Page 21 of Ghost

If I was a better man, I might.

But just because Luna can’t know I’m watching her doesn’t stop me from actually doing it.

I switch my view to the camera on her laptop, and I’m irritated she left it open. All it would take is one unauthorized intrusion into the wireless network and someone who isn’t me could be watching her right now.

Which reminds me, I need to do a sweep of our firewalls in the morning.

Luna lets her hair down, and lavender-blonde hair pools around her shoulders as she tosses her hair tie onto the nightstand. She slips out of her fuzzy, pink slippers and climbs under her blanket, but she doesn’t lie down. She leans back against the headboard and bites on the inside of her cheek while she thinks about something.

She stares into the darkness, and when her gaze flicks to her laptop camera, her eyebrows pinch. It’s the faintest hint that has me wondering if she senses me.

If she knows I’m watching her.

Those blue eyes are my damnation. One look and my soul takes a bite out of her like she’s an apple from Eden.

It takes all I am to stay in control.

To look but not touch.

To keep her but not ruin her like I do everything good that walks into my life.

Luna’s eyes get heavy the longer she stares at the camera. Slowly, her body sinks down into the covers.

It takes her thirty-four minutes to fall asleep, and even then, she’s restless. She tosses and turns, and I wonder if it’s nightmares or something else.

I watch her, and the branded flesh on my side aches, reminding me not to lose focus. Reminding me why I can’t give in and that I’m all that stands between Luna and those out to get her.

The club might have agreed that she’s innocent, but I sensed their doubt. There was just enough hesitation thatI know I’m the only one who will truly risk it all to keep her safe.

Someone is after her, and I’m the only one who can stop them.

If only I knew whotheywere so I could put this fucking mess to bed once and for all.

Before we left Albuquerque, the Twisted Kings obliterated every trace of the Merciless Skulls, and I thought that included whoever hired Luna to hack my system. It was reckless of me to assume someone smart enough to hire her wouldn’t also have the wits to survive.

They must have moved back to Vegas with the Iron Sinners, the same way Luna moved here with us.

I should have realized it a month ago when the Iron Sinners used a flash drive to hack us. I was so busy focusing on our business plans and financial records that I ignored what was right in front of me. Whoever gained access to my private server spent more time in the club’s payroll records than anywhere else.

They weren’t looking for money or access. They weren’t looking forsomething. They were aftersomeone.

Luna Cassidy.

While to her, it was an anonymous job posting that led her to hack the Twisted Kings, the person who sent her after us was clearly after more. They knew her. The question is, did she know them?

By the time the sun rises, I’m still at my desk. My untouched bed is becoming a staple lately, and my body drags as I pull myself out of my office.

Luna isn’t at the clubhouse, so there’s no risk of running into her. I waited until she left to shop with Reina and Wren before stepping foot in the kitchen. After last night, everything is jumbled.

The gap of indifference I’ve maintained for over a year is blurring, and the only way to keep her away is to draw clearer lines.

I’ll keep an eye out, and she’ll be safe. She can hate me for ignoring her, and someday, she can move on with her life while I sit in purgatory.

By the time I make it into church, Legacy is already in his seat at the table across from me. He’s usually the first here, given he keeps a tight schedule for his daughter, Bea. Apart from the club, she’s his priority, and he spends every spare minute he has with her.

He’ll do his tasks as treasurer during the day and take breaks to see her for breakfast and dinner. And if the club’s having a party, he’ll wait until she’s in bed before leaving her with the nanny and coming out with us. Even then, he’ll try to be home before she wakes up in the morning.

And now that Tempe and her four-year-old brother, Austin, are in the picture, Steel’s been the same way.

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