"Zip Ties? Let me see." He motioned with his hand for her to bring them to him.

She handed them over and watched as he looked from them to the shifter.

"Goddamn, girl. I think they might just do the trick." He quickly threaded them both through the hole where the bolt would go, connecting the two parts together. Then he looped the ties through and pulled them tight.

She watched as he yanked the shifter up and down.

"Fuck yeah." He grinned back at her. "I think we're out of here."

She grinned back.

"Let's go before your friends roll out of bed and come lookin' for you again."

With that her smile faded, and she nodded.

CHAPTER FIVE.

Ghost roared back into the Evil Dead's Sturgis campsite with Jessie on the back of his bike, her arms wrapped tight around him. They used it during the Sturgis annual rally for their national meet. It was a mandatory meet, and chapters from all across the country made the trip so the place was crowded with bikes and brothers.

It was now Monday, and Ghost knew the club should have pulled out by now. Hell, he hoped they weren't all still there just because of him.

Fuck.

He brought the bike to a stop and dismounted, eyeing his chapter President, VP and some of his brothers standing in a group. He looked back at Jessie as he was already heading toward them, ordering, "Stay there."

She gave an almost imperceptible nod. He caught her eyes moving uneasily around the campsite before he turned and strode toward his brothers, satisfied she'd stay put.

"Well, goddamn. It's about fucking time!" Butcher muttered as he looked over Shades shoulder. Shades, Griz, Boot and Hammer all twisted, looking behind them.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Shades growled to Ghost once he'd stalked toward them. "You've been MIA for two goddamn days. I've got half the club out lookin' for you!"

"It's a long story," Ghost bit out.

"We got time," Griz replied with a glare.

"And who the fuck is that?" Shades asked, lifting his chin towards the girl they were all now eyeing.

Ghost looked back over his shoulder to where he'd left Jessie standing by his bike and muttered, "You ain't gonna believe it."

Shades studied him, his eyes narrowing. "Try me."

Ghost grabbed the beer out of Griz's hand and chugged it down, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, drawing the moment out, but in the end knowing he couldn't avoid dropping this bomb, so he just spit it out. "My stepsister."

There was dead silence for a split second, and then Griz let out a bellow of laughter that continued on and on, grinding on Ghost's last nerve. He could see even his VP was trying to hold back a grin.

With his brows raised, Shades asked, "Your stepsister?"

"Yeah," Ghost gritted out, then turned to Griz. "And shut the fuck up."

That only made Griz laugh harder. Hammer choked on his beer, spewing it on the ground, unable to hold his own laughter in.

Ghost ground his teeth together already anticipating the ribbing he was going to take from his entire chapter over this turn of events. Even now he could see them eyeing her up and down. Fuck. He was going to have to lay down the law and make it clear she was off limits to all of them.

"And she's here why?" Shades asked, not holding his grin back any longer.

Griz began making thrusting motions with his hips as if in answer to Shades' question, and even grunting along for added effect.

Ghost slugged him in the shoulder. "It's not like that, asshole."

Griz stopped the thrusting, but he was still grinning. "Not yet, maybe. But I'll bet you've thought about it. Fuckin' look at her. A hot stepsister, isn't that every teenage boy's dream?"

"Grow up, dickhead."

"I'll ask again. Why the fuck is she here?" Shades asked in all seriousness.

"She's in some trouble."

"Yeah? So? Since when did you grow a heart?" Hammer asked.

"Fuck off, Hammer," Ghost growled, but Hammer just grinned back.

"And?" Shades snapped, drawing Ghost's attention back to him.

"And she's got some information you're gonna wanna hear."

Shades cocked an eyebrow as if he truly doubted that were possible. "Right."

"I'm not lyin', bro. This could be big for the club."

Shades eyed her. "Get her settled, and we'll fucking talk. And you better have a damn good explanation for being AWOL the last three days."

Ghost nodded.

Jessie stood nervously by Ghost's bike. She watched him talking with his other club members, then chug down a beer like she wasn't left standing here waiting where he'd left her. What the hell?

Had he forgotten about her that quickly?

Then she noticed them all turn and look back at her, and a couple of them burst out laughing.

Oh my God, they were laughing at her.

