Page 245 of Black Reign

“That should bother you.”

“Most things about you bother me.”

I laugh softly.

“There he is.”

“Who?”

“Ghost.”

His gaze holds mine.

“He never left.”

My throat tightens.

That is the problem.

I spent days telling myself Xavier and Ghost were different men.

Ghost was safe.

Xavier was Blackwell.

Ghost was the man who stayed online while I cried for Papa.

Xavier belonged to the company whose name appears throughout every mystery surrounding his death.

Ghost made me laugh.

Xavier hunted me.

Separate them and everything remains manageable.

Except they aren't separate.

The man who made my tea is the same man whose systems I penetrated.

The hand that brushed my hair from my face belongs to Blackwell.

The eyes watching me now belong to Ghost.

Same man.

I hate how badly I want that to be true.

“What happens tomorrow?” I ask.

“We start figuring out what happened to your father.”

“And tonight?”

His expression softens.

“Tonight you eat.”

I smile faintly.