Ghost of a Chance

by Cynthia Eden

  “Everything changed,” Tess prompted.

  “Right.” His hand returned to his side. Fisted. “Standard operating procedure for me before I get involved with any lover is to do a background check. You’re at your most vulnerable when you’re fucking.”

  Her throat was bone dry. “That’s nice to know.”

  His eyes narrowed. “See. It’s that kind of shit that screwed with me.”

  “I have zero clue what you’re talking about.”

  “You. I can’t predict you. Not what you’ll say or what you’ll do. You surprise me, and it makes me smile, even when I’m mad as hell like I am right now. Everything you do—even when you are driving me crazy—just seems damn adorable. No, more than that. Sexy. Feisty. Fierce. Hell, I don’t think I can ever describe it all.” James shook his head. “That’s the shit that sealed my fate. That’s the shit that made me obsessed with you.” He reached for her hand. Lifted it up. “And that wrapped me around your little finger.”

  “You don’t look wrapped around it to me.” Her voice was so low.

  “Baby, I am ready to kill for you. Fight for you. Die for you. Trust me, I’m yours.”

  Her heart was racing out of control. The thunder of the beat seemed to shake her whole body.

  He squeezed her fingers, then let her go. “But I get it.”

  Her fingers felt warm now.

  “You’re scared of me. Of what I’ve done. What I’m capable of doing. And you’re right to be. Because if you’re threatened, I stop pretending I’m nice. I let the darkness out.”

  She could see the hardness in his eyes.

  “You don’t want the real me.” Now he was halting. Wooden. “You wanted the excitement. The rush. But when you see the monster in front of you, you don’t want that guy.”

  She shook her head.

  “So I’m going.”

  Had he just said going?

  “I’ll make sure you get protection. Wilde agents will stay with you until I track down the bastard who is doing this. Because—hell, I can’t be sure this is even about you. Maybe someone from my past is trying to hurt me by coming after you, and I can’t let that happen. I won’t.” He squared his shoulders. Turned once more. Opened the door.

  The three agents on the threshold made no move to enter Tess’s place.

  After a tense moment, Linc cleared his throat. “Is this a trick? If I step forward, are you going to slam the door on me?”

  “Get your ass inside,” James ordered as he stepped back.

  They got their asses inside. The door was locked. The place secured once more. No one sat. Everyone just stood, all uncomfortable-like.

  Linc glanced at Blair. She raised her brows. Once more, he cleared his throat. “Place looks great. Can’t even tell that it was ravaged to hell and back twenty-four hours ago.”

  “Linc.” Blair winced. “We have talked about tact. Over and over again.”

  “Why be tactful? She knows her place was trashed.” He pointed at James. “Ghost worked a serious miracle getting it fixed for her. I’m impressed.”

  “Ghost? Is that like your code name or something?”

  His lips pressed together, but he nodded.

  She turned to a silent Cole. “Why is that his code name?”

  “Because he could get in and out of any location without alerting anyone. Without leaving a trace of evidence behind. Because he could get right next to his victims…” Cole moved to stand beside Tess. “And they would never know. By the time they realized what was happening…” His words trailed away.

  James lifted his chin. “They were the ghosts by that time.”

  Silence.

  Linc tossed his body onto the couch. “Nice. Soft.” He settled in comfortably. “I need a badass code name. Something that tells people who I am. What I can do. Something like—”

  “Asshole?” Blair offered with an innocent smile. “Wanna-be?”

  “Stud.” He pointed toward her. “Superman.”

  Blair rolled her eyes.

  Why were these people in her home? “No.”

  Everyone stared at her. Actually, she thought that James had been staring at her the entire time.

  Cole coughed. “Want to go over your new security system? I was here with James and Linc during the installation and—”

  She waved that away, for the moment. Her gaze raked over James. “You think you’re leaving me with these people?”

  “Is that why you signaled us to follow you when you left the police station, Ghost?” Linc asked. “You wanted some protection help? Got it.”

