Chapter Seventeen
Colter
Iwatch Lilith traipse through our garden, from my bedroom window. She is drifting aimlessly in a rigid, stiff manner. She just arrived home from work, and I guess she wants to refresh herself with an early evening swim.
What have you gotten yourself involved with?
She’s wearing an oversized crop top and a colorful sarong. Neither is uncommon when you’re out by the pool, but I hate that I notice it.
I’m good at picking up on small details. It’s part of what makes a good Ghost. Seeing everything and knowing what I can use to my advantage. With her, it’s different. I scan and analyze for no gain.
I just want to.
“No sly,” Voodoo’s voice hits my ear. “Simple girl, simple friend. Pure ordinary.”
Lilith stops near a flower bed, and reaches for a rose. She cups it in her palm, smiles brightly, then leans in for a sniff.
Pure ordinary.
“Tell me about him,” I say.
I tasked Voodoo with following Lilith a few days ago.
It started as a way for me to keep tabs on her comings and goings. I’d prefer to do it myself, but there isn’t enough time in the day, and I can’t have the Veil thinking I’m shirking my responsibilities.
Voodoo gave me a brief call about the man taking photos of her at the mall, after it happened, but we both decided the evidence was inconclusive given the surroundings. Now, however, we know there’s more to it than just voyeuristic tendencies.
He approached her.
And I want to know why.
“The other.” Voodoo’s on a different wavelength today. Practically reading my mind. A helpful ability when he’s on my crew as a watcher. “Small fella. Weak shoulders. Lots of pictures.”
Before I took him on, Voodoo made his living off intel. He gathered it in the open, his targets none the wiser. From what I understand, he also had a network of service delivery workers in his employ; maids, waiters, delivery drivers, and other such normal people whom no one would suspect.
Since we started our partnership, his network has expanded to every street in Midnite City.
“Of her?” I ask.
She moves from the flowers to the pool. She is scanning her surroundings nervously, her hands wringing over the knot holding her sarong in place.
My tongue drags over my lower lip eagerly.
I fucking hate that I want to watch her.
“Lots and lots,” his confirmation. “He’s not one of mine. Yours?”
“No.” His question, though well-meaning, comes as an insult. “You, Iniko and Fenrir are mine. Anyone else is trouble.”
“Then trouble,” says Voodoo. “Little man. Big trouble.”
“Do you have eyes on him?”
Her fidgeting stops, and her hands move up her body.
She hurriedly pulls her shirt overhead and tosses it onto a sunchair next to her.
Fuck, her tits look amazing in the dark blue studded bikini top.
The more I watch, the harder it becomes to focus on my conversation and not deal with the problem growing in my pants.
She covers her breasts with her arms, before giving her surroundings another quick, nervous glance. She looks in all directions except for the most important one… mine.
Obviously coming to the conclusion that no one’s around, Lilith gathers her loose flow of long golden hair and ties it into a tight bun.
“No,” I hear the crackle of a cigarette between his teeth. “Will do.”
“When?” I ask.
“As we speak.” For all his accomplishments, Voodoo’s still what most of the world would consider a child.
Barely past twenty, he flows with Midnite City’s trends.
This broken English is part of a long history of using fewer words to convey a message.
“As we speak,“ however, confuses the shit out of me.
I don’t tell him that.
“Don’t let him out of your sight until we know what we’re dealing with,” I say.
Lilith’s delicate fingers drift down her body cautiously. Every motion shows her fear that someone’s about to step out and see her looking indecent.
It amuses me.
She is bold enough to make herself at home, but afraid of anyone seeing her do it.
She can set those fears aside. The Crawford mansion has eight people on staff at any given time. They are all female apart from the chef. None of them pay any attention to the pool. That’s reserved for a team of cleaners and gardeners who only come by on Sundays.
So, Lilith has no reason to worry about prying eyes. Unless you count mine.
“Got it,” Voodoo’s voice barely catches my attention.
Lilith has sucked up her nerves by loosening her sarong and then bending over to catch it from an errant gust of wind that’s trying to steal it from her. I’m enjoying the view from the front, but what I wouldn’t give to see the same view from behind.
Our morning together stirred up a great many things in me, but the worst by far is how badly I want to see her ass slamming against my thighs while I’m balls deep inside her.
She wins her fight against the wind, and my chest tightens at the sight of her silky, pale thighs. She keeps her knees locked together, blocking any chance at a view of what waits between them.
“Get Fenrir and Iniko in if you need them.” I shut my eyes and shake my head, trying to scrub the image of her exquisite form from my mind.
“No need,” he says.
“Good.” I click a button on the earpiece to end our call just in time to see her dive into the crystal water.
I give myself a few seconds to level my breathing and steady my heart rate. I count down from ten twice, as every tick of my internal clock brings another flash of her body. The things I want to do with it.
