Ghost: Nameless Souls MC, #3

By Evie Mitchell

Ghost
I do my best work in the shadows.
Trained to be a killer, it's all I've ever known. All I've ever cared to know.
I embrace pain and destruction, turning everything I touch into ash.
I'm a ghost. No past. No present. No future.
Until Ava.
This woman sparks a hunger in me, a dark, dangerous desire.
If I don't fight it, it could destroy us both.
The Devil knows I'd burn the world for one taste.
God have mercy, cause I won't.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thunder Thighs Publishing
• Release date: Nov 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781922561084

Book preview

GHOST

NAMELESS SOULS MC SERIES

BOOK 3

EVIE MITCHELL

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents, facts, sometimes random sentences are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in what she hopes is an entirely flattering but fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 by Evie Mitchell; Hendrix House Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means, including via Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, without prior written permission of the publisher.

Editor: Nicole Wilson, Evermore Editing

http://www.evermoreediting.wixsite.com/info

DEDICATION

As always, to my husband—a supremely useful person to have around during a pandemic.

And to the amazing scientists, nurses, doctors, and every single other person who has lived through the shiftiness of COVID-19.

You are all absolute heroes.

Thank God our reality doesn’t echo this one!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which I write, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respect to elders both past and present.

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I acknowledge the continued and deep spiritual relationship of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ to this land, and their unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.

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Always was, always will be.

CONTENTS

Ghost

The Story So Far

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Epilogue One

Epilogue Two

About the Author

Also by Evie Mitchell

GHOST

Ghost

I do my best work in the shadows.

Trained to be a killer, it's all I've ever known. All I've ever cared to know.

I embrace pain and destruction, turning everything I touch into ash.

I'm a ghost. No past. No present. No future.

Until Ava.

This woman sparks a hunger in me, a dark, dangerous desire.

If I don't fight it, it could destroy us both.

The devil knows I'd burn the world for one taste.

God have mercy, ’cause I won't.

THE STORY SO FAR

Ava

Day 643 – Post the Dark

I'm not one for capturing my thoughts, but Audrey pointed out the benefits of recording our history for the future. She wants them to know what we went through and who we were. Ordinarily, I wouldn't give a shit—but Audrey is a scary bitch when she wants to be, so here I am, sitting on a goddamned chair at a goddamned desk writing my goddamned thoughts.

Are you happy, Audrey? You better be.

I'm Major Ava Whitwick—or at least I was. I guess titles and surnames don't matter much anymore.

The world didn't end with a bang but a whimper. A virus that closed borders, spreading far and wide. Mistakes happened, and over the course of three years, the shitshow simply escalated until finally, the world as we knew it ended.

There'd been a vaccine trial. Some kind of attempt to stop the virus. Three vaccines were tested for distribution, but before they could immunise the population, something cataclysmic occurred. Entire cities went dark. Power grids shut down. The internet cut off. Communications were blocked. All went silent.

I'd been military, stationed up in Far North Queensland when shit started going south. When they'd started locking down the bases and referring to the women as commodities and breeders, I'd got the fuck out. The military has taught me to read the room, and this room had said to get the fuck out of dodge.

I'd left, taking enough firepower to kit out a small army, and driven two days straight through rogue militia areas, bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, and panicked crowds down to southern New South Wales.

Down to my sister—Charlotte.

Lottie had holed up with a group of eleven women in their university. While the rest of the students and staff had returned home, these women had somehow convinced Lottie to stay.

At first, I'd been fucking pissed—desperate to get Lottie out of there and away to a safe house. But then I'd met the women and learned of their plans, surveyed the space, and been persuaded to stay.

Big. Fucking. Mistake.

Three months ago, The Purge—a militia group filled with sadistic misogynistic women-enslaving abusers—had stormed our haven. We'd driven their scouting party back, but they had taken two of our women in the battle.

With no choice but to find safety elsewhere, we'd reached out to the Nameless Souls Motorcycle Club. The club had welcomed us with open arms—no surprise, considering they were a bunch of horny men and we were eleven semi-attractive women.

I'd been ready to fuck shit up, kill the lot of them if required. Only, they'd turned out to be mostly decent people who appreciated the skills these women could contribute to their club's survival.

Which brings us to now. While most of our group had stayed at the club's commune, a small group of us were moving between the Nameless Souls' other two remaining chapters. We'd been tasked with educating them about farming and showing them how to produce their own biofuel. It was a fucking dangerous journey that put us in harm's way but would have long-term benefits for the entire community.

Plus, I'd heard there were coffee beans in Queensland. God knew I'd slaughter a village for a decent cup.

The journey had already seen one of our number injured, but it had also brought hope. Those two women who'd been taken by The Purge? There'd been a potential sighting. A slaver cage fight only hours from where we stayed, where women were offered as prizes.

We'd discussed it and agreed that it was worth me leaving to recover our friends.

I just hadn't expected him to follow.

CHAPTER ONE

Ava

D o you have your knife?

Yes.

And your gun?

I grinned. Yes.

And your other gun?

I rolled my eyes. I'm good, Lottie.

My sister twisted her hands nervously in front of her, her wide blue eyes filled with concern.

"Are you sure you have everything?"

Yes, for the millionth time. I reached out to cup my sister's face, pressing my forehead to hers. "I'll be back. Afghanistan, Iraq, that time in the Congo—I came back, didn't I?

Lottie nodded, her small body hitching with a suppressed sob.

Hold it together, sis.

Don't worry. These bastards have nothing on me. I reassured her.

She wrapped her arms around me, clutching me to her chest.

