Page 93 of The Phantom's Vice

Hell, I’d bet my life on it.

After an hour of winding through the deep underbrush of the forest, Ghost pulls through an opening between two cypress tree trunks, and the land opens into a large circular clearing. At the far end sits a strange-looking triangular cabin lined the entire way around with rose bushes. Pink, orange, and red doilies stand out against the dark green leaves, adding a touch of vibrance to the otherwise dreary-looking cabin.

“Holy shit. Is that agreenhouse?” I ask, my mouth falling open at the massive glass structure about fifty meters from the house. “And a fucking pigeon coop? Where the hell are we?”

“Reinhold’s house,” Ghost murmurs, squeezing my knee lightly as he stops in front of the large oak steps leading up to… well, there’s no door in sight, so at the moment, it looks like they lead up to a blank wall. But when Ghost leads me up and presses his wrist to the wall, I know that there’s a hidden entrance here like at Ghost’s house.

The wall splits, and scraping fills the air as the door to the house opens. I look at Ghost with wide eyes, but he just chuckles and steps inside. “Ghost,” I whisper, following close at his heels as we step into the large living area. “Ghost, we can’t just walk into his house. What if?—”

“He knows we’re coming,” Ghost says, stepping across the wooden floorboards toward a door at the right of the room. “Plus, I was the one who installed that entrance for him—I have the master key. I can come and go as I please.”

I sigh, following him as he presses his wrist to the door, eliciting aclickingnoise as the lock slides open. “It’s still rude.”

“Rude-schmude.” Ghost waves a hand in the air. “Reinhold and I are friends. I’m sure he’ll just be happy to see me.”

As soon as Ghost pushes the door open, a large crystal ashtray shatters against the wall next to Ghost’s head. Pieces of crystal clatter to the floor as a growl fills the room, followed by an impossibly deep male voice.

“What thefuck,Ghost? I told you to stop breaking into my house!”

Ghost sighs, stepping fully into the room. I look around him, my eyes locking onto the huge black shadow sitting behind a mahogany desk. After a few seconds, I realize the massive thing is, in fact, aman.And a pissed-off one, at that.

When Ghost sees I don’t follow, he waves a hand at me, seemingly unfazed by the hulking figure who just tried to kill him. “It’s not technicallybreaking in when you have the key, Reinhold.”

The shadow curses, slamming a hand down on the large mahogany desk, his face hidden by the shadows in the windowless room. “Stop calling me that.”

“No need for a hissy fit,” Ghost tuts, wrapping a hand around my waist and hauling me to his side. “It’s unbecoming when there are guests present.”

As if noticing I’m here for the first time, the man stands from his desk, his hulking shoulders going rigid. “Brett. Right?”

“Yes,” I say, pulling my shoulders back to appear brave despite the shake in my knees.

Suddenly, the figure steps out from behind the desk into the light, and I can’t stop the horrified gasp that escapes me. The beast before me is like no man I’ve ever seen—and I’ve seen a lot of fucked-up things and people, but he is actually, genuinely terrifying.

My throat is like sandpaper as I swallow, and I lower my gaze so as not to look him directly in the eyes. Or,eye,I suppose. If he has another one, I can’t see it past the thick metal mask covering the right half of his face.

“It’s nice to meet you, Brett,” he says, stickingout a massive, tattooed hand for me to shake. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

My hand drowns in his as he gives it a rough shake, and I pull it to my chest when he releases me. “You have?”

He nods. “Ghost is my… friend,” he says, scowling as he utters the last word. “He told me I could trust you. So I am.”

“That’s… nice of him,” I say, my heart threatening to burst from my rib cage like a tiny, frightened bird.If he wanted to, he could crush my head like a grape. Or flick me across the room with his pinky. You better be fucking right, Ghost, or I swear I’ll come back and haunt your ass when he kills me.

Kain gives another nonchalant shrug. I watch him carefully as he strides toward the desk, then plops down in the leather armchair. His mouth still holds the scowl from earlier, making him look far more imposing than should be physically possible.

He pins me with that one silver eye, and I start picking at the cuticle on my thumb.

“So now that the introductions are over, we can get down to business,” Ghost says, clapping his hands together. “We need your help.”

“As you said on the phone,” Kain grumbles, his gaze shooting toward a photo on his desk,angled just enough so I can see the person in the frame. At the center of the photo is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, her smile set in a wide grin as she shows off her engagement ring.

“Who’s that?” I ask, cutting off whatever snarky comment Ghost was about to reply with.

“Lillith.”

“Oh,” I say, a little smile tugging at my lips. The thought of this brute settling down with someone is almost cute. “Is she your wife?” I ask, noting the gold band resting on his ring finger.

Kain gives it a twirl, his face still set in that stony expression. “She’s my everything.”

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