Ghost From the Past (Ghost Team #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

ANITA

I looked down at my ringing phone while I sharpened my favorite knife.

Wes.

The man had a lot of nerve calling me so soon after my team helped him. I was half tempted to ignore his call, but curiosity got the better of me.

"What do you want?"

Wes chuckled. "Well, hello to you too."

"You know damn well I don't have time for pleasantries, and most of the time, neither do you, so what's the reason for this call?"

In typical Wes fashion, the man did the unexpected and sighed. "Some things never change, Anita."

No, they really didn't. I was the same heartless individual I was when we met. The only difference now was I had more kills under my belt.

"Get on with it, or I'm hanging up. I'm not like the rest of the people who work for you. I don't have to take your calls."

Our arrangement was simple. Wes helped us get started, and we paid that debt back tenfold. Now Ghost Team was its own identity, and we only occasionally took jobs that helped Wes out.

"True, but you're going to want the information I have for you."

There was only one thing I wanted from Wes, and up until now, he had yet to follow through on his promise.

"I'm listening."

"Your target has surfaced. I have a location for you."

It was about fucking time. Seven long years later and I was finally getting the chance to exact the revenge that changed my team’s life forever.

"I'm listening." I didn't care one bit that I was being rude. That was the beauty of not giving a shit in life. My heart died seven years ago with my teammate. I sold my soul at the chance of seeking revenge. I had nothing left to give but vengeance.

"You're not going to like what I have to tell you."

I stopped sharpening my knife long enough to curse under my breath.

If Wes was about to tell me the fucker I was looking for was dead, I was likely to go on a rampage.

I knew the odds of him being alive significantly reduced each year, but the part of me that needed vengeance wanted him to still be alive.

"Spit it out, Wes." The time to be nice had long since passed. I wasn't even sure if there was ever a time I was a decent person. If I had been, I certainly didn't remember.

"Mason Dunkin is in federal custody. He was picked up on a warrant two days ago."

I went back to sharpening my knife. At least the rat bastard wasn't dead. "I need to speak to him."

The situation wasn't ideal, but it wasn't the worst thing I had to do in my line of work.

"That's going to be a bit difficult. He was immediately placed in solitary confinement for his protection. Only law enforcement and legal counsel are allowed to visit."

Of fucking course. "Are you telling me the Almighty Wes can't buy his way in?" I didn't bother to hide my sarcasm. Wes was used to it. I doubt it even bothered him.

"Me? Probably. You. Not so much. You have quite the reputation in certain circles."

The reputation he spoke of was hard-earned.

We were a team people whispered about, but very few actually knew who we were.

That was how we preferred it. "I had no intention of telling them about what I do for a living.

I'll just plead my case to the agent. Mason was my best friend’s fiancé.

I'm sure they would understand I just need the closure. "

It wouldn't be easy to pretend I was some docile female. There was nothing soft or quiet about me, but for justice, for my best friend, I would do anything.

"That's going to be a little hard. You're already acquainted with this particular federal agent."

I softly placed the knife on the wooden bench despite wanting to throw the fucking thing across the room. I treated my weapons with care because they were the difference between life and death. "Don't fucking say it," I growled.

I knew what name was going to come out of Wes' mouth before the four words hit my ears. "Special Agent Beckett Walsh."

"Motherfucker," I cussed as my fist slammed down on the makeshift workbench.

"I knew you weren't going to like what I had to tell you."

No, I didn't like it one bit. I hated Special Agent Walsh with every ounce of my miserable being.

He was an arrogant asshole who couldn't take his head out of his ass long enough to listen to me.

I knew Mason was going to shake the marshals as soon as an opportunity arose.

I had warned him, but the cocksucker hadn't listened.

A sleazeball like Mason Dunkin would never testify and then go into WITSEC voluntarily.

"Is Walsh still out of the Nashville field office?"

"He is. I checked because I knew you would want to know."

Damn right, I would want to know. Nova was my best friend. I knew her since childhood. She was the only person I kept around from that time in my life. Beckett fucked up when he let Mason get away, and I would take joy in reminding the special agent I'm not someone to be fucked with.

"Get me his address. I'm going to pay him a visit."

