Page 51 of Ghost
“Go!” Crow shouts at me. “Go to them!”
I take off running while gunfire explodes behind me. With each step, I vow to bring Hell to anyone who dares lay a finger on my mom or Ember. Part of me hopes that Cruz is just fucking with me, taunting me to get a reaction. But the logical part of me, the part of me that is keenly aware of the evil in the world knows that he’s not.
He sent evil to my door, and I pray Ben can handle it until I get there.
CHAPTER 26
EMBER
Marry me.
I glanceat my cell for the millionth time to see if I missed anything from Ghost, and groan when I realize the fucking thing is dead. Before rushing to my room to grab my charger, I stop to check on Mrs. West. I turn the knob to push open her door and lean in to look toward the bed.
Pain radiates in my head, my vision blurs, and I collapse in an unconscious heap on the floor.
When I come to, I’m tied to Mrs. West’s bed, arms and legs spread out and anchored to the four posts. My head spins when I try to lift it.
“Oh, good,” a man says, stepping out of the dark corner. “You’re awake.”
A garbled noise catches my attention, and I swivel my head to look toward the other corner. Panic claws at my throat when I see Mrs. West tied to one of the kitchen chairs, a piece of cloth wrapped around her head to act as a gag.
“What the hell?” I mutter. “What’s going on?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the man counters. “You’re being held hostage.”
His accent is heavy, and his eyes appear black as night.
“What do you want?” I demand, ignoring the throbbing behind my own eyes.
“That’s not the question you should be asking,” he taunts. “I think what you really want to know is who am I?”
“Fine, yes, that.”
I’ll ask him anything if it means he keeps talking and stays focused on me.
“I’m Jose Santiago.”
“Great. Now what the fuck do you want?”
It’s not lost on me that knowing his name isn’t a benefit. If anything, it only means he’ll actually kill me and Mrs. West when he’s done whatever it is he came here to do.
“My boss sent me here to keep an eye on the old lady,” he explains, nodding toward Ghost’s mom. “You see, Mr. Cruz made it clear to me that I’m only to scare her, but he didn’t mention anything about you. So, now it’s my turn to ask a question. Who areyou?”
If I weren’t strapped to a bed, I’d find it mildly annoying that he doesn’t know the answer to that. “Do you need to know my name to do whatever it is you’re gonna do?”
“I think it would be better for you if I called you by your name instead of whore while I fuck you, don’t you?” Chills race down my spine. “You see, what the boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and he definitely didn’t know about you.” Jose tilts his head. “Or maybe he did, and he wants me to take initiative with you.”
“Touch me, and I’ll kill you,” I snarl, knowing full well that my binds will prevent me from doing a damn thing.
Mrs. West tries to scream, but the gag muffles the sound. Jose turns his back on me to focus on her. “Ma’am, I really need you to shut up,” he snaps.
When she doesn’t, he shoves the gun in his hand into his waistband, bends down, and unties her. Then he drags her out of the room. I take the time he’s gone to struggle against my restraints, but it’s useless. He didn’t use rope, which I’d have a chance of loosening. No, he used chains, which are secured with locks.
He returns minutes later, and smirks. “That’s better. Now we can enjoy each other in peace.”
This guy’s delusional. Seriously fucked in the head if he thinks I’m going to let any second of this be peaceful.
“You won’t get away with this.”
