Ghost (Spartan Elite #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

CASSIE

G et out of the car. Get your ass out of the car.

This was it! The day she’d been waiting for. If she could gather enough courage to open the rental car door and step out into the hot southern sunlight. Cassie Franks sat in the parking lot across the street from The Book Sanctuary, watching as mobs of chatting women entered through the front doors. Mustering up strength to face the crowds, she reached for her book and forced herself out of the rental vehicle and into the warm sunlight. After waiting at the busy intersection for the light to change, she arrived at the large brick building.

I can do this. I can do this.

Cassie straightened her shoulders, grabbed every bit of courage she had and entered the bustling bookstore. She wasn’t one for big crowds of people. She'd never been tempted to attend a book signing before, happy to experience them second hand from her friend's social media posts. Fear of Missing Out? was not something she'd feel. Nope. She was more interested in sitting on her couch with her e-reader and a nice cold cup of sweet tea than being in a large room with hundreds of other women. No, she'd never experienced FOMO in her life, until she’d seen her favorite author on the lineup for a book signing just one state away. It hadn't taken too long for the girls in her group chat to talk her into attending. She’d never forgive herself if she missed her one chance at meeting the Iris Higgins.

Now, as she stood in the doorway of the large bookstore, women rushing around her, moving from line to line, she'd wondered, not for the first time, if she'd made a mistake in coming on this trip. Looking around her, she tried to make sense of the chaos.

“Ooops, sorry. Excuse me.” A slightly harried employee said, scooting around Cassie and placing the box of books she was carrying on one of the nearby tables.

Book store employees were at registers, ringing up those who'd chosen to travel without the weight of books in their luggage. More employees were unboxing stacks of preorders and sorting them into bags.

“Janet, do you know where the Romantasy pre-orders are?” Another employee called out across the room.

Decorated tables were spaced around the room with large banners behind them, letting attendees know who would be at each one. There were several authors in attendance that Cassie regularly read, but she wasn’t super interested in meeting them or having any of them sign her books. She’d only come to meet one author.

She smiled at the other women pushing by her and lining up to get their lanyards, feeling the tangible cloud of collective anticipation mingling with excitement. She’d saved for over a year to buy a VIP ticket to meet Iris Higgins. Pushing her glasses up on her nose, she scanned the snaking line leading to the table where her favorite author would soon sit. She knew she should get in it. It would only grow longer as the morning progressed. But standing in what appeared to be a never-ending line wasn’t her idea of a good time. She preferred to spend her time in small groups or alone.

The line seemed to stretch on forever and Cassie's nerves seemed to be tighter with each second that she stood there looking at it. She wasn’t quite ready to join the mobs just yet. It'd taken every ounce of courage she had to park her car across the street and walk into the bookstore. Social anxiety was a very real monster she battled. Work took a lot of energy out of her, even though she often only dealt with a couple of people face to face. The internet was her safe place. She'd found a community with other readers online. Not having to worry about what to wear or making a social blunder was a relief.

She moved further into the store and glanced around, deciding on where to go to catch her breath and gather her courage. The caramelized smell of freshly made coffee from the cafe at the back of the store filled the air. She wasn’t a coffee drinker, preferring tea. Although she was thirty and not a child, she wouldn’t tempt fate and grab a drink until after her book was signed and put away safely. Cassie was a walking klutz and knew, the second the drink was in her hand, the chances of it spilling all over her book or someone else's was high. She’d avoid that area for now.

Her heart rate increased in her chest. There were a lot of people. A whole lot of people. Turning on her heel, she headed to a nearby shelf filled with an eclectic mix of titles. A sign above the shelf read, "TikTok Viral." She browsed aimlessly, pretending to look interested in the brightly colored, illustrated covers while actually trying to calm her racing heart. Although the air conditioning was going full force, she was warm. She doubted it was less of the combination of overhead lights and dozens of people and more to do with her anxiety. As her breath came in faster, her glasses fogged up. She slipped them off, wiping the moisture off with the hem of her shirt.

