Ghost's Treasure (19 page)

She took the offering with a small smile. "Thanks."

For a long moment, he paused. "I programmed my cell number into your new phone. Call me if you need anything. Otherwise, I'll stop by later in the day to help you with the bigger stuff."

"I would appreciate it." She smiled up at him. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

He stared at her for a long moment, then spun on his heel and showed himself out the apartment.

Josie waited until she could no longer hear footfalls on the stairs, then walked over to lock the door behind him.

First, she palmed her phone and dialed her parents, happy to report the situation over with her safe and sound, thanks to her excellent bodyguard. They spoke for a few minutes before she had to cut off with a promise to call them later. She had a big mess to set right and needed to get started before she fell over from exhaustion and lack of sleep. Placing her phone on the cabinet, she released a sigh.

When she turned around, the same fiasco remained as before. "It's not going to clean itself up." With those words, she went to work.

* * * *

Josie kneeled to the floor, picked up a broken table leg, and added the splintered piece to the growing pile of demolished smaller furniture. The break-in over a week before left her present home completely ransacked. Even though the FBI had checked the apartment and cleared out big stuff, they'd left her an abundance of chaos to deal with. They might have tried to organize the mess into cardboard boxes to ensure the place appeared lived in, but the idea proved futile since she had to empty those boxes of miscellaneous things in order to sort everything by category. At least she didn't have to deal with the sofa and bed. From what she gathered, the thief decided she must have hid the jewels inside, so he'd scored both items with a knife, leaving stuffing and strips of mattress and material all over the place.

Walking in early that morning, the mass destruction had frozen her in her tracks. Overwhelmed with the immense mess, she'd spent several minutes simply surveying the damage and pulled on sheer determination to face the facts. She could no longer feel safe in her apartment but also carried a sense of violation, anger, and immense sadness. Whatever made her think she could return to her normal existence proved wrong. Very wrong.

As tired as she felt from a sleepless night full of worry, she couldn't lie down and nap, not with the present state of her home. Not to mention she had no place to stretch out besides the littered floor.

Unable to find a bare spot and face closing her eyes for some much needed rest, Josie instead opted to put her antsy nervous energy to good use. Starting with her entire wardrobe strewn all over the floor, she sorted clothes into groups and started a mountain of laundry. Luckily, her apartment boasted a small washer and dryer, affording her the luxury of doing her laundry in private and not having to hang out in the large laundry room in the basement area. The thought of a strange man pawing through her undies and other garments motivated her to add a bit of bleach to the water whenever possible. Next came the dishes. She filled the dishwasher full of utensils, pots, and pans, which had decorated the kitchen floor in an uncoordinated display of hurried anger. With those longer timed tasks in progress, she focused on picking up odds and ends, throwing away food turned into science experiments from the refrigerator, and continued to strive to place her apartment in some sort of order.

Even with hours of effort behind her, everywhere she looked more bundles and piles demanded her attention. Fatigue washed over her, but she plodded along anyway, her mind unable to rest until the apartment glowed with cleanliness and the potent scent of bleach permeated the whole area.

Dropping another piece of paper into a trash sack, she paused to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Five large trash bags waited in the kitchen, stuffed full with belongings now in shambles and pieces of the shredded couch. None of the objects were of great importance, yet the sight of broken baubles and basic items left her heartbroken and defeated. Whoever did this managed to touch and destroy nearly everything in his path.

The first tear slipped down her cheek. Then the dam broke. Josie crumbled to the floor beside the stack of useless trash, which used to be her sofa cushions, and began to sob. Everything hit her at once as she finally let her firm resolve soften. The fear, the horrors she'd seen, the lengths a greedy person would go in order to get their hands on old jewelry, the reality of death hovering over her head and Ghost's for the duration of the event. The uncertainty from one day to the next of what would happen, if they would survive, if someone would bash in the door with guns blazing. Sadness crept to the fore. Everything she'd lost with the small invasion and the traumatic memories she'd have to carry from here on out. All because she purchased a box of books at an estate sale.

