Page 58 of Ghost
“What would’ve happened if you hadn’t done what they’d asked?”
Slowly, she lifted her head.Tears glistened in her eyes and confusion puckered her brow.“Irinia would’ve killed my family.And then me.”
He swept his thumb over a stray tear.“That’s why you did what you did, Mila.And you’re not insane.You’re strong because of it.And maybe,” he said, dropping his voice low, “maybe those kills saved innocent lives.”
She rolled her lips together.“I’d like to believe that.Is that what you tell yourself?”
“No.I killed to get paid.The reason those men were on the wrong end of that deal wasn’t my problem.”
“So nothing keeps you up at night, huh?”
A gray haze threatened to consume him.He forced himself to shake his head.“Not anymore.”A lie.
His phone beeped and Mila straightened on his lap.He snagged his device from the table and read Rami’s text.
Call when you can.I’ve got a location on Hunter.
That hadn’t taken long.
Mila stood from his lap.“I’ll clean up.”
He reached for his plate, but she got it first.“Please.I need to keep my hands busy.”
Awareness rang through him.He knew that feeling well.It was one of the reasons that he kept a gym here.He couldn’t stand idle time.
Time alone with his demons.
“All right.I’ll give Rami a call.”He hit his boss’s contact icon and stalked to the living room.
Rami answered on the first ring.“That was fast.”
“I could say the same to you.What’d you find on Hunter?”
“First, I’ll confirm he’s alive and well.”
Ghost muttered a curse.Part of him had wondered whether—maybe hoped—Neo had been lying.It seemed unlikely Hunter had survived a shot to the head, but stranger shit had happened.“How the hell did he remain hidden for three years?”
“From what I gather, he’s got an underground bunker.According to my source, he spent six months rehabilitating after you shot him, then went to Germany for further treatment.”
“No shit.Who’s your source?”
Rami grunted.“Brick had connections and managed to reach Hunter’s estranged brother, Asher.His story checks out, though.I haven’t found any lies yet.He also claims Hunter returned to the US last year.”
Ghost pinched his brow.He’d wondered if Asher was involved in hiring Mila, hadn’t known they’d been estranged but that made sense if Neo hadn’t heard of him.“I can’t believe this went unnoticed.”
Who was he kidding?Of course it went unnoticed.Hunter wasn’t on his radar.Sure, he had been for a little while after everything went down.Ghost had expected someone to come for him.That was the way of his life, always anticipating a hit.
But three years had made him complacent.He’d lived under an alias, didn’t make friends outside Backcountry, was careful who he slept with.He lived like his nickname—like a fucking ghost.It’d probably taken Hunter a whole damn year to find him.Meanwhile, Ghost’s stupid ass was getting comfortable in Seattle.He might as well have been walking around with a bull’s-eye on his back.
“Where is he now?”
Rami chortled.“Seattle.Looks like our friend isn’t done with you.”
***
Mila swiped thelast of the crumbs into the sink.After Ghost had finished on the phone, he’d tried to help her clean once again, but she’d shooed him out.He’d gone upstairs to change into sweats and now all she could hear were grunts and weights dropping to the floor in the sunroom.
She had too much on her mind and if she stopped moving, her brain might explode—or she’d dissolve into tears.
