Chapter Seventeen
Erin
“I…d-don’t know what you mean.” I hear myself squeak out. My throat feels like it is filled with sawdust.
His lips curl up in a sneer and he throws something heavy that lands with a clatter next to my feet. I look down at the laptop and burner phone I threw in the bin outside the building barely hours ago. My heart sinks.
Shit… Game over .
I look back up at him, pleading for the thing that matters the most. “Please…don’t hurt Lily.”
He looks taken aback for a fraction of a second, but then his face clouds over with fury again and he has me by my throat against the wall so fast I don’t have time to blink.
His hold is not painful, but he curls his long fingers around the column of my neck in a domineering and unescapable grip.
His face is a breath away from mine and his pupils are so dilated that his eyes have gone black.
“It’s you.” His snarl is lethal and nothing human anymore.
This is it, this is how I die. I let out a pitiful whimper.
Weirdly, that seems to snap him out of whatever dark place he was in. He briefly closes his eyes and exhales long and slow, as if wrestling for composure. Then he opens his eyes again and steps back, releasing me.
I stay plastered to the wall and watch him warily, not trusting him.
My heart is hammering so hard against my ribs I am getting lightheaded.
Then I flick my gaze to the couch. There!
My phone. Before I can think twice, I sprint toward it.
Just as my fingers curl around the device, Matteo crashes into me from behind and rips it out of my grasp.
The momentum makes me fall face-first on the cushion.
Before I can roll off it, his hard body pins me on the surface from behind.
Panic slams into me and I thrash, I fight, I claw and scream.
He grabs both my wrists to pin them above my head and turns me on my back so I am facing him.
I am breathing hard now, tears stinging my eyes.
I don’t look at him but turn my face to the side, focusing on the skyline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The city is dark outside, life is going on as usual under the soft glow of the lights, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding up here.
My mind is suddenly clear, detached, and I know that this is it.
I close my eyes in defeat and whisper, “Make it quick or not, I don’t care, but don’t hurt her. ”
“Why would you think I would hurt her, or you?” Matteo’s voice is rough and laced with anger.
I open my eyes and snap my head around so fast our noses brush.
He leans back a fraction, still watching me with that mix of darkness and fury.
Then he releases me and sits up slowly, evenly, keeping his eyes on me as if he expects me to do something rash again.
But the fight has left me and I scramble up to scoot as far away from him as the couch surface allows.
His dark gaze never leaves me. I warily stare at him, heart ready to leap out of my throat.
He stares back at me and time seems to stop. The silence is deafening.
“Talk to me, goddamnit,” he suddenly roars and I jump from surprise and the viciousness of his tone.
“I…what do you want?” My voice is a hoarse whisper.
He looks away and rakes his fingers through his hair with a heavy exhale. Then he turns to me, face stony and unreadable.
“Are you the Ghost, yes or no?”
“That’s not what I call myself,” I hedge. But I don’t delude myself, there is no denying anymore.
“But you were the one trying to breach my systems, the one helping us recover Lily.”
I nod slowly.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he curses. “And what is that talk about me hurting you?”
I shrug, weighing my words. “I thought you were here to silence me, do whatever you do to witnesses.”
He looks at me like I just insulted him.
“I don’t know.” I scowl. “I’m not the expert on the matter here.”
He glares at me and I glare right back. Admittedly, it is a dumb move, with him holding the metaphorical gun and all that, but right now my mind is mush and I function on instinct. And my instinct is very pissed off at him.
“Well I’m not ‘silencing’ you…yet.”
I scoff. “How magnanimous of you.”
“What were you doing on my grid tonight?” he continues.
I lick my dry lips. How much can I reveal of what I know? Would he let me live if he thinks that I am clueless?
“I was merely curious, your network is so well protected I felt the pull to break in.”
He looks at me with doubt in his eyes and I give him my best innocent look.
After several beats he leans back on the couch and rests his head on the backrest to look at the ceiling. The silence stretches on and I don’t dare to move.
After an eternity I hear him exhale. “You’re good,” he tells me quietly, and my pathetic, stupid heart swells with pride.
“Who taught you?”
