t you refuse it? I’ve got a bad feeling about it,” Asher remarked, slowly shaking his head.

  “I know, but it’s for the best. You know that we need to get rid of these cartels any way we can.” They had been a bane to our existence for as long as we could remember. Their parents were killed by a drug mule whose car broke down, so he stole theirs and killed them in the process.

  “I think you’re a fool.” She pushed away with her eyes watering. “I’m going to lose another family member to them.” She stormed out of the house, wiping away her tears. I’d go after her, but I knew she needed time.

  “It’s okay, bro. I got her.”

  “I know.” He hugged me and went after her as he always did and always would.

  Two hours later, Demi came back, and I gladly opened my arms out to her. She pressed her head to my chest and said, “Ricardo, I’m sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I wish I could turn the assignment down, but this means too much. I’ve never failed to do my job in Special Forces no matter the danger. I can’t stop now when it’s my homeland—our way of life—I’m protecting.”

  “I know. I know. I will try to be strong. Just don’t get yourself killed. If it gets too hairy, get out.”

  “I will. The Riders will continue to look after you while I’m gone, but just be a good girl, please.”

  “I’ll try, but you know I can’t promise anything.” Her sass returned, easing the pain in my chest.

  The next day, I asked Boomer to meet up for a brief discussion after work. The man had a lot on his plate and I didn’t want to interrupt him, especially because he needed time with his beautiful wife.

  After agreeing to meet at the clubhouse, I hopped on my Harley and rode out for what felt like the last damn time. I gathered from my new identity that I didn’t ride, so I had to leave it at home. I pulled up to the lot and climbed off just as Boomer pulled in on his bike. After shaking up, we each grabbed a beer from behind the bar and stepped into his office.

  He sat behind his desk while I plopped down on the chair in front of it. “So what brings you to see me? Not that I ever mind hanging out with you, but I feel this is something different.”

  The tension rolled off me in waves, but it had nothing to do with telling Boomer. It was the assignment that had me on edge. I slammed my beer in one long guzzle, setting it on his desk. “It is. I’m being sent to handle another undercover operation.” Boomer and I went way back, and we’d been through war, sometimes barely surviving our assignments.

  Thrusting his hand through his hair, he jumped up from his chair and paced the room. “Fuck…when?”

  “Right after Christmas.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Dead fucking serious.”

  He sat on the desk, staring down at me with utter concern. Our friendship meant a lot to both of us, so I trusted him with the truth. “Can you tell me where, or is that too confidential?”

  With a long, drawn-out sigh, I said, “I’m going on assignment in the Villanueva Cartel in McAllen. I’ll be gone for as long as it takes. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s my job.”

  He nodded slowly. “No. I get it, Rico. You know we have your back. You need anything or want us to unofficially lend a hand, make sure to let us know.” We shook on it, and he pulled me into a hug. “Please fucking be careful. We’ve been through so much together over the years.”

  “I know. I’m going to do my best to stay alive. Why they picked me is obvious, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to fool those fuckers.”

  I’d been one of the main Mexican undercover agents who looked the part of a drug dealer, or at least I could pull it off. Not that the others couldn’t, but I had the tats to give me the extra shit needed to prove myself. None of my tats were too telling, but it gave me a hardened look to add to the role.

  I hoped it would be enough…

  Chapter 1

  Rico

  I had been accepted into the crew for several months, but only recently did I get the information needed to nail some of the cartel leaders as well as where they created their product for future busts. All I had to do was get one last bit of evidence, but the closer I was to my information, the more the danger of being discovered grew.

  My only ally on the inside was Mac, or Agent Greg MacDowell, as I knew him. He’d been on this undercover assignment for almost a year and still had come up dry.

  I had a bad feeling about the drop, so I contacted my people to let them know where the exchange was planned to be and then prepared for the deal. Mac was working with me tonight along with four other guys, including one of the jefes, Ernesto. I threw back a shot of tequila before we set out on the road to steel my nerves.

  It was two in the morning, and we were building a case against the cartel so damn easily that I wondered if Mac had switched sides. I almost had all my ducks in a row, and they weren’t suspicious of me. It took a lot of time, but I integrated myself nicely. Tonight, though, I felt a sense of foreboding that burrowed itself in my chest.

  A new shipment of cocaine was being dropped tonight from a cargo jet just off the Rio Grande River. They had to be careful because the US had a naval base in South Padre, so the drop was further inland.

  “Que te paso, quey?” Mac asked. Damn. Did my body language give me away? I sure as fuck hoped not.

  “Nada.” I tried to play it cool because I was in the middle of a bunch of ruthless killers. We pulled into the area and waited for the drop.

  “Then why the fuck do you look on edge?” he said, cocking his brow as we stood alone in the garage before we took off.

  I inched closer to him, chin up, chest out. “I don’t know. Is there a reason I should be?”

  “What the fuck are you implying, old friend?” That cocky bravado only made matters worse. Mac and I were not friends, and I realized it right then.

  “That I don’t trust the shadows, Mac, and all those lurking in them.”

  Unfortunately, I should have trusted my gut. The blow to the back of my head sent me to the ground.

  “That’s wise, but a little too late,” Ernesto said as I lost consciousness.

  My head throbbed as I woke up with my hands tied behind my back and in a rusty chair. The guys I’d been with earlier stood in front of me like an impenetrable wall, including one who was supposed to be on my side. Ernesto approached first and grabbed my hair, violently slamming my head backward.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” He spat out those words with an undeniable satisfaction.

  “What are you talking about? What the hell’s going on?” A punch to the gut sent me keeling over out of my chair, grunting and wincing. I’d been injected with a sedative, and I knew it wouldn’t be long until I met my maker. My gun, sidepiece, and switchblade that were customized were gone. I had nothing to fight with, and my fists were tied behind my back. He snatched my head back again, leaning down to stare in my face. “Did you think we wouldn’t find out that you’re a cop?”<
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  While I lay crumpled on the ground, they took turns kicking me repeatedly, blow after blow. My face ended up in a bag of cut-open coke, and I did my best not to breathe it in but I was gasping for air. My sinuses and throat burned, but I found myself completely awake again.

  I listened to the noise around me. The sound of the waves hitting the side told me I was on one of their drug boats. Fuck. A thousand things ran through my mind, including leaving my siblings behind, hating that they’d suffer another loss. My life was about over. I prayed to God asking for forgiveness for my wrongs while hoping my brothers came to destroy these sons of bitches.

  I felt myself being lifted off the ground and then the cold breeze of the night air, followed by another blow to the head. The world turned dark around me, and the sound of a recognizable voice said, “You should have taken my offer.”

  Water washed over me as the weight of the brick around my feet dragged me down fast. I did my best to calm down and accept my fate. I knew the scent of my blood in the water would bring the deadliest predators to feast on me.

  I landed on a reef below, which saved me from falling into the deep depths of the ocean for my body to never be found. Eventually the gasses from my body would bring my corpse up to the surface if I didn’t get eaten.

  Chapter 2

  Grace

  The day had not been going well. I was pulling a double shift at the hospital with the damn full moon out. Okay, so not going well was an understatement. Batshit crazies were out in full force.