“Daddy!”
Christ.His voice breathed life back into me… and I hadn’t even known I was dying.
“Hey, sweetheart, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Does it have to do with the ghost? I promise I’m working as fast as I can.”
Steady, muted clicks of his keyboard could be heard through the phone. The noise tried to camouflage the eager undertones of my boy’s voice.
“I know, baby. It’s not about the ghost. I need you to find someone for me. Can you do that?”
Silence fell over me. I waited for one… two… three seconds before he said, “Are you being serious, Daddy? Of course I can. I can find anybody. Who are you looking for?”
Distaste rolled across my tongue. “Ezra.”
The clicking stopped. “Your… your brother?”
“My mother hasn’t been able to reach him. She’s under the impression I’ve killed him.”
“Have you?”
“No.”
“You should consider it then. Ezra sucks.”
I swept my hand across my mouth and smiled into my palm.Fuck. I loved him.
“Oh, I’ve considered it, sweetheart. I fantasize about it. When the time is right, I’ll send a bullet straight down his throat.”
“And you’ll let me watch, right?”
“Of course.”
He made a happy noise, and not for the first time tonight, I longed to be where he was—catching that sound on my lips and pouring it straight back down his throat.
“I can find him, Daddy.”
“I know you can, Kitten. Call me back as soon as you’ve got a location.”
“Yes, sir. Daddy, sir!”
Fuck. I missed him.
Chin raised,I studied the lights above me, watching the numbers glow as the elevator rose higher and higher. My fist flexed against the fabric of my jacket, and I tossed it over my shoulder with a heavy yawn. It was nearly four in the morning, and as much as I hoped my kitten was tangled up in our sheets sleeping soundly, I knew he wasn’t.
Silas was wide awake… and royally pissed off.
The elevator doors creaked as they opened, and I stepped out into the damp hallway. My shoes clapped against the cement flooring as I walked toward our front door. After punching in the extensive security code, I waited for the heavy clank that signaled the locks disengaging and wrapped my knuckles around the cool steel handle.
I felt his presence the very second I slid the door open, and with a flick of my eyes, I saw him. Silas was standing silently beside his cactus. His palms were trembling as they hovered lightly over the bristles.
“Kitten.”
“I’m mad at you, Daddy!”
I know.
Abandoning my jacket in the doorway, I started toward him. My fingers worked as I walked, rolling my sleeves up past my elbows.