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)
I mentally call Hunter, who’s sleeping on the bed in Romeo’s room, and slip through the living room, rushing toward the dark silhouette that’s standing in front of a bookshelf in the library.
“Hey!” I demand, eyes narrowing on the dark figure. “I know where your bones are and don’t think for a second I won’t burn them and send you to hell.”
The dark figure jumps, bumping into the bookshelf. Her dark hair swishes behind her back and she turns just enough for me to see that I’m not talking to a ghost, but Saanvi.
Chapter
Fourteen
Shit.
I lower my hand, squeezing my fingers against my palm to extinguish the flames I was holding. Dim light illuminates Saanvi’s face and she’s staring at me like she doesn’t know whether to scream, cry, or run away.
“Sorry,” I blurt. “I, uh…I…I thought you were someone else and you scared me. I didn’t expect to see anyone down here.”
She blinks a few times, trying to back away but bumps into the bookshelf instead. Hunter runs down the back staircase and I take a quick step toward the couch and turn on a light on the side table.
“W-who did you think I was?” She wraps her arms around herself and flicks her eyes from Hunter to me and back again. Swallowing hard, I’m sure she’s debating on yelling for Harrison to come protect her from his crazy sister.
“Um,” I start, mind blanking. I’ve never been a good liar and I’m even worse when I’m on the spot like this. “A ghost.” Honesty is the best policy, right? And considering that I threatened to burn her bones, I can’t think of anything better to say.
“A ghost?” she echoes and I mentally cringe at my own words.
“Yeah. I, uh, had a nightmare and heard someone downstairs.” Thank fucking god it’s dim in the room, masking the flush that’s taking over my face. My cheeks probably match my hair right now. “I have a very active imagination and watch a lot of horror movies as well as those ghost hunting shows where they say to provoke and threaten the spirits.”
She continues to stare at me dubiously for a few seconds and then lets out a breath, body visibly relaxing, having bought my story. “Huh. So, you think you see a ghost and you go after it?”
“Yeah. I don’t want it in my house.”
“I would be hiding under my covers.”
I let out a snort of laughter. “I’ve always had a fascination with anything paranormal.”
“You’re braver than me.” She looks around nervously.
“There’s no ghost,” I quickly add. “I’m almost disappointed.” I’m not lying about that. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I could watch a movie on my phone without waking up Harrison, but I forgot my charger in the car. I was being a little nosey and looking at your books,” she confesses.
“They’re mostly romance novels and books about horses. You can read whatever or turn the TV on in the living room.”
“Thanks. I might take a book back upstairs.”
“I have an extra phone charger. It’s in the kitchen.” Hunter follows me, thankfully not pointing out how fucking awkward I am. I grab the charger from the junk drawer and give it to Saanvi.
“Thanks,” she says again, looking tense again. “I think I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
“Me too.” I motion with my head toward the rear staircase. “Help yourself to whatever. The kitchen is pretty well stocked. You don’t have to ask if you want something.”
“Noted, thanks again.”
Hunter races up the stairs first, going to steal my spot in bed before I can get there. Saanvi nervously smiles and goes back into the guest room she’s sharing with Harrison, closing the door behind her. I roll my eyes at myself, knowing I’m going to get an earful from Harrison in the morning.
“Move over,” I tell Hunter, who acts like a stubborn dog and stretches his paws out. “Fine.” I get back into bed, wedging myself between him and Ethan. It’s comforting, really, to have my demon-hunting boyfriend and my badass spirit familiar on either side of me. In his sleep, Ethan rolls over and puts his arm around me. I put my hand on top of his, closing my eyes and trying to go back to sleep, but I can’t, and I don’t know what bothers me more: the fact that I’m being haunted or the fact that I’m being haunted in my house.
“If you’re trying to tell me something, I’m listening,” I say quietly as not to disturb Ethan. I lay in bed waiting for some sort of message until I fall asleep a good hour later. It’s my turn to get up and feed the horses, and I groan as I hit snooze for the third time.
“Want me to feed?” Ethan asks sleepily.
“Yes,” I say honestly. “But I’ll do it. You have two Saturday morning clients, don’t you?”