Page 24 of Bride of Vengeance
"Together?"
The question hangs between us like a challenge. She's asking if I'm willing to tie my fate to hers, if the phantom is ready to become human for the woman who's been hunting him.
"Together."
Something shifts in her expression, a decision being made. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'll trust you." She straightens her shoulders, and I can see the steel that makes her such a formidable opponent returning. "But I want answers. All of them. No more half-truths or deflections."
"Agreed."
"And I want to help plan whatever comes next. I'm not going to hide behind you while you fix this mess."
Stubborn, brave little wolf.
"Also agreed."
She nods, satisfied with the terms of our temporary partnership. "Good. Now show me where I'm sleeping, because tomorrow we're going to war."
War.She has no idea how appropriate that word is. Harrison has decades of experience, unlimited resources, and the full weight of the federal government behind him.
All we have is each other and the truth.
But sometimes that's enough to bring down an empire.
I lead her toward the guest bedroom, hyperaware of her presence behind me, of the way she moves through my space like she belongs here. At the doorway, she pauses.
"Mikhail?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you... For saving my life. And for trusting me with the truth about you." She looks up at me with those amber eyes that see everything. "For giving me a chance to make this right."
Don't thank me yet, little wolf. By the time this is over, you may wish I'd left you in that burning warehouse.
"Get some rest," I tell her instead. "Tomorrow we start hunting the real monster."
She disappears into the guest room, and I'm left alone in the hallway of my pristine house that suddenly feels too large and too empty.
Somewhere out there, Harrison is spinning tonight's events into a narrative that will destroy us both. Federal agents are searching for the infamous Ghost and the traitorous agent who helped him escape. The most sophisticated manhunt in New York's history is mobilizing to find us.
But for the first time in fifteen years, I'm not running alone.
And that changes everything.
Chapter seven
Caged with the Wolf
Mariana
I wake up in a bed that costs more than my yearly rent.
The sheets are Egyptian cotton, the kind that feels like silk against skin that's used to department store thread counts. The fatigue and heaviness in my body are still so intense that for one disorienting moment I forget where I am.
Then it all comes rushing back. The assassination attempt. The firefight in my apartment. Mikhail appearing like some deadly guardian angel to save my life. The federal manhunt that's turned me into America's most wanted.
