Play with the Phantom (Midnight, #2)

by Amanda Richardson

For all the book lovers who break free from their stifling beginnings. May your middle and end have lots of hot, dirty sex.

I lick my hand and reach down between my legs, finding my clit and circling my fingers around it furiously. Across from me, Asher watches.

What a first sentence

A, You don’t know me. Not yet. But I know you. I know how light must fall on your skin, how the world must hush when you walk through it. I know you the way a man knows the thing he was never meant to have—too well, too deep, too much. They say time changes a man. That’s a lie. Time only sharpens what’s already there. And me? I’ve had nothing but time. I’ll see you soon, angel. M

Jesus. Why am I like this? Why is my brain wired to find danger hot? Why is the idea of someone being a little bit unhinged over me somehow deeply compelling? Probably something to unpack in therapy. Not tonight, though.

Youre not alone Ari lol

“You know, I read somewhere that murderers are more likely to work in finance than any other field.”

“That’s a weird fact to bring up during dinner,” he says, his voice a little too even.

“Just saying. You fit the profile.”

He exhales sharply through his nose. “Do I?” he asks, but there’s no real ...

“Buttoned-up businessman with a secret dark side?” I tap my fingers against my glass. “Definitely.”

I could tell him about the fact that every Sunday night since I was in high school, I spend a couple of hours writing and uploading monster erotica to a fan fiction site. Or I could tell him about the way I fall down conspiracy theory rabbit holes until I could probably write a dissertation on the Denver International Airport or the missing Roanoke colony. But those feel too personal, somehow.

Ari, You lock your doors at night. That’s good. But doors don’t keep me out, angel. They only keep you in. I wonder if you’ve figured it out yet. If you’ve felt it—the space beside you in the dark, the whisper of something just out of reach. I’m patient. I can wait. But when you finally realize who I am, when you say my name for the first time, I want you to remember that I was already here. I’ve always been here. Sleep well, little warrior. M

That leaves one option: someone I don’t know. Someone who knows me. And what was up with the flower? A forget-me-not? So cliché.

“Who else did your parents invite?”

“My brother.”

“You have a b...

“I never told you because I want nothing to do with him. I even changed my last name to Harrison—my mother’s maiden name—so...

“But why? What happened?”

“Ari,” he says, voice low, “promise me you’ll stay away from him, okay? He’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous...

The man standing in the threshold isn’t just anyone. My breath catches. My pulse stumbles. Because he isn’t just Asher’s brother. He’s his twin. Identical—perfectly so. Asher never told me he had an identical twin brother.

“Freedom isn’t something you win. It’s something you take.”

And now, after two decades, Maddox Cross, also known as the Phantom, has finally taken his.

“Have you ever had Swedish food before, Ari?”

“I can’t say that I have, but it looks amazing.”

“I’m so glad you think so, s...

I take a bite of the dill potatoes, and my eyes widen involuntarily. “Oh my god,” I murmur as the flavors hit my tongue. Garlic, fresh ros...

Maddox chuckles, and the sound sends a ripple of awareness danc...

“It’s Maddox’s favorite too,” Otto adds, taking a ...

“You guys don’t see each other often?”

“No,” Asher says, his tone final.

I glance at Maddox, expecting a matching response, but instead, he smiles slowly. “I was… away for a while.”

“What, were you in jail or something?”

Otto clears his throat. Hannah drinks deeply from her glass. Asher flinches. And Maddox smiles. It’s slow. Amused. Something dark glints in his eyes.

“Something lik...

Maddox doesn’t even acknowledge him. “You should try the meatballs, Ari,” he says smoothly, sliding the dish in front of me. “They’re a family recipe.”

“You’re very invested in my meal choices,” I remark lightly, spearing one with my fork.

“You strike me as someone who likes to be taken care of.”

Across the table, Asher clears his throat. “I don’t remember you being this talkative, Maddox.”

Maddox finally, lazily, drags his gaze to his twin. “Maybe you just never listened.”

“Now’s not the time for arguing,”

“You’re right.” His tone relaxed—too relaxed—and something about it feels mocking. “It’s a time for celebration.”

“Tell me, Ari, what exactly do you see in my brother?”

“What the hell is your proble...

“Asher is a good man,” I say evenly.

Maddox tilts his head, studying me. “Good,” he echoes, as if tasting the word. “Safe.”

His smirk is slow, like I just confirmed something for him. “Y...

His tone lacks force, though, and I ignore the way my stomach twists—not just with unease, but with something closer to disappointment. Like a part of me was waiting for Asher to shut this down, to put Maddox in his place, to win this fight before it even started. But he doesn’t.

Maddox ignores him, leaning in just slightly so that Hannah, Otto, and Asher can’t hear his next words. “You don’t strike me as someone who wants safe.” He’s so close that his breath brushes against my ear.

But the whole time they talk amongst themselves, I can feel Maddox’s unwavering presence beside me. He doesn’t speak to me. He just waits—like a patient predator watching its prey. Like he knows the chase is inevitable. And for the first time in a long time, I wonder if I’m the one being hunted.

I stare at the small bedroom where Otto had deposited my suitcase earlier. It’s cute, in a beach cottage kind of way. Lots of white and seashell accents with a bathroom off the opposite wall of the bed. But it’s not the decor that gives me pause. It’s the bed. A very small… single bed.