“Fucking cockroaches,” The Ghost mutters.
I tighten my grip on my own gun and quietly start to stand up. I’m going to need to catch him off guard if I don’t want a surprise bullet through my head too. I’m in the middle of calculating my approach when the large metal door just below the flickering light swings open.
Fuck.
“Shit,” The Ghost grunts as a young woman wearing an apron and carrying two large bags of garbage takes in the scene in front of her with wide eyes. “They deserved it, believe me,” he says, before I hear the clatter of metal.
It takes me a few seconds to place the sound, and then I curse again.He’s gone.He went up the fire escape and he’s fucking gone. All I see is a shadow disappearing over the edge of the rooftop and out of sight.
He really is a fucking ghost, isn’t he?
The girl is in the wrong damn place at the wrong time and is still staring at the dead bodies in horror, so I decide to take pity on her. I step out from behind the dumpster and she screams, flinging the garbage bags at me then darting back inside. Thedoor closes with a loudthud, and I’d bet she makes sure to lock it too.
I stuff my hands into my pockets and stand over the two bodies with a sigh, shaking my head. Getting rid of bodies is below my fucking pay grade. I can’t call Xav or any of the Moretti soldiers though, not without having to admit that I had The Ghost and I let him get away. Fuck me.
I don’t have a car with me or any way to transport them, so there’s only so much I can do anyway. It’s better if they aren’t just lying right in the middle of the damn alley, at least, right?
With a grunt, I bend down and grab the limp, lifeless body of the bald one and drag him over to the dumpster I was just hiding behind. I can see why Xaviaro is always bitching about dealing with dead bodies now. It’s a pain in the fucking ass to get this two-hundred-pound rag doll into the dumpster. I’m sweating by the time I manage it, and I still have one more to go. If I ever do meet The Ghost face-to-face, I’m going to tell him he’s an asshole for making me do this shit. I guess I understand why he’s been leaving his kills lying around now though. This isn’t exactly a one-man job.
The second guy is a little smaller at least, but it still takes a lot of fucking grunting and cursing before his body flops over the rim and thuds down on top of his friend. I grab the garbage bags that girl threw at me and toss them into the dumpster on top of the Reapers. With any luck, the garbage truck will come by and take out the trash before anyone peeks inside and sees them.
When I’m done, I rake my fingers through my sweaty hair to tame it and slip back out of the alley. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see a notification. It’s not another text from Spettro, but it’s just as good. It’s a notification from my new home security system, letting me know that motion was detected at my living room window.
I grin and shove my phone back into my pocket, picking up my pace as I make my way home.
Chapter
Eleven
GHOST
As soon asI swing my leg through Alessio’s window, I tug off my mask and stuff it back into my jacket pocket. He would assume I just came from another B&E anyway, not a murder, but it feels less messy if I can avoid raising any questions. My heart is still thundering with adrenaline and I haven’t slept in thirty-some hours, but it doesn’t matter. I could run a fucking marathon right now. Fuck sleep, there’s nothing more restorative than ridding this city of two more Reapers. Well, maybe there’sonething that could be equally thrilling and energizing…
Alessio’s apartment is dark and silent though.
I left the club before him, but it seemed like he was on his way out too. It should have been plenty of time for him to get back, unless he made another stop on the way. Maybe he’s getting back at me for leaving last night by making me wait. Amusement tugs at my lips. I wonder what kind of punishment he’s hoping for. A spanking? Orgasm denial? He’s such a slut forbeing bred, I could waste my release painting that pretty face of his to teach him a lesson about making me wait.
My cock was already hard from the surge of adrenaline and the promise of another night with my slut, but it throbs impatiently now. The cravings for him were bad enough during the day, but being inside his apartment where I can still hear his moans echoing off the walls and smell the spicy scent of his expensive bodywash permeating the air, I’m right on the edge of madness. I need to devour his mouth and feel the heat of his skin under my hands. I need to hear him beg for me more than I need my next breath.
I don’t know how long I’ve been standing in the dark, imagining a thousand ways to make Alessio gasp my name—Spettro—when I hear a key in the lock. I stride across the apartment in the dark to meet him at the front door as soon as it swings open. He’s shrouded in shadows, backlit by the hallway light, and the surprised gasp he lets out when he realizes I’m there makes my cock jerk and drool.
“Where the hell is your self-preservation, slut? There’s someone lurking in your apartment, ready to ambush you at the door, and you don’t pull your gun?” I scold, grabbing a fistful of his suit jacket and pulling him inside.
He kicks the door shut behind him just in time for me to slam him up against it, crowding in close so I can drag in a deep inhale of the smell of his skin and feel the heat of his breath against my face. He doesn’t smell like alcohol tonight, just sweat and the fading scent of spearmint.
“I already knew it was you,” he says, tilting his chin half an inch, wordlessly begging for my mouth on his.
“But you don’t know who I am,” I remind him.
He chuckles, his eyes meeting mine in the dark. “If you were here to kill me, you wouldn’t waste time scolding me. I’d already be bleeding on the floor.”
I grunt. He’s got a point there. I don’t like the image though, and I definitely don’t like how careless he’s been all day.
I grab his jaw and inch my lips closer to his, so close that he can feel the brush of them with every word I whisper.
“Be more careful. I don’t have the time to hunt down the Fitzgeralds or whoever the fuck else if they get a shot off just because you’re distracted daydreaming about how deep you want me to fuck you.” I nip at his bottom lip and his hips jerk, grinding his hard cock against mine through too many layers of fabric.
“I’ve survived this long, Spettro. Sweet of you to worry about me though.”