Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“You going inside or are you going to stand out here all night?” I feel a friendly pat on the side of my shoulder and look over to see Vincent Moretti. Beside him, his wife, Isla smiles softly at me.
“Yeah, I am,” I nod. “Good to see both of you.”
“I hear that you’re working security,” he says as the three of us walk inside the church.
“Don’t work too hard, though. Weddings are supposed to be enjoyable events. And if I know Luc, he’s overestimated the amount of security he has here today.”
I muster up a chuckle and pretend that I’m not here for my own purposes. Vincent Moretti is a very connected mafia boss, which means that he has not only heard all the rumors that circulate around him but also probably knows the truth about most of them. So, I go out on a limb and press him with a superficially casual remark.
“Eh, you never know when trouble might erupt,” I shrug casually as I carefully watch for his reaction to what I’m about to say. “They say there’s a Ghost assassin around. Best to be overly cautious, especially in big, prominent crowds like this one.”
Vincent is a master at keeping a poker face. But I am a master at reading people. Even their slightest morsels of body language are things I can pick up on instantly. Which is why I notice the tiny shift in his eyes as he answers me and pretends not to have the slightest clue what I’m talking about.
“The Ghost?” he chuckles as he holds the door open for Isla and me to walk through. “More rumors of fictional men who don’t actually exist. Be careful not to fall into the trap of becoming obsessed with chasing fairytales.”
“Of course,” I smile politely.
Vincent and Isla take their seats in the church pew to watch the ceremony, and I take my place at the side of the cathedral to watch the crowd. His words are meaningless to me because there isn’t a chance in hell that I’m going to stop chasing down the mystery assassin who kills in the shadows and perhaps sometimes even saves lives, too. It’s too late for me to rein in my investigative instincts and relentless determination. I am consumed with profiling him, hunting him—not to bring him in, but to understand him. I want to know what makes this guy tick, and if he is the same man who was with me in the alley the night my mother was killed, I want to know why he did what he did. And I don’t care if everyone, ranging from my former therapist to Las Vegas’s mafia casino kingpin Vincent Moretti himself, tells me that this Ghost is a myth. I know better.
Somewhere in the shadows of this wedding, maybe even sitting in one of the pews, the Ghost could be watching.
And if he is—then so am I.
And when our paths cross again, neither of us will walk away unchanged.
CHAPTER 3
NICO
“You sure that inviting the Ghost was a good idea? We don’t even know whose side he’s on.”
Vincent’s voice is quiet enough that no one else in the cathedral can hear him whispering to Luc as the two of them stand at the front of the church before the ceremony begins. But I can hear everything. Part of what makes me such a lethal killer is my ability to use my heightened senses to see and hear everything. My targets never see me coming, or leaving, for that matter. And currently, my “target” is the conversation that the two of them are having, which gives me no pause in walking right up to them. These are skills that allow me to hide in plain sight.
“Congratulations,” I say to Luciano as I extend my hand.
Neither of them saw me walking up behind them, and it’s clear from their unsettled expressions that they are now both wondering how much of their conversation I’ve heard.
“Thanks,” Luc says, shaking my hand. “But technically, I’m not married yet.”
“I'm going to take that as my cue to go find my seat,” Vincent says as he excuses himself. “Good to see you, Nico.”
“Likewise,” I nod. The pleasantries are standard. I never trust standard, though. To be fair, I never trust anything or anyone.
“Thanks for coming,” Luc says once it’s just the two of us standing together. “Honestly, I’m surprised that you accepted the invitation. I know how rare it is for you to make a public appearance.”
“No offense, but I didn’t come to celebrate your wedding. I came to make sure that Valentina and the unborn child are safe. You said you’d send her to me, and you didn’t. She was almost lost.”
“Yes, I know that, but circumstances changed, and I made adjustments to the plan.”
“Brave,” I say. “And also likely stupid. You took a gamble with the life of the woman you love, and with your unborn child. I never would have done such a thing.”