Page 12 of The Ghost

We’d had nothing but airplane food for the past few days, and on top of all the exercise, my tank was running low.

“Let’s go find something to eat,” Theo suggested.

“Sounds great,” I approved. At least the meal would forestall the inevitable.

We walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind us. Out in the real world, everything seemed so sterile. I had an instant reaction to the narrow walls and the gray tones that made me wonder if eating was such a good idea. Why did we have to leave our little enclave of safety? Couldn’t they deliver a pizza or something so that we could hide our heads in the sand?

Theo seemed to understand. He took my hand in his, and we walked the length of the hallway to the elevator. It was no use pretending that we weren’t romantically involved. Everyone knew, and we were well beyond any kind of professional reprimand.

“Do you know where the mess hall is?” I asked.

“Nope,” he said. “That wasn’t on the tour.”

“Then we need to find someone to ask,” I decided.

“Ask Z,” Theo suggested, pointing to my hip.

I pulled out my phone and saw that I had enough bars for a text. Even though we were well below the surface of the planet, it looked like Dark Sparrow had the Wi-Fi signal taken care of. I put in a quick text to my former sister and received a response almost immediately.

Level 3, she responded.

“Level three,” I told Theo.

We took the elevator up one floor and wandered the hallways until we found what we were looking for. Stretching out the length of a tennis court, the mess hall featured a cafeteria-style buffet line with a smattering of picnic tables.

I grabbed a tray and headed to the back of the line. Theo joined me, and suddenly, the only thing I could think of was food. I spotted Z sitting at a table and waved. She got up, coming over to me with a worried look.

“Is everything all right?” I asked her. That was the problem with turning your back on the world: Occasionally things happened while you were facing the other direction.

“No,” Z said quickly. “Something is very wrong.”

Theo picked up on the panic in her voice and looked concerned. I traded a glance with him, wondering what had gotten our friend so worked up. I put a hand on her shoulder to let her know that I was there for her. I hoped that no one had died or that New Dawn hadn’t launched its final initiative. If I was busy having sex while the world was burning, I would never forgive myself.

“Ryan—” Z began.

But before she had a chance to fill me in on the rest, Ryan Abrams walked into the room. I was so shocked I dropped my tray. Theo turned, his head ping-ponging from me to Ryan and back, trying to digest the news.

Of all the developments possible, Ryan’s appearance was the last thing on my mind. They’d told me he was dead. Of course, I hadn’t seen the body, but I’d assumed that was because it was never recovered. It didn’t occur to me to question the veracity of the CIA’s statement until just then.

“Ryan,” I breathed, my voice barely a whisper.

Ryan walked right up to me, ignoring Theo and Z. He put his hands on my shoulders, and they were warm. I half expected a zombie corpse, and though my eyes were telling me that he was standing there, I had a hard time believing them. It was the warmth of his hands on my shoulders that shook me from my fog. This was no mirage, no walking dead man. Ryan was real, he was alive, and he had returned.

Chapter 7

Theo

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I KNEW ALL ABOUT RYAN Abrams. He was the one who’d broken Clark’s heart. Of course, he hadn’t done it by design. He was on assignment when he was killed, and the report of his death nearly destroyed the woman I loved.

She’d spent years trying to avenge his death. I knew from experience how much he meant to her. When we’d first met, she was determined to drive a syringe deep into my heart to get revenge for her perceived notion that I was somehow involved.

It had taken me a long time to melt her heart and convince her that I was a friend. And after that, the ghost of Ryan had floated between us until finally she was able to put him to rest. My first thought after I realized that he was back from the grave was jealousy.

Would Clark want me out of the picture now? How was she going to handle the reappearance of her former fiancé? The man had meant everything to her. Could I really expect her to choose me over him, especially since the emotional wounds ran so deep?

The second thought that ran through my mind was distrust. Clark and I were obviously together. Everyone knew that, up the chain of command to the very top. We stood in line together, ready to eat after a marathon sexual exchange and I couldn’t believe that wasn’t written all over our faces.