Irritation causes her features to scrunch, and her jaw tightens. “I’m not being funny. I’m serious.”
“I can’t do that.”
I watch as more anger settles into her face, but she attempts to pull in a calming breath as I had. “What about my family then? You think they’ll just accept this and move on?”
No, of course they won’t. I’m not that big of an idiot.
They’ll see it as an insult, a provocation, and a potential liability all wrapped into one. Nobody takes a potential asset away from a family like theirs without meeting a swift and timely end, regardless of how they might view her.
Keeping her around puts the biggest imaginable target on my back, but I won’t confirm it outright. Instead, I choose my words carefully. “I think they’ll have to decide how much attention they want drawn to you right now, and to themselves, whenever they realize you’re gone, that is.”
“Despite all of this, you’re still not willing to let me go,” she utters, not bothering to hide her irritation. “Ridiculous…”
Silence stretches on as Elena looks away, seemingly mulling things over in her mind. Then, with more curiosity than I’m sure she wants to show, her eyes land on me again. The space around us shrinks, full of unspoken questions she hasn’t asked, and the respective truths I can’t afford to give her.
With a note of consideration, she crosses her arms again, bracing herself against the cold. “Why did Vito call you a Ghost, or whatever?”
For half a beat, I consider telling her everything. Me faking my death, building an empire under a different name, and even Lily. How every move I make is a step toward pulling my sister out of a cage she never chose. One she never would’ve found herself in if I had never involved myself with the Balakins to begin with.
I want to explain. I want her to understand that I’m not some power-hungry psychopath collecting brides like real estate. I don’t know why that urge bubbles up in my chest, but I kill the thought before it can linger for too long.
She’s Elena Lukov. No matter how furious she is with me, and no matter how justified, information moves fast. Things get leaked, and families like hers listen to every word. If even a whisper of my real objective reaches the wrong ears, it could be to my sister’s detriment.
So I shut it down, buying myself a fraction of a second as I glance away, considering my words.
“Because I don’t run business like most do,” I murmur, giving her as much as I can.
“That’s not a very good answer,” Elena says, giving me another scrutinizing look.
“It’s the one you’re getting.”
She scoffs at that, looking annoyed, but not quite so ready to tear my throat out. “That line is a favorite of yours.”
I shrug it off, unwilling to divulge her too much. “It keeps me alive, and it keeps you from knowing too much.”
Elena eyes me, almost like she’s thinking up a way to squeeze more out of me. “And the ‘Vegas Ghost’ thing? That didn’t sound like something Vito made up.”
Sighing, I make sure to keep my expression as unreadable as possible, leaning in just enough to make her pull back by a hair. “It’s just a reputation. Nothing more.”
“For what?”
“I made moves and built something for myself without anyone knowing who I really am. I work behind the scenes, making deals and making things disappear. When others noticed, that’s what they started calling me.”
“Disappear…do you do that to people, too?”
I keep my entire focus on her, voice dropping. “Sometimes.”
“And what, you disappear too?” She asks, eyes sharpening.
Humming, I feel as something heavy and indistinguishable passes between us. “When I need to.”
Elena blinks back at me, letting the faintest shiver move through her. I catch it, knowing it’s not from the cold.
Good.
After a beat, I nod toward the car, unlocking the doors with a press of the button. “We’re leaving.”
She hesitates, still not moving, as if the realization has set in again. “Where?”
