by Cynthia Eden
“Where’s the bodyguard?”
Kat blinked innocently before widening her eyes. “What bodyguard?”
His lips thinned. “Cute.” He motioned with the gun. “Move it, Kat.”
She climbed from the car and made sure the screwdriver stayed behind her right leg. Her gaze locked on the man. He was tall, not as big in height or in the shoulders as Rick was, but still fit. Still outweighing her by at least fifty pounds. Though she knew that when it came to taking down an opponent, size didn’t matter.
The bigger they are, the harder I’ll make them fall.
His eyes were shielded by a pair of aviator sunglasses. His jaw was hard, clean shaven, his forehead high and his dark hair shoved back in a haphazard style. He was a handsome man. A handsome hit man. And something about him nagged at her.
“You come with me right now, and I won’t hurt the bodyguard.” His voice was low, barely a whisper, and the odd sense of familiarity hit her again.
For the moment, she ignored that flare of familiarity. She had to focus on staying alive. On keeping Rick alive. If the fellow was offering not to hurt Rick…
“Sure, I’ll come with you.” Kat gave him a smile. “I’ve been trying to get away from that other guy for days, anyway.” Such a lie, but whatever. The jerk was probably the type who’d believe her lies and tricks. She just wanted to get him away from Rick. Then she was going to shove her screwdriver into his side at the first opportunity.
Jesus. I am my father’s daughter.
She choked down the knowledge and kept the stupid smile on her face.
The hit man cocked his head. “You’ve been trying to get away from him?”
He was awfully chatty.
“Didn’t look that way back at the farmhouse,” he added, eyes squinting with suspicion.
Her heart stopped. In that instant, things went from being bad—okay, very bad—to complete nightmare land. Farmhouse. He’d been the one firing at Rick back at the farmhouse. She licked her lower lip and managed to ask, “Are you Ghost?”
He smiled. Dimples winked at her. “You’ve heard of me.”
Oh, God. Oh, God. Her whole body shut down as she stared at those dimples. Dimples that she knew, and, hell, yes, she was staring straight at a ghost. Her body swayed.
He inclined his head toward her. “Hold the thought, would you? I need to take care of something.” Then he whirled.
Kat saw that Rick had been creeping up behind him. Rick had his gun aimed and ready to fire.
Rick was going to shoot.
Ghost was going to shoot.
Hell, they’d both probably die right in front of her. This was never going to end. More blood. More violence.
But…
Not Rick! Not him! An inhuman scream tore from Kat as she yanked up her screwdriver.
Ghost glanced back at her. She didn’t hesitate. She drove that screwdriver at him as hard as she could. In that split second, she could see her own reflection in his sun glasses. Kat figured Ghost had two choices.
He could shoot her. The gun was in his hand. He could fire and stop her. This close, a bullet would probably kill her, though, and Kat knew she was worth a whole lot alive.
Or, if Ghost didn’t shoot her, he could try to wrest the screwdriver from her. He’d have to drop his gun to do it.
Those thoughts pummeled through her in that instant. That one instant that seemed to last forever.
Then the gun fell from Ghost’s fingers. He grabbed for her. His fingers closed around her wrist and he twisted her hand. Kat didn’t cry out at the flash of pain. Not then. She kicked him as hard as she could and then locked her leg behind his. They both went down, crashing hard, but he rolled quickly, trapping her beneath his body and whipping the screwdriver from her right hand before he shoved the sharp tip—it was an X-head—into her side.
Everything happened so fast. So incredibly fast.
As the screwdriver pushed against her, Kat sucked in a breath and smiled.
“Are you crazy?” Ghost snarled at her.
Rick’s gun pressed to his temple. “I’d be real, real careful in the next few moments. My finger is twitchy, and it gets even more so whenever people insult Kat.”
Ghost’s sunglasses were still in place. Her smiling reflection stared back at her. Ghost definitely wasn’t smiling. His lips had pressed into a thin line. His nostrils flared before he told Rick, “I’ve got a screwdriver shoved to her ribs. Push me, and I’ll have to hurt her.”
