In the middle of the night

Chapter 1

I don't care if I fall in love with a devil,

As long as that devil will love me the same way he loves hell.

When the riots started to spread, state of emergency was declared, curfews were imposed. For Ghost, it was just another job. Locating the source of the problem and eliminating it. He had scoffed when Captain Price assigned him to observe a specific area of the neighborhood.

Muttering "Fucking boring," to himself, his British accent even thicker when he was annoyed. But it was an order, so he complied. Mentally preparing himself for countless long nights, staring at boring houses with nothing else to do. What he didn't expect was the pretty girl that caught his eye on the second night he took his place at the lamppost.

Delilah lived alone in that big house. Her parents had rented it for her because it was closer to her university. It was supposed to be nice, having such a big house all to herself. A place to invite friends, maybe some guys, to throw nice parties. But that was way before the riots had started. Now, she was locked up in that big house, hidden away like an animal in a cage.

Fear, solitude, boredom.

That was her life now. The sounds of the riots became a nuisance for her, the heavy footsteps of the soldiers patrolling the streets keeping her up at night. She needed a change of scenery. Just a quick glance outside. A peek at the night sky. Looking at the moon and the stars always had a way of calming her down.

But when she looked out of the window that night, she saw something different. A man caught her eye, a soldier. It must be a soldier, she figured. He wore tactical gear, but none of the uniforms she was used to seeing by now. He was standing there, in the dark of the night, leaning against a lamppost, still as a statue. His face was hidden behind a mask, casting a shadow over his eyes. With the way he was standing there, he looked haunting. Her eyes were drawn to him from the first second.

How long had he been standing there? For how long had he been watching her house at night? She was so lost in him that she didn't even realize he was staring right back at her. The second she noticed, chills ran down her spine. Did he really see her?

Maybe she wanted to be seen, wanted his eyes to linger on her longer than necessary. But she shoved those thoughts aside, deep into the back of her mind, as she backed away from the window. Pulling the curtains close with trembling fingers. Not understanding why her heart was suddenly beating so fast.

She could feel that he was still looking, as if his gaze was so strong that he could see right through the walls of her house. A dull feeling spread in her stomach, a strange mix of fear- and something else. She knew that the man had seen her, that he knew she was looking at him.

And it was true, she was looking at him. Just for a few seconds, but it felt like her mind was soaking the vision of him up, taking in every little detail as if her life would depend on it. He looked intimidating, the way he was standing there in his tactical gear, a balaclava with a skull hiding his face. His haunting appearance should have scared her off, but somehow it made her even more curious.

The man was radiating danger and mystery and she was hooked at first glance. They were both intrigued by the other. Two lonely souls looking for company in the night.

The nights went by, and their little game of cat and mouse continued. Every night, his muscular frame was leaning against the lamppost. Watching. Observing. And every night, she looked out of the window, just short enough for him to notice, but never long enough for them to really look at each other.

It was almost intimate. The way she stayed up every night, just to get a glimpse of him. The way he started to enjoy his late-night observations because it meant that he could watch her. He watched her closely, taking in her face, her hair, her body.