Page 59 of Ghost

Part of her wanted to come clean.To go to the police and confess.She was a killer...

But no.In her heart, she knew she wasn’t a danger to society.She’d be happy never taking another assassination job as long as she lived.

Fear was thick and heavy in her gut, though.Because at the end of the day, her terror of Irinia was so deep-rooted and ingrained in her psyche, she might not be able to change.

Irinia would retaliate.

Then there was Ghost.She sighed and gazed out the window toward the shop he’d kept her in.

Freezing and alone.

He had no idea how cathartic his torture had been.She felt as though she’d come full circle.Sure, she’d been scared.Hadn’t wanted him to kill her.But getting caught by him in his bedroom in Seattle, and then plunging through the lake in the woods—it had been the wake-up call she’d needed.

Sadness pulled at her heart.

Sex with Ghost had been everything she’d needed to temporarily fill the void in her.But it was a small fix.A bigger problem lay beneath.

The lack of snowfall promised freedom tomorrow.Whether she wanted it or not.

Footsteps creaked on the floor behind her but she didn’t turn.His hand circled her waist, pulling her back to his front.“You’re so quiet.”

She wet her lips, fighting the tears that wanted to break loose.No, she wouldn’t cry over a man she barely knew.Her attachment to him made sense, considering her trauma.He’d offered companionship and affection, which she’d gone without for most of her life.

Whatever feelings she thought were forming were nothing but a trick of her mind.A desperate coping mechanism.

“Just thinking.”

He kissed her neck, and just like that, her bones melted.She softened into him, but his hands didn’t roam.Instead, she felt his head shift.He looked out the window alongside her.“Do you celebrate Christmas?”

The question was so abrupt and unexpected, she frowned.“Um, not really.”Memories of her childhood rushed back with the force of a freight train.She closed her eyes, waiting for them to pass.

“But you did?”he asked softly.

She nodded.One memory was prominent: She and Igor sat on the floor in front of the wood-burning fireplace, their stockings spilling out.They compared treats and swapped for their favorites.

“On Christmas morning, my brother Igor and I always stayed in our pajamas until almost noon.We opened gifts, played with our toys,” she said, sniffing.“Then we’d have a snowball fight with our parents, then we’d go to our aunt and uncle’s, where we’d play with our cousins and stay up until midnight.Finally, we’d stumble to our car, head home, and fall asleep in our own beds.”

She wiped her eyes.“God, I miss them.”

He held her tightly, murmuring softly in her ear.But she stayed trapped in the past.Had her family’s Christmas traditions continued after she’d been taken?

She’d always wondered.Every Christmas she’d spent in that barn, she’d thought about her family.Pretended she was there with them.In her mind, Igor never got older.He was still eleven and she was still nine.

Her heart wrenched.She fought a sob, but Ghost must have felt her shoulders shake.

“Hey.”He squeezed her and rested his cheek against hers.“Christ, I’m sorry.I wasn’t even thinking.”

“No, it’s okay.”She brought her palm over her shoulder so she could touch the stubble on his jaw.“It’s not a bad thing to remember.”

His lips pressed to her cheek, soaking up her tears.“It hurts you.I don’t want to see you in pain.”

She closed her eyes.

This pain is only beginning...

Tomorrow, Ghost’s warmth would be gone.His kisses, touch, and presence would be nothing but a distant memory.She needed to slow down time.To have more hours in this cabin.

She lifted her gaze to the dusky sky and silently begged for another storm.