“If you don’t drop the screwdriver right now, I’ll blow your brains out. Push me,” Rick fired right back, voice low and lethal, “and see if I’m fucking bluffing.”
“He’s not bluffing,” Kat assured the man above her. “I don’t think he ever bluffs.”
Ghost’s jaw clenched. “You knew he was circling back around the whole time, didn’t you? Putting you in the car—that made you bait. You’re okay with your lover doing that shit to you?”
A growl escaped Rick. “Maybe I should just blow your brains out for shits and giggles.”
Before Rick could fire, Ghost dropped the screwdriver. Laughed. “Hardly your gig, hero. You don’t shoot. You don’t kill.”
“I do when there’s a reason. Now stand your ass up. I don’t want you touching her.”
Slowly, Ghost rose. He smirked, and, oh, God, she knew he was going to say—
“Hate to break it to you, hero, but I’ve done a whole lot more than just touch her.”
Before Rick could react, Kat did. Still on the ground, she shoved her sneakered foot up and slammed it right into Ghost’s balls. He groaned, all of the color drained from his face, and his knees buckled as he slumped against the old car.
Savage satisfaction filled her. Kat scrambled up. “That’s for shooting at Rick back at the farmhouse.” She got ready to attack again. “And this is for vanishing—”
Rick grabbed her. He locked one arm around her midriff and hauled her back against him. He kept that arm around her waist while his other hand aimed his gun. “Kat…God, you are sexy as fuck. Remind me not to piss you off in the future.”
Ghost was still groaning.
Kat snaked away from Rick and grabbed Ghost’s discarded gun. She joined Rick again, both of them pointing their weapons at the man who was finally straightening up.
“I expected so much more,” Rick drawled, “from the guy who was supposed to be this great hit man. I mean, getting the drop on you wasn’t that hard.”
Ghost smirked. “I could say the same thing about you.”
“But I’m the one with the gun.”
“So am I,” Kat added as she glared at the man who should not be there. Not, a million times not. Ghost’s sunglasses were on the ground, and now she could see his golden eyes—his eyes haven’t changed. No, they had. They were hard and cold when, long ago, they’d always been warm.
“I want answers.” Rick’s voice was flat. “You give them to me, or I shoot. Clear enough?”
Ghost didn’t lose his smirk.
“First, who the fuck are you? And I don’t want to hear some BS answer with a code name like Ghost. I want to know who I’m staring at.”
Ghost inclined his head toward Kat. “She knows. Ask her.”
“I’m asking you.”
Silence. Well, a few birds had started to chirp again. That was something. Kat couldn’t look away from the man before her.
“You implied that you knew Kat well,” Rick’s voice was even rougher.
“It wasn’t an implication,” Ghost replied, all smug. “I do know her well. Intimately so. Long time, no see, huh, Kat?”
“You are such a bastard.” To think, she’d once tried to—
“My friends call me James,” Ghost announced. “Though, back in the day, a number of select people called me Jimmy.”
She heard Rick suck in a sharp breath. Her head turned to stare at him. Oh, yes, he was pissed. Raging.
Without looking at Kat, Rick snapped, “He’s the jackass you saved when you wer
e seventeen?”
She had spared a glance back toward Ghost—crap, Jimmy!—when Rick asked the question, so she saw the flash of surprise on the other man’s face.
“You told him about me?” Jimmy—James—Ghost—whoever the hell he was—asked.
Kat nodded. Her hand tightened on the gun she held. It felt oddly heavy in her hand.
“But he’s nobody,” he groused. “Just a hired guard to you. Someone you fucked to pass the time. Why would you—”
Rick sighed. “Yeah, my turn.” He lunged forward and rammed his fist into Jimmy’s face. Jimmy’s head snapped back and he cried out—
“Fuck!”
Right before he tried to take a swing at Rick.
The swung froze when he realized Rick had his gun pointed right at Jimmy’s face.
“No, you don’t get to hit back,” Rick told him flatly. “You’re not the one with the gun.”
Blood dripped from Jimmy’s lip. “You don’t know Kat.”
