Page 29 of My Ghost

Erin

“I…d-don’t know what you mean.”I hear myself squeak out.My throat feels like it is filled with sawdust.

His lips curl up in a sneer and he throws something heavy that lands with a clatter next to my feet.I look down at the laptop and burner phone I threw in the bin outside the building barely hours ago.My heart sinks.

Shit… Game over.

I look back up at him, pleading for the thing that matters the most.“Please…don’t hurt Lily.”

He looks taken aback for a fraction of a second, but then his face clouds over with fury again and he has me by my throat against the wall so fast I don’t have time to blink.His hold is not painful, but he curls his long fingers around the column of my neck in a domineering and unescapable grip.His face is a breath away from mine and his pupils are so dilated that his eyes have gone black.

“It’s you.”His snarl is lethal and nothing human anymore.

This is it, this is how I die.I let out a pitiful whimper.

Weirdly, that seems to snap him out of whatever dark place he was in.He briefly closes his eyes and exhales long and slow, as if wrestling for composure.Then he opens his eyes again and steps back, releasing me.

I stay plastered to the wall and watch him warily, not trusting him.My heart is hammering so hard against my ribs I am getting lightheaded.Then I flick my gaze to the couch.There!My phone.Before I can think twice, I sprint toward it.Just as my fingers curl around the device, Matteo crashes into me from behind and rips it out of my grasp.The momentum makes me fall face-first on the cushion.Before I can roll off it, his hard body pins me on the surface from behind.Panic slams into me and I thrash, I fight, I claw and scream.He grabs both my wrists to pin them above my head and turns me on my back so I am facing him.I am breathing hard now, tears stinging my eyes.I don’t look at him but turn my face to the side, focusing on the skyline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.The city is dark outside, life is going on as usual under the soft glow of the lights, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding up here.My mind is suddenly clear, detached, and I know that this is it.I close my eyes in defeat and whisper, “Make it quick or not, I don’t care, but don’t hurt her.”

“Why would you think I would hurt her, or you?”Matteo’s voice is rough and laced with anger.

I open my eyes and snap my head around so fast our noses brush.He leans back a fraction, still watching me with that mix of darkness and fury.Then he releases me and sits up slowly, evenly, keeping his eyes on me as if he expects me to do something rash again.But the fight has left me and I scramble up to scoot as far away from him as the couch surface allows.His dark gaze never leaves me.I warily stare at him, heart ready to leap out of my throat.He stares back at me and time seems to stop.The silence is deafening.

“Talk to me, goddamnit,” he suddenly roars and I jump from surprise and the viciousness of his tone.

“I…what do you want?”My voice is a hoarse whisper.

He looks away and rakes his fingers through his hair with a heavy exhale.Then he turns to me, face stony and unreadable.

“Are you the Ghost, yes or no?”

“That’s not what I call myself,” I hedge.But I don’t delude myself, there is no denying anymore.

“But you were the one trying to breach my systems, the one helping us recover Lily.”

I nod slowly.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he curses.“And what is that talk about me hurting you?”

I shrug, weighing my words.“I thought you were here tosilenceme, do whatever you do to witnesses.”

He looks at me like I just insulted him.

“I don’t know.”I scowl.“I’m not the expert on the matter here.”

He glares at me and I glare right back.Admittedly, it is a dumb move, with him holding the metaphorical gun and all that, but right now my mind is mush and I function on instinct.And my instinct is very pissed off at him.

“Well I’m not ‘silencing’ you…yet.”

I scoff.“How magnanimous of you.”

“What were you doing on my grid tonight?”he continues.

I lick my dry lips.How much can I reveal of what I know?Would he let me live if he thinks that I am clueless?

“I was merely curious, your network is so well protected I felt the pull to break in.”

He looks at me with doubt in his eyes and I give him my best innocent look.