Chapter 3 - The Ghost SpeaksThe glass doors of the ICU unit shuddered as Viktor—the broad-shouldered lieutenant Mara had heard about—pushed his way into the room, flanked by four heavy enforcers. His face was flushed, his knuckles bruised.
"What is she doing here, Julian?" Viktor’s lips moved in violent, angry jerks. "She’s a street nurse! We should have put a bullet in her the second she stepped off the curb. She knows too much."
Julian raised a hand, his gaze fixed on Mara. "She just gave us the key, Viktor. She said Lucian spoke the word Phoenix."
Viktor froze. His left eyelid twitched—a subtle, involuntary fraction of a second pulse that Mara caught instantly.
Mara’s eyes narrowed. In the emergency room, reading non-verbal cues was the difference between identifying a stroke victim and losing a patient. Viktor wasn't surprised by the word Phoenix. He was terrified.
Suddenly, the telemetry monitor spiked sharply.
The man on the bed moved.
Lucian Rossi’s eyes snapped open. They were a piercing, stormy gray, bloodshot but searingly clear. His left hand—the one not hooked to an IV drip—shot up like a steel trap and locked around Julian’s wrist.
The room erupted into frantic motion. Enforcers stepped forward, weapons clearing holsters.
Lucian didn't look at his counsel. He didn't look at Viktor.
His gray eyes swept the room until they landed squarely on Mara.
He pulled off his oxygen mask with his free hand, his breathing heavy and rattling. His jaw worked as he fought through the heavy sedation. His lips moved slowly, clearly, so that only someone staring directly at his mouth could read the message:
"The deaf girl... stays. Everyone else... leave the floor. Now."
Viktor stepped forward aggressively. "Boss, you’re delirious. The doctors said—"
Lucian’s gaze pivoted to Viktor. The look in his gray eyes was so lethal, so devoid of mercy, that Viktor stopped mid-sentence.
"Out," Lucian’s lips formed the command.
Julian gestured to the guards. Within thirty seconds, the room was cleared. The heavy double doors clicked locked from the outside. Only the rhythmic humming of the life support machines remained.
Lucian turned his head back to Mara. He gestured weakly to the notepad on the nightstand.
Mara picked up the pad and pen, stepping closer to the bed.
Lucian took the pen with trembling fingers and wrote four short words:
You saved my life.
Mara took the pen and wrote back:
It's my job. Who is Phoenix?
May you like
Lucian stared at her writing. A low, bitter chuckle vibrated through his chest. He looked up at Mara, his gray eyes locking onto hers with terrifying intensity, and moved his lips without making a sound:
"Phoenix isn't a person, Mara. It's the operation to replace me. And the man leading it... is sitting in the mayor's office."
