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Xero steps forward. “Text us your bank details, and I’ll wire you twenty grand to tide you over for the next few weeks.”
“Who’s that?” she asks.
“The ghost,” Xero says.
Myra makes a strangled noise, and I can’t blame her. This situation is a lot for even me to swallow, and I’m in the thick of the danger.
“You can call Cesare from your safe house and tell him there’s a family emergency,” I say. “He’ll understand if he’s a good boss.”
“Okay.”
I don’t know if Myra’s boss will give her grace or tell her to get lost. Working at Wonderland is just a temporary gig until she gets back into publishing, and her safety is more important than helping some guy who demands sexual favors from employees.
About a minute later, Jynxson comes on the line to say he’s secured Myra and is transporting her to a locationacross town. Xero and I sit together in silence until his sister calls to confirm that she’s safe.
The next few days are grueling. If I’m not in some underground lair, fighting off Xero and a bunch of other men, then I’m blindfolded, gagged, and struggling to break out of some kind of bondage.
My muscles ache from all the effort, and I’m sure no part of my body hasn’t been bruised. Each morning, I wake with new aches. Xero is the worst kind of tyrant, who delights in pushing me beyond my limits. If I don’t succeed in these abduction drills, then he edges me to insanity.
On the plus side, he’s shown me how to open every door in the crawlspace that leads to the outside world. He was reluctant at first, thinking I’d take the opportunity to bolt, but I’ve convinced him I’m painfully aware of the dangers of leaving without protection.
There’s no running away from him—and not just because I’m his captive. New photos appear almost every day, along with threatening notes. I still don’t know if it’s because my online relationship with Xero unlocked something in Mom that’s been bubbling beneath her cold surface.
I knew she resented me from the moment I woke up from the accident. It was Dad who sat at my bedside with pep talks and stories, while she only visited with trays of food. Now, I don’t even know if that was real.
When I went away to school, I would call Mom on the phone. She’d be curt and eager to hand me over to Dad, who always had time to chat. He listened to my problems with a sympathetic ear and bemoaned his busy work schedule. Maybe that was my brain’s way of filling the gaps after she’d hung up.
Mom didn’t even tell me she’d remarried. Hell, she never once mentioned splitting up with Dad. I even remember her talking about him traveling on business. She not only allowed me to languish in my delusions that he still existed, she encouragedthem. If she’s married to Xero’s father, then that makes Xero my stepbrother.
At the end of the week, after a particularly punishing session of being chased around the catacombs, Xero takes me back to the crawlspace and tells me not to wait up.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“A former associate of my father runs a sex club. I’m going to question him there with Jynxson and a few others.”
“And you’re leaving me behind?”
His brow furrows. “You’re not going to a sex club.”
“Neither are you.” I walk around him and block the door.
He scoffs. “This is work.”
“I’ve tolerated a lot of shit from you, but I won’t stay behind while you go to a place filled with naked women.”
His eyes sparkle. “Jealous, little ghost?”
“You’re mine.” I grab the front of his shirt. “That means no ogling other people or getting turned on while I’m not around.”
He shoots me a grin that’s as dazzling as his platinum hair. “I like it when you’re possessive.”
The heat in his gaze makes my skin tingle. I tighten my grip on his shirt and fight the urge to lose myself in his electrifying stare.
“I’m coming with you.”
He brushes a loose curl off my forehead, his eyes softening. “The club could be filled with naked women, but I’ll only have eyes for you.”
A flush creeps across my cheeks, and I force myself to break eye contact. This is the Xero, who used to pour his heart into those beautiful letters. My star-crossed lover on Death Row. I can’t let myself give into his sweet words.