Her stomach was twisting and churning.
“If you knew her, you’d realize…her number one turn-off? Physical violence. She hates that shit because she saw her bastard of a father order it her whole life.” Jimmy laughed and spit some blood on the ground. “So you think you’re being all badass and protective of her? Throwing punches at me and at the jerk back at the motel? You’re not. You’re just driving her away from you. Making her see that the so-called hero is just as much of a monster as her old man.”
Kat took a step back. “H-how did you know Rick had hit the guy at the motel?”
Jimmy’s lips pressed together.
“How did you know?” Oh, God. He was Ghost. Ghost was a killer. A hit man. “You killed him?” The Jimmy she’d known—what felt like a lifetime ago—had been a fun-loving boy. He’d smiled often. He’d had big dreams. He’d—
Become a killer.
“I didn’t kill him, Kat. He wasn’t a target for me. Kat. Dammit, look at me.”
She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t know him. She never had. “Can we tie him up?” Kat said to Rick. “Then get the hell out of here? You can call your partner and he can bring the cops to pick him up. I’m sure there are lots of cases that can be tied to him.” She edged closer to Rick. “Let’s go.”
Rick backed up a few steps with her, but then he stopped. His body went rock hard and she knew he wasn’t budging again.
“Kat!” Her name seemed torn from Jimmy. “I didn’t kill the jerk at the motel. I was there, yes, but that’s because I’ve been after you.” His eyes widened when Rick’s body rocked forward. “Shit, don’t swing at me again, hoss. I’m just—I was at the motel. I was watching Kat, okay? Just watching!”
She was afraid she’d be sick. All she wanted to do was run.
Wasn’t that always what she wanted to do? Run, run, and never look back.
Because behind her, everything was a dumpster fire straight from hell.
“Listen to me!” Ghost nearly shouted. “I saw you two rush out of that motel room, and when you left, I poked my head in. The guy was unconscious, but his face was already swelling from your punch. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what had gone down in there. I didn’t have time to wait for him to wake up. I figured company was already on the way. I got out of there and got back to hunting Kat.” He winced after he said that last part. “Sorry, but it’s my job.”
“Killing Kat is your job?” Rick’s voice had turned absolutely savage. For a moment, she thought he was going to pull the trigger. She could see the intent on his face. So much rage.
The same kind of rage she’d often seen on her father’s face.
“Don’t,” Kat whispered.
Rick didn’t lower his gun. His finger was too ready to fire.
So she squared her shoulders, and she moved between Rick’s gun and Jimmy. Not like it was the first time she’d stood between him and a bullet. Only this time, she wasn’t doing it to save Jimmy.
She was doing it to save Rick. He didn’t need to go down this path. Sure as hell not for her. He was the hero. He was the good guy. She wouldn’t bring him into her nightmare.
“Kat.” Rick’s eyes blazed at her. “What in the hell are you doing? Get away from him.”
“Don’t shoot him. Just—let’s go. Let’s leave. Please, Rick. I don’t want more blood on me. I’m drowning in it as it is.”
Rick gave a rough nod. “Okay, princess. I won’t kill the sonofabitch…right now.”
Right now?
He offered his left hand to her. “Come back to my side.”
She took a step toward him.
“Kat…” Jimmy breathed her name.
She looked back at him.
His expression showed his confusion. “Why in the hell would you still be trying to save me?”
“That’s my problem. I’m trying to save everyone. And maybe what’s left of my own soul.” She shook her head. “You’re alive. I thought…” Her words trailed away. It took her a moment, but she managed, “God, you became one of them? That’s what you did with your life?”
“Kat—”
Rick pulled her to his side. His stare stayed on Ghost. “I told Kat I wouldn’t kill you right now. I won’t. But I’ll have your ass locked in jail before you know it.”
Jimmy laughed. “A cell won’t hold me. Trying to put me in one will be a major mistake on your part.” He swiped his hand over his face, brushing away the blood that kept blooming on his lip. “You need me free, buddy.”
“I’m not your buddy.”
“No, you’re not. You’re an asshole who has something that’s very important to me.”
