“People don’t come back from the grave.”
“You have no idea how stubborn I am.”
He turns his head, and his beard tickles my cheek. Looking into my eyes, he presses his thumb against the throbbing pulse in my throat then doesn’t do anything for several seconds.
I think he’s counting my heartbeats.
He could also be deciding where to bury my body.
“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I am afraid of you.”
He examines my expression. “Not very much.”
“Does that insult your ego?”
He makes a motion with his head that’s not a yes or a no, but more like a maybe.
“If it will keep you from killing me, I’ll act very scared. I’ll cry and everything.”
He’s starting to look frustrated. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I can’t help it. I really did believe you when you said I wasn’t in danger from you.” I think for a beat. “I mean, mostly. You are pretty scary. And very large. And Spider almost shit himself when I told him I saw you in the bookstore.”
“Spider’s the blond bodyguard who was with you?”
“Yeah. Oh—can I ask you a favor? Will you please not hurt him? Kieran, either. He’s the other bodyguard. The bigger one. They’re both really nice.”
Malek stares at me in disbelief.
“Sorry. Is that asking too much? It’s just that I’d never get over it if they got hurt because of me. They’re only trying to do their jobs.”
After a moment, he says angrily, “You know who I am. You know what I do. Correct?”
“Yes. I’ve been filled in on the particulars.”
“And you’re lying there with my hand around your neck asking me not to hurt your bodyguards.”
He says it like my sanity is in question.
“I know it’s maybe a little unorthodox.”
“No,” he says flatly.
“Please?”
He growls, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“There’s no need to get testy.”
“Testy?”
“I’m just saying. You don’t have to get all mad about it.”
Furious again, he glares at me, grinding his jaw and probably calculating how much pressure it will take to snap the brittle bird bones in my neck.
Before he does, I say, “I also want to thank you for the rose you left me. That was really nice. I’ve never had a man bring me flowers before. I know it was only the one, and also you thought I was a captive prostitute at the time, but still. It was thoughtful. So thank you.”
He stares at me with an expression somewhere between confusion and amazement, with a healthy dose of disgust on the side.
“Now is probably a good time to remind you that I’m still the same person you left the rose for. So if you did kill me, you’d be killing her, too. Just a thought.”
“Are you on drugs?”
“Not at the moment, no. Why, do you have any?”
“There’s something wrong with you. Mentally. Right?”
That makes me laugh. “Oh, totally. I’ve got more than a few screws loose. At least that’s what my dad tells me. But he’s super uptight, zero imagination, so his opinion doesn’t really count. Not that he’s wrong, because he isn’t, but normies shouldn’t judge creatives. They just have no idea how we’re wired. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’ve never had a conversation with an insane person before.”
“Very funny.”
“It wasn’t a joke.”
“Ouch.”
We stare at each other in silence. His hostile, mine hopeful.
He still hasn’t murdered me, so things are looking up.
“Malek?”
“What.” He says it flatly. With dread.
“Thank you for not killing me.”
He says emphatically, “Don’t thank me yet.”
“You’re still deciding?”
“If only to get you to shut up, yes.”
“In that case…” I make a zipper motion across my lips.
He watches with outrage, astonishment, and absolute disbelief.
“Actually, before I shut up, I also want to say that it was really sweet that you tried to save me from being a sex worker. I mean, what a gentleman! A gentleman killer who gives strangers big wads of cash in restrooms. You’re quite the puzzle, Mr. Ghost. Or is it just Ghost? I’m never sure how the nickname thing works, except between me and my sister, but that doesn’t count because my whole family is a little weird. I’ll just call you Malek, if that’s all right. Or Mal for short, since we’re such buds now, what with you breaking into my various bedrooms for midnight visits and all. Okay, I’m shutting up now. Here I go.”