Without her glasses, she was incredibly nearsighted. If it wasn't directly in front of her face, chances were, she couldn't see it. Lifting them into the light, she squinted, trying to focus on the smudge. She took a step backward and collided with a wall of muscle. Startled, her glasses flew from her hands, and she stumbled, her arms flailing out towards the bookcase, in an attempt to regain her balance and not fall on her face in the middle of the store.

She squealed when a strong arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her, just a second before she would have hit the ground.

"Whoa there," a deep voice said. "Careful."

Cassie's cheeks flamed with embarrassment. She blinked several times as she looked up, and she did mean up, he towered over her, into a pair of gorgeous dark eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy!” She blinked again as his face came into focus. The man was undeniably handsome. Not in a clean-cut way, but almost dangerous. He had a rugged look to him, but his smile was genuine.

"No harm done," he'd replied, his arm still around her waist. He glanced at her glasses on the floor, then back at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just...clumsy. I would like to say this is out of the ordinary for me, but I'd be lying." She attempted a small smile.

He released her and bent to pick up her glasses. As he handed them back, their hands brushed, and a twinge of static electricity passed between them. She pulled her hand back out of reflex, then wished she hadn’t.

"I'm Cassie," she said, taking her glasses and slipping them back on. His features came in more clearly, and she schooled her reaction.

Damn.

The man was sexy. "Thank you for catching me. What’s your name?" She managed to squeak out.

"Ghost," he replied, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"Ghost?" Cassie raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting name."

"It's a nickname from my time in the military," he said with a shrug.

“Do you work here?” She couldn’t imagine he was there to stand in a line and get a book signed. He could be the store owner, maybe.

"I'm working the event on Ms. Higgin's security detail."

"Ah, that explains the reflexes," she said, a bit more at ease now. "I've never been to a book signing before, is security normal?"

Ghost seemed to hesitate before answering. "I'm not sure. I've never been to a book signing before, either. I imagine if the authors are popular enough, they might come with an entourage or security. Events this size should have security on hand, even if it's not private security assigned to one person."

"Actually, that makes sense. Recently, there was a large book signing event that had some issues that a good security team would have resolved quickly. In today's world, it's better to err on the side of caution." She remembered reading about a group of men forcing themselves onto some readers at a recent after-hours event. It hadn't been a good look on social media for the event organizers. It begged the question: Should reader events include security? At least one or two people who could deescalate dangerous situations? Men like Ghost would definitely be a big deterrent. "What are the requirements for being a security officer? Are you like mall police?"

Ghost's laughter filled the space between them. "Not exactly. I'm not a mall cop. My team and I are all former special forces operators. We have intensive training and background checks."

Former special forces operator. That explained the dangerous edge to him.

"How about you? Are you a store employee?"

"No, I'm here to meet Ms. Higgins. She's my absolute favorite author. I'm her biggest fan."

"You might have some competition for that role." He motioned to the crowds that had already assembled.

"Oh, are you a fan of her books, too? Are you my competition?" She asked, tongue in cheek.

He chuckled. The sound sent a shiver down her spine. "Not exactly. I've never read any of her books."

"Are you a reader?" Cassie asked him, hoping he'd say yes. There was nothing sexier than a man who enjoyed a good book.

"I am, mostly Grisham and Lee. I appreciate a good story."

His answer pleased her. "You might like Higgins then. She has a lot of the same elements in her books as Grisham and Lee. Although hers are romantic suspense. The relationship between the main characters is as important as taking down the bad guy and surviving."

"Are they the type of stories where the man rescues the women from a fate worse than death?" He asked her.

"Sometimes. Sometimes, she rescues herself, but they still fall madly in love."

"Do any of the stories include a man saving a woman from falling?" He winked at her.

Cassie laughed. The flutter in her chest now had nothing to do with nerves. "I haven't read that one yet. Not everyone can be a graceful ballerina. Some of us have two left feet."

His eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'll try to rescue you from any more close encounters with the floor, at least during the signing."

"I'll do my best to stay upright so you don't have to rescue me again," Cassie answered him.

As Ghost walked away, Cassie couldn't help but think that maybe the trip had already been worth it. And she hadn’t even met Iris Higgins yet. Distracted by her interaction with the sexy stranger, she headed back into the area of the signing.

