Page 1 of The Ghost

Chapter 1

Clark

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THE HELICOPTER STOOD beside the burning building, its blades making the fire fold in on itself. I couldn’t believe it: Mr. Ashcroft was alive. My foster father and the leader of the New Dawn terrorist group, I thought he’d died years ago. Yet there he was, large as life, smiling at me as if no time had passed.

“Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand. “We have so much catching up to do.”

Theo put himself between me and the apparition, spreading his arms wide. I felt the world spin underneath me as I grappled with this new reality. So many things I had taken for granted had just been upended. I couldn’t think fast enough to digest the turn of events as it unfolded, leaving me vulnerable to attack.

But Theo was thinking clearer. My partner for a few short weeks, he’d proven himself worthy of my trust. Though my legs wanted to obey my foster father’s command, my heart kept me rooted to the spot. If Theo thought there was danger, then I accepted his assessment of the situation. I gazed at the man who brought me up with a growing horror. This wasn’t someone who had my best interests at heart. He was the leader of an organization dedicated to taking down established governments across the world.

They wanted to create a New Dawn of humanity, with Mr. Ashcroft at the helm. That kind of naked power grab was something only a fanatic would attempt. It was a hard pill to swallow, but I knew that Mr. Ashcroft was the bad guy now.

“Run,” Theo said.

I didn’t hear him at first. I was locked into a debilitating confusion that wouldn’t allow information to translate into action. Mr. Ashcroft smiled a wicked smile, and two black-clad gunmen leapt out of the helicopter to take their place at his side.

Theo didn’t have a weapon. None of us did. We had barely escaped the burning mansion, leaping from second-story windows in our pajamas. I should have grabbed the gun that Jasmine had used to threaten me. It had been lost in the scuffle that left her dead on the living room floor. Her body was still inside, along with the pistol that could have provided us with some amount of leverage.

I wasn’t interested in leaving Theo to fight Mr. Ashcroft and his guards alone, but neither did I want to stare down the firing squad. My foster brother, Lukas, took his place beside Theo. Both men were injured but determined to protect me.

If it wasn’t for my foster sister, Z, I might have stayed. I had gotten myself out of worse, and I didn’t need my boyfriend to act as a human shield. But if I didn’t get Z to safety, she would likely perish. I didn’t need that on my conscience, not so soon after putting Jasmine in an early grave.

“Come on,” I whispered to Z, grabbing her by the hand.

“Mr. Ashcroft,” Z muttered, as stunned as I was by his sudden appearance.

“Z!” I shouted, tugging her away.

“This is foolish,” Mr. Ashcroft said to Lukas.

“He won’t shoot me,” Lukas said, betting on the years Mr. Ashcroft had spent training all three of us. I never would have expected in a million years that he would become a threat. Yet there he was, ready to kill us all for no better reason than world domination.

“Clark!” Mr. Ashcroft shouted as I backed away.

I didn’t want to hate him. He’d meant so much to me growing up. He’d rescued me from the foster care system and taught me a trade. Just because that trade turned out to be killing people didn’t mean Mr. Ashcroft was a bad man. I thought it was because he wanted to serve a greater good. That’s why I eventually joined the CIA so that I could apply myself to making the world a safer place. But that’s not what Mr. Ashcroft had in mind.

“How is it possible?” Z stammered.

“I don’t know,” I responded, turning around to run for the trees.

The front lawn of the property stretched off nearly fifty yards into the distance where it met with a private wood. If we could just make it to the tree line, maybe we would be safe. Z stumbled at first, but her self-protective instincts kicked in finally, allowing her to run.

“Go after her!” Mr. Ashcroft shouted.

I heard gunfire and pressed my eyes closed. I didn’t have time to turn around. I would just have to trust that Theo and Lukas knew what they were doing. They were, after all, as competent as I was. Theo was an agent from the British MI6, while Lukas was the head of Dark Sparrow, an international organization dedicated to saving the planet.

If anyone could contain Mr. Ashcroft and his goons, it was Theo and Lukas. I concentrated on getting Z to safety. Then I could turn around and go back to rescue my lover. Just hold on, I prayed, promising that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him on my watch.

We reached the trees and dashed inside, skirting behind the first massive trunk we could find. Just as I ducked for cover, I heard a bullet whiz by and dig itself into the tree beside me. So much for bringing me in alive. Either the gunmen misunderstood their objective, or Mr. Ashcroft didn’t care. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

Sneaking around the tree, I came out in back of the first soldier. Launching myself onto his shoulders, I snaked one arm around his neck, cutting off his oxygen flow. He couldn’t shoot me from that angle, and so he dropped his gun to dig his fingers beneath my forearm. I used my body weight to pull him down to the ground, worried about a second or a third assailant. I didn’t want to get shot in the back while taking one man out.

It turned out I was right to worry. As I struggled to subdue the one foe, a second one stepped up to the scuffle, rifle drawn. I half expected him to open fire, killing his companion in an attempt to stop me.

I tightened my vise grip, feeling the fight drain slowly out of the gunman. To my surprise, the second threat lowered his weapon and kicked me in the side instead, his foot barely reaching my rib cage. I felt the sting, but it was blocked considerably by the thrashing of the man on top of me.