Ghost didn’t mean her. He was trying to kill her or take her to some high mob bidder. She wasn’t important. He’d been out of her life for so many years. And during those years, the sweet Jimmy she’d known had become…this?
“You’re a hit man,” she accused him.
“Guilty.” The smirk was back.
“You’re called Ghost. And you—you worked for my father.”
The smirk faded. “I’ve worked for plenty of people. You’d be surprised at who all has blood on their hands.”
She still held Ghost’s gun in her right hand. How many people had he killed with that gun? “Rick, we need to move. He could be keeping us out here deliberately, making us wait while his boss has a chance to show up. Just like Joey tried to do at the motel.” Her knees were shaking. “Let’s go.” She wanted to get away from the very real ghost from her past.
Rick’s lips brushed over her temple. “It’s okay, baby.”
No, nothing was okay. “We need to get him secured. Do you still have those cuffs?” She hoped they weren’t back in the motel room. She honestly had no clue where they might be. He’d just kept producing them like a manic magician before, and she was sure hoping he could make them appear again.
“I don’t have the cuffs, but we can just knock his ass out,” Rick said, sounding way too pleased with that prospect. “I’ll lock him in the trunk.”
Jimmy shook his head. “That shit is not necessary.”
“Oh, but I think it is,” Rick assured him.
Jimmy’s chin jutted into the air. “You’re jealous and pissed because you realized I had her before you—”
“I’m pissed because you’re a piece of shit who wants to hurt Kat. There is no jealousy. You never deserved her. You won’t ever have her again. Simple.” Rick turned to Kat. “You don’t have to watch me knock him out.”
Jimmy laughed. “You’re not saying that to protect her! You’re saying it because you know I told you the truth a few minutes ago. The more violent you are, the less Kat will want you. So you don’t want her to watch.” His gaze blazed at Kat as he continued, “I figured it out long ago, and now he understands, too. You turn from men who are violent. You hate them because they remind you too much of your dear old dad. So the more you see your hero in all his unheroic glory, the more you’ll turn from him, too.”
“Stop talking,”
Kat snapped at him.
“Why?” Jimmy tossed right back. “I thought you both wanted to hear about me. I thought you wanted to know who I was working for.” More laughter. “Here’s the big joke—no damn way will my boss ever show up. Because the dead don’t just crawl out of their graves and make an appearance.” He made that announcement and then lunged forward. His hand whipped up—whipped up holding a knife.
Oh, God, where had Jimmy gotten the knife from?
He was rushing straight at Rick. He was either going to stab Rick or Rick would be forced to kill Ghost. No. I won’t let this happen! Without hesitation, her hand flew up. She fired and the bullet blasted into Jimmy’s shoulder.
The knife fell as his body jerked back.
Her body jerked, too. Her whole arm seemed to shake and throb.
Blood covered Jimmy’s shoulder. “What the fuck?” He gaped at her.
“Graze,” she managed. “I grazed you because that’s what I was trying to do.” She licked bone-dry lips. “The next shot will be to your heart, and you know I mean what I say. So understand me…You won’t hurt, Rick. You won’t.”
He stared at her, looking oddly…pleased for someone who’d just gotten shot. Grazed.
“How did you find me?” Kat demanded.
“I’m a good tracker. The best there is. Getting to the motel was easy…” He threw a glare at Rick. “Just thought like old hero over there. Once I got in his head, it was easy.”
“You’re not in my head.”
“Oh, I bet I am. You’re thinking about me and Kat and all the things we’ve done together. Bet all of that is playing through your head over and over again.”
“I will rip you apart.” Rick’s voice…it was terrifying.
“I’m in your head, and you’re off your game. But then, you got off your game the minute you fucked her.”
Rick…smiled. Oh, damn. Since when was a smile so scary?
“I was back there, trailing you the whole way while you were driving this fucking sedan. You didn’t spot me because you are too caught up in her.”
Rick’s smile stretched a little more. The smile didn’t touch his eyes. He stepped forward and Ghost’s sunglasses crunched beneath his feet. “Go open the trunk, Kat.”