A Ghost Playing Hangman

three

A/N: Part 3 is here and part 4 and 5 are being written now! Have zero idea how many parts this will have, but I'm enjoying writing this! Thank you all for your feedback and love I got with the last few parts. Excited to keep this series going!

The light above you turned on and a very shirtless Hangman was standing in front of you. "Well, you were the last person I expected to come looking for me. What can I do for you darlin'?" He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame. You had to peel your eyes from his toned chest and shook your head to get rid of the thoughts that were starting to creep in.

"Why are you trying to break us down? What did we ever do to you to be treated this way?" You paused and shook your head, "Look say what you want about me, but bringing up Roosters dad like that in front of everyone? How would you feel if something personal of yours was made fun of?"

You looked up at his face and saw his normal smirk replaced with a stone-cold look that almost sent shivers down your spine. But what surprised you more, was him opening the door and inviting you in. You slowly followed him to his living room where he pointed to the couch for you to sit. He disappeared for a second but heard the familiar clank of glass bottles opening. Once he came back and sat down on the couch opposite of yours, he handed you one of the open beers.

"I'm not as heartless as you play me out to be." You couldn't help but roll your eyes at him. "Look, what I said about Bradshaw might have been a little harsh, but you've seen the way he acts around Maverick. They are walking on eggshells and until something was said, it was going to keep happening. Rooster isn't ready for this mission, and he needs to step up. He wouldn't listen to me any other way and the rest of you are too afraid to get your hands dirty."

You thought about what he said and took a few sips of your beer. Was Bradley holding back? Yeah. But how do you tell someone they need to step it up without causing issues? Which now you understood why Hangman did what he did. It still didn't sit right with you though.

His voice cut through your thoughts. "And you can be so much better if you actually get out of your head for once."

Your eyes cut back over to him. "And you are just the perfect package, huh?" That made him chuckle as he leaned back into the couch. It took a lot of will power to keep your eyes on his face and not the body that seemed to be sculpted from the Gods.

"I know my worth and no one can take that from me. So, you can continue to hate me or whatever, but I don't care what others think." Your heart sunk a bit at those words. Why did it matter that he thought you hated him? This was the guy that continued to push your buttons and can't see when something is his fault.

"You know it was your fault today that we failed the assignment, right?" You watched his eyebrows shoot up and an amused look cross his face.

"And how do you figure that, sweetheart?" Was this guy serious? You shook your head and put the now empty beer down.

"Thanks for the beer." You got up to leave and noted the confused look on his face. It only lasted for a second, but you saw it. He didn't think you would give up that easily. You made it to the door, and he let you walk out with zero interference. It was when you were a few steps away that you turned and asked, "Why are you like this? Why push your team away?"

He leaned back up against the door frame like earlier and countered, "Because I'm the best and it was drilled into me to be the best. No exceptions. So, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but this is life or death and I need you to be better. You said today was my fault that you pulled up, but did you stop and think that maybe you were riding too close? You had the simulation map up just like I did. One shift from me shouldn't nearly run you into the rocks. You were too focused on keeping up with me than doing your job correctly. But if you want to keep blaming me for your mistakes to make you feel better, then be my guest darlin'. Doesn't bother me none." He didn't give you a chance to argue back as he shut the door in your face.