Page 93 of Ghost

Luna watches him go. “Does he ever sit still?”

“No,” Legacy and I both answer at the same time.

“Remember that time in Des Moines?” I ask.

Legacy laughs. “You were still on life number three, and somehow, that asshole had already made it all the way across town to fuck that stripper and come back.”

“Life number three?” Luna’s eyebrows pinch.

“Oh shit.” Legacy takes a hit, standing up. “Sorry, thought your girl knew how you got your road name.”

Legacy gives me an apologetic smile as he walks to where Chaos and Venom are standing at the barbeque.

“That sounds ominous.” Luna looks up at me. “I always thought they called you Ghost because you keep to yourself, and you’re pretty quiet.”

“That’s probably where it started.” I rub the back of her shoulder with my thumb. “But that’s not all of it.”

She watches me take a sip of my beer, and as much as I want to tell her everything, part of me wants to keep it to myself. She sees me as a safe space, and she knows I’ll do anything to protect her. But I’m not sure she’s ready to face the extent of what that means yet.

“Will you tell me the rest?” she asks.

I drag my hand down my face, debating if she’s ready to hear it. But one look in her eyes and I know there’s no lying to this girl.

“The nickname came from King.”

“Legacy’s dad?”

I nod. “A ghost is what’s left of the dead. It’s the shit that haunts us. And that’s what I was when I moved in with them—haunted.”

She frowns.

“It’s not as depressing as it sounds.” I brush the back of her hand with my thumb. “I was carrying around a lotof shit after my parents died. He said I could let it haunt me, or I could let it be my weapon—where I found my strength. So that’s what I did. King reminded me I still had fight left.”

“Sounds like you were close with him.”

“I was.” I tighten my grip on her shoulder, taking another sip of my beer. “But road names are like people; they change over time. Sometimes, I think the name made me, and other times, I think I made it. For a while, I thought it was all I was.”

Luna turns her body toward mine, tracing the letters tattooed across my knuckles.

Death.

It’s my single truth. What I was born from and what I bring to this world.

“You’re more thanGhostto me, Marcus.” She runs her fingers over the letters. “So much more.”

“I appreciate that.” Cupping her jaw in my hand, I graze my thumb over the apple of her cheek. “You make me feel like a person again, and I didn’t think that was possible.”

The smile that peeks from the corners of her mouth is so pure and sweet. Leaning in, I steal a kiss.

A hum radiates through her chest, and my body vibrates at the feel of her in my arms—at her lips on mine. Brushing her cheek, I look down at her and see all the good in the world that I’ve been missing out on.

“What did Legacy mean about the third life?”

“That”—I release her jaw, sitting back—“is another story.”

“One you’re going to tell me, or not?”

Luna’s one of the least judgmental people I’ve ever met, but I don’t want her to see me differently. Or to think that just because I have a dark side, I could hurt her.

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