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“Are you going to do something?”
“No.”
“What? Kain, you have to do some—”
“I’m not leaving you alone.” His expression screams that it’s the end of the conversation, but I’m far from deterred.
“You have to! You can’t just leave him there! God only knows what they’re doing to him right now!” I throw my hands up, wanting him to have some reaction—-any reaction—other than this stone-cold facade. “You’ll never forgive yourself if you sit back and don’t lift a finger to help.”
“You seem to have my priorities confused, Lillith. I have done many things I can’t forgive myself for. Enough to know the only thing I’d ever regret is if I let harm come to you.”
“That’s very sweet of you,” I murmur. Deciding to change my tack, I place my hand over his heart, lowering my voice to a soothing tone. “You forget that I know you now. I know that what you just said is a lie. You care about more than just me; you care about your best friend deeply. You can’t just leave him. You know that, Kain. You do, and you won’t let yourself.”
He stays silent for a long time, and I swear I can see the gears shifting in his head. He knows I’m right—the only question is will he listen?
“Okay,” he says at last, his face twisting like the word causes physical pain. “Okay, but I’m not leaving you alone.”
I almost feel like rolling my eyes. The only person he’d trust alone with me is Bear, and he’s currently… “Who are you going to leave me with?”
He looks off to the side, his fist tightening like he’s trying to fight the war going on in his head. Then he sighs, all the air in his lungs rushing out in a fantastic whoosh.
“No one knows his real name, but he goes by Ghost.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
KAIN
I pace back and forth outside the bedroom door, stopping every few turns to check that the lock is still in place. This is a bad, bad, bad fucking idea. I sigh, rubbing a hand over my mask. If I had any other options… if I wasn’t so damn paranoid, if I could trust anyone else…
A scraping noise makes its way to my ears, and I grab my gun as I whip toward the front door. The open front door. Slowly, oh so slowly, I lower the weapon as Ghost appears in the doorway, waggling his gloved fingers in a greeting. I can’t see his expression through the oval mask covering his face, but if I had to guess, he’s wearing an insipid smirk.
“Hello, Kain.” The voice he speaks with is mechanical, scrambled by whatever voice changer he has installed in that thing.
“Ghost.”
He tilts his head, seeming to regard the contents of the cabin. “Where’s the lovely Lillith? I’ve been so looking forward to meeting her.”
“How did you get in?” I demand, refusing to answer his question.
Ghost clicks his tongue, and that black oval faces me dead on. “What a silly question.” He takes a step closer, that circle hovering above his shoulders staying deadly still. “If you really didn’t want me to find her, you probably shouldn’t be pacing in front of a locked door.”
I grind my teeth, my fist flexing at my side as I stare him down. “I called you over to watch the cabin, not interrogate her.”
A sigh ensues, so deep I’m sure he’s rolling his eyes. “You’ve gotten so dull, my friend. Whatever happened to that feisty lad dying in your father’s bunker?”
“We’re not fucking friends,” I growl.
“Oh, yes. You keep saying that.”
Silence. Wholly uncomfortable silence.
“Do you have cable?” he asks, turning from me and stepping toward the couch.
“Cable?”
“Yes. You know, news and 90s reruns and all those funny little men chasing the balls.”
I scoff. “You want to watch sports?”
