Page 9 of My Ghost

I rip my eyes away from him to look back at Lily, only to catch her watching me with a knowing look and a small, amused smile tugging at her lips.

“What?”I ask, way too defensively.

Her smirk widens.“You just looked like a cat spotting a bowl of cream.”

“I did not!”I protest, shaking my head like that might erase the evidence.But then a few low words float over from the nearby chairs.

“…a dogfighting ring?”Damiano says in a clipped tone.

I freeze, straining my ears.

Matteo nods once.“Yeah.”

“That doesn’t sound like his M.O.I thought the guy stuck to human exploitation?”

“Until now.But believe me, it’s him.It’s exactly the way he operates, the information sent to authorities, the careful way he erased his traces.I’d recognize his signature anywhere.It was the same guy who tried to breach our network and who takes down trafficking rings, the Ghost.”

I feel all the blood drain from my face.Lily covertly nudges my foot from under the sofa and it snaps my attention back to her.I see that she heard that too, and we both lock eyes, pretending to be engrossed in a conversation while our ears are strained on their discussion.

“So, you haven’t found him yet?”Damiano goes on.

My stomach flips and my heart leaps up my throat.What does he mean?Why aretheylooking for me?Because it’s my covert activity they are discussing, no mistake there.

Matteo exhales slowly, frustration radiating off him.“Not yet, but I will.The guy is a ghost.But even ghosts leave trails, and I will find him.”

Damiano lets out a humorless chuckle.“Sounds like it’s getting personal.”

“It is.”Matteo’s voice is low and clipped.“I’ve tried everything, tracking his connection through data packets, setting digital traps, even offering fake job gigs on the darknet to lure him out.Nothing worked.The bastard didn’t bite once.”

Damiano raises a brow.“So he’s disciplined.”

“He’s good,” Matteo concedes, jaw tight.“But not perfect.Everyone leaves a fingerprint.Yet I don’t get him.He’s not doing it for money or power, he doesn’t sell the data to the highest bidder.He merely…takes the rings down, then vanishes.”

Lily nudges me again and subtly motions toward the double doors.We stand up, pretending to go refill our glasses, and slip into the kitchen.

Once we’re alone, she turns to me and asks in a hushed voice, “What was that talk about a dogfighting ring?That was you, right?”

I let out a slow breath and nod.“On Tuesday, someone brought in a dog in really bad shape.Mira asked me if she should report it.She suspected abuse.I told her I’d take care of it, so I did.Turns out it was a dogfighting ring.”I give her a sheepish smile.She shakes her head, but I catch the flicker of approval in her eyes.

“I can’t blame you.If I’d been there, I would’ve gone straight to Dark.”Her voice softens.“But, Erin…be careful.You don’t live here, so you might not understand how much power these men hold.Damiano, Lucas and Matteo, they rule this city.And now, you’ve drawn attention to yourself.Maybe an anonymous call to the police would have been safer?”

I snort.“A call might’ve started a months-long investigation, if they even took it seriously.This way, I gave them everything on a silver platter.All they had to do was pick it up.”Then I glance at her, suddenly curious.“I know Damiano is the boss, but what about Lucas and Matteo?They’re not just hired muscle, are they?”

She hesitates, glancing toward the living room.“Lucas is Dark’s second.And Matteo…” She lowers her voice even more.“He’s the enforcer.”

My breath catches in my throat.

Shit, they are big fish.Very big fish.I swallow hard.

“And what about all the cyber stuff?”I ask.“Does he have a highly skilled cyber team under his command or something like that?”

Hesitation flickers briefly in her eyes.

“Lily, I’m sorry to put you in this position.I know this might feel like a loyalty test, but that’s not what this is.I need to understand what I’m dealing with.You know I’d never do anything that could hurt you, directly or indirectly.”

She exhales slowly.“I know.And I trust you.”She pauses, clearly weighing her words.“It’s…hard to explain.Matteo doesn’t have a cyber team to speak of.Heisthe team.He’s not just the enforcer, he’s the one they call the Hunter.”

The name sends a shiver down my spine.