3. Even GHOSTs Can be Kleptos
I”D BEEN WATCHING Julieanne’s condo for nearly an hour when the Uber driver dropped her off. I caught a glimpse of curly dark hair through the gap between the buildings, managing to follow the first few steps of her slightly wobbly path toward the front door.
She was out of sight a few seconds before the lights on the first floor flicked on, illuminating the space. I smiled as she moved into the living room, toward her kitchen. But instead of making her way to the only sign I left of my presence, she dropped her purse and coat on the couch, kicked off her shoes and went upstairs.
It was fine. I could wait.
But then.
Then she had to go and do that. Turn me into a voyeur instead of a predator. I should”ve looked away. Should have dropped my binoculars the minute her bra hit the floor.
But I didn”t. I couldn”t. It was impossible to look away as she bared every inch of her perfect body, eyes fused on the glass doors between us. Almost like she was daring me to watch her.
So I did. I didn”t fucking blink until she collapsed against the mattress, thighs still splayed open, full tits lifting toward the ceiling with each heaving breath.
I”ve seen a lot of things in my life, but nothing that came close to that.
I might have felt bad about it if she hadn”t left the blinds open and positioned herself in a way so anyone looking would see exactly what she was doing. But she did it on purpose, because my little thorn doesn”t just like breaking the rules, she wants everyone to watch while she does.
Unfortunately, the shit she dabbles in is way more dangerous than displaying her writhing body to anyone who happens to be across the pond and in possession of a pair of military-grade binoculars.
That sends me standing up, clenching my jaw as I glance around the empty office I found my way into. The whole building was dark when I came in and the lot was empty, but what if someone found their own way inside? Came back to grab something they forgot and just witnessed the same thing I did? What if they too watched her, dick aching in their pants, sure it was them she was focused on?
I grab my bag and stalk out into the hall, doing a quick walk-through of the second floor. It”s the only one with an eyeline to Julieanne’s condo, so the only way they would get a glimpse of the way her hips worked as that hot pink vibrator shoved her over the edge, was if they were here.
Thankfully, the building is still just as empty as it was when I came in. I didn”t come here to turn people into corpses, but anyone willing to invade Julieanne”s privacy like that deserves whatever I decide to dish out.
Of course, I don”t lump myself in with them. Technically, Julieanne invited me into her life six months ago when she popped onto my computer screen. If she”s smart enough to hack into GHOST’s system, she”s smart enough to know the game she”s playing has no rules. The second she decided to come after me, she knew there was a chance I’d come after her. That means she should always expect me to be watching—
I stop short, eyes going back to the glow of her bedroom just as she slips into the hall, her softly curved body wrapped in a robe the same hot pink color as the toy she tucked into her flushed cunt.
Does she expect me to be watching?
There’s no way. No way she could know I’m here. Even if she did, that little show wouldn’t have been intended for my eyes.
A light flicks on at the side of her condo, filtering out just enough for me to know she’s in her office. Not where I expected her to go next, but maybe she has some emails to check. A Tinder profile to block. Hopefully she was smart enough not to give that prick her number. He obviously didn’t pick her up for their date, but it’s easy enough to connect a number to an address. Even someone as dumb as him could do it.
And that ass is definitely dumb. He has to be, to not only show up late to a date with a woman who looks like Julieanne, but also then act like his mother never taught him to pull out a woman’s chair.
The light at the side of her condo disappears and I drop my bag to the floor, pressing the binoculars back into place. I zero in on the lower level, watching through the bottom set of sliding doors as Julieanne comes back into view. She”s clutching the front of her robe with one hand, her steps slow and careful. Pausing in front of the coat closet under the stairs, her shoulders lift and drop on a deep breath before she flings it open, feet positioned like she”s ready to run. Her body sags as the hand gripping her robe drops.
She slowly closes the door before finally making her way toward the kitchen, pausing just in front of the sliding doors so I have a head-to-toe view of the body I”ve now seen every inch of. Her eyes drop to the peninsula separating the dining nook and the kitchen. She slowly picks up the card I left, flipping it over to read the word on the back.
Her expression isn”t filled with the shock I expected. Or the fear.
When she lifts it to her nose, I nearly groan.
Because I was wrong.
That show she put on absolutely was for me.
Julieanne”s eyes lift to the window and I could swear she stares right at me as she slides the card into the pocket of her robe. Then, just to prove how little self-preservation she really has, she steps to the door and flips the lock open. After turning off all but the single light above the kitchen sink, her shadowy form moves to the front door. I don”t have to see to know she”s unlocking it too. By the time she appears in her bedroom, I”m gritting my teeth, jaw ticking from the pressure, as she unlocks the door I locked before I left.
Has she lost her fucking mind? I know what she”s doing, but it’s still stupid. Reckless.
Julieanne fully understands the game she started and came to fucking play, but I”m not the only one she”s basically inviting in. The only one she”s taunting. The building I’m in is empty, but what about the others on this side of the pond? I don”t have time to clear them all. Even if I did, anyone who might have been in them could easily slip out before I got there, deciding to take Julieanne up on her infinitely stupid invitation.
Because they don”t know it was for me.
Collecting all my gear, I rush out of the building, reconnecting the cameras and security system before I take off into the night, circling the retention pond on foot. The complex where she lives is established enough that the landscaping has had time to grow, offering a few protected spots for me to choose from for my watch.
If Julieanne wants to play, we’ll play. But she”s about to find out I”m better at this game than she will ever be. I won”t be walking through any of her unlocked doors tonight. Probably not tomorrow either.
But neither will anyone else.