It's not the bastards I'm worried about—it's the idiots with guns. I just—promise you'll come back? she asked against my shoulder.

I squeezed her tight. Promise. You won't even notice I'm gone.

Audrey—our fellow survivor, and the most intelligent person I'd ever met—interrupted our moment.

I'm out. She shook her head, her straight black hair whipping around her head in the strong breeze. Ava, good luck. Don't get killed or I'll find a way to clone you and kill you again.

I grinned. I don't doubt it.

I stepped back from Charlotte, giving her a moment to compose herself as I wrapped an arm around Audrey, offering a quick hug. Don't run into any trouble while I'm gone. And be nice to Pope, he can't help being a doofus.

She grinned, her dark eyes dancing with amusement. No promises.

Shit. We're dividing again.

We'd already been forced to leave the majority of our number back in the Nameless Souls' compound down in Adaminaby. This mission had me torn. I needed to see if I could get my missing women back. But the constant fracturing of our group meant I couldn't keep them all safe. I fucking hated it.

But if it means we find Jules and Lilith then it'll be worth it.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled in a way I was becoming far too familiar with.

That fucker's behind me, isn't he?

Lottie glanced over my shoulder, her grin instantaneous. Yep.

Fuck.

I'd been able to ignore the infuriating man when we'd been back on club grounds, back in Adaminaby. But we were on a journey to support the other chapters of this motorcycle club. Ellie—our biochemist—had worked out a way to make biofuel. And, unfortunately for her, that made her a fucking attractive asset to have in the After.

I'd fight tooth and nail for their safety. Which meant when this little jaunt between club safehouses had been proposed, I'd had no choice but to deal with the creepy fucker behind me.

I purposefully kept my back to Ghost, hyperaware of his attention but determined to take the time to farewell the women I'd taken responsibility for. In addition to Ellie, Lottie, and Audrey; there was Jo, a mechanic whose sisters we'd left back in Adaminaby. She was older, like me, seasoned with the kind of pragmaticism I appreciated. Then came Kate, the daughter of the former club president, and our botanist. The woman had a backbone like steel and a face like an angel.

I accepted her hug, then stepped back, picking up my trusty backpack and offering a jaunty salute.

See you in a few weeks. Make sure the Cunnamulla crew have a cold beer waiting for me.

I turned on my heel, heading for the waiting SUV, Ghost already in the driver's seat, his gaze blank as he watched me walk towards him.

Bastard.

I threw my pack in the back, pulled the door shut and looked ahead to where the gate of the compound was slowly opening.

I felt his gaze rest on me for a moment.

We sitting here all day or leaving? I asked.

After a beat of silence, he put the car in gear, the damn thing shuddering as it rocked across the gravel and dirt of the courtyard.

I wanted to look back, wanted to see if Lottie was waving, or if Audrey was yelling some last-minute piece of advice.

Instead, I faced forward—determined to ignore the pang, determined not to give in to the little doubts that whispered in my ear asking if this was the last time I'd ever see my girls.

Not today, Satan.

Behind us, the gates closed with a final, loud bang. Ghost shifted gear, our SUV bumping down the road sending us on our way to Dubbo.

CHAPTER TWO

Ava

Ipopped my feet up on the dash, adjusting my sunglasses as we drove along the empty roads, no soul in sight. Nature had begun to reclaim the road, while long-dead cars pepper the shoulder, rusting where they lay.

Silence had dominated our trip for the last two hours, and while I wouldn't normally have an issue with my own thoughts, my body twitched with nervous energy.

I glanced at the big guy beside me, taking him in. Despite being built like a mountain, the motherfucker had the extraordinary ability to blend. Upon first meeting him, I'd assumed I'd always be able to hear him coming. He'd quickly proved me wrong.

He shifted in the driver's seat, the sunlight highlighting his features.

Ghost wasn't what I'd call traditionally attractive. His features were far too brutal for such a weak description. He had a blunt face, unyielding but cruelly beautiful, each feature seeming as if carved from stone. His eyes were dark pools of secrets, revealing no thoughts or emotions he didn't want you to know. The breeze from the open window whipped at his hair, the strands overly long—and I got the sense if we'd met in the Before, that he'd have had it shaved into a buzz cut.

Dark bristles shadowed his jaw adding to the rough edge that hung over him like a cloud. He wore a plain black shirt and dark wash jeans over his thunderously muscular body. His feet were encased in thick fuck-you boots, and I had no doubt he had at least fifteen weapons hidden on his person.

For some reason, his readiness for violence turned me on.

Audrey once commented that he looked like Ares, the God of War, violent and physically untamed. While I could see her point in his physique, his utter void of emotion had me likening him to Hades, God of the Underworld—cold and unrelenting, stern and pitiless, forbidding and aloof, dwelling in the shadows, administering final judgement on those unlucky enough to cross his path.

All his blunt edges and general fuck-off vibes should have rendered Ghost unattractive—and it would have, if it not for his lips. Those lips had no business being on a face like his. They were too full, too sensual. Hedonistic promises that no mere human could resist.

The entire package is far too tempting.

I crossed my arms, finally giving in. Okay, truce.

Ghost glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow above the dark lenses of his sunglasses.

I can't deal with your silence. I know that's your 'thing'—I made quotation marks with my fingers—but, dude, I need more from you if we're about to go into battle together.

He turned back to the road, his mouth pressed into a single line. It made me want to kiss him until those freaking lips parted and I could taste his—

Stop it, Ava! He's annoying as fuck. You don't need the mess he's got written all over him.

I sighed as I reached for the map that sat folded