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“You’re one of those guys, aren’t you?” Aaron steps around me toward the giant man who won’t leave well enough alone.

“Those guys?”

“Everyone in town is talking about you assholes.” Aaron holds his stare heavy on Ghost. “You’re one of those hitmen. You’re here lying low or hiding out or something.”

Hitmen?

Ghost doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t step back. He doesn’t even blink.

Instead, a slow, dangerous smile tugs at the corner of his mouth just enough to unsettle, just enough to send a sharp pulse through my chest.

“Hitmen?” Ghost repeats, voice low, edged with something unreadable. “That’s what people are saying?”

Aaron scoffs, pulling me another step toward the car. “You think I don’t hear things? Small towns talk. There’s a group of you, all rolling in on those damn bikes like you own the place. Everyone’s onto your shit. Patterns don’t lie. The five of you have been fucking up since you got here.”

Ghost’s gaze flicks between us, assessing, deciding. “I hear you like your patterns, don’t you?”

Aaron’s grip tightens instinctively as he glances toward me, flecks of anger in his gaze. “You know him? Have you told him about me?”

“Not, really.No. I mean, we met at the record store earlier. I said you liked your routine is all. It’s,” I glance toward Ghost, “this isn’t your business.”

Ghost tilts his head slightly, like he’s amused. “Nope.”

I feel the weight of the moment. The pressure thick in the damp air, curling around my chest like a second skin. How did I let this get so out of control? I’ve known for a while I wasn’t happy. I should’ve left then.

Aaron shifts closer, lowering his voice as he says, “You think she wants this? You think she wantsyou? She doesn’t know what the hell she wants. Every day it’s something new.”

Ghost’s gaze drops to mine then, rain catching on the edges of his jacket. “I think she wantsout,and you’re not listening.”

Finally! Someone who hears me!Why is the massive, scary hitman the only one who’s hearing me?

My heart slams against my chest as I glance toward Aaron. “I’m sorry. I’m going to call Sienna. I need to clear my head.”

Aaron doesn’t say a word. Instead, he shrugs, shakes his head, gets into the car, and drives off into the night, leaving me standing beside a man who calls himself a Ghost.

Chapter Four

Ghost

Rain pounds the pavement, soaking through my jacket, but it doesn’t bother me. What does, is the way Nicole stands there, arms wrapped around herself, looking lost.

I shouldn’t have stepped in. I should’ve let her sort it out and kept my distance. None of this is my business, but the way that guy had his hands on her boiled my fucking blood. I couldn’t let it slide.

Now she’s staring at me, wide-eyed, still shivering.What the fuck do I do with this?If it were up to me, I’d lift her up, haul her onto my bike, and give her a night she won’t forget, but I’m sure I’m reading her wrong.

I grit my teeth. She’s waiting for something.

An explanation? Comfort?

She won’t get either from me. I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.

“Where you going?” My voice is gruff, deliberately uninviting.

“My friend’s house.” Her voice is small, barely louder than the rain. “She’s over on Birchwood.”

I exhale hard, rolling my shoulders, trying to shake off the irritation crawling under my skin. I should’ve walked away. I should’ve kept this clean, but there’s something about the wayshe looks at me, like I’m something worth looking at. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that way. Hell, I may have never felt this way.

“Fine. Get on,” I grumble, as though I’m perturbed by her existence, though my thoughts are the complete opposite.