“No,” he replied. “Not yet.”
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. “Is that why you wear the mask? Because you’re a veteran and don’t want your face to be seen throughout all of this? Or did you get injured?”
When he didn’t automatically respond, I dropped my hands and looked up at him.
Only to find that green-eyed intensity bearing down onto me.
“Well?” I asked as I flopped my hands out to the sides. “You put a fucking cameras in my apartment. You owe me answers.”
His eye twitched at that. “Yes.”
I tilted my head. “Yes, what?”
“I wear the mask because I was injured.”
It was my turn to pause. “What happened?”
He took a step toward me. “Jaz, I swear to you, you’re safe here. The cameras? They were just part of my role in all of this. I knew that you were the one we needed. The one we all needed to help us shed light on the inside of that place.”
“What happened to your face, Ghost?”
He shook his head and backtracked. “I should go see if Ranger’s done.”
“You passed off my laptop minutes ago. I’m sure he’s not?—”
“I’ll go check anyway,” he said flatly.
I watched him storm out of his bedroom.
LikeIwas the one that had fucked up.
19
GHOST
I was so fucked.
Absolutely fucked.
More than fucked, honestly.
Because had I not left, I would have answered.
And I never wanted to answer that question with anyone before.
I stormed down the hall and shoved Ranger’s door open without thinking.
A deep, thunderous bark exploded from inside the room.
Before I even got my bearings, something black and fast lunged toward me. Smoke.
All black fur and muscle and teeth, ears pinned forward, hackles up as he planted himself between me and Ranger’s bed.
“Easy!” Ranger snapped.
The dog froze instantly but didn’t move away from me. Just stood there, massive chest rising and falling, eyes locked on mine like he was weighing whether I was worth tearing apart.
“You better fucking knock next time,” Ranger growled as he moved past Smoke and shoved me back into the hallway.