  They’d been at the police station? Her brow scrunched. “You all know that Frederick is dead?”

  “We figured it out,” Blair told her carefully. “Once you two were in the station, we did some digging. Wilde has access to a lot of very useful technology.”

  Her head was pounding. “How long have you been following me?”

  “Technically, we were following him.” Blair pointed to James. “He tore out of your place like a bat out of hell, and we knew there was trouble.”

  Cole nodded. “Wilde sticks together when there is trouble.” His gaze lingered on her. “You okay? You look really pale.”

  James took a quick step forward. His hands rose, as if he’d reach out to her, but he caught himself and froze. “No. She’s not okay. She was attacked at the hospital. That’s why I want bodyguards for her. Until I can stop the bastard, Tess has to be safe.”

  Okay, now it was her cue once more. “No.”

  When she said that, why did everyone look at her like she was the crazy one?

  “You don’t understand,” James growled. “If this is someone from my past, if you’re being targeted because of me—”

  “I understand perfectly. Thanks. You’re not dumping me on them.”

  “Tess—”

  “This is my life, and I choose what happens. Right now, I say you don’t get to just drop your little bombshells and walk away while you leave a fire in your wake.”

  His eyes widened.

  “Oh, God,” Linc muttered. “What I would not give for some popcorn right now. This is some serious drama.”

  Tess swung her gaze toward him.

  Blair sat on the couch next to Linc. Elbowed him hard.

  “We need to talk,” Tess huffed as she focused on James once more. “Without an audience.”

  “I thought you’d want me gone.” He seemed…lost. “I told you what you wanted to hear, but I thought, after you learned that, you’d tell me to go.”

  “I haven’t told you to go anywhere.”

  Did hope light his eyes?

  She stormed right on because Tess was pissed. “You don’t know what I think. You want to know what’s going on in my head? Try asking me.”

  “This feels really personal.” Cole coughed. “Should we go back outside?”

  James eliminated the space between him and Tess. Stopped right in front of her and she tipped back her head to stare up at him.

  “You’re scared of me,” he accused.

  “Uh, yeah,” Linc called. “Because she’s smart. I’m scared of you, bro, and I barely know you. Are you scared of him, Blair?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  “Yeah.” Linc seemed to consider that. “He does look a bit whipped.”

  Screw them. She wasn’t in the mood for an audience. She was only in the mood for James.

  Tess grabbed James’s hand and hauled him toward her bedroom. As soon as he was inside, she slammed the door shut behind him.

  “Tess, listen, I just want—”

  She grabbed his shirt-front and hauled him down toward her. Her lips crashed into his. The kiss was wild, rough, and it made her knees quake. His arms rose and curled around her shoulders as he pulled her closer.

  Tess tore her mouth from his just long enough to pant, “Why don’t you let me tell you what I want?”

  ***

  “Well, this is awkward.” Linc stretched his left arm out along the b
ack of the couch, effectively moving it behind Blair’s head.

  She shot him a glare and jumped off the couch.

  Cole could only shake his head. “It’s not awkward. It’s dangerous as hell.” He glanced toward the closed bedroom door. “Her attacker from the hospital is dead. One of the most infamous assassins in the country was just in the local police station being questioned by a detective.”

  Blair tapped her lower lip. “You think his cover might be blown? You really think this attack is about him and not her?”

  “I think James suspects it could be or he would never have let us walk inside tonight. He wants our help because he’s worried things are going bad, fast.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Linc was still reclining comfortably on the couch. “A man is dead. I’d say we’re already in the ‘bad, fast’ category.”

  Yes, they were. Cole pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Eric.” He needed to check in with the big boss. “You two stay here and wait for James. We can’t make a plan of attack until we know what—who—we’re up against.” He was hoping that the Wilde tech team could ferret out useful information for them.