Wes sighed. "Are you sure I can't do this for you? I can make most things go away, but covering up the murder of a special agent is going to push my resources to the limit."

Note he didn't say he wouldn't do it. Just that it wouldn't be easy. "I'm not going to kill him. I'm just going to make him wish he were dead."

Another sigh. "I'm not sure that's much better."

I wasn't about to lie, so I kept my mouth shut.

Wes didn't bother to sigh this time. "I just texted you the address."

I pulled the phone away from my ear when it pinged and saw a text from Wes with the address as promised.

"Keep me in the loop, please. I would prefer to know ahead of time if I need to send out a cleanup crew."

A savage smile crossed my face. "I make no promises."

Without even having to see his face, I knew Wes shook his head before I ended the call. The man was used to me by now. I was as unpredictable as they came. Violence was my go-to answer to everything I did. To hell with the consequences.

I stepped out of my living quarters and headed to the common area. Lilith, Sloane, Nyx, and I––the four females who made up Ghost Team––lived in what others would call a compound of sorts. We each had our own living areas in a U shape with a common area in the middle.

I found the rest of my team spread out amongst the area. Lilith was busy taking apart and cleaning her gun. She was the most anal of the bunch. A day didn't go by that she wasn't checking over the weapons. Lilith was a marksman, so it made sense.

Sloane was taking her frustrations out on a punching bag. Hand-to-hand combat was where she excelled. We would normally be hitting the mat by now, but I had needed a few minutes by myself.

Then there was Nyx. Like myself, she preferred knives or any tool for that matter. The two of us loved torture just a little too much.

"What the fuck has you smiling like that?" Nyx was the first to notice me. "Did you kill someone in the cell, who we didn't know was there?"

That was the other thing our compound had. Two cells to hold those we needed to torture, and a room that resembled a morgue. There was a drain in the middle of the room to wash the blood away after we killed someone.

"Not yet, but I'm one step closer to avenging Nova." That got everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Lilith set her gun aside and asked.

"Mason has resurfaced." For the first time in seven years, I wore a smile while saying the fucker's name.

"When do we roll out?" The frustration Sloane had shown the bag was now directed toward a common enemy.

Each one of us wanted a piece of him. Nova might've been my best friend, but this whole team was her idea.

We were supposed to start it together. Nova was the reason I met the others, and when she disappeared, we took her vision and made it a reality in honor of her.

This was the part they weren't going to like.

We rarely worked solo. Strength in numbers and all but keeping a low profile in this case was the better option.

"He's in federal prison. Solitary confinement.

There's no way to see him, but I'm going to go pay a special visit to our favorite federal agent. "

My teammates all glanced at one another, and I knew what they were going to say before Nyx opened her mouth. "Are you sure that's a good idea?”

I understood where Nyx was coming from, but it still pissed me off to be questioned.

And she was the second person to do so today.

Therefore she got my wrath. "I don't give a fuck what I have to do.

I will talk to Mason. And I will find out where Nova's body is.

Nothing will stop me. And that includes Special Agent Walsh. "

Nyx held her hands in the air to try and placate me.

"I get Nova was your best friend, but I'm just trying to look out for you.

This is personal, and if there's one thing you have pounded into our heads since the conception of this team, it's that we can't let personal shit get in the way of business.

I don't want you to do something you'll regret. "

I tried to steady my breathing, but it was damn hard. Red-hot fury coursed through my veins and seeped into the very essence of my being. "I get what you're saying, but I need to do this. We started this team to avenge Nova, and now's our chance."

All three of my teammates had a silent discussion amongst themselves before Lilith nodded her head. "Okay. Do what you need to do. We'll have your back."

I lifted my chin in response. "Thanks. I'm leaving today. I'll let you know how it goes."

Walking back to my quarters, I thought about what Nyx said.

She wasn't wrong. There wasn't room for personal shit in our line of work, and if the situation was reversed, I would've been asking my teammate the same thing, but this was about Nova.

The team had been our dream, and only one of us got to see it come true.

Guilt ate at me every day that I lived out our legacy on my own.

The only thing that kept me going was the fact that one day I would have my revenge.

That day was now, and I looked forward to the closure it would bring me.