Page 121 of The Beautiful Dead

Remi smiled.

And fuck, it was beautiful.

His straight white teeth gleamed, his lips curved just enough to send a shiver down Ghost’s spine. Then, those cold, cutting eyes slanted toward him, hunting, calculating, starving.

“Do I get to play with him?” Remi purred, tossing his knife into the air and catching it by the handle, his other hand rubbing together like he could already feel Angelo’s blood staining his skin.

Ghost swallowed thickly, attempting a facsimile of a smile. It failed. Miserably.

“There was a reason I came here…” His voice cracked on the edges.

I stared. Silent. Waiting for him to spit it out before I carved it out of him instead.

“Someone wants to speak to y?—”

“Who?” I snapped. The smoke curling from my lips was more fire than ash.

Remi’s head bounced between us as our words volleyed, the tension coiling tighter, tighter, tighter.

“You know exactly w?—”

“What the fuck does he want?” My voice was a snarl. The walls felt too close.

Ghost exhaled sharply. “Just to talk, Domi?—”

“They never want to just talk,” I interrupted, stepping closer, letting the weight of my presence crush him. “There’s always a reason.”

Ghost’s head dipped, shoulders curling inward, elbows braced on his knees, hands clasped together in front of him.

I didn’t like it.

Didn’t like the way he folded in on himself, like he was hiding something deep in his fucking marrow.

“You’re right,” he admitted, voice tight. “There’s more to it. But it needs to come from him.”

He lifted his head. Pleading. Weak. Desperate.

“Please. Hear him out.”

Disgust coiled in my stomach.

“Fuck.” The curse was sharp, slicing the tension. “This is against my better judgment.”

I turned to Remi.

He didn’t hesitate. Just nodded once, slow and deliberate, then lifted his hoodie, revealing the grips of two guns tucked into his black skinny jeans. Ready. Always ready. Always mine.

“He can come,” I muttered, jaw tight. “But only him.”

Ghost nodded quickly, scrambling for a phone I’d never seen before. His fingers flew over the screen.

I leaned closer, voice dipping to something darker, something that sank teeth into the base of his spine. “If Remi sees anyone else on the feed enter the building, I will kill him on sight without listening to a single fucking word he has to say.”

Ghost froze, fingers hovering over the screen.

He understood.

“He won’t do anything,” he said. Tried to sound confident but failed. “I promise.”

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