“Excuse me,” she murmured, as she slightly bumped into a woman clutching a stack of novels to her chest. As she stood behind her, Cassie's fingers tightened around her own treasured copy of Veils of Danger, its spine creased from numerous reads. She’d highlighted her favorite quotes and stuck color-coded sticky notes to mark the passages she’d most loved. As she waited in line, a blend of excitement at meeting Iris Higgins and her nerves over the crowded space made her feel slightly dizzy. Instead of panicking, she flipped the book open to one of the neon green post-it notes.

"She knew it then. It was as sure as the sun rising and setting. As sure as her heart beating in her chest. She loved him. And, it terrified her."

Cassie hadn't ever been in love. She wasn't sure what it felt like. Lust, she'd experienced. Experienced a lot of it. But love? No, she'd never been in love. As she'd read the book, she'd related to the main character and wished she could pop into the world Ms. Higgins' created. She wanted to live in the small fictional town and become the heroine's best friend, her sidekick. She'd never been in love, but she could relate to the fear. To be in love meant to be vulnerable. Vulnerable wasn't something Cassie was interested in. Her life had been hard, she'd seen what vulnerability could get you. Nah, she wasn't interested in the amount of risk that form of intimacy brought with it.

Inch by painstaking inch she shuffled forward in the line that seemed to be taking forever to move. Cassie's mind drifted, recalling countless nights lost in the pages of Higgins' world. For the last five years, she’d pre ordered every book, even setting a countdown timer on her cell phone. She’d clear her calendar for the day after release. Because, she knew she’d stay up late and have a book hangover. She devoured every chapter Ms. Higgins wrote, losing herself in the stories she told. They pulled her through some of the darkest times of her life. The heroines of each book faced adversity with grit and cunning. They also always ended up in the bed of an incredibly hot man. She glanced up to see Ghost standing behind Ms. Higgins at the table.

A hot man like him and the other man flanking Ms. Higgins.

Damn.

They looked like models straight from the cover of romance books. That would have been more believable than security. Many authors brought cover models with them to events. Another one of her favorite authors wrote motorcycle club romance and often had an entourage of sexy men in black cuts surrounding her at signings. Some of the readers went to the signings specifically to have their photos taken with the cover models.

Yes, Ghost and his partner looked like they stepped right off the book Cassie held in her hands. They could be a main character in Higgins’ novels, for sure. Her plot lines were woven with adventure, crime and suspense. Her books always had a dashing hero who fell in love with and bedded a sexy woman at some point in the story.

Ms. Higgins' characters differed from the other novels Cassie read regularly. It wasn’t one-night stands or sexcapades. The characters fell in love and stayed in love, helping each other avoid the most dangerous of criminals. She thought back to when she first discovered Higgins' work. She’d been hired as the new executive assistant for a powerful politician in her town. She’d traveled with him to a big event out of state and had picked up one of Ms. Higgins’ books at the airport. It only took one for her to be hooked. Now, she looked forward to escaping with her e-book reader into a hot bubble bath after work every night. She let herself pretend she was Higgins' protagonist, a fierce journalist entangled in a web of conspiracy, who had been saved from a brutal group of mercenaries by a sexy Navy SEAL. Cassie’s life was rather dull, and the only adventures she went on were those between the pages of a well-written book.

Cassie’s pulse quickened as she neared the front of the line. Ms. Higgins didn’t have a lot of social media presence. She kept a blog and would occasionally respond to a comment or two. Cassie subscribed to her blog, and checked daily for a new post… a new hint about the next book, maybe even a bonus chapter or two from a story she’d already finished. As she moved forward in line, she grew more anxious. Would she find the right words to express how much the novels meant to her? Needing a distraction from her ever present anxiety, Cassie looked up and studied Ghost and his partner. They were clad in sleek black suits that hugged their well-built frames. Ghost had a commanding presence. He looked like he was the one in charge. She didn’t know how she came to the conclusion, other than the way he held himself. Confident, broody… there was a raw magnetism that kept her attention. When his eyes locked on hers, it felt as if he could see into her soul. And when his lips turned into a cocky half-smile, Cassie felt her heart skip a beat.

Damn.

