Damn it all, I’m ready to be done with this.
Chapter Eight
In the midst of chaos there is also opportunity.
~ Sun Tzu
The television was on low as he walked up from the hallway.Lance didn’t think Jasmine was even watching anything, she just stared at the wall.He swiped two beers from the fridge, opened them then continued to the living room where she sat.
Without a word, he sat beside her and offered her one.Jasmine wore one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers.She looked fucking adorable and he wanted to keep her in his clothing.She put the beer bottle right against her crotch as she sat there but didn’t look at him.
“What are you thinking about?”
“My nephew.”
He’d already swept for bugs so knew this conversation would be fine to have.
“What about him?”
“That I’m missing him growing up.He doesn’t know me and I don’t know him.Hell, I barely know my sister.Mytwin.”
Her agony pulled at his soul.What was left of it anyway.Beer on the table in front of them, he angled his body toward her, making sure he didn’t physically touch her.Not that losing themselves in the bliss of the physical was bad, for it wasn’t, but he sensed she needed something more right now.
“When was the last time you spoke to any of them?”
She sniffed and his gut wrenched at the sight of one solitary tear making a solemn trek along her skin.
Fuck it.
Lance reached out and swiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
“Jasmine?”
“I spoke to her on Christmas when he was first born.Other than that, it’s been nothing but cards.”
She ran her hands over her face before pushing them through her hair and exhaling even as she flattened her lips.As she shook her head, slightly, she put the bottle to her lips and drank.
Lance held his tongue as she drained the bottle and put it on the coffee table with a yawn.
“Are you afraid you’re going to bring trouble to their door?”
“I know I will.Plus I know her husband isn’t a staunch supporter of mine.”A wry smile.“Pretty sure I wasn’t easy for any of you to keep an eye on.”She scrunched her toes.“I know he loves her and that’s why I don’t comment about his behavior to me.He’s worried I’ll bring more trouble to their home.As much as I hate it, and that he views me in such a light, I respect it because he’s trying to keep my sister safe.Andtheir son.”
He tucked some hair behind her ear, wanting to continue watching her features and expressions.The hard shell around his heart cracked at her admission.
“There was more than one occasion where I heard your name accompanied by a few choice words.”He shook his head.“How is it Atlanta PD had a file on you but he couldn’t find anything on you?”
“It gets wiped.”
He shook his head.“But you’re not in WitSec anymore.What’s the reasoning behind it?”
“They don’t want me coming to light.I’m nothing more than a huge shame on the Company.I’m a mistake that shouldn’t have happened, and if it comes to be public knowledge, they’ll look worse in the country’s eye than they already do.”A shrug.“So it’s best for them to keep me off any and all radars.Well, that’s what stories are made from.”She readjusted her position then tugged his shirt down over knees.“I’m just a ghost.One they wish they could rid themselves of for all eternity.”
While her words were spoken with a hint of sass, he heard it.Buried deep beneath the don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.The pain and the longing.
“Come here.”
She tilted her head in his direction, one eyebrow up in silent question.
