Page 37 of Ghost

“No,” she said.“Nothing like that.”

“Then why?You could’ve spoken up at any time.”

She squirmed in her seat as his intense eyes seared her to the spot.Heat rose to her cheeks as he stared, his eyes hot and tension throbbing in the air.

Prior to their encounter, she’d had no beef with Ghost.Hadn’t even heard of him.She’d done only what she’d been paid to do.Who wanted him dead had nothing to do with her.She was never given details like that.But this man could have killed her, yet he saved her twice.Could have beaten her, but had shown her gentleness.He wasn’t a saint.But he wasn’t a monster either.She inhaled, and for the first time since she was nine years old, she felt exhilaration.Excitement.Hell, she feltsomething.

She needed to do this.

Not just because she wanted to be free.

She also wanted to give Ghost a chance to find who’d wronged him.Maybe all this had happened for a reason.She wouldn’t have gotten out of this lifestyle on her own simply because she didn’t know anything else.She spoke Russian and English, and she’d earned her high school diploma through homeschooling with Irinia and Alexei.She might not have a lot of real-world experience, but the chance at a new reality dangled before her and never had she wanted to grab it so badly.

She chose her words carefully.“For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wondered how different my life would’ve been if—” She swallowed the words that’d almost slipped out.“If I’d made other choices.”

“There’s an expression.”She lifted her gaze to the ceiling.“I can’t think of the exact words, but something along the lines of ‘Being uncomfortable initiates change.’When your level of discomfort becomes unbearable, you’re forced onto a different path.Does that make sense?”

Ghost leaned back a bit, crossing his arms over his chest.“You saying because I made you so physically uncomfortable you’ve had a change of heart?”

That almost made her smile.“I don’t mean physical discomfort.More of a mental thing.But yeah, being captured by you and put in a position I’ve never been in...it’s made me long for something different.Something I’ve never had.”

He nodded slowly.“All right.Well, I guess if you promise not to make any further attempts on my life, we have a deal.”He held out his hand.

She stared at his wide palm and narrowed her eyes.“I can’t exactly strike a deal with a man who’s given me an alias.”

Disbelief flashed across his face.His hand hovered between them.“You want to know my real name?”

She shrugged.“Seems kind of important, don’t you think?If we’re really trying to establish trust.”She tilted her head, angling her eyes up at him.

He chuckled.The sound was gruff and soft.“I haven’t told anyone my real name in years.”

His words didn’t startle her.If there was anything she understood all too well, it was the importance of being invisible—like a ghost.

“Maybe it’ll make you feel good,” she offered.

A loud bark burst from his chest.“Honey, there’s only one thing that makes me feel good.”

Her cheeks sizzled.The air between them crackled.Time briefly skidded to a halt.Then she smirked.“I’ve got nothing to worry about then.You swore you’d never fuck me.”

Electricity sparked in his eyes.

“Name, please,” she blurted, before the conversation could go any further sideways.“Or the deal’s off.”

He snagged her hand from her lap and fit his palm around it.So much of his skin covered hers.His fingers almost wrapped around her wrist.

She didn’t pull away.

Couldn’t if she’d wanted to.

His gray eyes marked her soul.“Atticus Troy.”His voice was strong and bold, just like his name.

Warmth spread through her—not just from his touch, but also from his willingness to trust her, even with something as simple as a name.“Okay, Atticus.Should I call you that or Ghost?”

“Either.”He gripped her hand a little tighter.“Do we have a deal?”

“Deal,” she whispered, hanging on by a thread.

He smiled, wide and genuine, and gently shook their hands up and down.“Good.”