THE MAN WIH THE GUN was found in the kitchen of the restaurant with his hands tied to the bars of window while his body dangled out. If he removed the rope he would have fallen to his death so had no choice but to stay still. Bruises and blood were decorated across his face as he swore, cursing Ghost multiple times.
"I'm guessing Ghost was here," Harry sighed, holding the sealed up gun that was found on the ground as the unknown man was handcuffed and escorted out of the building.
"Are we going to bring him in?" I asked, writing notes about the incident for the report I would spend hours writing.
"No. Witnesses already identified the gun man as this guy."
"Malia!"
I turned to see Duke walking towards me across the parking lot. He pulled me into his chest and let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine," I reassured him.
"I was so worried that something happened. You left then that man-"
Knowing he was talking about Ghost, I interrupted him. "Let me just wrap up here then we can go."
"Actually, we need you to come down to the station," Harry told me. "You were there and we can close this case now and hand it over to the prosecutors."
I shrugged apologetically to Duke. "I'm sorry. We can go out in the weekend if you're free."
He kissed my forehead. "I'll call you and let you know."
At the station, the man was still swearing from his holding cell. "Ghost f*cking killed my brothers and you're f*cking putting me here? He's a killer. Sh*t! Listen to me! The Sinners! He's one of them!"
I walked up to his cell, staring at him. Sinner? Ghost had a tattoo of it and this man is saying he's one of them? My mind went wild, trying to understand. "Ghost is a Sinner? What is Sinner?"
The man glared at me, fury in his face. "A so-called organization that has an assassin to 'clean' up their problems who your people keep failing to catch."
"First of all, we're not catching him. He hasn't committed a crime."
He laughed harshly. "He's not a part-time killer. Ghost doesn't leave a trace and if he does, he wants you to see him."
"What has Ghost got to do with you getting caught?"
"If I didn't kill Kroft, he would have."
The pieces started coming together very slowly. "He was in New York to kill Kroft but why?"
"Kroft had information that would put Ghost in prison. So I shouldn't be here. I want to f*cking leave."
"Hold on," I said incredulous. "You shot five people, killed Kroft, went on a witch-hunt for an assassin and disabled CCTV in a building but you think you shouldn't be here?"
"If I stay here, I will die," he replied, panic in his voice. "Ghost will kill me."
"He told me that he's coming..." My eyes widened. "Sh*t. I need to talk to someone." Harry walked past and I grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?" He asked, shrugging off my grip on him.
"I need security on this guy." Harry stared at me as if I was mad but I nodded earnestly. "Ghost is going to kill this man if we don't and we both know we'll never find enough evidence to even make him a suspect."
"Malia." Harry began, pointing to the man behind bars. "This guy has killed someone and left innocent people injured. It's a bit strange if I suddenly ask for his protection."
"But he could die," I emphasized.
"He could be lying."
"Or telling the truth."
He sighed. "I can't ask for security even if I wanted to. There's nothing that proves he's in danger."
"You want proof that a grade one assassin might kill him? Are you f*cking kidding me?"
"No."
"Ghost said, on camera, that he was coming for the man that killed Kroft. This guy killed Kroft."
For once, Harry went silent.
"Kroft apparently knew something that Ghost wanted to remain a secret but died before he could kill him."
"Wouldn't Ghost be happy that Kroft is dead?"
"Maybe he was threatening to expose him."
"We can't make speculations. This guy is being transferred to a larger facility in an hour so there would better security if that helps," Harry informed me. "That's all we can do. You can go home now."
I nodded exhausted. "Sure. Let me get my things."
*****
I walked into my apartment and noticed that the lights were on which were off when I left. "Hello?" I called, my hand wrapping around the small gun I had in my bag.
Checking the kitchen quietly , I found it empty then entered the living room. Ghost was sat on the couch, watching the television and smiled lazily when he saw me.
"Hello, angel."
"What the f*ck are you doing here?"
He stood up. "I came to see if you were okay."
"So you broke into my house?"
"Your door is sh*t. Anyone could break in."
I wanted to scream. "No, they couldn't. There are multiple locks for a f*cking reason and you don't have a key."
"Does your boyfriend have one?"
"Don't change the topic."
"Does. He. Have. A. Key."
Groaning in annoyance, I gave in. "Yes. Happy?"
"No, I'm not happy," he replied, frowning.
"Too f*cking bad. We caught Kroft's killer," I told him, watching his reaction. There was none.
"Isiah. That's his name."
"He said you're a Sinner." Again, nothing. "You have it written on your collarbone."
"I feel like you want to ask something so get to the point."
"What were you actually doing on the day of Kroft's murder?"
His amber eyes rolled. "I didn't kill Kroft and I wasn't going to if that's what Isiah told you. I was just...distracting him."
"Distracting?" I needed a new job.
"If you place a lion in herd of zebras, they start running instead of eating. I already met Kroft. He had information that I wanted that Isaiah's group didn't want me to know. So I let them think I hadn't seen him yet and was going to kill him. They start panicking and kill him themselves."
"You don't seem too worried about Kroft."
"He's a drug dealer who is involved in illegal trade and knew too much. Not really important to me and I don't go around killing for fun."
"So you let Isiah kill him for you," I realized. "You're crazy."
"Am I?"
"Is that a question? You've broken into my home and stalked me for starters."
"Stalked is a strong word. It implies I'm obsessed with you and I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't even like you."
My cheeks flushed with anger and hurt. "You don't like me? Then why the f*ck are you here?" I growled.
"To check if you're okay."
"Leave."
"Did I upset you?"
"Leave me alone. All you do is cause trouble and make more reports for me to type. Go back to Vegas." I tried to push him but he wouldn't move.
"I'll go there when you do," he responded.
"Why would I go there? I'm going to file a restraining order," I warned.
Ghost simply laughed. "That means nothing to me. Go ahead."
I gave up. He clearly wasn't going to leave and it was two in the morning. Sitting down on the couch, I glanced at the television and noticed it was on the news channel.
"Breaking news. We have reports of a van that held a criminal, that was convicted today, has exploded on a highway. The driver hasn't been identified but the prisoner is said to be Isiah James, a murderer who-"
Slowly, I looked at Ghost, eyes wide. He met my gaze and gave me a sinister smile.
"What did you do?" I breathed, horrified.