He’d caught her staring at him. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Next,” a voice called. With a steadying breath, she stepped forward, clutching her book to her chest. There she was—no longer a portrait on a glossy jacket or a name at the end of a blog post—but a living, breathing legend. Cassie had known from the emotion in the books that Ms. Higgins was real, ignoring the rumors through the years that she was a made-up name to go along with ghost written or AI books. Cassie never doubted that her favorite author was a living, breathing human. AI couldn’t write human emotion the same way Higgins did. As Iris Higgins looked up from the signing table, her eyes locked onto Cassie with an intensity Cassie wasn’t expecting.

“Hello,” Ms. Higgins greeted. “What's your name?”

“C-Cassie Frank,” she stammered out. Ms. Higgins looked at the employee sitting next to her. She waited for her to cross off Cassie’s name from the list and began to search through the box containing the attendees’ swag bags and lanyards.

“Do you have a book for me to sign?” Ms. Higgins asked, nodding towards the book clutched in Cassie’s arms.

Cassie extended her book toward Ms. Higgins, watching as she flipped the book over to the front cover and took in the creased spine and dog-eared page.

“Ah, Veils of Danger,” Ms. Higgins remarked, a flicker of appreciation crossing her features as she recognized the title. “One of my earlier works but a personal favorite. What is it about this story that you like, Cassie?”

Cassie’s awe over meeting her hero melted into a warm spark of connection with the question. “It's the blend of danger and desire,” she answered truthfully. “Your stories are thrilling, unpredictable. There’s something else besides the plotline of good versus evil. There’s the hope they bring that even in the midst of chaos, there's a chance for love. They’ve taught me about courage and about being true to your authentic self.”

Ms. Higgins nodded. “Life is a series of chaotic events that we navigate through, finding moments of bravery, and hopefully in the midst of it all, connections that can sustain us.”

“Exactly,” Cassie agreed with a nod. “Your heroines aren’t just fictional characters to me. They're symbols of hope. They fight against the odds, uncover hidden truths, and they don't back down... even when it might cost them everything. They are confident in themselves. It's inspiring. It’s everything I hope to be… Confident and fierce. Maybe, someday.” She pushed her glasses back up on her nose. She’d wished she’d had a pair of contacts to wear, she felt more confident in her contacts, but she’d forgotten to reorder them and ran out. There wasn’t enough time to get the new ones in the mail before the signing.

“Hope is the most powerful weapon a person can wield,” Ms. Higgins replied as she signed the title page. “The best gift you can give yourself is having the courage to be fully authentic. The only way you will find the table you belong at, is being true to yourself.”

“I wish your characters were real people, I could be friends with,” Cassie said. “I’ve been through some hard things in life, and your stories, well, they've given me the escape I’ve desperately needed. They’ve also motivated me to try new things and given me courage to go on adventures I once found to be scary.”

Ms. Higgins leaned in slightly. “Thank you, Cassie. It means a great deal to me to know readers enjoy my stories. Because of my own personal struggles, I write about women who triumph over adversity, and who, like you, find hope in the darkest situations. It's not just about their own survival; it's about discovering a strength within them that they didn’t know they had.”

Cassie nodded. “Can I ask, how do you keep the suspense so palpable without losing the romantic core of your stories? I read a lot of books where the romance is at the center, and the plot is secondary… The balance in your books is perfect. I don’t have to choose between romance and suspense, I get both.”

With a contemplative tilt of her head, Ms. Higgins tapped a finger to her lips. “Balance, I suppose. Life is full of suspense, of not knowing what comes next. But it's also filled with moments of profound connection. My characters live at that intersection. I write what I know, what I observe, and what I wish life could be. A universe where good always wins and the bad guys get what is coming to them. If only it was that way in real life.”

An employee from the store, sitting next to Ms. Higgins, handed Cassie a large bag containing all of her VIP swag and her lanyard for the rest of the signing. It was her way of letting Cassie and Ms. Higgins know that time was up, and Cassie needed to move on.

“Thank you for coming out to see me today. Keep seeking out those thrills, and never lose hope. It's what keeps our stories going—both in books and in life,” Ms. Higgins said, handing back the signed copy.

“Could I please get a photo with you?” Cassie asked shyly.

“Of course!” Ms. Higgins agreed. Cassie quickly went behind the table and the store employee snapped a quick selfie of the two together.

