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Hell, he’s probably weirded out with yet another person coming here. Before Carmen, no one ever did. It was just him and me. I’m sure all the changes have him as much on edge as me, and I can’t blame him.
“So tell me what’s going on,” Hatcher starts, leaning so his elbows rest on his knees.
I debate on if I should tell him, but I’ve already dragged him all the way here. I would like to say he’s my friend—the only friend I have, really—but there is no telling what Ghost has been sending through the wires to encourage the very people I trained and work with to kill me.
“I met a girl,” I start.
“Fucking hell.” He rubs his hand down his face. “Is that why you killed the client? For some pussy?” he shrieks.
I step toward him quickly and wrap my hand around his throat. “She isn’t just pussy.”
He raises a brow, then grabs my hand with his own, applying pressure to the sensitive spot between my index finger and thumb. “I’m here to help, Cyrus. I’m not the fucking enemy, so don’t treat me like one.”
I drop my hold on him, resulting in him doing the same. “Sorry. My mind is just all over the place. I don’t know who I can trust or even what to do.”
He nods as I plop onto the love seat across from him. “I get it, but you need to start with telling me what happened so we can figure shit out.”
“I have a little brother,” I start. “I made sure when my dad sent me away that I kept his existence under wraps. It was easy to do since my dad essentially wiped my presence from the family. Not even Ghost knew about him because there was nothing to find. That client I killed, he wanted to put a hit on Carter—my brother.”
“A brother? I’ve known you for close to a decade and you didn’t even tell me?”
“I couldn’t. I didn’t want anyone to assume I left him on purpose and was living it up at the academy while my dad no doubt beat him. And then when Ghost came around, it was only smart to continue with my silence.”
He nods because he knows I’m right. “How does the girl play into this though?”
I suck in a deep breath. “You know better than anyone it’s easier to just have random hookups for our needs. So, that’s what I was doing. I met her online and planned to just get my fill and send her on her way, but when she left and I started watching her, I realized she knew my brother.
“It made me feel close to him, even if he nor she knew it, so I continued my hookup with her. Only, I wasn’t the only one she was seeing. The man I killed, Bernard, he was trying to gather more shit on my brother so I would have everything I needed. The town I grew up in isn’t very big, so it was easy for him to figure out the girl had ties to my brother.
“When I killed him, she was due to meet him. She’s the one who found the body, so I took her knowing she’d be a liability, only she isn’t. She has secrets of her own, secrets she holds for others, and now she cares for me, but Ghost took her.”
“Why didn’t you cover your tracks? Did all that training teach you nothing?” he shouts, staring at me like a scolding father.
“That’s the thing… Once I saw her with Bernard, I had made up my mind about not seeing her anymore. I thought it would be simple, but she found the body. And even before that, I did cover my tracks. Never texted her, only a few messages within the dating app. Hell, I only ever called her once.”
“Then how did he find her? How did he put you two together?”
“I never wiped the cameras at the hotel,” I admit, shooting my eyes from his.
“You’re kidding.”
I look back at him. “If I were, I wouldn’t be in this position. I just need to find her. I’m even willing to give myself in exchange for her, but I have nothing on Ghost. I was hoping maybe you would.”
He shakes his head. “He’s back underground. The number I had was a burner, and it’s dead, but I’m willing to wait around and see if something new comes up.”
I nod, losing the small sliver of hope I had. Ghost only shows himself once every five years or so, and it’s only to recruit new, fresh, and young men and women. He lives underground, only sending orders and tasks through encrypted emails or vaguely coded text messages. He’s a literal ghost. No one knows where he resides or if he’s even in the same country.
“But you know if I do this—if I make Ghost an offer if I hear from him—I’m backlisting myself too. You know we’re not supposed to help someone who has gone rogue.”
“I know, and if you want to back out, here’s your chance. I won’t hate you.”
He shakes his head with a chuckle. “My ass isn’t going anywhere. All I ask is if you happen to bring the son of a bitch down, you’ll make sure it’s for good.”
I tip my head. “How? I’m seriously going to swap spots with Carmen if I can. This isn’t a mission of dominance, Hatch.”
He smiles. “You say that, but all we have is time to prepare, and we know his dealings better than anyone. Why not use that now that we have the chance?”
I’d like nothing more than to bring Ghost down, but many have tried and never succeeded. I know this, and so does Hatcher. Ghost is unstoppable. “Why would you risk your life for me—for my woman?”