Choosing the thickest copse of trees and bushes, I stalk into the shadowy growth, putting my back to the biggest of the trunks before hunkering down. Pulling up the collar of my coat, I settle in. I”m not so much protecting her as I am my own interests. I came here for a reason. To prove a point. No one”s going to take that opportunity from me.
I watch through my binoculars, the dramatic change in the distance between us offering me a significantly more detailed view of Julieanne as she comes back to the glass doors of her bedroom. She stares out into the night, her palms pressed against the pane.
One hand pulls away, slowly moving to spread open the front of her robe before removing the clamps still pinched into place.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Lust courses through my veins at the knowledge those were put on for my benefit. To tempt me. To lure me closer. Like a siren intent on causing more wreckage.
On some level, she succeeded. Her little display has brought me closer. But I”m not the one who”s going to suffer in this situation. By the time this is over, Julieanne will know she doesn”t belong in my world. She’ll see how wrong she was to go up against me. To take me on.
Now I just have to bide my time and make sure no one else tries to get to her before I do.
Because I”ve got a sneaking suspicion she”s not going to be locking those doors anytime soon.
STANDINGFROM THE chair at my new desk in my temporary home, I arch my back, twisting from side to side in an effort to work out the kinks tightening my muscles. It”s been a long damn time since I was part of a stakeout. Even longer since I”ve done it in freezing conditions, which is saying something, considering I live in fucking Alaska. But I”ve been the boss for years. The one running shit instead of participating in the show.
Scrubbing one hand down my face, I turn away from the screens I set up an hour ago, making my way into the bathroom for a quick piss before grabbing a bottle of water from the pack still bundled on the counter and going back to drop into the chair.
Staying up all night making sure no one tried to surprise Julieanne gave me plenty of time to reevaluate the situation. I expected to come here, scare the shit out of her, make it clear she”d fucked around and found out, then leave her intimidated and filled with fear, going back to my team with my head held high and my reputation unmarred.
Because that”s what Julieanne is. A thick black line of failure on my perfect record. When I didn”t go after her six months ago, it made me look like I”d gone soft. Like I could be swayed by a pretty face and a velvet voice. But that wasn”t the reason I didn”t immediately track her down.
It wasn”t the only reason I didn”t immediately track her down.
Finding her just seemed like a waste of my time. She wasn”t cut out to be a part of my team. I could tell just by looking at her. She was too soft. Too sweet. She wouldn’t last a day dealing with an asshole like me. So I just planned to pretend it never happened.
It was easier said than done. For many reasons.
After chugging down half the water, hoping to rehydrate after not eating or drinking for damn near twenty-four hours, I refocus on the screens. As soon as the sun came up this morning, I decided Julieanne would be safe for a few hours while I set myself up. Securing a location and equipment took longer than I expected, but at the end of the day, money talks, and I have plenty to throw around. So I did. Because I never go halfway. I do what”s required. Usually more.
That”s how I ended up subletting the vacant, first floor unit across the parking lot from Julieanne. Paying the entire year’s rent in advance earned me immediate occupancy and a place to work out of for the next few days. Week at most.
I hadn”t exactly expected this to be a quick job, but I also hadn”t expected Julieanne to be quite as sneaky as she was turning out to be. She”s about to find out she”s not the only sneaky one. Coming home to discover I was in her space while she was gone is one thing. Finding out I can be in it while she”s there is going to be another.
Polishing off the second half of my water, I check the screen displaying the monitor of her work computer. She”s ten minutes into a Zoom call with a customer of the company she does IT for, and based on her morning, those run about an hour. That gives me plenty of time to make my next move.
I pull on my new coat, one decidedly less conspicuous than the all-black gear I came with. Rotating my arms, I make sure I”ve got a full range of motion. Chances are slim I’ll need it, but it”s always good to know the limits I”m working within.
After locking up my new place, I head down the sidewalk, chin up, looking unbothered and uninteresting. If I”ve learned one thing during my years of doing despicable shit right under people’s noses, it”s that looking like you’re sneaking around is suspicious as hell. So I don”t sneak. I walk straight across the parking lot and up to Julieanne”s front door. If anyone”s looking, it seems like I”m paying a friend a visit. A friend whose house I walk straight into without knocking.
I checked every access point during my visit last night, so I know the front door opens without a sound if you barely lift it on its hinges, so my entry is silent. My first stop is the back sliding door. I lock it tight, double checking to make sure it won”t open, before creeping up the stairs, following the path I mapped out, skipping the sixth step up because there”s no safe space on it to shift my weight without causing it to creek.
I reach the landing, pausing to listen to Julieanne”s conversation. Waiting for one specific sound. When the throaty, almost husky sound of her laugh drifts out from the room, I make my move. After watching her closely for the past few hours, I discovered my little thorn always closes her eyes and tips her head back when she laughs, offering the perfect opportunity for me to pass through her periphery unseen.
Going to her bedroom, I make quick work of locking the sliding doors, my gaze drifting to the spot where she laid on her bed last night, making a move of her own. I don’t know whether to be impressed or pissed, but since working with a hard-on makes everything more difficult, I decide to be pissed. At this point she’s not only cost me the respect of my team, but also a decent chunk of money, so my little thorn won’t be getting any credit from me for her bad behavior.
Going back into the hall, I pause outside the bathroom when something inside catches my eye.
It’s the same item that tormented me all night long. Drove me to distraction more than once while I sat in the cold, half hoping her bedroom light might come on for a repeat performance. It was fucking maddening, and I”m not giving her the chance to do it to me again. I quickly collect her pink, U-shaped vibrator from the counter, shoving it into my pocket before leaving an item of my own. I leave the bathroom just as she laughs again, allowing me to slip back down the stairs.
I smile to myself as I quietly go back out the front door, twisting the lock on the knob as I go.