Page 28 of Command and Control: GHOST Operative

Every part of me is shaking. Trembling all the way to my bones as I hang on to him, unwilling to let go for even a second. "There was a man on my balcony."

Vincent's eyes narrow and his jaw sets. "Describe him to me."

"He looked like you, but he wasn't you." I sink my fingers deeper into the fabric of his shirt. "He wore the same kind of clothes, but he was shorter. Wider."

Vincent keeps me pinned to him as he walks to the desk taking up his living room. He picks up his phone and makes a call, calmly waiting as it rings. "We've got a problem. I need a plane here as soon as possible."

"You're leaving?" The question comes out as a shriek. I'm suddenly regretting how big of a pain in his ass I've been. I should have been nicer. Should have been sweeter.

Definitely should not have masturbated in front of an open window and then begged him to fuck me against a wall. Both bad moves now that I’m really thinking about it.

Vincent holds me tighter against him. "There’ll be two of us. If you can get the plane here any faster, let me know." He disconnects the call, sliding his phone into one pocket before turning to face me, his hands resting on my shoulders as he leans down to align his eyes with mine. "I need you to breathe, Angel Face."

I want to do what he's asking me to do, but I also don't think I can make my lungs expand. I manage a nod eventhough I'm not inhaling, and I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded because of it.

"Have you reached out to anyone besides GHOST?" Vincent's voice is calm and even. It doesn't carry a trace of the frustration he normally has when talking to me. It's weird, but also makes it a little easier for me to finally suck in a breath.

I nod again. "I approached a few groups before I found GHOST."

Vincent continues staring into my eyes, his presence solid and steady. "Do you have any data on your hard drive?"

I shake my head. "No. Everything is encrypted on a server and behind a firewall no one can get through." I manage another shaky breath. "Not even you."

Vincent's lips twitch, almost like he's about to smile. "Good." He spins away, taking his steadying presence with him as he turns to his own set of computers. With a few quick clicks, he implements a program that will wipe anything they might have had on them. Once that's running, he turns back to me, eyes skimming down my form. "We've gotta get out of here, and we've got to do it fast." He glances in the direction of my condo. "Did anyone see you come over here?"

I press my lips together, because outside of looking through the peephole, I didn't pay attention to whether or not anyone was around to watch me flee. "I don't know. No one was on the porch, so I just took off running."

Vincent tucks his chin in a single nod. "We’re just going to act like someone saw you until we know otherwise." He grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together as he steps to a pile of items tucked in one corner. He grabs theheavy coat he had on earlier and wraps it around me. "Arms in."

I do as he says, letting him quickly bundle me up.

He crouches down, unzipping a pocket on his bag to pull out three pairs of socks. He quickly shakes the first pair loose and turns to my bare feet. "Grab my shoulders and pick up your foot."

Again, I do exactly as he says, because I have no idea what's going on or how to handle it. But Vincent does, and his confidence is the only reason I haven't thrown up or passed out.

He quickly tugs three socks onto each of my feet. After standing, he pulls a casual coat over his dark tactical gear before slinging his bag over one shoulder. "I'd offer you my boots, but there's no way they'll fit you and it’ll be hard for you to run in them." He grabs my hand again, gripping it tight as he pulls me to the back of the condo. Once we reach the door, he lifts my hand and presses it against his back. "Hold on to the back of my coat and don't let go. Stay behind me no matter what happens. Got it?"

I give him a jerky nod. "Got it."

I make a little squeak when he pulls a gun from somewhere. Has he always been armed and I just never noticed it?

Probably. And the guy who was just on my balcony was probably armed too.

Saliva fills my mouth as the urge to throw up climbs my throat. This is probably the way I should've felt when I found out Vincent had been in my house, but nothing about him has ever seemed threatening. No matter how hard he tried.

That man I just saw? He was threatening. I don't knowwhy. I don't know what the difference is, but there was no denying the menacing nature of his presence.

Vincent lifts his brows. "Ready? We’re going to go fast."

"I'm as ready as I'm gonna get." I hold tighter to his coat, just because I don't want to accidentally get separated from him. I'm not cut out to handle this on my own, and for the first time I feel like Vincent was right in not hiring me. Sure, I can create a good program and write a mean code, but when shit gets dangerous?

Well, I doubt passing out ice cream cookie sandwiches will get me anywhere.

Vincent cracks the door open, peeking through the gap before turning my way and jerking his chin toward the outside. A second later, we’re moving, quickly sliding out the door before silently closing it behind us and then cutting through the crunchy grass peeking out from the thin layer of snow remaining after the sun of the day. The thick layer of socks covering my feet keep it from being a painful trek, but the cold seeps through really quickly, and we've barely made it to the next set of buildings before my toes go numb.

Vincent swings us around the corner, tucking me against it as he angles his body in front of mine to look around the edge, back the way we came.

I press closer to his back, keeping my white-knuckle grip on his coat. "Do you see something?" I say it as quietly as I can, not wanting to do anything to attract attention our way.

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