How long she sat on the floor bawling her eyes out, she didn't know. Only that at some point, a male voice penetrated her fog of grief.

"Josie?"

Glancing up, she wiped at the tears enough to make out Ghost, momentarily surprised and stunned because she'd locked the door until she recalled his background. Picking locks probably was a skill SEAL school taught in the first week.

He grabbed her around the middle and hefted her to her feet. Once there, she plastered herself against his chest, thankful for his presence as she soaked up his warmth, support, and solid being. His arm wrapped around her, holding her tight, as he softly stroked the hair out of her face.

Another torrent of tears escaped, trailing down her cheeks and falling onto his shirt, turning the medium blue material dark with dampness. Resting her head on his shoulder, she sucked in air, trying to collect herself.

"It's okay. I'm here." His soft voice crooned in her ear as he rubbed his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.

She soaked up the affection and his presence for a few minutes before her pride demanded she turn off the waterworks and stand back on her own two feet. Leaning back, she stared into his face, then threw caution to the wind.

Standing on tiptoe, she pressed her lips against his in a non-verbal gesture straight from the heart. He'd be leaving her today, and she couldn't find the words to tell him how she felt. Instead, she let her body communicate her feelings.

For a heart-stopping moment, Ghost didn't respond. Just as a wave of panic rose, he cupped the back of her head, seized control of the kiss, and expertly plied her lips with his, flicking his tongue over her bottom lip, then nibbling until she opened with a gasp of delight. Immediately, he delved in, seeking her depths, entreating her to a sultry exploration that sent messages of pleasure to her brain and caused her stomach to do a slow somersault as she waded deeper into the kiss. Following his lead, she pushed her tongue into his mouth, played a quick game of tag, and counted his teeth as she wrapped both arms around his neck to secure her position for the long haul.

He tilted his head, adjusted their position, and meshed their mouths once more. She drank his essence, mirrored his actions, and flew on the wings of pleasure.

Ghost rested his hand on her cheek, then stepped back, staring intently at her.

Josie fought to catch her breath as he wiped a wayward tear away. She met his gaze and waited.

"All better?"

She nodded. "Yes, thank you. I guess the fatigue and the mess sent me into a pity party. But I'm fine now."

"You've been through a lot and held yourself together with sheer determination. It was only a matter of time before everything came to a head." He caressed her cheek with his thumb as if committing her face to memory.

Josie cocked her head and leaned into his touch. "I could say the same about you."

His face remained stoic.

For a split second, she considered pursuing the topic but changed her mind. Right then she needed him to understand how much he'd grown on her, not to get into another argument over his lack of expressed emotions. That particular conversation could come later. If he'd agree to seeing her again. "Look, this may be bold of me, but…" She paused.

He lifted an eyebrow. "But what?"

Sucking in a breath, she gathered her wits and threw caution to the wind. "But I want to see you again. Would you go out with me?"
There, I said it.
Eagerly, she searched his face and waited to hear his reply.

Ghost dropped his hand and turned away. A few steps later, he turned to look back at her. "Josie. We've been through this before. You know I'm not what you're looking for. I'm an assassin. A killer."

She shook her head and walked over to him, lifting an index finger to his lips to quell his lecture. He stopped talking and just looked at her.

"More than that. Much more. A great man, full of bravery and courage. The one who stuck with an assignment he hated, stayed by me when he wanted to drop me off at FBI headquarters and return to his peaceful downtime. A man who put his life on the line more than once to save mine, who makes his living doing a task few take on in order to keep the rest of us safe. You do what you have to for the good of others."

He swallowed as his eyes flashed with intensity. "I've got scars. Carry demons. Those won't go away. You don't need…"

She brushed her finger over his lips, then down the cute little dimple of his chin. "I know the man you are, Ghost. A whole man whom I'd be honored to see again."

