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Anger burned through me. I wanted him gone.
I brought Mischief to a stop. “I know you’re there.”
Ghost stepped out from the trees and moved to stand in my line of sight.
I squeezed Mischief’s sides with my knees, urging her to get moving. Our pace increased, and we headed right toward Ghost.
He didn’t move. He stared me down, waiting to be trampled. At the last second, I veered out of the way, thundering past him, close enough to ruffle his clothes and hair.
I took Mischief on a loop of the pasture, giving her a chance to cool down. When I’d circled back around, Ghost hadn’t moved.
I was going to have to deal with him, and that meant I was going to have to confront the fact that I might have judged him too fast.
When I felt confident Mischief had walked enough to be all right while I talked to Ghost, I slipped from her back, knowing she would come when I whistled for her.
Ghost looked up at me as I approached him, but he remained kneeling in the dirt. The sight made me ache inside. His eyes looked desolate.
What if it wasn’t real? What if he was manipulating me again?
I focused on the facts for the moment. “You’re trespassing.”
“I needed to talk to you.”
I shook my head. “You need to leave.”
“Rogue, I care about you. What that asshole said…”
“You’re going to tell me it’s not true, that he just invented the whole thing. Bullshit. You wanted my help, and you got it.”
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“You’re not in any position to be bargaining with me.”
“You didn’t kill me when you had the chance, so there’s a little bit of hope, right?”
I was pissed off, but I wasn’t actually going to murder him. “I didn’t want to risk hurting Mischief. That’s all.”
“Rogue.” He reached out, trying to take my hand. I meant to pull back, but his touch felt so warm, so right. I realized I’d been cold before he touched me. How was that even possible in the Texas heat?
“If you listen to me and still want me to leave, then I’ll go, but please let me tell you what really happened.”
I shouldn’t agree to listen. Ghost could probably convince me of almost anything. If I let him start talking, if I let him tell me the things I wanted to hear, the things that sounded so much better than him using me for his own gain, where would that leave me? If he was going to break me, I wanted it done now, not after he dragged this out longer.
“I can’t do this.”
“You don’t have to do anything. You just need to listen. I came here to deal with the situation Brandon created. When X briefed me, I learned what I could about you. You intrigued me from the start, and you’re obviously hot as hell, but I wasn’t prepared for what it would be like to meet you in person.
“Ghost. I don’t want to hear this.”
He took my other hand in his and squeezed. I made the mistake of looking up, and our eyes locked.
“When I saw you, I knew you were the man I wanted.”
I shook my head. “I’m sure you flirt with everybody just like you did with me.”
“No, I don’t. Ask your brother if you don’t believe me. I pretty much interact as little as possible with everyone. When I met you, I knew there was no way I was going to walk away and never see you again.”
He seemed so sincere, but I had to push back. “That was because I could help you. You could use me to get what you wanted.”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t have gone after Teddy if I hadn’t been here?”
“You didn’t know Teddy would contact me when you got here. I bet you were thrilled when you realized who I was talking to.”
“I didn’t know who you were talking to until you told me. I heard you mention the Russos, but that was all I understood. I didn’t ask you about the call so I could rope you in. All I wanted was to keep you safe.”
“So you didn’t care if you accomplished your mission?”
“I don’t give a damn what the FBI thinks of me or what I accomplish for them. Yes, there are aspects of the Russos’ business that need to be eliminated. That’s why X involved himself, and ultimately, that’s why I stayed in Texas, but once I met you, I would have done whatever was necessary to stay because… you made me feel things I never thought I could feel.”
My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him. Did I dare let myself believe any of this was true? “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that if you tell me to leave now, I’m going to miss you for the rest of my life.”