“No one, I taught myself.”
That snaps his gaze back to me. After another beat of staring at me, he wordlessly stands and goes to the open-plan kitchen to retrieve two shot glasses. He opens the freezer and takes out a bottle of vodka I didn’t even know was there.
“Why don’t you make yourself at home?” I mutter and I think I see his lips twitch as he sets the glasses and the bottle down on the coffee table.
He pours clear liquid into each glass and hands me one.
I cautiously scoot closer and take it, lulled into the illusion of safety but still wary.
Maybe he wouldn’t offer me a drink if he wanted to silence me.
But then again, it would be easier for him if—
“I have an offer for you.” His low voice cuts through my chaotic thoughts.
“Mm-hmm,” I answer distractedly as I take a sip from my glass, letting the vodka burn its way down my throat.
“Work for me.”
The liquid spews out of my mouth.
“Wh-what?” I ask, wiping my mouth with my sleeve, not sure of what I just heard.
“You heard me.”
“No. I thought I heard you ordering me to work for you, but I misheard because that’s not what—”
“That’s exactly what I said,” he cuts me off and I gape at him.
“But…but why? I mean, you are good yourself, that much is obvious. What would you need me for?”
That earns me a long, unreadable look.
“I am…we are investigating a trafficking ring, and so far they are elusive. A new eye will be helpful and you’re obviously qualified.”
I scoff. “Thank you, but no thanks. I already have a job at the clinic.” My mind is spinning. Is this a trap or some kind of test to see how much I know?
“I thought we already established that this was not a plea.”
“That’s too bad because you can’t force me,” I sneer.
“That’s open for debate. I have everything I need to identify you as the Ghost.” He motions to the laptop and burner phone lying on the floor.
“I have surveillance footage of you throwing them in the bin in the alley. What would happen if, let’s say, the Bureau got their hands on them?
They would be more than pleased to catch the hacker who’s been sending them all these anonymous tips. ”
I grit my teeth so hard my jaw hurts.
“If you do that, I’ll tell them everything I know about your little organization and your illegal operations. I’ll even testify. And believe me, I’ve found a lot of interesting stuff when I dug around for fun.” I send him a saccharine smile. “Looks like we’re in a stalemate.”
He is smirking now, slow and dangerous, and I can’t help but feel my heart kick in my chest.
“Maybe…or maybe not.” His voice is as smooth as velvet. “I have unlimited funds to drag out any lawsuit. But do you, little ghost?”
I snort. “Don’t you worry about me, I have more than enough to hire my own team of lawyers.”
He pulls his phone out of his breast pocket with a bored expression and taps away. Then he holds it out to me so I can see the screen.
“Do you mean with the money in this wallet?”
I lean closer to have a look and my heart stutters. That is my crypto wallet, the main one I use to funnel funds from the illegal operations I uncover. And it is empty.
I let out a dismayed gasp. “Wh-what the…”
“Or maybe this one?” He types on his phone again and holds it up to show me another of my wallets. Empty.
“Wait, here’s another one.” He goes on, showing me my crypto wallets and bank accounts one after the other. All empty. Everything I had saved is gone.
After my shock subsides and I can breathe again, I let out an indignant shriek. “You! You drained my accounts, you thief!”
He smirks at me again. “Now seems to be a good time to let you know that the landlord is deciding to collect rent, after all.” He makes a sweeping motion with his arm. “And this kind of place in this district is rather expensive.”
I gape at him, shocked, speechless.
His smile becomes predatory. “Looks like someone needs a second job, after all.” Then he winks, and I swear I am holding on a bare thread not to launch myself at him to throttle him.
“You…you’re a bastard!” I hiss.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he replies in a bored tone.
Then he stands up, formidable and cocky, and walks to the door, collecting my laptop and burner phone from the floor.
With his hand on the handle, he turns his head.
“Oh, I almost forgot, the place comes with the job. Don’t worry about rent, as long as we have a deal.
And don’t bother going to Lily, I’ll deliver you to the FBI myself if you snitch.
I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow, wear something nice for your first day at work.
” Then he is gone, leaving me boiling in my rage.