Silence answered. She dropped her hand and waited as a lump formed in her throat. His choice. She'd said everything she could to make him see himself through her eyes. If he couldn't move forward from his past, they had no hope as a couple and she might as well find that out tonight.

Ghost sidestepped her. "I brought food. We better get to eating before it gets cold."

His response left her in limbo. While he didn't reject her, he didn't accept her, either. She clung to hope and lifted her chin. Patience would win the day. She possessed enough stubbornness to ensure the fact.

"Thank you." She shot him a small smile. "I was getting pretty hungry, and after cleaning the science experiments out of my fridge, I think I have bottle of ketchup left."

He pulled out a chair from the still intact dining table and started unpacking.

Josie plopped down opposite and sighed. "That smells delicious."

Tension eased noticeably from his shoulders as he unloaded their meal. "One of the small Mom and Pop restaurants does carry out. Everything's homemade."

She grabbed one of the drink cups, then looked down at the plate Ghost set before her. A full entrée of chicken, potatoes, green beans, and a roll. Her stomach growled loudly.

Ghost glanced her way, and the corner of his mouth hitched up. The change in his expression made him all the more handsome, nearly taking her breath away. "Better eat up. You'll need the energy to finish this mess."

She smiled gratefully, grabbed the plastic fork, and dug in hungrily.

Maybe he evaded her question for now. However, she didn't sweat the fact. Not when he took the time, energy, and money to drive over to her trashed apartment, bring her a wonderful meal, and promise to help clean up the mess afterward. Perhaps a bit odd compared to traditional dating, but she'd take it. Gladly.

By the time they finished eating and added the carry out remains to the latest trash bag, Josie felt re-energized. Though exhausted, she knew her home would be back in order fairly quickly, setting her world almost right again.

Ghost volunteered to carry the trash sacks to the dumpster out back, assuring her his wound didn't hurt and lifting wouldn't injure him further. While he did so, she headed back to the bedroom, picked up the broom, and started sweeping up chunks of broken material and large pieces of mattress stuffing. The hardwood floors aided her cleanup immensely. If she had carpet, stains would now mar the material, forcing her to shell out top dollar for the item to be changed out before she moved.

"This place is looking pretty bare." Ghost stepped into the small bedroom, his eyes raking over what remained.

Basically a dresser survived the attack along with her headboard. The FBI had already removed her dissected mattresses.

"You don't have anywhere to sleep. No bed, no couch."

She eyed the empty room and fought back tears once more. Grabbing the dust pan, she used the broom to shove the debris on to the small plastic object, then walked over to dump the remains in yet another trash bag. She'd repeated the process at least a hundred times throughout the day. Her back reminded her of each one as a dull throb began each time she bent over.

Ghost stepped forward and snagged the broom from her hands. "Do you want to stay at my house until you can get more furniture?"

She met his gaze and swallowed hard. For a moment, she clung to his proposal before common sense and independence kicked in. "As much as I truly appreciate your offer, I can't."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why not?"

Josie sucked in a breath and went with pure honesty. "Because I want to way too much."

"I don't get it."

"If I spend the night at your house, I'll only be running from my present situation, attempting to escape having to deal with my new reality. Tomorrow, I'll want the same thing and the next day after. It's not about the bed or the couch, it's about sleeping in a place where I don't feel as safe as I once did."

"Can you move?" He began to form another pile with the borrowed broom.

"Yes. My lease is up next month. I intend to start looking for apartments immediately. Until then, I have my pride and my stubbornness. Running doesn't help, and I would never forgive myself for the cowardice of not spending another night here. As much as I would love to stay with you, I need to face my demons here first."

Ghost paused as if absorbing her words, then he nodded. "Fair enough. But the floor's going to be damn uncomfortable."

She shrugged. "Like camping. I'll make a pallet. It'll be enough. For tonight." Walking over, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You don't know how much your offer means to me or how much I want to jump on it."