It’s driving me fucking insane.
I need to be on top of my game if I want any chance of getting to the bottom of her secret visitor.
I leave my bedroom.
The hallway is empty, but I hear one of the cleaners humming a tune somewhere in the distance. Her hum is the only human interaction I have during the entire walk outside.
Lilith’s still in the pool when I reach it. She is lazing comfortably with her elbows on the edge. Her body floats on the surface, glistening beneath the late, orange afternoon sun.
Her shoulders tense when she hears my Converse scuff the cobbled path behind her.
It wasn’t my intention to startle her, and if I wanted to go unheard I could’ve, but it’s best to announce my arrival in a way other than words.
And given just how uncomfortable the thought of being watched seemed to have made her, she’ll probably stay looking away from me.
It’ll be easier talking to the back of her head, so here’s hoping she feels the same.
“Settling in?” I make nonchalant and casual conversation to keep things light.
To my dismay, she spins around in a flash. For a brief moment, I get a flash of her entire body beneath the surface. Every soaked inch.
My mouth starts watering.
Fucking pathetic.
“Don’t have a choice,” Lilith sighs, kicking over to the lip. She folds her arms over it, and settles her chin atop them. The rest of her body floats up behind her. “So, I am making the best of it.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to see you, and excuse the pun, land in hot water.”
She giggles at my stupid comment.
I’m pleased. I should play nice more often.
Gaining her trust should be my top priority, especially if I want any reasonable chance of extracting information.
However, I can’t play my hand outright. If I interrogate her about the man, that will only cause a commotion.
And without hard evidence that she’s up to something, I’m not interested in causing a stir.
“And what if I did, huh?” Her voice is layered with defiant playfulness. “You gonna run to Daddy and tell him I’ve been a bad girl?”
Blistering heat creeps up my neck, refusing to settle in any one place. A constant thrum of anguishing discomfort. But it’s not from anger or embarrassment.
It’s… intrigue. It’s the word she chose, Daddy, and the way she said it. I’m not much of one for that sort of thing, but from her lips, I could be persuaded.
FUCK. Enough of that.
“How’s your mom?” I change the subject before I say something regrettable, or worse, show her I don’t need any help dishing out a punishment.
“She loves it here. Loves everything about this whole thing.” Her playfulness subsides to something heavier.
“And you don’t?”
In contrast to what I thought she’d do, Lilith doesn’t hide the emotions that flood her face. A crinkle forms between her brows, and she starts her answer with a heavy sigh.
“It’s not that I don’t like it. Who wouldn’t? I just don’t feel as if I belong.”
“Why’s that?” My curiosity intensifies. I don’t know her well enough to pass judgment, but most women her age would kill for this life.
No suffering, an infinite pool of wealth to drink from, and a lifestyle beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. If it were anybody else, they’d be reveling in their newfound gains too much to care about fitting in.
“I’m too old to follow along like a child, but too young to stop it.” She hangs her head, as if ashamed to admit it, and looks at my shoes.
Her response and melancholy demeanor stir a feeling in my chest that I can’t place, and don’t want to dig into. I let silence take over for a moment instead of whispering sweet nothings to her.
There’s also a point to be made about her sullen look, floating half-naked in my pool, driving a corkscrew through my skull.
It’s a fucking bikini, I think to myself, I don’t have to lose my edge over it.
But easier words have never been spoken.
I’m starting to think it doesn’t matter what Lilith’s wearing; I’ll find a way to twist it to my own dirty perversions.
That’s troubling, especially when it leads to my second-guessing my raw, natural instinct to treat her as a threat, after what Voodoo saw.
“You should know.” I take a deliberate step closer and lower myself onto my haunches inches away from her. “If my father wants you here, there’s a good reason for it. Your safety is our concern now.”
“Thank you?” Her eyes return to mine, perplexed.
Hmm. I’m no good at this. I suppose that makes sense, when my only interactions with normal people are at checkout counters or when I go to the Crawford headquarters.
I can’t explain what comes over me, but I reach out and touch her face. Just my fingers at first, gently moving along her cheek until my palm replaces them. Her puzzled brow drops, and I half expect her to bite at my hand or chase it away.
She doesn’t. Instead, she nuzzles deeper against it.
What the fuck am I doing?
I snap out of the daze that brought us to this point and yank my hand back. Lilith, who closed her eyes somewhere between the movements, jumps at my sudden retreat.
“I have to go.” I get up.
Coming here was a terrible mistake. Timing is everything, and making a move when I haven’t digested Voodoo’s message, breaks the rule.
“Wait, what?” Lilith sounds confused, and rightfully so.
I am too.
“I’ll see you tonight.” I walk off before she can say something that might stop me.
Because if she tries, I won’t be able to stop myself from what comes next.
And neither of us is ready for that, yet.