Page 77 of Ghost

“What about you? How did you grow up?” she asks. “You lived with Legacy’s family, right?”

“Most of my childhood, yes. I moved in with his family when I was ten.” I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her against me.

“What about before that?”

“My parents were still around.”

“I didn’t realize you knew them.” She frowns. “You never talk about your parents.”

“There’s not much to talk about. My father was an alcoholic, and my mom wasn’t much better. But at least she pretended to give a shit.” My throat burns thinkingabout them. “Even when they were around, I spent more time at Legacy’s house than mine. So, after they died in the car crash, his family took me in.”

“A car crash?”

I nod. “Dad was wasted. He and my mom started arguing, and she swung at him, then he lost control of the car.”

“You seem to know a lot about it.”

“I was in the car with them.”

Luna’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry, Marcus. I didn’t know.”

“You couldn’t have.” I brush her cheek with my thumb. “I only remember it in bits and pieces. I remember the before, and I remember the after. The actual accident is really fucking blurry.”

“Now I understand a little more about why you and Legacy are so close.”

“He’s the closest thing to family I’ve got left.”

And the last person I planned to let in until Luna stormed into my life and changed everything.

“Well, you have me now.” She smiles tentatively. “If you want me around, that is.”

“Want you around…” I dig my fingers into the back of her hair. “More like I need you around.”

“You mean it?”

“More than you can process, Luna Cassidy.”

She smiles, and I pull her in for a kiss. I sink into the illusion that her good balances out my evil. Maybe it does—even if just for this moment.

24

Ghost

Around lunchtime, Luna disappearsto eat with some of the girls while I continue to work. She brings me a sandwich at one point, and it’s the kind of domestic thing I see Tempe doing for Steel when he’s stuck at the club late, but it’s not something anyone has ever done for me.

I’ve always been responsible for myself—even when my parents were still around.

They were always too busy getting drunk or high to remember they had a kid. Then they were gone. Sometimes, I forget that should probably affect me. But as I told Luna about them, I realized I don’t feel that loss anymore.

They exist now as a hole in my chest that I assumed couldn’t be filled.

Until Luna brought me a sandwich, and it colored in this blank spot inside me. She slips into gaps I didn’t realize existed.

Leaning back in my chair, I wait for a final security update to download. I close my eyes and try to think about anything but Luna because then I’ll just start missing her too damn much, and she just dropped in to give me a kiss fifteen minutes ago.

I imagine the Vegas grid and try to decide where the man who hired Luna is hiding. I’ve narrowed it down to a few locations, but hitting every one will spread us too thin and wear on our already limited resources.

Steel needs answers.

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