Page 29 of The Phantom's Vice

She shakes her head, her throat bobbing. “You’re wrong, Jim. You’rewrong.”

“You weredrugged,Brett,” he whispers, his eyes shooting off to the side nervously. “You don’t know what you saw, what you heard. How the hell are you so sure it was him, anyway?”

She pins him with a hard stare. “I just know.”

Jim laughs humorously. “Oh, you just know? That’s great, Brett. Fantastic,” he sneers, pressing off his heels to stand. “Only therealityis that you don’t know what you saw. We have the real Phantom in custody right now. I thought you would be happy about that.”

“It’s nothim, Jim. If you would let me explain?—”

“STOP IT!” he shouts, his face curling in a horribly menacing way. “Just—just fucking stop,” he breathes, his chest heaving. “Leave it alone, Brett. We caught him. We won.”

She scoffs, pushing to her feet like him andraises her chin, sending that glare full force at her partner. “You’rewrong,Jim. And I’m going to prove it.” Before he can get another word in, she turns on her heel and stomps toward the stairs, not giving him the satisfaction of a look back.

I grin as I watch her ascend, that tightness growing in my lower abdomen as I get a flash of her perfect round ass.What I wouldn’t give to be inside her…My attention shifts as I notice the rest of the curious partygoers beginning to file up the stairs after Brett. I follow suit, keeping my head dipped low like so many other staff members.

Soon. Very soon—I have no doubt about it.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

BRETT

Jane Evangeline: Entry #7

I’m pleased to write that I was able to keep it in my pants during my meeting with Hudson tonight. I’ve learned a lot of useful information about the Sanctum—although I admit, I wish I had been able to learn more about him as well.

Hudson tells me that at the top of it all is the Madam. A woman so ruthless, so cunning, she has the world’s most highly trained killers trembling at her feet. And after the few stories Hudson detailed, I know it’s for good reason. No one knows anything about her or how she came to be in power. The system has been going on so long and is so secretive that even Phantom’s are left in the dark.

It seems that the more I find out, the more questions I have.

I hope for my next entry, I’ll have more information.

Jim offersto drive me home. We spend the dive in awkward silence, nothing but the rumble of the road and soft rock on his radio station to break the stifling quiet. As soon as we pull in front of my apartment building, a wave of nerves pours over me, and I try to ease the tension by offering Jim a smile.

“Thanks for the lift,” I say.

“Don’t mention it.” He still refuses to look at me. Ever since our argument, he’s been different. Distant. And it’s not like I can’t blame him—after all, I could have easily broken the silence on the drive back. I could have apologized, but I chose not to.Why didn’t I just apologize?

“So, um… I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Sure thing.”

I try to catch his eye, but Jim is currently looking at something fascinating on his fingernail. “Jim? Is everything okay?”

He finally meets my gaze, and I have to stop myself from flinching at the disappointment hidden in their golden depths. “Why wouldn’t it be, Brett?”

The way he says my name is like a curse, and I fight the instinct to hold myhand over my heart—the place that hurts. “You just seem… ever since our talk, you haven’t been yourself.”

Jim sighs, facing forward and placing his hands on the steering wheel. “Just drop it, Brett. And leave this Phantom stuff alone, okay?” For a moment, his eyes shoot to mine, but it’s so quick I can’t be sure it actually happened. “I don’t want to have to bury any more colleagues, okay?”

“Okay, Jim,” I whisper, giving him that same awkward smile as earlier. “I got it. Consider it dropped.”

Jim nods, more to himself than me. “Okay. Good… you need some help upstairs?”

I shake my head, one leg already out the door. “I’m good. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, yeah?”

“Of course. Be safe, Brett.”

I close the door, standing like an idiot on the sidewalk and waving as Jim speeds off down the road. I look out at the dark streets, loneliness overwhelming me, weighing me down. I look up at the sky, wishing I was able to see the stars. With the remnants of Molly in my system, I bet they would look spectacular. As I gaze at the smog-covered sky, I can’t stop thinking about what Jim said after I woke up.Leave this Phantom stuff alone.

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