  A few moments later, he exited Tess’s place. The door clicked closed behind Cole even as Eric came on the line. “Have you gotten anything on Tess Barrett that I can use?” Cole asked.

  “Yes, but it’s not pretty.”

  In his world, nothing ever was.

  ***

  “I’m going to need you to do me a big favor.” Blair put her hands on her hips and looked down at Linc. “So take a deep breath and just do it, okay?”

  His brow furrowed, and, for a moment, he actually appeared worried. “You know I’d do anything for you.” His voice had even gone serious. “You’re my partner. There is no one closer to me in this world than—”

  “Stop being an asshole.”

  His lips twisted. “Well, sorry. Some talents just come naturally to me.”

  “No, I mean it, stop. This case is making me nervous. Heck, there wasn’t even supposed to be a case. We were here on a recruitment assignment. Eric sent us down here to offer James a job and—” She stopped.

  Stared at Linc.

  His eyebrows lowered. Lifted. Lowered again. “B?”

  “Why did he send all three of us down here to offer James a job? That’s hardly a three-person deal.”

  Linc shrugged. “I figured Eric was still pissed at me because I, um, went off book on the last case and got a little personally involved.”

  A little? Blair locked her back teeth. Linc had gone straight-up crazy, and, worse, he’d lied to her. Linc had been after his sister’s killer—a sister he hadn’t even told Blair about—and he’d broken every rule in the book to get his justice.

  Blair’s trust in him had been shaken. Linc seemed to think that they were back to normal. That everything was fine and dandy again.

  He was wrong. As he was so often wrong about her.

  “Look, B, the way I see it, Eric was angry with me, and he was benching me by giving me some grunt work.” He waved toward her. “Thought maybe you’d done something to make the boss mad, too.”

  “Eric isn’t mad at me,” she snapped. “Hell, quite the opposite. He offered me a promotion and a new partner.”

  Linc straightened, suddenly—finally—at full attention. “You’re leaving me?”

  Was it her imagination or did the mask that he wore—every single day—finally crack? He acted like the world was a joke, but she knew the truth—it was an act. Linc felt far more deeply than he wanted anyone to realize.

  She turned away from him and marched for the door. Suspicions were burning in her head, and she did not like walking in the dark.

  She reached for the doorknob.

  Linc’s hand closed over her shoulder and he gently tugged her around to face him, trapping her between his body and the door. “You’re ditching me?”

  “Linc, we can talk about this later.”

  He shook his head. The mask was completely gone. His eyes blazed at her. His jaw was rock hard, and his face was twisted with worry. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  Linc? He’d just said he was sorry?

  “You are the one person in the world I would never, ever want to hurt.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have lied to me.” The words spilled out because the pain was still there, even when she tried to deny it.

  His chin notched up. “I didn’t want to bring you into my hell. I knew I was breaking rules. If I was going down in flames, the last thing I wanted was for you to burn with me.”

  “So you were protecting me.” She’d heard this story before. “News flash, I don’t need anyone to keep me safe. I can do that just fine by myself.” She turned her head. Stared at the hand that gripped her shoulder. “Remove it.”

  His hand fell away.

  She could suck in a breath again. Wonderful. What Linc didn’t know—what she’d never told him and never would—was that his touch made her feel…weird. Not bad. Just too aware. Too warm. Too many things.

  “I didn’t want that part of my life touching you, B. I didn’t want the bastard who’d hurt my sister getting close to you. I didn’t want you in his sights.”

  “Well, he’s dead now, so I don’t think we have to worry about that. You got your justice.”

  If anything, his eyes blazed brighter. “I got that, but I’m going to lose you? Is that how it works? You’re the price I have to pay?” Each word sounded ragged.

  “I can’t talk about this now. There is something I have to check on with Eric.” Once more, she spun away from him.

  “Blair—”

  She wrenched open the door. The security had been disengaged when Cole stepped out a moment before.

  Cole spun toward her. His brows lifted in surprise as he gripped the phone in his hand.

