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I feel the need to consume her and leave my mark on her so no one else will ever touch what is mine, so I deepen the kiss until the only oxygen that fills her lungs comes from mine.
“Come on, lovebirds, we are losing daylight, and I have things to do in the dark,” Hale calls, breaking us apart at a good time since I was debating fucking her right here to remind her to listen to me.
She turns and flips him off, winking back at me. “Your friend is hot but super annoying, you know that?”
“Not my fucking friend,” I snap and lean in to bite her lip until she gasps. “Call him hot or look at him again, and his brains will be on my sidewalk in ten seconds flat. Do not make me kill him since he’s your ride.”
The little giggle she lets out only makes my cock harder than it already is from just one kiss.
“Hey, what can I say? I prefer cold, scary, and emotionally scarred to a pretty face any day.” She turns away, whistling as she heads to the front seat of Hale’s stolen car. Blowing out a breath, I slam her door for her and lean in, placing my hand on the roof as I focus on Hale.
“I’ll follow you there in the van. Keep her safe,” I order, letting him see the warning in my eyes. If anything happens to her, I’m blaming him and coming for a pound of flesh in retribution.
“You’ve got it,” he replies, sounding serious for once, and then he grins at Zoey. “You like rock music?”
“Love it.” She turns up the nob, and I groan as they start to sing along together to some mainstream rock ballad bullshit.
Never put two crazies in a car. I should know better.
Not wanting to hear the off-key karaoke routine longer than I need to, I head over to my van, pulling my ball cap on and tugging it down to hide my face as I climb behind the wheel. This will be my home for the next couple of weeks since it’s where I’ll set up surveillance to watch over Zoey, not wanting to be too far from her in case she needs me.
I follow them through the city, having to honk a few times to remind Hale to slow down since he’s speeding with the only person in this world I give a fuck about. When we finally get there, I park around the corner, making sure the van is out of sight, and climb into the back before turning on the computer and watching all the monitors come to life.
Thirty cameras cover every inch of the house. There is not one fucking blind spot except for the buyers’ rooms, which I couldn’t get into without a key. If she goes in there, all bets are off anyway. Leaning back in the chair, I watch as Hale holds the door for her and grabs her ragtag bag we put together to make it real. Whistling, he walks her to the door that opens to hell.
It’s a place I wouldn’t even voluntarily walk back into, yet this girl is, so bravely, for me.
My heart is in my throat as I track her through corridors and watch Hale hand over her information, pretending to be her social worker, before casually walking back out once he’s done delivering my heart into the pits of hell. He gets back in his car and drives off, but my eyes are on her as she’s shown to a room with the other older girls. We aged her at seventeen to be safe. Zoey might look young, but anything younger would be a stretch and might raise some alarm bells. This way, they’ll think child services is just leaving her here until she ages out, with no real concern of finding Zoey adoptive or foster parents to take her in until she does. It’s the type of shit that happens often enough that no one will look into her backstory too much, and if they do, Hale has it covered.
When the back door jerks open, I point my gun reflexively before relaxing when Hale climbs in with a laugh. “Down, dog,” he teases. Flipping him off, I look back at the cameras, not even blinking as I watch her sprawl out on the tiny bunk bed and close her eyes. She’s not afraid, unlike me.
“You like her,” Hale teases. I ignore him, but he carries on. “You more than like her. I’ve never seen you give a shit about anyone but yourself. But you kissed her, you let her in your house, and now you’re watching her like you’re debating on dragging her out and blowing the mission—something you never do. Tell me, Ghost, does Al know you’re fucking his daughter?”
“Keep running that mouth, pretty boy, and I’ll kill you right now,” I snarl, still looking at the monitor as she sits up and greets the other kids there. Most of them are angry or withdrawn—I know that feeling. Even if they weren’t in that place, being a foster kid is hard enough.
With nobody to care if you eat or if you’re okay, planning for your future is lonely and makes you bitter.
“Hey, man, she’s going to be okay. Al trained her; you know that. She’s probably stronger than most hitters in this world.”
“Not strong enough for in there,” I mutter.
“What is it about this mission that has you rattled? Is it just her, or is it your past with the place?”
Slowly, I take my eyes off the monitors and meet his gaze, letting him see the cold death there. “I warned you once and I will warn you again, do not ever look into my past. That is my secret to bear, not yours.”
Hale holds his hands up, but his eyes are serious as he watches me. “I’m here for you, brother. That’s all I’m saying. Whatever that place is doing to you, work it out before that sweet little thing pays the price.” He climbs from the van and disappears just like he came.
Ignoring his words, I continue to watch Zoey.
I won’t sleep or eat, not while she is in there.
Not while she’s so far away from me, facing the place that even ghosts are afraid of.
CHAPTER13
Zoey
It’s surprisingly boring being undercover.
