Ghost by Jessica Coulter Smith, Jessica Smith

kill me,” Richard begged. “You want Shelly? You can have her! I can hook your friends up with easy pussy for the rest of their lives, free of charge!”
    “We don’t sleep with whores,” Axel told him.
    Ghost watched as Richard paled. He jerked the knife free, then stabbed him in the other leg. The man was a blubbering mess, squealing like a girl every time Ghost stuck the blade in him. Ghost stabbed him three more times, before holding the blade to his throat.
    “I’m not sure you’re worth a bullet. What do you think, Axel? Should I make him choke on his own blood and bleed out? Do you think he deserves a quick death?”
    “I say let him suffer a bit,” Axel said. “He’s made those women suffer every day since he picked them up. It’s the least we can do.”
    Ghost smiled at Richard. “Any last words?”
    Richard begged for his life again, but before he had finished, Ghost sliced his throat from ear to ear. The shifters watched as the man bled out, then Axel placed the call to Digger to come clean up the mess. Ghost wiped the blade clean on Richard’s clothes before handing it back to Viper. The wolf shifter studied the blade for a moment before putting the knife back in its sheath. Ghost had no doubt he’d clean the thing later.
    They slipped out the back door and kept to the shadows as they returned to their bikes. Ghost didn’t feel the peace he’d thought would claim him once Richard was gone. He didn’t feel bad for killing the man, but he didn’t feel happy about it either. He knew Shelly would be safe now, and that was a good thing, but taking out the drugged out pimp was just another day for Ghost. He’d killed so many men in his life, first with the military and later with the M.C., that it wasn’t a big deal to him. Life should matter more, but the way he saw it, he took out the dregs of human and shifter society, men who needed to be put down. To his way of thinking, he was doing the world a service.
    When they pulled into the lot at the clubhouse, a soft curvy body hurtled into Ghost’s side.
    “I thought I told you to stay in the room.”
    “When Digger got the call to go clean up your mess, he told me it was safe to come out. I’ve been waiting just inside the door.” She smiled at him. “It’s really over? Completely over?”
    “Not even a vampire could come back from that,” Ghost assured her.
    The smile slipped from her face. “Wait. Vampires are real?”
    His eyebrows rose. “That’s what you got out of that? I tell you that your pimp is never coming back and you’re curious about bloodsuckers?”
    She shrugged. “Well, are they?”
    “Yeah.” He sighed. “They’re real, and they tend to be nasty, so pray you never meet one. As far as I know, there aren’t any around Ashton Grove. Not anymore. Word is that the alpha dealt with one before, and his first mate took the bloodsucker out.”
    “Wow. I wonder if I’ll ever be that strong.”
    Ghost kissed her softly on the lips. “Doll, you’re already a strong, feisty woman. My woman.”
    Her smile blossomed again. “Did you see what I’m wearing?”
    He shook his head and she twirled around. The cut she was wearing, that he hadn’t noticed until just then, said Property of Ghost across the back. Hot damn! He wasn’t sure if he should be pissed that he hadn’t been the one to give it to her, or happy that she hadn’t been able to wait to put it on.
    “Now everyone will know I’m yours,” she said. “I noticed Amelia has a tattoo though. She was cleaning the bar earlier and her shirt rode up in back. Am I going to get one of those too?”
    Ghost got off the bike and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “Do you want one?”
    She nibbled on her lower lip. “It’s another way for everyone to know I’m yours, right? And it can’t be removed like a leather vest can. So even if someone took it from me, I’d still be marked?”
    “You know, most women wouldn’t be excited about