Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
I’m so angry over that fact. I was so young at the time that it wasn’t like I could press my father to do more or argue with him when he didn’t, and maybe my anger toward Nico now is a bit misdirected. Regardless, I’m furious that no one other than me batted an eye over the elimination of a woman as wonderful as my mom.
“So, you think that just because you weren’t able to find out anything either, that suddenly means it’s my father’s fault?” I lash out at him. “That’s rich. If my father made a mistake in his oversight of the investigation, I’m sure there would have been hell to pay. He has a superior to report to, and it’s not like there weren’t other people overseeing the investigation, too. Perhaps you should consider the fact that he was grieving and that he might not have been as clear-headed as he should have been. Mistakes happen—you should know. You made one yourself that night by not acting sooner.”
Nico grimaces as if my words hurt him. For a guy who prides himself on being detached and emotionless, he’s doing a poor job of keeping to that mantra right now, here with me. “How many times do I have to tell you that I did my best that night?”
“Your best?” My emotions are frantic, and my voice is nearing the point of shouting at him. We’ve been talking about all of this for over an hour, and yet somehow, I feel like I’m even more lost and confused now than I was before I drove all the way out here to his hidey-hole in the desert.
“How can that be true? You’re the Ghost. You’re best is supposed to be perfect. You’re supposed to be able to see and hear everything, to act flawlessly and instantly. Your name is whispered on the lips of even the most powerful mafia bosses as if you’re revered. And yet all you have to say for yourself about that night is that you blame my father for a botched investigation and that you did your best?”
Heat flushes my face. I can feel it warming my cheeks and stinging my eyes. I will not start crying. He won’t see any weakness in me. I refuse. Instead, I let my anger boil until I feel as if I might explode.
“You failed that night,” I grit out, fighting hard to hold onto my emotions and my grief before it overwhelms me. “You think that you failed on the night he was killed because you acted too soon. But on the night my mom was killed, you failed because you acted too late.”
Nico stares at me intensely. I can’t read his expression well enough to know if he’s going to discard my outrage or let it anger him to the point of doing something dangerous. It doesn’t matter. I meant what I said, and I don’t care if he lashes out at me. At this point, if I can’t get closure on the one thing that has driven my life for years, then what else is there for me to chase after? But to my surprise, as the apex of our volatile confrontation erupts into a surge of heated, conflicted emotions on both our behalves, Nico doesn’t react aggressively toward me—at least not in the way that I might have expected.
He gets up and rounds the table slowly, as if he’s trying to keep himself carefully restrained and not act recklessly while emotions are running unchecked. He stands beside my chair, and I get to my feet to meet him on even footing. I want him to know that he doesn’t intimidate me. The racing of my heart would beg to differ, but I’m not entirely sure that it’s intimidation causing that to happen or the nearness with which Nico now hovers over me. His piercing cold blue eyes stare through me just as they have in my memories and dreams for all these years. He might be the Ghost, but he’s too breathtakingly handsome to be an apparition. I want to hate him so badly that it makes my skin burn. But despite myself, I can’t stop wanting him too.
For a frozen moment, I hold my breath, and he holds his tongue. But then, that moment breaks.
“I didn’t fail that night in the alleyway, Elle, because I saved you.” As soon as the last word leaves his mouth, something cracks wide open inside of Nico. Without warning, he reaches out to grab me and pulls my body against his.
I don’t resist. I don’t even try to. I melt against him as he puts his mouth on mine, and I feel the ground shift beneath me.
After all this time, and all these thoughts, I’ve never actually touched him. It makes everything feel so much more real, less like a dream or a faded illusion in my head, as I feel his hand grip the small of my back and his tongue push between my parted lips to meet with mine.