PRESENT DAY
"MALIA," Duke called from my living room. I entered, zipping my dress.
"You okay?"
My boyfriend grinned at me, holding roses. "Guess who got the promotion."
"Wow!" I clapped, excited for him. "Congratulations!"
He pulled me into a hug. "I couldn't do it without you. If you weren't going to work, we could have spent time together."
I gave him a quick kiss. "You know I want to but I can't. I have reports to write up and cases to close but after we can celebrate after."
"My girlfriend the investigator," he chuckled. "Go to work. We can go out in the evening."
I picked up my coat and left, leaving him in my apartment. Hailing a taxi, I made my way to the tall glass building where I worked. After the mission with Ghost, I applied for a position in New York where I would be able to work for the FBI but at the same time solve crimes that didn't involve tattooed assassins. There were only rare times that I had to be undercover.
I pushed open my office door and ignored the frown on Harry's face as I passed him in the hallway. He also became an investigator but preferred to work in the field. I sunk into my chair and turned on my computer.
"Time to work," I said, trying to invoke enthusiasm. Twenty reports later, someone knocked on my door and Harry walked in.
"I didn't say come in," I complained, folding my arms.
"Too bad," he shot back. "They're asking for you in the interrogation room."
"Why?"
He threw his hands up annoyed. "How should I know?"
Barging past him, I went to the elevator with him following me. We arrived to the thirteenth floor where the director was waiting for us.
"Malia, we need your help," he said tiredly. "He's refusing to answer unless you're there."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused. Without answering, he ushered me into the room where almost a dozen people stood watching the muscular man in handcuffs on the other side of the glass.
Ghost.
He looked the same - larger than life and somehow even more handsome. His eyes met mine through the glass and he smirked.
"He can't actually see me right," I whispered. On his side, the glass was a mirror. It wasn't possible.
"Malia is here," the director spoke into the microphone.
"Bring her in," Ghost replied, pointing towards the seat in front of him. "She can ask me any of your questions."
"What's going on?" I demanded, my heart pounding in my chest. Fear, lust and desire all ran through my body at the same time.
"He was caught around the place of Tim Kroft's murder," Harry explained, reading from the file in the table. Tim Kroft was a massive drug dealer who had been avoiding the law for many years. "He handed himself in as a witness."
"Witness?" I glanced at the assassin that was waiting. "I'm guessing you think he was involved."
"Yes, but he won't respond to us. He demanded to see you," the director added. "Somehow he knew your name."
I didn't bother telling him that I had told Ghost on the first day I met him. Entering the interrogation section, I met the gold eyes of my nightmares and dreams, making my cheeks flush as I sat down.
"Ghost."
"Malia."
His voice was rich and deep, reminding me of the last time we met.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions-" I started but he interrupted me.
"I told you to come back."
"You can choose not to answer," I continued, ignoring him. "What were you doing earlier today on the day of Tim Kroft's murder?"
Ghost glared. "I'll answer your questions then you'll answer mine later. As for what I was doing, I was looking for someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You were looking for someone you don't know?"
He grinned at the annoyance in my voice. "Yes."
"Do you know who Tim Kroft is?"
"He's a little d*ck that causes problems."
I raised an eyebrow. "So you don't like him?"
"Do you?"
"You came forward as a witness. What did you see?"
"I didn't see anything. I heard a gun shot while I was in a store across the street. You can check security footage," he said more to the people behind the glass than me. "I left the store like many other people, saw the cops then handed myself in."
"If you weren't involved, why would you hand yourself in knowing your history with the law?" I questioned.
He leaned over the table. "I wanted to see you."
I froze. "So you found out who I was?"
"I knew who you were the second you left my club with your b*tch of a friend. I can spot your people in minutes. I just wanted to confirm it."
"Why did you ask me to meet you?"
"To scare you off because you were chasing a dead end. You were lucky I caught you because someone else would have ended your life." He slid my stolen bracelet over to me. "Here. Next time, use a tracking device I haven't seen before."
I caught it. "That's why you said you didn't trust me."
"I still don't. You'll find Kroft's killer in a few days. The person is sloppy, he's left trails and when you see him, tell him Ghost is coming."
*****
Exhausted, I fell onto my bed. Ghost was released because like he said, he wasn't involved. No one asked about my relationship with Ghost which made me relax slightly. Only slightly. He knew who I was and my job. Maybe where I lived which was what put me on edge.
The banging on my door made me jump. "Malia, it's me," Duke called.
I let him in, relieved. He noticed and held my hand. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just a bad day at work."
"I'm sorry, baby. I booked us a place at that restaurant you liked but I can cancel if you want."
Sliding my hand into his, I shook my head. "Let's go."
The restaurant was packed making me grateful that Duke had booked the table. I ordered wine to calm my nerves and smiled at my boyfriend. "How was your first day of being a manager?"
He worked in a hotel and now was in charge of the building. "Tough, but it's what I wanted," Duke replied. "I've got my gorgeous girlfriend and my dream job. I couldn't ask for more."
Suddenly, I felt a heated gaze from behind me causing me to turn around. Ghost stood at the entrance wearing a suit with his tie undone. It molded to his body, emphasizing the hard body under the clothing. He drew attention to himself, looking like sin and sex. Many eyes were on him including mine but he focused on me, tapping on the heavy gold watch on his wrist.
Hurry up.
Duke also spotted him. "He must be some rich CEO of something."
More like an assassin. "Maybe. I need to...go to the restroom. I'll be back."
I walked past Ghost to the hallway where the restrooms were, knowing that he was following me. Once I reached the end, he spun me around and placed a hand on the wall beside my head, caging me.
"Who's the guy you're with?"
I rolled my eyes. "It doesn't matter. How did you find me?"
"It doesn't matter," he shot back, moving closer to me. "You left me."
Heat spread from where his other hand held my waist. "You wanted me gone anyway."
"True." Amber eyes roamed my body lazily. "You look good, angel."
"Thank you."
"You still owe me more than an hour," he reminded me. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I owe you nothing."
Ghost responded with a deep laugh. "I'll come to receive another day when you're begging me."
Pushing him away, I tried to put distance between us so I could think straight. "What do you want from me? I know you didn't come all the way from Vegas to f*ck me after a year."
"That is one of the reasons," he admitted calmly then pointed to the camera above my head. "Every camera is switched off in this restaurant. Right now, the same man who killed Tim Kroft is armed and is looking for me somewhere in this building."
"What the f*ck?" I hissed. "You need to leave."
"No, you're going to call the cops and I'm going to find him then catch him. Do you understand?"
I pulled out my phone and called Harry without breaking eye contact with Ghost. "Hello?"
"What?" Harry grumbled.
"There's a man armed with gun in the restaurant I'm at." I told him the address and hung up.
The sound of glass shattering made me flinch and people started screaming. Gun shots followed, creating chaos. "Time for me to go," Ghost said, smirking as if amused by the situation.
"Go," I ordered, worried about Duke. "I need to find my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" He repeated, face darkening.
"We can talk about this later," I huffed and left him.