Page 1 of Guarded By the Phantom

Chapter 1

Phantom

Iwas one with the shadows in the dark hospital room. The only light came from the screens measuring the heartbeat and other functions of the sleeping girl. The very stupid, very fragile human girl who was my current pro bono case.

I knew why they gave it to me. This case had a solution—a quick, painless one, if I was in a generous mood—but most Monster Security Agency bodyguards insisted on doing things by the book.

They would have guarded the room respectfully, standing in the corridor outside, announcing their menacing presence to the world.

That wasn’t my method. I wanted my mark to think she was unprotected. Cowards like him only attacked weaker prey.

The beeping in the room grew marginally faster for a moment. The girl was in a coma, her only cause for excitement most likely being her dreams. I spared her a glance. She looked so young, her skin ashen against the white sheets, her body prone and defenseless. Her hair had been shaved off, angry linesof stitches marking the places where the surgeon had repaired her fractured skull.

Poor little bird.

A soft sound from the corridor outside drew my attention. The clock on the wall showed two forty-four. A perfect time for a coward to come forward and finish the job.

I was completely still, folded into the darkest corner of the room. I’d shed my clothes for this occasion, using my natural camouflage, which was superior to anything I could wear. The only thing I had to actively hide was my head, which was now painted the same matte, light-sucking black as my armor. My belt and weapons were black, too, perfectly melting into the shadows.

Even completely devoid of clothing, abominations were never naked. The protective carapace covering every inch of my body hid whatever nakedness I might choose to show, effectively shielding all my vulnerable places. Only a few types of armor-piercing bullets could damage it, and all blades glanced off.

As did the light.

My eyes were dark, deep-set in the bony sockets of my face—deep enough that they didn’t glisten. I didn’t move a muscle, my black blood humming calmly as I waited. To an untrained eye, I would be invisible. A mere shadow.

The door clicked open, a large, nervous hand clutching the edge as dimmed light from the corridor outside spilled into the room. I had to suppress a grin at the thought of how the fucker would scream if I slammed the door shut, breaking his fingers.

But making him piss himself was not the main goal here. I needed a valid reason for killing him to put in my paperwork. So I waited.

He slid into the room, a human male of over six feet, large and hunching. I watched him, all humor at the thought of slamming the door on his hand vanishing. While I didn’t remember thegirl’s name, I knew his. Jordan Beck, a twenty-eight-year-old car mechanic, was currently a fugitive from the police and the reason why the girl needed my protection.

They had dated for over a year, starting when she was still seventeen. She kept it secret from her family, but once her parents found out and made a racket about her dating a man not only older by ten years but also having a prison record, she broke things off.

That was when he beat her into a coma.

And that, in turn, was the reason why I wasn’t going to gift-wrap him and send him to jail. Scum like this had no business staying alive and eating away tax money.

The door closed, the air thickening with his scent and the frenetic energy Jordan brought with him. I flexed my fingers, getting ready. Excitement surged in my blood, the thrill of the hunt drawing me seductively closer while he stared at the bed, completely unaware of my presence.

He felt so safe right now. He was the predator, the unconscious girl his prey. How pathetic.

I braced myself as he came closer. The sound of his breathing, harsh and fast, mixed with the faint beeping of the machines. He hulked over the narrow bed, breathing harder and harder, his gloved hands shaking.

When he reached into his pocket, removing a slim syringe, I held back a huff. Now, that was smart, the best way to get rid of her without arousing much suspicion. A thrill blazed down my back. Maybe he would pose a challenge, after all.

Maybe I’d have some fun.

“You won’t put me in jail, you bitch,” he spoke, his voice low and hoarse. “You’re as good as dead, anyway.”

He uncapped the needle with shaking fingers and raised the syringe to the girl’s drip. The moment stretched, perfect and taut with possibility. Everything depended on my actions now.I literally ruled the girl’s life, and his, too, though none of them knew it.

I let the power of being in charge wash over me, flicking the tip of my tongue out to taste the swollen air. Jordan almost had the syringe notched in the port. He needed just two more seconds.Perfect.

With one leap, I sprang out of my hiding place and put my armored palm over his mouth, muffling his scream. The syringe clattered to the floor. He struggled in my hold, but I had him restrained at once.

One well-aimed strike to his temple was all it took to knock him unconscious.

“Bye, little bird,” I whispered to the girl, letting Jordan crumple onto the floor. I gripped his hands to drag him out. “Stay safe.”

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