“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong.” His eyes gleam with twisted amusement, and my stomach knots. “You’re more isolated than I am. You put up emotional shields, pretending they’re there to protect you, but all they do is keep you trapped. How long has it been since you’ve truly connected with someone? Not that silly boy you mess around with. Not even that broken friend who thinks she knows you.Realconnection is being truthful about who we are. And you’re flame and wrath encased in a wall of ice and control.”
How does he know those details about my personal life?
Under the table, my hands tremble with both fear and anger. He’s trying to pull me in, to make me doubt myself… and it’s working. Fury burns in my gut, singeing me with the need to lash out. Yet here I sit, silent and restrained, with my mind twisting in on itself as Ghost begins to mold me like potter’s clay.
“Enough,” I snap, getting to my feet and slamming my palmson the table. I don’t care if he enjoys watching me lose my composure. I can’t take much more of this and still maintain my professionalism. “You don’t control this conversation. I do. Now, tell me what you know about Anna Lee, or I’m walking out of here.”
For a moment, he just stares at me, his gaze inscrutable. Then, slowly, his smile fades, replaced by something colder, more calculating. “You’re stronger than I expected,” he says, almost to himself. “But strength can be a weakness too. Remember that.”
I don’t respond, refusing to rise to the bait. I can’t let him see how much he’s already unsettled me; how close he’s getting to breaking through my composure. I need to get the fuck away from him.
“I’ll tell you about the girl.” Ghost leans forward further, his voice low and conspiratorial. “But you have to give me something in return.”
I arch an eyebrow, skeptical, but I stay where I am. This glass wall only has a few small holes, but I’ve seen what he can do. “And what exactly do you think I have to offer?”
His smile returns, dark and twisted. “Your time, Dr. Andrews. Your attention. I want to know what makes you tick, what keeps you up at night. I want to understand you as well as you think you understand me.”
My throat constricts and I swallow hard, the full weight of his words sinking in. This isn’t just an obsession—it’s a need to dominate.
“You’re not getting anything from me.” I glare at him before pivoting on my heel.
“Geneva.”
The sound of my name on Ghost’s lips freezes me in place.Hearing it for the first time, in his voice, laced with that dark, insidious charm, feels like a violation. As if he’s reached inside and stripped away another layer of the armor I’ve so carefully constructed, while also caressing me.
I force myself to take a breath, to steady the tremor in my hands. I don’t turn around. Ican’t. If I look at him now, I’m afraid of what I might see—what I might feel.
“Geneva,” he says again, softer this time, almost apologetic. “Don’t walk away. Not yet.”
There’s a part of me that wants to bolt out of this room, to put as much distance between myself and that voice, that man, as possible. But there’s another part—a darker, more curious part—that wants to stay, to hear what he has to say, to understand why he’s so fixated on me.
I dig my nails into my palms, using the pain as an anchor, something to hold on to, something to keep me grounded. “You haven’t earned the right to call me that.”
“But it’s your name, isn’t it? And it suits you. So strong, so poised. But there’s a vulnerability there too, just beneath the surface. I like that.”
I swallow hard, my throat tight. The temptation to turn around, to confront him, to demand answers is all-consuming. But that’s exactly what he wants.
“I’m leaving,” I say, more to myself than to him, as if repeating it will give me the resolve to actually do it. I take a step toward the door, forcing my legs to move, forcing myself to keep going.
“Dr. Andrews.” His voice is low and urgent. “You’re running away, but you can’t escape me. You know that, don’t you? I’m already in your head. You’ll think about me long after you leave this room. You’ll hear my voice, see my face. You’ll wonder whatI’m doing, what I’m thinking. And you’ll come back. Because you need answers just as much as I do.”
My muscles tighten, stiffening my spine. “Whether or not that’s true, you’ll never know.”
“And you’ll never find Anna Lee in time without my help.”
I spin around, my eyes wide. “She’s alive?”
He studies me for a long moment, as if carefully choosing his response, then nods slowly. “Yes. Now be a good girl and come back and play with me.” The soft words slide across my body like a physical touch, sensual and tantalizing.
“No.” I cross my arms over my chest to emphasize my stance, and to fortify myself. “I’m done playing your games.”
“Okay, you win this round.” He laughs, a soft, mocking sound that sends chills down my spine. “One final request and then I’ll tell you everything you need to know to find the girl.”
“I’m listening.”
Ghost’s eyes glint with something darker, more dangerous than before, as he leans back in his chair, the chains binding him to the table clinking softly. His smile widens, a slow, deliberate curve that makes my skin crawl with foreboding.
“I want you to show me the real you, Dr. Andrews. The part you keep locked away, buried under all those rules and professionalism.”