“You two could be sisters,” the employee observed, handing Cassie her cell phone back. Cassie peered closer at Ms. Higgins. They did look like they could be related. She giggled slightly at the thought. Wouldn’t that be cool? “Maybe we are long lost cousins or something,” she said.

Ms. Higgins laughed and nodded. “Maybe so.”

With a final exchange of smiles, Cassie left the table and walked to the side of the room. She clutched the book closer to her chest. It was no longer just her favorite book, now, it was a memento from the day, a reminder of meeting Ms. Higgins. She’d always cherish it.

As Cassie stood out of the way, trying to decide what she was going to do next, a flicker of movement caught her eye. A woman with a slightly skewed name tag identifying her as a store employee appeared beside her.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Myla offered, her tone brimming with enthusiasm. Cassie recognized Myla’s love for the job shining through her movements. There were people who worked for a paycheck and those who love what they do. Myla, Cassie could tell, was the latter.

Cassie shook her head, but her smile mirrored Myla’s own. “No, thank you. This has already been more than I could have hoped for.”

Myla leaned in slightly, conspiratorially. “So, which one of Higgins' books got you hooked?” she asked, her voice tinged with excitement. “I’ve read them all, even her earliest novels that never got love on TikTok.”

“I brought Veils of Danger with me because it’s the first one I read, and you know, they asked us only to bring one book per person for the signing. But my favorite? It would easily be, The Silent Echo, " Cassie replied without hesitation. “I loved how resilient Jasmine was. How she outsmarted her enemies against all odds...”

“Ah, yes! That plot twist near the end? Absolutely genius!” Myla's hands animatedly sketched shapes in the air as if drawing the scene from memory. “I remember having to close the book just to catch my breath and let it sink in. I reread that chapter like four times!”

“Exactly!” Cassie exclaimed, feeling like she’d just met a new friend. They stood amidst the hum of conversations, talking about their mutual love of books. Cassie didn’t normally talk to strangers but a book loving stranger was definitely meant to be a friend. “The way she weaves suspense with these threads of hope - it's like she knows exactly what we want before we even know it ourselves. It never gets too dark without a sliver of light reflecting in the story. Even when the worst things are happening, there’s always hope. The hero is going to show up at the very last moment or sometimes, the heroine will figure a way out on her own, but she makes sure there is a hint that good will overcome evil.”

“Hope is the undercurrent, isn't it?” Myla nodded, thoughtfully. “Although I find myself hoping the books will never end.” Their exchange flowed effortlessly, two souls connected by the love of books. They spoke of the refuge they found within the pages of a well-written novel.

“The possibilities are endless. Like, my life can be so boring,” Cassie confessed. “But books… they give me a chance to imagine I’m someone else.”

“Speaking of possibility,” Myla interjected with a twinkle in her eye, “do you want to have dinner with Ms. Higgins’? We are having a drawing for a few readers to win but I can add your name to the list of winners… don’t tell anyone, though.”

“Would I ever,” Cassie breathed out, the offer cementing the day in her mind as the best day ever. She quickly got the information from Myla on where to meet them for dinner and Myla scurried away to talk to other attendees.

Cassie flipped open her book to read what had been inscribed inside.

To Cassie,

Remember, every character has a journey. Be brave enough to start your own.

Keep reading,

Iris Higgins

Cassie smiled from ear to ear. Today was a dream. She’d managed to overcome her fears and show up at the signing, and now she’d get to eat dinner with her literary heroine. First, she’d go back to the hotel and change.

Stepping outside, the sounds of the city swirled around her. Coming from a small town, the noise - horns honking, people chatting, and the distant sounds of sirens - almost overwhelmed her. She hadn’t expected Charlotte to be this urban. The skyline stretched above, skyscrapers piercing the clouds, giants made of iron and steel. Maybe, there weren’t as many as New York City, but as she stared at the looming Bank of America Corporate Center, there were enough.

Cassie paused at the curb, waiting to cross the street to the large parking lot. The traffic light flickered to an image of a person walking, and she hurried to her vehicle, excited for dinner. In her excitement, she didn’t see the two large figures lurking in the shadows, watching her intently.