Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“Inside.” Ethan opens the front door and ushers us in. I grab my phone, needing to check the cameras in the barn just to be sure nothing is lurking. The horses would react to a spirit, and they’re all lazily standing in their stalls, starting to perk up and wait for someone to come in and give them hay.
“The night Keith called and said a ghost talked about you,” Nik starts. “Something hit the warding.”
“Oh, right.” Was that the same night Ethan got arrested? The next day? I close my eyes, my brain feeling all scrambled. So much has happened in so little time.
“Whoever that was would have seen where the warding line was, and how to trigger it,” Ethan notes.
“Do you think it was him?” Nik asks.
“Not if Hunter picked up a human scent,” Ethan says.
“I don’t know why,” I start, “but I have a feeling this is connected to whoever framed you.”
“On what basis?” Ethan asks, not to be argumentative, but to try and follow my train of thought.
“Because neither of them make sense.” I close my eyes and reach up, wincing when I touch the raw skin on my neck. “I don’t know.”
Ethan puts his hands on my shoulders and kisses my forehead. “Why don’t you go sit in the living room and watch TV or take a nap if you want to. I’ll put on a pot of coffee and feed the horses.”
“It’s my turn to take care of them.”
“You can make it up to me later.” His lips curve up in a lopsided grin. “Do you want ice for your neck?”
“No, maybe some healing balm if we have any left.” I pull my hair to the side and show him the patch of skin where Stuart’s nails scratched my skin.
“I’ll get you some,” Nik offers and he and Ethan both go into the kitchen. Still dressed in pajama pants and one of Ethan’s t-shirts, I grab a blanket from the hall closet and go into the living room, wrapping up and sinking down on the couch. Hunter joins me and we snuggle together. I am still tired but know for sure I won’t be able to fall asleep right now.
Instead, I opt for reruns of Friends and try to relax but I keep looking outside, expecting to see someone standing in the yard. I’m still looking out the window when a truck drives down the road. It slows as it passes the house, but it’s not unusual for Donna to spy.
Seeing her truck reminds me of the familiar lurking around the area, which in turn makes Margret’s words echo through my mind: he didn’t just bring out her dark side, he encouraged it. If this is the same warlock, then what the hell is he doing back here? He’d have to know Estelle was dead.
Nik thought whoever framed Ethan was trying to unnerve me, but what if they wanted to do the opposite? If they’re going to make me mad, take me from Wanda Maximoff to full Scarlet Witch, there is one sure way to make that happen. Mess with Ethan, the one person I love more than anything on earth and you’re begging to see my dangerous dark side.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“Got it,” Ethan practically cheers, turning his laptop around. We’re sitting in the library and have spent the last hour going through property records to find the owner of the house back in the 1980s. Owen Jones owned and ran the apartment complex, but died ten years ago. The property sold a handful of times, and we tracked each owner and were eventually able to find the people who bought the house in hopes of turning it into a wedding venue. They started blogging their “renovation journey” on social media and posted a bunch of historic photos, including one from 1985, showcasing the beautiful gardens, cared for by the “1988 Winner of the Midwest Horticulture Society’s Master Gardener of the year.”
From there, we were able to get a hold of someone from the Horticulture Society who was confused as to why we asked for info on the winner from so long ago. Thankfully, Ethan is charming and convincing and we were able to get Stuart’s last name: Brown. Being a common surname, it took a bit of weeding to find the right guy.
“He’s buried here in Paradise Valley.” He highlights something on the screen, showing me the grave’s location in the cemetery.
“Wow. I didn’t know Find a Grave was a thing,”
“It’s made my job easier a few times, which is probably not something the creators of this site thought of.”
“Yeah.” I agree with a laugh.
“We should check out the cemetery in the daylight and clean out the burn pile.”
“Sounds like a date. Want to grab lunch on the way?”
“Of course.” Ethan closes his computer and puts his arm around me. “We really do make a good team.”