Page 28 of My Ghost

But more than anything, I need time and space to figure this out.And right now, all I can do is wait…and pray I didn’t just paint a target on my back.

For almost an hour I try to distract myself, cleaning the spotless place, organizing non-existent clutter, even scrolling through recipes I’ll never cook, but my mind keeps circling the same point like a vulture.That message.That name.

Geryon.

It wasn’t any random name.And the message was a request for a meeting.And now that I had tripped that wire, there’s a chance they’ll know that someone is after them.

They’ll know someone got close.

And there’s the other message.I can still see it flashing across the screen in my mind, feel the chill that shot up my spine.I’m coming for you, Ghost.

Or maybe the trap was not related to the Manticore message?My mind spirals.

I chew the inside of my cheek, curled on the corner of the couch with a blanket thrown over my knees, laptop-less and more exposed than I’ve ever felt in years.

My gaze drifts toward the door.

This place, this building…it used to feel safe.Neutral ground.But now?Now it feels like a cage.Beyond the glass walls, I have no idea who’s watching from amidst the dusk outside.Suddenly, I feel exposed and vulnerable, and a chill creeps down my spine.

Could Matteo really be involved with Manticore?

My stomach turns.I want to believe he’s not.That this is all some horrible misunderstanding.But the trail leading from the message board to his system doesn’t lie.That signal, whatever it was, ran straight into his endpoint.His turf.

Which means either he’s protecting them…or worse, heisthem.

That last possibility nags at something buried deep.A thread of doubt I can’t quite pull.

I tuck my knees up to my chest and rest my forehead against them, forcing myself to breathe slowly.

In.Out.Measured.Controlled.Don’t spiral.I need a list, any list.

First, don’t panic.

Second, do not make contact with Damiano or any of them.Not yet.Not until I know more.

Third, rebuild, cautiously.I need new devices, new burners.Then I watch, listen and collect.And I never leave a trail again.Because whatever Matteo is doing…I have a feeling he’s already moving.

I’m barely settling in, my breathing slowing, when I hear the loud pounding at the door.

My heart freezes.

No way, not already.

I look around in panic, assessing if there is a way out, a place I could hide.But I know it is futile, there is nowhere I can go and no place he won’t find me.So I square my shoulders and walk slowly to the door, resigned to face whatever is coming.

As soon as I have unlocked the door, it pushes inward, and there he stands in all his dark glory.

Matteo.

His eyes are burning with fury and suppressed violence.

My breath hitches in my throat.

He stalks in, uninvited, and crowds me so much that I have to step back, giving him access.He kicks the door shut with a loud thud without breaking eye contact, and his voice comes out in a low, menacing snarl.

“Hello, little ghost.”

Chapter Seventeen