Well, fuck that. She moved around the bike stalking straight for Ghost. He had another thing coming if he thought she'd stand there and be the butt of some joke.

His head swiveled, and when he saw her moving toward him, and probably more likely the furious look on her face, he moved quickly to intercept her.

He grabbed her by the arm and began tugging her in the direction of a huge metal shed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Come on, brat."

She had no choice but to stumble along in his wake, her arm firmly locked in his grip.

"What the hell? Let me go."

"No way, Jose. I know what you were about to do. I could read it all over your face, Jess."

"They were laughing at me."

"They weren't laughing at you."

She snorted a disbelieving breath.

"And you were about to let loose on them with that mouth of yours, weren't you?"

"Maybe," she grudgingly admitted.

He huffed out a laugh. "No maybe about it, sugar-pie. You're in a mood."

"I am not. And don't call me that."

He looked back at her with lifted brows.

"Oh, all right, maybe I am, but I can't help it. I'm tired and dirty and hungry," she practically whined.

"Well, if you'd give me half a second, I was about to fix that."

He continued pulling her along, turning when they got to the corner and moving around the side toward a big grill fashioned out of what looked like an old oil drum cut length ways and turned on its side. An old grizzled biker stood over the hot coals, turning burgers and brats with a silver tongs. He had two long graying braids, and a headband tied around his head. The bottom rocker on the back of his cut read, Louisiana.

"Skeeter," Ghost greeted.

The old man looked over his shoulder. "Well look what the cat dragged in. Where ya been, boy?"

"Had a bit of trouble."

It was then the old man's eyes slid beyond Ghost to land on her. "Trouble, huh?"

"Haven't eaten in the last two days, Skeet. You gonna feed us?"

He nodded. "I'll feed ya, son. Grab a plate."

They both soon had plates piled high and were sitting at a picnic table away from the others. Jessie didn't think that was by accident. Ghost seemed determined to keep her away from his club. Which was going to be impossible since they were everywhere. And she wasn't sure if that was for her benefit or his. At the moment, she didn't care. She was too hungry. She dug into her food like a starving person, which she was.

Nothing had ever tasted so good, she practically moaned with pleasure, her eyes sliding closed. When she opened them, Ghost was grinning at her. Then he winked.

"This is sooo good," she said around a mouthful of food. "Willie Nelson over there sure can cook."

He chuckled. "I'll tell him you said so. And do me a favor, don't call him that to his face."

She grinned, still chewing. "If the shoe fits."

"Just don't start shit, Jess, okay? Not everybody appreciates your mouth like I do."

She stopped chewing.

He paused. "Okay, that came out wrong."

She grinned. "If you say so, Tonto."

He rolled his eyes.

After they finished eating, he tossed their paper plates in the bonfire and led her into the shed, which she saw was a big cavernous space. It was also empty of people.

Ghost began to talk as he walked her through the building.

"The club built this place. It wasn't much more than a place to get out of the rain when it was first built. There've been a few upgrades over the years. Now we've got a bunch of bunks. They're not much, just a place to unroll a sleeping bag out of the rain."

She noticed there were about ten bunk beds made out of cheap lumber lining each wall on either side of them.

"Not nearly enough for everyone, but most of the guys sleep out under the stars anyway, so its all good. Another major improvement and favorite among the guys has been the recent addition of a shower room installed at the far end of the building." He pointed toward where they were headed. "It's got four stalls and best of all, hot water." He waggled his brows.

She followed him through a doorway. There were indeed four stalls on the right. On the left was a long counter with several sinks. She watched as Ghost leaned back against the counter and folded his arms, then nodded toward the stalls.

"Take a shower. I'll make sure nobody comes in."

She blinked. Was he joking?

"Now?"

"You do want a hot shower don't you?"

Her eyes slid to the right. A hot shower would be heavenly. But these stalls didn't even have curtains. She supposed bikers weren't shy. And at least she could be grateful it wasn't one big communal shower. But still.

"Ghost, you want me to take a shower? Now? With you just standing here?"

He grinned and nodded toward the shower at the end. "Take the last one. I won't watch."

"But...you're just going to stand here?"

"You do want me makin' sure my brothers don't come in, right?"

Uh, yeah.