  “That Eric on the line?” Blair demanded.

  He nodded.

  “I’m gonna need to take that call.” She plucked the phone from his grasp. “Thanks.” A calming breath then, “Eric.”

  “Hello, Blair.” His voice drifted to her. All casual and easy, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Bullshit. He had about a million cares.

  “Why am I in Savannah right now?” Blair asked him.

  “Because you’re recruiting a new agent?”

  “Try again, and this time, leave the bullshit at the door. If I can’t trust my boss, then I’m leaving Wilde.”

  “Dammit. Blair, look, I don’t have any proof yet, I just have my gut and I—”

  “He’s compromised, isn’t he?” It was the only thing that made sense. “You found some intel that indicated Ghost’s true identity had been discovered, and you wanted us here to protect his ass.”

  Eric’s sigh drifted over the phone even as she heard Cole swear behind her.

  She felt like swearing, too, as Eric finally replied, “Possibly.”

  “Possibly? Come on, you’ve got three of your best agents here. You must think this is worse than just possibly.”

  “Yes. Dammit. The fact that you’ve got a dead body in the morgue makes me think this scene is going exactly as I feared.”

  “Then cut the sugar coating and tell me what we’re up against.”

  “That’s the problem. I don’t know. I heard whispers of intel. Got an informant who swears that one of Ghost’s old handlers was selling out his agents. Only when I tracked that trail, I found out that the handler was dead. So, no, he’s not selling anyone out now. But maybe he leaked information before his heart attack hit. Or, hell, maybe it wasn’t a heart attack. His body is in the ground, though, his widow buried him, and I can’t exactly exhume the body to the find out what happened. I can just try to cover my new agent, and the best way to do that was to send you three over there. To bring James back to Wilde and to move the hell on.” He wasn’t sounding so calm and easy now. “Didn’t know James would get obsessed with some doctor up there. Didn’t know she’d suddenly be in danger. But now—more than ever—I need to ma
ke sure you and the others are there with him. Contain the situation. Provide James with whatever backup he needs. Keep him alive.”

  “I thought you didn’t even like the guy,” she groused.

  “I don’t. Fine, I do. He’s proven himself useful on more cases than you know. He’s got connections and talents that Wilde can use, but he’s also—beneath the cold bastard exterior—a damn fine man. He got a shit hand in life, and he deserves more. That’s why you’re there. I could be wrong. My informant could be wrong. But I don’t take chances. When danger comes, Wilde agents stick together. Whether he accepted the job offer officially or not, we stick together.”

  Yes, they did stick together. Wasn’t that why she was still with Linc, even after he’d kept his secrets from her?

  “James has got enemies for days,” Eric continued gruffly. “What he doesn’t have—what he needs—are friends. A team. We can give him that.” A pause. “Can’t we?”

  It looked like they’d be staying in Savannah for a while. “You know we can. But there won’t be any more secrets. Everything will be put on the table.” She hated secrets. Mostly because secrets had a way of biting you in the ass and destroying the carefully ordered life that you had planned. She slanted a glance to the left and found Linc staring at her. She’d caught him off guard with her quick glance, and for an instant, Blair could have sworn that she’d found him looking at her with—

  Longing.

  He blinked and whatever had been in his gaze was gone.

  “Keep me updated,” Eric urged her. “The last thing I want is any of my agents getting hurt. Watch each other and bring down the bad guy.”

  Well, some people would say they were there to protect the bad guy. Ghost didn’t exactly have a legion of fans. But sometimes, things weren’t always as they seemed. “Who gets to be the one to break the news to James?” The lucky one to tell him that, hey, buddy, your cover may have been blown and you’re marked for death.

  “Why not let his new partner do the honors?” Eric suggested.

  Sounded like a stellar plan to her. She offered the phone back to a watchful Cole with a shrug. “Looks like you’re up, slugger.”

  Chapter Twelve

  She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and he’d brought her straight into his hell.