Page 40 of Haunted

A tennis shoe went sailing through the air, narrowly missing my head, before smacking into the chest of its intended target.

“Ow, Lanes,” he shoved to his feet. “What the actual fuck?”

“Keaton will do far worse than belt you with a sneaker when he finds out you snapped a photo of his girl, asswipe.”

“He already knows considering I just sent it to Noah, you lunatic.” He rubbed his chest. “I figured he could use some motivation to hurry the hell up.”

“Well, ask first next time, Koen. Jesus.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Have I taught you nothing? Nowapologize so I can get back to teaching Henley how to be a badass.”

He flicked his eyes to me, muttering an apology before returning to his seat. The two of them were hysterical, acting more like brother and sister than federal agents tasked with babysitting their partner's girlfriend.

Lanie was in beast mode, putting me through the paces. She moved faster than a lightning bolt streaking across the sky, while I looked more like a newborn foal, wobbling on my new legs. It was difficult at first to keep up with the flurry of instructions she hurled my way, but after a while my brain began to process the mechanics, making it easier to follow her every move. When the front door opened thirty minutes later, we were both dripping with sweat, but I’d successfully escaped two different holds and semi-mastered a punch to the throat.

“You’re a natural,” she praised.

The high I was feeling from the intense workout took a sudden nosedive when Keaton stalked into the room. He had on a light-blue button-down shirt tucked into dark khaki pants without a wrinkle in sight. Unfortunately, I hadn’t known him long enough to be able to tell whether the scowl on his face was meant for me or one of the two people at my side. Instinctively, I inched backward the closer he got.

His features softened when he noticed the move, the lines between his eyebrows smoothing out as he stopped just shy of me with his hands held out to the side.

“Baby, you don’t ever have to fear me. Now this dipshit”—jerking his head toward Koen—“on the other hand, should be very afraid.”

He winked, then smiled. Closing the gap between us, he swept a few strands of damp hair behind my ear beforestroking my cheek with the back of his finger. Every ounce of tension left my body as I studied his piercing ebony eyes. They were intensely focused on mine, almost as if he were trying to reassure himself that I was okay.

“Hi,” I breathed, leaning into his touch.

“Hey,” he returned.

“I’m a mess. I should go clean up.”

“You’re sexy as fuck, which is why I was pissed when I got here.” Confusion dripped from the frown on my face. Leaning close, he said in a hushed tone, “When I saw the text from Koen…let’s just say my dick greatly appreciated your outfit, while the possessive asshole side of me didnotlike the fact you were half naked in front of another man.”

“I’m not half naked.”

“Baby, you are.”

“I’d have less on at a beach,” I argued.

“We’re in the mountains.”

“Lanie’s wearing the same thing.”

“She isn’t mine.” He punctuated the statement with a fast, hard kiss to my lips, preventing any further argument.

We were both panting when he pulled away to stare deeply into my eyes. If I hadn’t been looking at him, I wouldn’t have noticed the abrupt change in his demeanor. Gone was my Keaton and in his place was Special Agent Clarke. The transformation was fascinating, if not a tad scary.

“We need to talk.”

Taking hold of my hand, he led me up the stairs to my room, leaving his team behind. Once inside, he positioned me in the center of the bed, then crawled in behind me, bracketing my body with his thick thighs. Curling an arm around my middle, he hauled me back into his chest, resting his head against my shoulder. We sat that way for whatseemed like hours before I severed the stillness coating the air around us.

“Keaton? What’s going on?” I hated the quiver in my voice, but I hated his silence even more.

“My real name is Calvin Keaton Renshaw,” he whispered against the shell of my ear. My body went taut then suddenlyIwas the one who was pissed. For days, he’d been lying to me.

“Just hold tight, baby. Let me explain everything before you make any decisions, all right?”

His voice held such vulnerability, I couldn’t help but nod against his chest. It seemed ridiculous how in such a short amount of time, he’d become an integral part of my life. Crazy? Maybe. Yet here I was, falling for a man who apparently didn’t exist. I owed it to him—no—I owed it to myself to hear him out.

“Eleven years ago, I found out my father, the man I emulated, was a monster.”

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