Page 64 of The Reaper's Vice

Ghost twists so his back is against the wall, and using his momentum, he slams me against the surface to try to dislodge me.

“Strong for…an old geezer… aren’t you?” I choke out between each body slam. Ghost lets out a furious growl, ripping his dagger from its sheath before shoving it—rather unceremoniously—into my thigh.

Ah. That’ll do it.

Searing pain branches out to all my nerve endings, and my reflexes take over, forcing me to loosen my death grip on Ghost. And that’s all he needs.

With one last, final shake, Ghost dislodges me. My body thumps to the floor, and I don’t have time to blink before Ghost is through the bedroom door.

I fight the pain in my leg as I straighten, a furious snarl leaving my mouth as I limp after him. By the time I get there, Ghost is staring wide-eyed at a bound and naked Seraphina. He turns his head to the side, blindly grabbing a sheet from the floor and tossing it over her.

Face red as a tomato, Seraphina sputters at the sight of Ghost. “Sir, youhaveto help me. That maniac—he took me and he?—”

“I don’t appreciate being called a maniac,” I interrupt, a pout forming.

“I’m not talking toyou.” She bares her teeth at me, fighting to calm her expression before looking back at Ghost. Something like recognition crosses her face as she takes him in, but it’s gone in the next moment. “Please, please help me.”

Ghost freezes, looking between the golden-eyed girl and me several times before shaking his head. “I can’t.”

“What the fuck? Why not?”

Ghost regards her. “I know what you are,girl.I know what you stand for and who is looking for you.”

Seraphina’s mouth parts in shock, but before she has a chance to ask, Ghost turns to me, fire in his violet eyes. “Did you think what you did at the Neon Flamingo would have no consequences? Did you stop forone minuteto think about the identities or the ties of the people you massacred? Do you not realize what danger you’ve put this young woman in? What danger you’ve putyourselfin?”

I open my eyes wide, showing him every ounce of my sincerity as I say, “Say ‘Neon Flamingo’ again. That shit was priceless.”

Ghost snarls, but the sound of a throat clearing draws our attention back to Seraphina.

“Yeah, so I’m still here.Whois looking for me?”

Ghost ignores her. “Honestly, Orion, I raised you to be smarter than this.”

I roll my eyes. “You didn’traise me. You just gave me a space to crash while you were out murdering people for the Sanctum.”

At my last word, Seraphina gasps. When I look at her, that recognition is back in full force, and it’s aimed directly at Ghost. “I know you… you were at the Sanctum that night—the night I…” A frown pinches her brow as her voice fades, confusion replacing the clarity she held in her gaze moments before. “I don’t remember…”

Ghost’s lips thin, something akin to sympathy crossing his expression. “I remember you, too. You saved my life that night. Almost ten years to the day.”

Seraphina nods, her eyes glazing over as she’s lost to some memory. “Did I…?”

Ghost sighs, turning to me with an unspoken order in his gaze. With one last look toward Seraphina, I follow him out of the bedroom, my gut twisting with unease.

As soon as the door clicks, I grab Ghost’s arm. “She was with you that night at the Sanctum? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” I can still remember that night ten years ago like it was yesterday. The bodies. The blood. The sight of Ghost dying on the ground.

Ghost looks off to the side, his throat bobbing. “Honestly, I’m not sure why I didn’t tell you. Maybe I was so naive at the time, so grateful to be alive and free, I decided Seraphina wouldn’t be a problem.” His gaze hardens. “I should have known better.”

“She’s not aproblem.” Red crowds the edges of my vision at the implication that Seraphina is anything other than perfect. “She’s had a shit past—neither of us can hold that one against her. I’ve gotten to know her, Ghost—I don’t think she even remembers much about the Sanctum. And if she does, she sure as shit doesn’t want to be a part of them anymore.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, refusing to look at me. “That’snotthe problem, Orion. You didn’t grow up in the Sanctum, so you don’t realize what they’re like.” At this, he raises his head, but the emotion in his eyes strangles my heart. “It doesn’tmatterwhat she wants. She belongs to them, and they will not stop hunting for her until she agrees to be theirs, or she is dead.”

My fist clenches at my side. “Then I’ll protect her. I’ll take out every last rat bastard crawling through this city until the Sanctum is gone, once and for all. I’ll keep her safe?—”

“She’s not some wounded crow you found in the woods, Orion—she’s the next Madam of the Sanctum! You’re hurting her by keeping her caged against her will.”

“I’m helping her?—”

“You’re not helping her! You’re just deluding yourself!” His chest rises and falls rapidly, a pink flush creeping up his neck. “This isnotlike Brett and me, Orion. As much as you want it to be, it cannot.”

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